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Annual Report of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme and Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies for the year 2018-19

CONTENTS
S.N. Particulars
1. Select Abbreviations
2. Foreword
3. Vision and Goals of Office of Ombudsman Schemes
4. Executive Summary
5. Chapter 1 – The Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS), 2006
6. Chapter 2 – The Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs, 2018
7. Chapter 3 – Complaints Received in RBI through other Sources
8. Chapter 4 – Important Developments and Way Forward
9. Annex I – Important Notifications Relating to Customer Service Issued by the RBI in 2018-19
10. Annex II – Statement of Complaints Received by the Offices of the Banking Ombudsmen for the Period 2018-19
11. Annex III – NBFC - wise list of complaints received during 2018-19
12. Appendices
TABLES
Table No. Nomenclature
Table 1 Category-wise distribution of complaints
Table 2 Breakup of ATM/Debit card complaints
Table 3 Breakup of complaints in ‘Others’ category
Table 4 Comparative position of disposal of complaints by OBOs
Table 5 Mode of disposal of maintainable complaints
Table 6 Grounds for rejection of maintainable complaints
Table 7 OBO-wise position of Awards issued during the year 2018-19
Table 8 Position of Appeals
Table 9 OBO-wise position of Appeals received during the year 2018-19
Table 10 Office of NBFC-O-wise list of complaints received
Table 11 Ground-wise number of complaints received by NBFC-Os
Table 12 Disposal of complaints by NBFC-Os
Table 13 Mode of disposal of complaints by NBFC-Os
Table 14 Office-wise position of complaints under NBFC-O
CHARTS
Chart No. Chart Title
Chart I Cost of handling a complaint
Chart II Complaints received during the year 2018-19
Chart III OBO-wise receipt of complaints
Chart IV Zone-wise receipt of complaints
Chart V Population group-wise distribution of complaints received
Chart VI Mode of receipt of complaints
Chart VII Digital vis-à-vis Non-digital mode of lodging complaints
Chart VIII Bank group-wise classification of complaints
Chart IX Volume of complaints received under BOS
Chart X Reasons for Non-maintainable complaints
Chart XI Age-wise classification of pending complaints
APPENDICES
Appendix No. Appendix Title
Appendix I OBO-wise receipt of complaints
Appendix II Cost of handling a complaint
Appendix III OBO-wise 'Per-complaint cost’ for the year 2018-19
Appendix IV Position of customer complaints handled by OBOs
Appendix V Number of complaints received by OBOs
Appendix VI Zone-wise receipt of complaints
Appendix VII Population Group-wise distribution of complaints received
Appendix VIII Nature of complaints across population groups
Appendix IX Mode of receipt of complaints
Appendix X Complainant group-wise classification
Appendix XI Bank group-wise classification of complaints
Appendix XII OBO-wise position of complaints disposed during the year 2018-19
Appendix XIII OBO-wise break-up of maintainable complaints during the year 2018-19
Appendix XIV Bank-wise break-up of maintainable complaints during the year 2018-19
Appendix XV Ground-wise Turn Around Time (TAT) for disposal of complaints
Appendix XVI Age-wise classification of pending complaints
Appendix XVII Findings of consumer satisfaction survey of complaints lodged in OBOs
Appendix XVIII Position of complaints received through CPGRAMS
Appendix XIX Applications received by OBOs Under RTI Act, 2005

SELECT ABBREVIATIONS

AA - Appellate Authority NPCI - National Payment Corporation of India
ATM - Automated Teller Machine OBO - Office of the Banking Ombudsman
BCSBI - Banking Codes and Standards Board of India ODT - Ombudsman for Digital Transactions
BO - Banking Ombudsman OSDT - Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions
BOS - Banking Ombudsman Scheme OTC - One Time Combination
BSBDA - Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account OVD - Officially Valid Document
CCTV - Closed Circuit Television PAN - Permanent Account Number
CEPC - Consumer Education and Protection Cell PNO - Principal Nodal Officer
CEPD - Consumer Education and Protection Department POS - Point of Sale
CIC - Credit Information Company PSU - Public Sector Undertaking
CMS - Complaint Management System RBI - Reserve Bank of India
CPGRAMS - Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System RCA - Root Cause Analysis
DG - Deputy Governor RE - Regulated Entities
DSA - Direct Sales Agent RRB - Regional Rural Bank
ED - Executive Director RTGS - Real Time Gross Settlement
FRC - First Resort Complaint RTI - Right to Information
IO - Internal Ombudsman SBI - State Bank of India
IVRS - Interactive Voice Response System SMS - Short Message Service
MD - Master Directions UPI - Unified Payments Interface
NBFC - Non-Banking Financial Company UIDAI - Unique Identification Authority of India
NEFT - National Electronic Fund Transfer Y-o-Y - Year on Year

FOREWORD

This Annual Report of the Ombudsman Schemes, issued in the silver jubilee year of Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS) has special relevance, since it is being released at the confluence of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the champion of customer rights. Over the years, the BOS has gained popularity and played an important part in aligning the alternate grievance redressal structure of RBI with the G-20 OECD High-Level Principles (HLPs) on Financial Consumer Protection (FCP) as the Scheme provides cost-free and expeditious grievance redressal mechanism. A third-party survey has shown overall satisfaction level of 73% among complainants under BOS, which RBI will strive to improve further. Another important aspect of the HLPs on FCP pertains to ‘financial awareness and education’. RBI strengthened this area by initiating campaigns through electronic media while continuing with print, SMS and Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) messages to create financial awareness apart from Townhall / outreach programmes by Ombudsmen.

In 2018-19, RBI extended the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to non-deposit taking NBFCs, launched the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, rolled out Complaint Management System, a ‘one-stop’ portal for lodgment of grievances and launched the Internal Ombudsman Scheme which mandated banks with more than ten branches to appoint an Internal Ombudsman to serve as an objective review mechanism to support their internal customer grievance redressal structure. The Annual Report carries analysis of receipt and resolution of complaints and the initiatives of RBI for strengthening consumer protection. It also lays down the plan of action for future while identifying areas for further action by Financial Service Providers as well as RBI. I hope this Report would be informative and useful for all stakeholders.

(M K Jain)


Vision and Goals of the
Offices of RBI Ombudsman Schemes

Vision

  • To act as a visible and credible dispute resolution agency for common persons utilizing services provided by entities regulated by RBI.

Goals

  • To ensure grievance redressal of users of services provided by entities regulated by RBI in an inexpensive, expeditious and fair manner that provides impetus to improve customer services in the banking sector on a continuous basis.

  • To provide policy feedback / suggestions to the Reserve Bank of India towards framing appropriate and timely guidelines for banks to improve the level of customer service and to strengthen their internal grievance redressal system.

  • To enhance awareness of the Ombudsman Schemes of RBI.

  • To facilitate quick and fair (non-discriminatory) redressal of grievances through use of IT systems, comprehensive and easily accessible database and enhanced capabilities of staff through capacity building.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Banking Ombudsman Scheme

The Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS) was notified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1995 under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. As on date, Scheduled Commercial Banks, Scheduled Primary Urban Co-operative Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks are covered under the Scheme. It is administered by RBI through 211 Offices of Banking Ombudsman (OBOs) covering all states and union territories.

2. A brief analysis of complaints handled by BOs during the year is as under:

  1. The complaints received at OBOs rose by 32,311 taking the total to 1,95,901 complaints in 2018-19 over the previous year (1,63,590), recording a year on year (Y-o-Y) increase of 19.75%. Of these, 72.19% were received electronically i.e., through the online portal and by emails as against 63.61% in the previous year;

  2. The disposal rate for this year (2018-19) was 94.03% as against 96.46% in 2017-18. This is largely due to rise in volume of complaints with resource remaining the same;

  3. While non-observance of fair practices code continued to remain the major ground of complaints during the year, its percentage came down from 22.10% in the previous year to 19.17% in the current year. ATM and debit card issues had increased from 15.08% in last year to 18.65% this year;

  4. Complaints received on grounds relating to pension, levy of charges without notice, credit card related issues and remittance have declined this year vis-à-vis previous year. The number of complaints pertaining to ‘mis-selling’ have gone up from 579 complaints in 2017-18 to 1,115 complaints this year, an increase of 92.57%;

  5. The number of complaints resolved by agreement i.e., through intervention of OBOs, mediation and conciliation, etc. rose from 65.82% during the previous year to 70.40% in 2018-19;

  6. The number of appeals received in 2018-19 stood at 78 as compared to 125 in 2017-18;

  7. The average cost of handling a complaint came down from ₹3,504/- in 2017-18 to ₹3,145/- in 2018-19 due to increased volume of disposal by the OBOs with the same resources as available in the previous year. There is thus an increased level of efficiency at the OBOs.

Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies

3. The Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC-O Scheme) was notified by RBI under Section 45L of the RBI Act, 1934 on February 23, 2018. The Scheme is applicable to Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) which (a) are authorized to accept deposits; or (b) have customer interface, with assets size of ₹100 crore or above, as on the date of the audited balance sheet of the previous financial year and is administered from the offices of the NBFC-Os in four metro centers viz. Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi for handling complaints from the respective zones, so as to cover the entire country.

4. Brief analysis of complaints handled by NBFC-Os during the year is as under:

i. The number of complaints received at NBFC-Os rose from 675 in four months operation during 2017-18 to 3,991 in 2018-19;

ii. Non-adherence to fair practices code constituted 40.44% of complaints received, followed by non-observance of RBI directions (17.21%), levy of charges without notice (12.63%) and lack of transparency in contract / loan agreement (9.17%);

iii. The disposal rate of NBFC-Os stood at 95.41% in 2017-18 and 99.10% in 2018-19;

iv. One appeal has been received against the decision of NBFC-O during 2018-19, as compared to nil in the previous year.

Developments during the Year

5. During the year, Consumer Education and Protection Department (CEPD) took a few initiatives for improving the accessibility of grievance redressal mechanism to the members of public.

i. Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT) was introduced to provide grievance redressal forum for the consumers of the Payment System Participants (popularly known as Prepaid Payment Instrument providers);

ii. The NBFC-O Scheme was extended to cover the regulated non-deposit taking NBFCs having asset size of ₹100.00 crore and above;

iii. Internal Ombudsman (IO) Scheme was reviewed and extended to all Scheduled Commercial Banks having more than 10 outlets (excluding RRBs);

iv. A third office of the Ombudsman at RBI, New Delhi was set up with effect from July 1, 2019 with a view to meet the growing demand for resolution of complaints;

v. A state-of-art and user-friendly web-based online Application named Complaint Management System (CMS) was launched for filing complaints, which also allows the customers to track their complaints;

vi. Education and awareness campaigns were undertaken through print and electronic media for the benefit of customers / members of public at large;

vii. Annual conference of Banking Ombudsmen was held at Mumbai on June 21, 2019 on the theme of ‘Consumer Protection beyond Boundaries’. It witnessed wide-ranging discussions on issues related to emerging areas of complaints, safety in digital financial transactions and experience of other jurisdictions in redressal of customer grievances.

Way Forward

6. In an endeavor to further strengthen the redressal mechanism and the preventive aspects of consumer protection framework, so that the confidence of the consumers of financial services is maintained, commitments in the form of Strategic Action Plans (SAPs) in the medium-term strategy framework for RBI, namely ‘UTKARSH – 2022’, have been delineated. For the year 2019-20, five SAPs will be taken up for implementation, viz.,

  1. review of Internal Ombudsman Scheme, 2018 for extension to NBFCs;

  2. review of Consumer Education and Protection Cells (CEPCs) for empowering them on the lines of OBOs;

  3. review of the Ombudsman Schemes for updation and effective implementation including through convergence;

  4. formulation of policy to strengthen the system based on Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of major areas of complaint;

  5. introducing Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) in CMS for online support to the customers.

7. The education and awareness initiative of CEPD has been two-pronged, i.e. physical and digital. Offices of Ombudsman will continue with the existing Town Hall, outreach / awareness and other innovative methods to sensitize the customers in their respective jurisdiction. CEPD will delve into the digital method in close association with Department of Communications. In the year 2019-20, the CEPD will generate awareness about the grievance redressal mechanisms of RBI and the Ombudsman Schemes as also undertake campaigns on safe digital banking and the regulatory stipulations on customer protection.


Chapter 1
The Banking Ombudsman Scheme

Overview

1.1 The Banking Ombudsman Scheme was notified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1995 under Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Over the years, it has undergone five2 revisions, the last being in July 2017. As on date, Scheduled Commercial Banks, Scheduled Primary Urban Co-operative Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Small Finance Banks (SFBs) and Payment Banks (PBs) are covered under the Scheme. It is administered by the RBI through 213 OBOs covering all states and union territories of India. The cost of running the Scheme, which includes revenue and capital expenditures4, is borne by the RBI.

1.2 Over the years, the Scheme has gained wider acceptance and popularity as reflected by the Y-o-Y increase of 19.75% in the number of complaints received at the OBOs. The year-wise number of complaints received at OBOs in last three years is given at Appendix – I.

1.3 During the year, in line with the declining trend observed in the last three years, average cost of handling a complaint came down from ₹3,504/- to ₹3,145/-, evident from Chart I below. The decline is largely due to increase in volume of complaints while the human resources for handling these complaints remained the same.

1.4 A comparative position of cost of running the Scheme as well as the average cost per complaint during the last three years is given at Appendix II.

1.5 The BO-wise per complaint cost for the year 2018-19 is given at Appendix III. Considering the fixed costs involved, the offices having lesser inflow of complaints show higher cost per complaint.

1.6 A record 2,02,0835 complaints were handled by OBOs in 2018-19 as against 1,74,805 complaints in the previous year. While 6,182 complaints comprising 3.53% were pending at the end of the year 2017-18, the pendency for this year has gone up to 12,069 complaints, which worked out to 5.97% of the complaints handled. This is largely due to 19.75% increase in inflow of complaints attended to by the same available resources at the disposal of OBOs. The position of customer complaints handled by OBOs is given at Appendix IV.

1.7 The average Turn Around Time (TAT) for disposal of complaints of Offices of BOs has come down from 53 days in 2017-18 to 47 days in 2018-19, despite considerable increase in the complaints pertaining to digital transactions which require more time for investigation / and analysis documents for redressal. However, improvement in TAT is largely due to continuous follow up with the OBOs and banks and efficient handling by the BOs.

1.8 In addition to handling complaints, the BOs were also committed to the RBI’s agenda of spreading awareness about the grievance redressal system put in place by RBI at the level of banks as well as at the RBI. The BOs organised Town Hall events, awareness programmes / outreach activities besides participating in trade fairs, cultural events like Rath Yatra, etc. The awareness initiatives were targeted particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. In addition, awareness campaigns were also launched by CEPD for popularizing the Scheme.

Receipt of Complaints

1.9 A comparison of the number complaints received by the OBOs during the last three years is given in Chart II.

1.10 In 2018-19, the number of complaints received by the BOs increased by 19.75% over 2017-18 (Appendix V). The upward trend could, inter alia, be attributed to the increase in the number of bank customers, increased usage of digital modes of transactions and the impact of initiatives for financial inclusion and spreading of awareness exercises undertaken by RBI, including through TV channels, FM Radio, SMS handle viz., “RBISay” as well as the outreach efforts made by OBOs at the regional levels.

1.11 Of the 1,95,901 complaints received by the OBOs, (Appendix I), in line with the last year’s trend, OBO New Delhi I received the maximum number of complaints (33,690), which accounted for 17.20% of the total complaints received by the OBOs. Together with OBO, New Delhi II, the total number of complaints handled by the OBOs at New Delhi stood at 44,932 representing 22.94% of total complaints received during the year.

1.12 With the launch of two new Schemes viz the NBFC-O Scheme and the OSDT, the same BOs handled complaints emanating from system participants and NBFCs require greater resources in terms of time and efort. Considering the need to improve the rate of disposal and the volume of complaints being received by offices at New Delhi, it was decided to open a third office of BO at New Delhi (OBO, New Delhi III) from July 1, 2019 by dividing the territorial jurisdiction of OBO, New Delhi I.

1.13 Complaints received at OBO Mumbai II, set up in February, 2018 by bifurcating the jurisdiction of OBO Mumbai I, rose to more than five times the previous year to 10,162 complaints (an increase of 439.38%) in 2018-19 from 1,884 complaints in 2017-18. Consequently, complaints received at OBO, Mumbai I witnessed a decline of 27.53% (from 18,085 complaints in 2017-18 to 13,106 complaints in the year 2018-19) during the year. A comparative position of complaints received by OBOs during the last three years is given in Chart III.

Zone-wise Distribution of Complaints

1.14 Continuing the trend, and owing to huge volume of complaints received at offices at New Delhi, the North zone accounted for the maximum share of complaints (45.24%) in 2018-19. The East zone accounted the least i.e., 14.38% of total complaints received, highlighting the need for increased awareness initiatives in the zone. The zone-wise distribution of complaints received is depicted in Chart IV below.

1.15 Zone-wise receipt of complaints is given at Appendix VI. It may be observed therefrom that the maximum Y-o-Y growth in the number of complaints was also highest in North zone (23.41%), followed by South zone (18.65%), West zone (17.91%) and East zone (13.19%) respectively.

Population Group-wise Distribution of Complaints

1.16 During the year, 48.36% of complaints were lodged by bank customers residing in urban areas. Complaints from metropolitan areas accounted for 27.90%, while semi-urban and rural areas accounted for 12.06% and 11.67% respectively. Recognizing that relatively lower share of complaints received from rural and semi-urban areas highlights the need to scale up the awareness campaigns in these areas in addition to taking initiatives to undertake such programmes in local languages, uniform guidelines have been issued to OBOs for selection of venue, conduct of programmes and evaluation of their impact so as to maximize their impact. Population group-wise distribution of complaints during the last year is given in Chart V below and at Appendix VII.

1.17 The percentages of complaints on each of the grounds follow similar pattern with the maximum being from metropolitan centers and least from rural centers as given at Appendix VIII. The complaints rise proportionately with the size of population, bank branches and awareness among the public.

Modes of Receipt of Complaints

1.18 Complaints were received in the OBOs through various modes, including hand delivery, post, courier, fax, e-mails and online portal i.e. the RBI’s Complaint Tracking System, and with effect from June 24, 2019, through the CMS. A comparison of the various modes through which complaints were received during the last three years is given at Appendix IX and shown in Chart VI below:

1.19 The trend in the last three years indicates that complaints are increasingly being lodged through digital modes (email and online portal) than through physical modes (post/fax/courier/hand delivery). During the year, 72.19% of the complaints were filed using the digital mode of which 49.48% were through e-mails and 22.71% using the online portal. The share of complaints received using online portal stood at 14.98% in 2017-18 and rose to 22.71% in 2018-19 on the back of surge in receipt of complaints on CMS after its launch on June 24, 2019. By end June 2019, 5,813 complaints were received on CMS. The trend during the last three years is given in Chart VII below:

1.20 CMS provides a single platform for customers of regulated entities for lodging of complaints. With features like tracking of complaint and option of furnishing feedback, the percentage of complaints received through online mode is expected to increase markedly in the next year.

Complainants: Group-wise Classification

1.21 Out of the total number of complaints lodged in the year 2018-19, 92.44% were by individuals. Of these, 0.68% complaints were lodged by senior citizens. The second category of complainants was ‘Individuals – Business’ with a share of 2.81% as shown at Appendix X.

Bank Group-wise Classification

1.22 The bank-group wise classification of complaints received by OBOs during the last three years is indicated in Chart VIII.

1.23 Of the total number of complaints received in OBOs, nationalized banks and SBI taken together accounted for 61.91% during the last three years as detailed at Appendix XI. The share of Private Sector banks went up from 25.94% of total complaints received in last year to 28.04% during this year. The RRBs and Scheduled Primary Urban Cooperative banks together accounted for 1.87% of total number of complaints. The complaints against the new entities viz., PBs and SFBs went up from 0.30% during the last year to 0.90% during the current year, witnessing an Y-o-Y growth of 270.82%. Share of complaints against entities that are not covered under the Scheme went down from 7.11% in 2017-18 to 5.15% during the year under review.

Nature of Complaints Handled

1.24 As specified under Clause 8 of the Scheme, there are 30 grounds for lodging complaints with the BO. Table 1 below broadly indicates the proportion of complaints received under the various grounds of complaints listed in the Scheme.

Table 1 - Category-wise Distribution of Complaints
  No of complaints received
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Non-observance of Fair Practice Code 31,769
(24.25%)
36,146
(22.10%)
37,557
(19.17%)
ATM/ Debit Cards 16,434
(12.55%)
24,672
(15.08%)
36,539
(18.65%)
Mobile / Electronic Banking - 8,487
(5.19%)
14,794
(7.55%)
Failure to Meet Commitments 8,911
(6.80%)
11,044
(6.75%)
13,332
(6.81%)
Credit Cards 8,297
(6.33%)
12,647
(7.73%)
13,274
(6.78%)
Deposit Accounts 7,190
(5.49%)
6,719
(4.11%)
10,844
(5.54%)
Levy of Charges without Prior Notice 7,273
(5.55%)
8,209
(5.02%)
8,391
(4.28%)
Loans and Advances 5,559
(4.24%)
6,226
(3.81%)
7,610
(3.88%)
Pension Payments 8,506
(6.49%)
7,833
(4.79%)
7,066
(3.61%)
Non-adherence to BCSBI Codes 3,699
(2.82%)
3,962
(2.42%)
5,981
(3.05%)
Remittances 3,287
(2.51%)
3,330
(2.04%)
3,451
(1.76%)
Para-Banking - 579
(0.35%)
1,115
(0.57%)
DSAs and Recovery Agents 330
(0.25%)
554
(0.34%)
629
(0.32%)
Notes and Coins 333
(0.25%)
1,282
(0.78%)
480
(0.25%)
Others 23,169
(17.69%)
26,219
(16.03%)
28,330
(14.46%)
Out of Purview of BO Scheme 6,230
(4.76%)
5,681
(3.47%)
6,508
(3.32%)
Total 130,987 163,590 1,95,901
(Figures in bracket indicate % age to total complaints of respective years.)

1.25 While non-observance of fair practices code at 19.17% continued to remain major ground for complaints during the year, its percentage came down from 22.10% in the previous year. Complaints received on grounds relating to pension, levy of charges without notice, credit cards and remittance have declined this year vis-a-vis previous year. However, number of complaints pertaining to ‘mis-selling’ have gone up from 579 complaints in 2017-18 to 1,115 complaints during this year, showing an increase of 92.57%.

1.26 Complaints relating to ATM / Debit Cards comprised 18.65% of total complaints, up from 15.08% in the previous year. Of the total number of ATM / Debit Cards complaints, a major sub-category was ‘Account debited but cash not dispensed by ATMs’ which accounted for almost 53.00% of the ATM related complaints (Table 2).

Table 2 - Breakup of ATM / Debit Card Complaints
Sub Category No of Complaints
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Non-Payment of Cash / Account Debited but Cash not Dispensed by ATMs* 9,656
(7.37%)
14,691
(8.98%)
19,366
(9.89%)
Use of Stolen / Cloned Cards - 2117
(1.29%)
4,961
(2.53%)
*Debit in account without use of the card or details of the card - 2,356
(1.4%)
4,481
(2.3%)
*Account Debited More than Once for One Withdrawal in ATMs or for POS Transaction - 965
(0.59%)
1,288
(0.66%)
Short Payment of Cash / *Less or Excess amount of Cash Dispensed by ATMs 1,222
(0.93%)
1,166
(0.71%)
1,186
(0.61%)
Others 5,556
(4.24%)
3,377
(2.06%)
5,257
(2.68%)
Sub-Total 16,434
(12.55%)
24,672
(15.08%)
36,539
(18.65%)
Total No. of Complaints Received 130,987 163,590 1,95,901
*Introduced with effect from July 1, 2017
(Figures in bracket indicate %age to total number of complaints of respective years.)

1.27 The complaints on the ground relating to digital transactions (mobile, internet, ATM and credit cards) rose by 18,801 to 64,607 complaints and accounted for 32.984.98% of total complaints, a 6.48% increase in share of complaints over the previous year. This, however, did not include the digital related complaints falling under other grounds under the Scheme. The rise in complaints reflects rising popularity of digital modes of transactions.

1.28 The rising complaints relating to digital transactions led to the launch of OSDT (please refer para 4.2), extension of limited liability circular to the PPIs in January 2019 and introduction of tokenization of card transactions for facilitating transactions without disclosing the 16 digit Primary Account Numbers.

1.29 During the year, 3.61% of the complaints related to ‘Pension Payments’ as compared to 4.79% in the previous year. The number of complaints in this category has come down both in absolute and in percentage terms, inter alia, due to the continued efforts of RBI to improve the services received by this class of customers. However, the number at 7,000 plus is still high. The Department will continue to strive to bring this number further down by closely working and following up with the banks.

1.30 Complaints on ‘deposit accounts’ constituted 5.54% of the total complaints received, witnessing an increase of 61.39% on Y-o-Y basis. The complaints were mainly on grounds of delay in credit, non-credit of proceeds to party’s account, non-payment of deposit or non-observance of the RBI directives and wrong application of rate of interest on deposits in savings or other accounts, etc.

1.31 Complaints relating to ‘Loans and Advances’ constituted 3.88% of the total complaints received and generally pertained to delay in sanction, disbursement, non-observance of prescribed time schedule for disposal of loan applications, non-acceptance of application without valid reason, etc.

1.32 In 2018-19, 1.76% of the complaints received related to ‘Remittances’ such as non-payment/ inordinate delay in the payment or in the collections of cheques, drafts, bills etc.

1.33 OBOs also received 3.32% of the complaints which were ‘Out of Purview’ of the Scheme and were closed as non-maintainable, which were marginally less than those in the previous year (3.47%).

1.34 Complaints under ‘Others’ category at 14.46% related to complaints on ‘Non-adherence to Prescribed Working Hours’, delay in providing banking facilities, etc. as detailed in Table 3.

Table 3 - Breakup of Complaints in ‘Others’ Category
Sub Category 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
i. Non-adherence to RBI directives on:      
  I. Banking or other services 5,202
(3.97%)
5,669
(3.47%)
6,571
(3.35%)
  II. Interest rates (loans and advances) 1,051
(0.80%)
1,226
(0.75%)
1,193
(0.61%)
  III. Any other direction or instruction as may be specified by the RBI on loans and advances and other matters 13,986
(10.68%)
17,061
(10.43%)
16,246
(8.29%)
ii. Non-adherence to prescribed working hours 387
(0.30%)
258
(0.16%)
465
(0.24%)
iii. Refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes as required by RBI/Govt. 183
(0.14%)
213
(0.13%)
419
(0.21%)
iv. Refusal to issue or delay in issuing or Failure to Service or Delay in Servicing or Redemption of Government Securities 210
(0.16%)
169
(0.10%)
233
(0.12%)
v. Other Matters Specified by RBI 2,150
(1.64%)
1,623
(0.99%)
3,203
(1.64%)
Sub-Total 23,169
(17.69%)
26,219
(16.03%)
28,330
(14.46%)
Total No. of Complaints Received 130,987 163,590 195,901
(Figures in bracket indicate percent to total complaints of respective years.)

Complaints on Grounds added in 2017-18

1.35 Two grounds namely (i) ‘Non-adherence to RBI instructions on Mobile / Electronic Banking’ and ‘Non-adherence to Reserve Bank guidelines on para-banking activities like sale of insurance / mutual fund / other third-party investment products by banks’ (misselling) were included in the BO Scheme with effect from July 2017. The new grounds together accounted for 9,066 (5.54% of total complaints) and 15,909 (8.12%) complaints during the last two years as shown in Chart IX.

1.36 Table 4 below indicates a comparative position of disposal of complaints by OBOs.

Table 4- Comparative Position of Disposal of Complaints by OBOs
Number of Complaints Year
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Received during the Year 1,30,987 1,63,590 1,95,901
Brought forward from Previous Year 5,524 11,215 6,182
Handled during the Year 1,36,511 1,74,805 2,02,083
Disposed during the Year 1,25,296 1,68,623 1,90,014
Rate of Disposal (%) 91.78% 96.46% 94.03%
Carried forward to the Next Year 11,215 6,182 12,069

1.37 The table above indicates that the OBOs have disposed of 21,391 more complaints during this year with the same resources available with them. The OBO-wise position of complaints disposed during the year 2018-19 is given at Appendix XII.

1.38 The share of Non-Maintainable6 complaints received during 2018-19 stood at 52.90% as compared to 48.94% during 2017-18 and 52.26% in 2016-17. The details of the grounds under which the complaints have been disposed of as non-maintainable are given in the Chart X below. It could be observed therefrom that the complaints have been disposed of as non-maintainable largely due to i) incomplete information given in the complaint, ii) complaints falling outside the territorial jurisdiction of the BOs, iii) First Resort complaints (FRCs) and iv) not falling under the grounds listed under Clause 8 of BOS. The satisfaction survey conducted by M/s Karvy Data Management Ltd. revealed that some respondents admitted to having lodged complaints with the Ombudsmen even when they knew that it fell outside the purview of BOS and also having approached BOs as a first resort because, in their experience, the banks normally resolve the complaints expeditiously once the same had been forwarded to them by the BOs. Going forward, while CMS will filter FRCs and the non-maintainable complaints arising out of jurisdictional reasons, there is a need for creating greater awareness on the BOS and for improving the grievance redressal mechanisms in the banks.

1.39 OBO and bank- wise distribution of maintainable complaints is given at Appendix XIII and XIV respectively.

Mode of Disposal of Maintainable Complaints

1.40 The Scheme promotes settlement of complaints by agreement through conciliation and/or mediation by BOs. If the parties fail to arrive at an acceptable agreement, the BO gives a decision or passes an Award. There has been a marked increase in the number of complaints resolved by agreement in the last two years. As detailed in Table 5 below 69.88% of the maintainable complaints were resolved through agreement as compared to 65.82% during 2017-18 and 42.43% during 2016-17, indicating mediation is being used as an effective tool in complaint resolution.

Table 5 - Mode of Disposal of Maintainable Complaints
Disposal of Maintainable Complaints 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
By Mutual Settlement/Agreement 26,535
(42.43%)
54,987
(65.82%)
64,470
(69.88%)
Disposal by Award 31
(0.05%)
133
(0.16%)
98
(0.11%)
Maintainable Complaints Rejected 35,792
(57.23%)
28,259
(33.82%)
26,905
(29.16%)
Maintainable Complaints Withdrawn 181
(0.29%)
153
(0.18%)
791
(0.86%)
Total 62,539 83,532 92,264
(Figures in brackets indicate percentage to Maintainable Complaints)

Turn Around Time for Disposal of Complaints

1.41 The time taken by BOs to dispose a complaint stood at 47 days during the year 2018-19 as compared to 53 days a year ago. The most remarkable improvement was marked with regard to complaints against recovery agents, which witnessed a reduction by 18 days, i.e., from 61 days to 43 days. The ground-wise Turn Around Time is given at Appendix XV.

Grounds for Rejection of Maintainable complaints

1.42 The grounds for rejection of maintainable complaints and their proportion to total complaints received during the year are indicated in Table 6.

Table 6 - Grounds for Rejection of Maintainable Complaints
Ground for Rejection No of Complaints Rejected
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Not on grounds of complaint (Clause 8) or not in accordance with provisions of Clause 9 (3) 31,162
(87.06%)
25,114
(89.00%)
26,447
(98.30%)
Beyond Pecuniary Jurisdiction of BO - Clause 12 (5) & (6) 152
(0.42%)
115
(0.41%)
137
(0.51%)
Requiring elaborate documentary and oral evidence - Clause 13 (c/d) 3,883
(10.85%)
2,337
(8.27%)
193
(0.72%)
Complaints without sufficient cause - Clause 13(e) 132
(0.37%)
298
(1.05%)
42
(0.16%)
Not pursued by the complainants - Clause 13(f) 440
(1.23%)
272
(0.96%)
71
(0.26%)
No loss/damage/inconvenience to the complainant- Clause 13 (g) 23
(0.06%)
123
(0.44%)
15
(0.06%)
Total 35,792 28,259 26,905
(Figures in brackets indicate percentage to Maintainable Complaints.)

1.43 As may be seen from the Table 6 above, the number of maintainable complaints rejected has come down in absolute number from 28,259 in 2017-18 to 26,905 in 2018-19. The maximum number of rejections were on the ground that the complaint was ‘not on grounds of complaint (Clause 8) or not filed in accordance with required provisions of Clause 9 (3). More rejections on this ground calls for creating greater awareness among complainants about BOS. The launch of CMS for lodgement of complaints is expected to address this issue.

1.44 The BO Scheme envisages summary disposal of complaints. As such, complaints requiring elaborate documentary and oral evidence are rejected by the BOs. Such rejections were made appealable with effect from July 1, 2017 with an objective to review these decisions at Appellate Authority level. Consequently, the number of such disposal declined from 3,883 in 2016-17 to 2,337 in 2017 –18 and 193 in 2018-19.

1.45 ‘First Resort Complaints7 (FRCs) are returned to the complainants advising them to follow the laid down procedure with a copy to the concerned bank for suitable redressal. During the year, 5.13% of the non-maintainable complaints were FRCs.

Age–wise Classification of Pending Complaints

1.46 Although the Scheme specifies no time limit for resolution of complaints by OBOs, efforts are made to resolve the same within two months. However, due to reasons such as non-submission and / or delay in submission of complete information by complainants/banks, the time taken for resolution may get extended in some cases. Of the total complaints do not remain pending as on June 30, 2019, around 12.73% were over two months old. The BOs and the PNOs of banks have been continuously advised/sensitized to ensure that complaints are not pending for more than two months. The age-wise classification of number of pending complaints is detailed at Appendix XVI. Chart XI below indicates age-wise classification of pending complaints.

Awards Issued

1.47 During the year, 98 Awards were issued by BOs. The OBO-wise position of Awards issued and implemented is indicated in Table 7.

Table 7- OBO-wise Position of Awards issued during 2018-19
OBO Awards Issued Implemented
Ahmedabad 0 0
Bangalore 2 1
Bhopal 2 2
Bhubaneswar 0 0
Chandigarh 5 0
Chennai 0 0
Dehradun 2 2
Guwahati 0 0
Hyderabad 0 0
Jaipur 0 0
Jammu 2 1
Kanpur 6 28
Kolkata 4 0
Mumbai-I 0 0
Mumbai-II 0 0
New Delhi-I 31 5
New Delhi-II 2 3
Patna 1 1
Raipur 1 0
Ranchi 29 26
Thiruvananthapuram 11 14
Total 98 838

Satisfaction Survey of Complainants

1.48 On the direction of the Central Board, the Department undertook an All India Survey through a vendor M/s Karvy Data Management Limited to gauge the level of satisfaction of complainants who approached the Banking Ombudsman for redressal of their grievance. The Survey was based on five parameters to measure the level of customer satisfaction on a scale of five, viz., (i) ease of lodging a complaint, (ii) resolving complaint in reasonable time, (iii) promoting settlement of the complaint by mediation and conciliation, (iv) escalating complaint to the Ombudsman drives the service provider to redress the complaint immediately (v) overall satisfaction with redressal. As per the findings of the survey, more than 70% of complainants were satisfied with the redressal provided by the BO. The findings of the Survey are placed at Appendix XVII.

Appeals against the Decisions of the BOs

1.49 The Deputy Governor-in-Charge of the CEPD, RBI is the designated as the Appellate Authority9 (AA) as per the provisions of the BO Scheme. CEPD provides the Secretariat to the AA. During the year, 78 appeals were received as compared to 125 appeals during the last year. Of these, 57 appeals were received from complainants who were aggrieved by the decision of the respective BOs whereas 21 were filed by the banks. With 95 appeals pending from the previous year, the AA handled 173 appeals during the year. The number of appeals disposed during the year went up substantially by 173% to 101 from 37 during 2017-18.

1.50 The position of appeals handled by the AA during the last three years and the OBO-wise position of appeals received during the year 2018-19 is given in Tables 8 and 9 respectively.

Table 8 - Position of Appeals
Particulars 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Appeals pending at the beginning 3 7 95
Appeals received during the year from complainants 7 115 57
Appeals received during the year from banks 8 10 21
Total appeals handled during the year 18 132 173
Appeal disposed during the year 11 37 101
Pending at the end of the year 7 95 72
Mode of Disposal
Appeals remanded to the BO 2 19 11
Appeals withdrawn / settled/ infructuous 3 7 21
Particulars 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Appeals rejected - 6 38
Appeals allowed 6 5 31
Appeals Disposed
i. In favour of complainant appellant 5 7 26
ii. In favour of banks 1 17 41
iii. Neither in favour of complainant appellant nor in favour of banks (Remanded back to BO / infructuous) 5 13 34

Table 9 – OBO-wise Position of Appeals Received during the Year 2018-19
OBO No of Appeals
Ahmedabad 6
Bangalore 2
Bhopal 1
Bhubaneswar 1
Chandigarh 4
Chennai 6
Dehradun 0
Guwahati 2
Hyderabad 0
Jaipur 3
Jammu 0
Kanpur 7
Kolkata 1
Mumbai-I 3
Mumbai-II 0
New Delhi-I 18
New Delhi-II 12
Patna 0
Raipur 1
Ranchi 1
Thiruvananthapuram 10
Total 78

Chapter 2
THE OMBUDSMAN SCHEME FOR NON-BANKING FINANCIAL COMPANIES, 2018

2.1 RBI, in exercise of the powers under Section 45L of the RBI Act, 1934, introduced the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC-O Scheme) on February 23, 2018. The objective of the Scheme is to provide a system of Ombudsman for redressal of complaints of customers of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) pertaining to deficiency in service by the NBFCs. The Scheme is applicable to NBFCs10 which (a) are authorized to accept deposits; or (b) have customer interface, with assets size of ₹100 crore or above, as on the date of the audited balance sheet of the previous financial year, or with any such asset size as the RBI may prescribe.

2.2 The Scheme was initially operationalized for all deposit taking NBFCs in the country. Upon review, it was decided to extend its coverage to Non-Deposit Taking NBFCs having customer interface, with assets size of ₹100 crore or above with effect from April 26, 2019.

2.3 The Non-Banking Financial Company - Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC), Core Investment Company (CIC), Infrastructure Debt Fund-Non-Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) and NBFCs under liquidation, are excluded from the ambit of the Scheme. The Scheme is being administered from the offices of the NBFC-Os in four metro centers viz. Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi for handling complaints from the respective zones, so as to cover the entire country.

Number of NBFCs and complaints received by NBFC-Os

2.4 The position of complaints received by four offices of NBFC-Os is given in Table 10 below. Annualizing the 675 complaints received in the four months of 2017-18, it could be observed that the complaints against NBFCs have nearly doubled this year vis-à-vis last year.

Table 10 - Complaints Received by NBFC-Os
NBFC-O No of Deposit Taking NBFCs 2017-18 2018-19 Y-o-Y Growth%
Chennai 42
139 1124 708.63
(23.33) (20.59) (28.16)
Kolkata 5
70 513 632.86
(2.78) (10.37) (12.85)
Mumbai 13
343 995 190.09
(7.22) (50.81) (24.93)
New Delhi 120
123 1359 1004.88
(66.67) (18.22) (34.05)
Total 180 675 3991 491.26
(Figures in brackets show % share to total)

2.5 NBFC-O New Delhi accounted for 34.05% of the complaints received followed by Chennai (28.16%), Mumbai (24.93%) and Kolkata (12.85%).

Ground-wise distribution of complaints

2.6 Complaints are classified into broad categories based on the grounds of complaints specified under Clause 8 of the Scheme. The ground-wise distribution of complaints received by NBFC-Os is given in the Table 11 below:

Table 11 - Ground wise distribution of Complaints
Complaint Category 2017-18 2018-19
Non-Adherence to Fair Practices Code 338 1,614
Not Covered under the Clause 8 of the Scheme 73 380
Non-Observance RBI directions to NBFC 58 687
Levying of Charges without Notice 26 504
Delay in Repayment of Deposits 18 131
No Transparency in Contract/Loan 16 366
Delay in release of securities/documents 7 72
No Communication about Loan Sanctioned 5 107
Non-understandable or No Adequate Notice on terms and conditions 4 57
Non-understandable or Sanction Letter/Terms 3 45
Delay in Payment of Interest 2 20
Other Categories 125 8
Total 675 3,991

2.7 With 40.44% of the total complaints received, non-adherence to the fair practices code was the major category of complaints received in the offices of NBFC-Os followed by non-Observance RBI directions to NBFCs at 17.21%, levying of charges without notice (12.63%), lack of transparency in contract/loan (9.17%).

Disposal of Complaints

2.8 NBFC-Os handled 4,022 complaints during the year disposing 99.10% of the complaints by the end of June 2019. The detailed position of complaints disposed is given below at Table 12.

Table 12 - Disposal of Complaints by NBFC-O
  2017-18 2018-19
Pending at the Beginning 0 31
Complaints Received 675 3,991
Complaints Handled 675 4,022
Disposed of during the year 644 3,986
Rate of Disposal (%) 95.41% 99.10%
Complaints Pending as on June 30, 2018/2019 31 36
Age-wise Pendency  
Complaints Pending for less than one month 26 25
Complaints Pending for one to two months 3 10
Complaints Pending for two to three months 2 1

Mode of Disposal of Maintainable Complaints

2.9 The complaints which pertain to any of the grounds of complaints specified under Clause 8 of the Scheme or categorized as maintainable complaints and their mode of disposal is indicated in Table 13 below:

Table 13 - Mode of disposal of maintainable complaints by NBFC-O
  2017-18 2018-19
Maintainable Complaints 118 939
Mode of Disposal
Mutual Settlement/agreement 93
(78.81)
742
(79.02)
Awards Issued 0 0
Rejected 25
(21.19)
197
(20.97)
(Figures in brackets indicate percentage to Maintainable Complaints.)

2.10 Conforming to the inherent objective laid down in Clause 11 of the Scheme, 79.02% of the Maintainable complaints were resolved by conciliation and mediation. No Award was passed by the NBFC Ombudsman during the year.

NBFC-O wise position of complaints disposed (2018-19)

2.11 The status of complaints received in the offices of NBFC-O is given in Table 14 below:

Table 14 - Office-wise Position of NBFC-O Complaints
NBFC-O Pending at the end of the year Complaints Received Complaints Handled Complaints Disposed Pending at the end of the year Rate of Disposal
Chennai 0 1,124 1,124 1,121 3 99.73%
Kolkata 1 513 514 514 0 100.00%
Mumbai 25 995 1,020 1,008 12 98.82%
New Delhi 5 1,359 1,364 1,343 21 98.46%
Total 31 3,991 4,022 3,986 36 99.10%

NBFC- wise list of complaints received is given in the Annex V.

Appeals

2.12 The Scheme provides the appellate mechanism under which both, the complainant as well as the NBFC, can appeal against the decision or Award of the BO to the Appellate Authority designated under the Scheme, provided the complaint is closed under the appealable clauses of the Scheme, i.e. against Award under Clause 12 allowing the complaint or rejecting the complaint for the reasons referred to in Sub Clauses (c) to (f) of Clause 13. The Deputy Governor-in-Charge of the CEPD is the designated Appellate Authority. The secretarial assistance to the Appellate Authority is provided by CEPD. Only one appeal against the decision of the Ombudsman has been received which is being processed.


Chapter 3
Complaints received in RBI through other sources

Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System

3.1 Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) is an initiative of Government of India which provides an alternate channel to public to lodge their complaints with regulators. The CPGRAMS portal has been developed by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances of Government of India. Government Departments and banks are subordinate offices in this portal, to receive and redress complaints. CEPD is the Nodal Office for RBI and OBOs are subordinate offices.

3.2 A comparative position of the complaints received through this portal and handled by OBOs during the last three years is given at Appendix XVIII. During 2018-19, the complaints received through this portal went up by 115.44% from 149 in the previous year to 321.

Applications Received under Right to Information Act, 2005

3.3 The BOs are the Central Public Information Officers under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) to receive applications and furnish information relating to complaints handled by the OBOs. During the year, 829 RTI applications were received by all OBOs. The OBO-wise position of such applications received during the last three years is detailed at Appendix XIX.


Chapter 4
Important Developments and Way Forward

4.1 During the year under review, in order to provide platform of grievance redressal to the customers of Payment System Participants, the RBI launched a new Scheme christened as Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT). Further, the existing NBFC Ombudsman Scheme was reviewed and its coverage was extended to include those Non-Deposit Taking NBFCs who have an asset size of Rs.100.00 crore or more. The ease of filing complaints was enhanced significantly by the launch of CMS. The thrust on awareness was also enhanced. The Annual Conference of Ombudsman was organized on the theme of ‘Consumer Protection beyond Boundaries’.

Launch of the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT)

4.2 The OSDT, announced in the Monetary Policy Statement of December 5, 2018, was launched on January 31, 2019. The Scheme has been launched in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. It provides a cost-free and expeditious complaint redressal mechanism for redressal of complaints pertaining to deficiency in service related to digital transactions provided by the System Participants defined under the Scheme. Complaints relating to digital transactions undertaken through banks continue to be handled under the Banking Ombudsman Scheme. The offices of Ombudsman for Digital Transactions (ODT) are functioning from all the existing OBOs. The Scheme also provides for an Appellate mechanism under which the complainant / System Participant has the option to appeal against the decision of the ODT before the Appellate Authority, which is vested with the Deputy Governor in charge of CEPD.

Extension of the NBFC-O Scheme to Non-Deposit Taking NBFCs

4.3 RBI had launched the NBFC-O Scheme on February 23, 2018 for deposit-taking NBFCs registered with RBI. The Scheme was to be extended to remaining identified categories of NBFCs based on experience gained. Upon review, it was decided to extend the coverage of NBFC-O Scheme to Non-Deposit Taking NBFCs having customer interface, with assets size of ₹100 crore or above with effect from April 26, 2019.The Non-Banking Financial Company - Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC), Core Investment Company (CIC), Infrastructure Debt Fund-Non-Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) and NBFCs under liquidation, are excluded from the ambit of the Scheme. The Scheme is being administered from the offices of the NBFC-Os in four metro centers viz. Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi for handling complaints from the respective zones, so as to cover the entire country.

Launch of Complaint Management System (CMS)

4.4 CMS, which is a web-based software for consumers, RBI users at Ombudsman offices, CEPCs, CEPD and regulated entity users for enabling end-to-end complaints management was launched by Governor, RBI on June 24, 2019. This system provides a single platform available on web and mobile for lodging and monitoring complaints against entities regulated by RBI. It has replaced the Complaint Tracking System which was launched in the year 2006 and was limited only to BOS as the other Schemes were launched recently. CMS application features workflow and integration amongst Ombudsman verticals, CEPCs, CEPD and regulated entities, as well as communication channels (e-mail and SMS) to digitize end-to-end complaint management process. It provides real time status of complaints at pan-India level and has advance management information dashboards which will improve the operational efficiency of offices by enabling online handling and monitoring of complaints, thereby reducing the turnaround time. It also has a comprehensive e-learning based consumer education material to enhance awareness related to financial services and consumer rights.

Awareness Initiatives

4.5 During 2018-19, the Reserve Bank conducted country-wide awareness campaigns through print and electronic media on various topics such as fictitious offers, BSBD Accounts, banking facilities for senior citizens and differently-abled persons and safe digital banking. The Reserve Bank’s SMS handle ‘RBISAY’ was also extensively used for sending text messages on such topics across India. An IVRS was made available to the public for obtaining information on these and other awareness initiatives of the Reserve Bank. During the year, the offices of BO also conducted 259 Town Hall/ awareness/ outreach programs, mainly in Tier II cities.

Opening of third Ombudsman Office at New Delhi

4.6 The Reserve Bank has set up a third office of the BO and ODT at RBI, New Delhi (New Delhi-III) with a view to meet the growing demand for resolution under the BOS and the OSDT. This office became operational with effect from July 1, 2019. With addition of this Office, the RBI has now 22 Ombudsman Offices in the country.

Annual Conference of Banking Ombudsmen (BOs)

4.7 Annual conference of RBI Ombudsmen was held at Mumbai on June 21, 2019. The theme of the Conference was ‘Consumer Protection beyond Boundaries’. It was inaugurated by Shri M.K. Jain, Deputy Governor (DG), RBI. Smt. Surekha Marandi, the then Executive Director (ED), RBI, Smt. Malavika Sinha, ED, RBI, MDs / CEOs of major public, private and foreign banks, heads of regulatory and supervisory departments, Legal Department of RBI attended the Conference.

4.8 Smt. Surekha Marandi, ED in her address complemented the Ombudsmen on achieving a high rate of disposal of 96.46% during 2017-18. She counselled all stakeholders to be prepared to meet the challenges of rising consumer expectation in the era of technology driven faceless banking.

4.9 In his inaugural address, DG, while highlighting the achievements in grievance redressal and consumer protection spelled out his expectations from the Ombudsmen and impressed upon the need for creating greater awareness. He also exhorted the banks to ensure that their internal grievance redressal mechanisms were strengthened.

4.10 Shri D Sethy, Chief General Manager (CGM), CEPD read out the keynote address of Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI. The message outlined five areas of priority for further strengthening consumer protection viz. (i) Approach to grievance redressal to be simple, accessible, through dynamic channels, with periodic updation (ii) Consumer protection to be discussed in international fora of ombudsmen and Central Banks (iii) higher investment on financial education (iv) periodic review of system and procedures in ombudsman offices with training and capacity building of staff and (v) near real time fraud mitigation and complaint resolution to enhance customers’ trust in digital transactions. Governor, through the message, reiterated that consumer must find a place in the business policies of banks and FSPs and urged them to own their customers.

4.11 The conference deliberated on (i) best practices in consumer protection with perspectives across geographies and (ii) digital innovation in a financial space - need for a robust consumer protection framework. Dignitaries from overseas ombudsman offices like United Kingdom and South Africa and Head, Consumer Protection, Organization for Economic Protection and Development also participated and shared their perspective. The action points of the Conference have been taken up for implementation.

Review of Internal Ombudsman Mechanism in Banks

4.12 The RBI had, in May 2015, advised all public-sector and select private and foreign banks to appoint Internal Ombudsman (IO) as an independent authority to review complaints that were partially or wholly rejected by the banks. RBI revisited this arrangement and in September 2018, issued revised directions under Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 in the form of an ‘Internal Ombudsman Scheme, 2018’. The Scheme covers, inter-alia, appointment / tenure, roles and responsibilities, procedural guidelines and oversight mechanism for the IOs. All Scheduled Commercial Banks in India having more than ten banking outlets (excluding Regional Rural Banks), are required to appoint one or more IO. The IO is required to examine all customer complaints, which are in the nature of deficiency in customer service and are partly or wholly rejected by the bank. As the banks are required to internally escalate all complaints which are not fully redressed to their IOs before conveying the final decision to the complainant, the customers of banks need not approach the IO directly. The implementation of IO Scheme is to be monitored through the bank’s internal audit mechanism apart from supervisory oversight by RBI.

Way Forward

4.13 The way forward for CEPD is delineated in RBI’s medium-term strategy framework – ‘Utkarsh 2022’ – announced by the Governor, RBI on July 23, 2019.

4.14 Formulate policy to strengthen the system based on Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of major areas of complaint: Offices of Ombudsman and CEPC had undertaken RCA of the major areas of complaint. The study revealed that the major reasons for complaints arise from lack of customer awareness regarding RBI instructions and safe banking practices, lack of sensitization regarding customer protection among front desk staff of banks, instances of non-implementation of RBI instructions and variation in practices adopted by banks in areas where detailed guidance is not listed in the extant regulations. The findings of the RCA are being examined for necessary regulatory and supervisory action with an objective of strengthening consumer protection among the entities regulated by RBI.

4.15 Conduct review of CEPCs for empowering them on the lines of Banking Ombudsman: The CEPCs redress complaints that do not fall under the ambit of Ombudsman Schemes of RBI. However, unlike the case of Ombudsmen, there is no explicit ground, pecuniary jurisdiction or power to issue Award by CEPCs. The feasibility of empowering the CEPCs is being examined.

4.16 Review Internal Ombudsman Scheme for extension to NBFCs: It is proposed to strengthen the internal grievance redressal mechanism of the NBFCs on the basis of experience gained in implementing the Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs. The review for extending the IO Scheme to NBFCs will be undertaken in due course.

4.17 Review of the Ombudsman Scheme for effective implementation, including through convergence: With the launch of the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, RBI is administering three different Ombudsman Schemes. Since there is a need to converge the three schemes into one, the CEPD will undertake a review during the coming year.

4.18 Operationalizing IVRS: The IVRS will be integrated to CMS to provide online voice support to the customers. The work will be completed during 2019-20.

4.19 Creating consumer awareness through multi-pronged strategy: The education initiative of CEPD will be two-pronged, i.e. physical and digital. With the CEPCs and OBOs continuing with the existing Town Hall, Outreach / awareness and other innovative methods to sensitize the customers in their respective jurisdiction, CEPD will undertake multimedia publicity campaign during the year 2019-20.


Annex - I

Important Notifications Relating to Customer Service issued by the RBI in 2018-19

July 2, 2018 Master Circular – Facility for Exchange of Notes and Coins (RBI/2018-19/3 DCM (NE) No. G-2/08.07.18/2018-19): The Master Circular has inter alia mandated banks to issue fresh / good quality notes and coins of all denominations on demand, exchange soiled / mutilated / defective notes, and accept coins and notes either for transactions or exchange. All branches should provide the facilities to members of public without any discrimination on all working days. None of the bank branches should refuse to accept small denomination notes and / or coins tendered at their counters.
July 3, 2018 Master Circular – Scheme of Penalties for bank branches based on performance in rendering customer service to the members of public (RBI/2018-19/11DCM (CC) No. G-4/03.44.01/2018–19): The Scheme of Penalties for bank branches including currency chests has been formulated in order to ensure that all bank branches provide better customer service to members of public with regard to exchange of notes and coins, in keeping with the objectives of Clean Note Policy. Penalties may be imposed on banks for deficiencies in exchange of notes and coins / remittances sent to RBI / operations of currency chests etc.
July 12, 2018 Incorporation of Name of the Purchaser on the Face of the Demand Draft (RBI/2018-19/14 DBR.AML.BC. No.210/ 14.01.001/ 2018-19): In order to address the concerns arising out of the anonymity provided by payments through demand drafts and its possible misuse for money laundering, it has been decided that the name of the purchaser be incorporated on the face of the demand draft, pay order, banker’s cheque, etc., by the issuing bank.
October 16, 2018 Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) – Guidelines for Interoperability (RBI/2018-19/61 DPSS.CO.PD.No.808/02.14.006/ 2018-19): In order to prepare better for implementation of interoperability, consolidated guidelines for enabling all phases are enclosed in the circular. Participating PPI issuers, who choose to adopt interoperability shall ensure adherence to the enclosed guidelines, in addition to the instructions on KYC, security for transactions and application life cycle, cyber security, fraud prevention and risk management as laid down in the Master Direction. Further, all participating PPI issuers shall be guided by the technical specifications / standards / requirements for achieving interoperability through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and card networks as per the requirements of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the respective card networks. NPCI and card networks shall facilitate participation by PPI issuers in UPI and card networks.
November 15, 2018 Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System - Implementation of Positive Confirmation (RBI/2018-19/76DPSS(CO) RTGS No.1049/ 04.04.016/2018-19): The National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system provides for sending a positive confirmation to the remitter of the funds regarding completion of the funds transfer, thus giving an assurance to the remitter that the funds have been successfully credited to the beneficiary account. Banks have been advised to provide the same facility to the remitter of funds under the RTGS system as well.
January 4, 2019 Customer Protection – Limiting Liability of Customers in Unauthorised Electronic Payment Transactions in Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) issued by Authorised Non-banks (RBI/2018-19/101DPSS.CO.PD.No.1417/02.14.006/2018-19): With a view to further strengthen customer protection for the PPIs which are issued by entities other than banks, the criteria for determining the customers’ liability in unauthorised electronic payment transactions resulting in debit to their PPIs have been reviewed. A customer’s liability arising out of an unauthorised payment transaction will be limited as below:

Customer liability in case of unauthorised electronic payment transactions through a PPI
S.No. Particulars Maximum Liability of Customer
(a) Contributory fraud / negligence / deficiency on the part of the PPI issuer, including PPI-MTS issuer (irrespective of whether or not the transaction is reported by the customer) Zero
(b) Third party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the PPI issuer nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the PPI issuer regarding the unauthorised payment transaction. The per transaction customer liability in such cases will depend on the number of days lapsed between the receipt of transaction communication by the customer from the PPI issuer and the reporting of unauthorised transaction by the customer to the PPI issuer -  
  i. Within three days# Zero
  ii. Within four to seven days# Transaction value or ₹ 10,000/- per transaction, whichever is lower
  iii. Beyond seven days# As per the Board approved policy of the PPI issuer
(c) In cases where the loss is due to negligence by a customer, such as where he / she has shared the payment credentials, the customer will bear the entire loss until he / she reports the unauthorised transaction to the PPI issuer. Any loss occurring after the reporting of the unauthorised transaction shall be borne by the PPI issuer.
(d) PPI issuers may also, at their discretion, decide to waive off any customer liability in case of unauthorised electronic payment transactions even in cases of customer negligence.
# The number of days mentioned above shall be counted excluding the date of receiving the communication from the PPI issuer.
May 28, 2019 Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System – Extension of Timings for Customer Transactions (RBI/2018-19/189 DPSS (CO) RTGS No. 2488/04.04.016/2018-19): The timings for customer transactions (initial cut-off) in RTGS was extended from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. Accordingly, the RTGS time window with effect from June 01, 2019 is as under:

Sr. No. Event Time
1. Open for Business 08:00 hours
2. Customer transactions (Initial Cut-off) 18:00 hours
3. Inter-bank transactions (Final Cut-off) 19:45 hours
4. IDL Reversal 19:45 hours - 20:00 hours
5. End of Day 20:00 hours

The time-varying charges for transactions in RTGS from 13:00 hours to 18:00 hours shall be ₹ 5 per outward transaction. The time varying charges structure is as under:

Sr. No. Time of Settlement at the Reserve Bank of India Time varying charge per outward transaction (in addition to flat processing charge) (exclusive of tax, if any)
From To
1 08:00 hours 11:00 hours Nil
2 After 11:00 hours 13:00 hours ₹ 2.00
3 After 13:00 hours 18:00 hours ₹ 5.00
4 After 18:00 hours   ₹ 10.00
May 29, 2019 Amendment to Master Direction (MD) on KYC (RBI/2018- 19/190 DBR.AML.BC. No.39/14.01.001/2018-19): Important changes carried out in the Master Direction in accordance with the amendments are listed hereunder:

a) Banks have been allowed to carry out Aadhaar authentication/ offline-verification of an individual who voluntarily uses his Aadhaar number for identification purpose. (Section 16 of the amended MD on KYC)

b) ‘Proof of possession of Aadhaar number’ has been added to the list of Officially Valid Documents (OVD) with a proviso that where the customer submits ‘Proof of possession of Aadhaar number’ as OVD, he may submit it in such form as are issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). (Section 3 of the amended MD)

c) For customer identification of “individuals”:

i) For individual desirous of receiving any benefit or subsidy under any scheme notified under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, the bank shall obtain the customer’s Aadhaar and may carry out its e-KYC authentication based on his declaration that he is desirous of receiving benefit / subsidy under the Aadhaar Act, 2016. (Section 16 of the amended MD)

ii) For non-DBT beneficiary customers, the Regulated Entities (REs) shall obtain a certified copy of any OVD containing details of his identity and address along with one recent photograph. (Section 16 of the amended MD)

d) REs shall ensure that the customers (non-DBT beneficiaries) while submitting Aadhaar for Customer Due Diligence, redact or blackout their Aadhaar number in terms of Sub-Rule 16 of Rule 9 of the amended PML Rules, 2005. (Section 16 of the amended MD)

e) REs other than banks may identify a customer through offline verification under the Aadhaar Act with his/her consent. (Section 16 of the amended MD)

f) In case OVD furnished by the client does not contain updated address, certain deemed OVDs for the limited purpose of proof of address can be submitted provided that the OVD updated with current address is submitted within 3 months. (Section 3(a) ix of the amended MD)

g) For non-individual customers, PAN/Form No. 60 of the entity (for companies and Partnership firms – only PAN) shall be obtained apart from other entity related documents. The PAN/Form No. 60 of the authorised signatories shall also be obtained. (Section 30-33)

h) For existing bank account holders, PAN or Form No. 60 is to be submitted within such timelines as may be notified by the Government, failing which account shall be subject to temporary ceasing till PAN or Form No. 60 is submitted. However, before temporarily ceasing operations for an account RE shall give the customer an accessible notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard. (Section 39 of the amended MD)
June 10, 2019 Financial Inclusion- Access to Banking Services – Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) (RBI/2018-19/206 DBR.LEG.BC.No.47/ 09.07.005/ 2018-19): Banks advised to offer the following basic minimum facilities in the BSBD Account, free of charge, without any requirement of minimum balance:

i) The deposit of cash at bank branch as well as ATMs/CDMs;

ii) Receipt/ credit of money through any electronic channel or by means of deposit /collection of cheques drawn by Central / State Government agencies and departments;

iii) No limit on number and value of deposits that can be made in a month;

iv) Minimum of four withdrawals in a month, including ATM withdrawals;

v) ATM Card or ATM-cum-Debit Card;

Further, Banks are free to provide additional value-added services, including issue of cheque book, beyond the above minimum facilities, which may/may not be priced (in non-discriminatory manner) subject to disclosure.
June 11, 2019 National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems – Waiver of charges (RBI/2018-2019/208 DPSS (CO) RPPD No.2557/04.03.01/2018-19): The RBI reviewed the various charges levied by it on the member banks for transactions processed in the RTGS and NEFT systems. In order to provide an impetus to digital funds movement, it was decided that with effect from July 1, 2019, processing charges and time varying charges levied on banks by RBI for outward transactions undertaken using the RTGS system, as also the processing charges levied by RBI for transactions processed in NEFT system will be waived by the Reserve Bank. The banks were advised to pass on the benefits to their customers for undertaking transactions using the RTGS and NEFT systems with effect from July 1, 2019.
June 14, 2019 Security Measures for ATMs (RBI/ 2018-19/214 DCM (Plg.) No. 2968/ 10.25.007/ 2018-19): Certain measures aimed at mitigating risks in ATM operations and enhancing security, are listed below were introduced:

i) All ATMs shall be operated for cash replenishment only with digital One Time Combination (OTC) locks.

ii) All ATMs shall be grouted to a structure (wall, pillar, floor, etc.) by September 30, 2019, except for ATMs installed in highly secured premises such as airports, etc. which have adequate CCTV coverage and are guarded by state / central security personnel.

iii) Banks may also consider rolling out a comprehensive e-surveillance mechanism at the ATMs to ensure timely alerts and quick response.

The above measures shall be implemented in addition to the existing instructions, practices and guidance issued by RBI and law enforcement agencies. Non-adherence of timelines / non-observance shall attract regulatory action including levy of penalty.
June 26, 2019 Acceptance of coins (RBI/2018-19/223 DCM (NE) No.3057/ 08.07.18/ 2018-19): The RBI continues to receive complaints about non-acceptance of coins by bank branches, causing considerable inconvenience to the public at large. Therefore, once again all the banks were advised to immediately direct all branches to accept coins of all denominations tendered at their counters for transactions or exchange and ensure strict compliance in the matter.

ANNEX II-STATEMENT OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY THE OFFICES OF THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN (2018-19)

Bank Name Total Num ber of Com plai nts
Rece ived
Other
than Cre dit / Debit Card Comp laint per
1000 acco unts
Credit / Debit Card Comp laint s per 1000 Credit / Debit Card
Acco unts
Comp laint per Bra nch Dep osit Acc ount Remi tta nce Loa ns And Adv ance Loans And Adva nce- Hou sing Loans And Adva nce- Gen eral Atm/ Debit Card Credit Card Mo bile Ban king
/ Elec tronic
Ban king
Levy of Cha rges Wit hout Prior No tice Pens ion Para- Ban king Fail ure of Com mit ment to BCSBI
Code
Non- Obs erva nce of Fair Pra ctices Fail ure On Com mit ments Notes And Coins DSA
and Rec ove ry Ag ent
Out Of Sub ject Oth ers
Scheduled Commercial Banks 182149 0.06 0.06 1.43 8866 3379 6327 1953 4374 35282 13747 15363 8243 6982 1036 5554 34925 12667 392 598 3920 24868
Public Sector Banks
STATE BANK OF INDIA 59522 0.08 0.05 2.69 2925 1047 1801 635 1166 13270 3545 5465 2245 3747 282 1877 11185 3296 96 88 1183 7470
ALLAHABAD BANK 2429 0.03 0.11 0.75 115 67 97 22 75 642 6 181 47 113 12 60 540 161 6 3 103 276
ANDHRA BANK 1943 0.03 0.02 0.67 72 51 60 19 41 456 51 132 42 55 6 230 314 96 1 3 195 179
BANK OF BARODA 9385 0.08 0.03 0.99 515 271 396 112 284 2015 147 742 399 302 54 192 1911 876 24 15 236 1290
BANK OF INDIA 5226 0.04 0.03 1.02 241 96 163 38 125 1195 60 522 184 312 25 135 1080 468 19 6 110 610
BANK OF MAHARASHTRA 1128 0.03 0.04 0.62 37 15 29 7 22 205 5 86 34 16 1 24 501 45 2 1 18 109
CANARA BANK 5997 0.06 0.06 0.95 498 126 187 25 162 1145 62 394 218 347 28 400 1215 374 14 7 142 840
CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA 3865 0.04 0.04 0.83 124 81 201 51 150 891 18 237 111 508 29 91 618 256 12 7 139 542
CORPORATION BANK 2924 0.07 0.13 1.19 171 51 122 41 81 869 26 186 84 18 5 70 608 159 7 4 70 474
INDIAN BANK 2334 0.04 0.04 0.82 99 35 119 5 114 620 17 203 49 74 2 64 596 153 3 3 42 255
INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK 2491 0.05 0.04 0.76 92 44 103 13 90 591 15 200 95 78 5 64 711 151 5 4 41 292
ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE 2396 0.04 0.07 1 131 47 86 28 58 741 10 172 127 41 14 61 279 198 4 2 66 417
PUNJAB AND SIND BANK 761 0.06 0.07 0.50 37 15 39 7 32 151 6 61 26 41 4 17 98 86 4 2 19 155
PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK 10791 0.07 0.14 1.64 485 229 315 85 230 2821 133 917 328 772 49 190 1633 825 36 17 195 1846
SYNDICATE BANK 1989 0.04 0.04 0.49 92 32 111 22 89 342 12 127 75 194 7 62 426 131 7 3 67 301
UCO BANK 2252 0.01 0.07 0.73 123 57 93 24 69 533 7 262 50 151 14 76 399 153 9 3 56 266
UNION BANK OF INDIA 4523 0.05 0.08 1.05 196 96 127 35 92 1326 51 524 119 83 20 113 998 291 10 5 99 465
UNITED BANK OF INDIA 1321 0.02 0.04 0.66 51 40 48 19 29 306 1 66 27 75 12 33 406 81 14 1 34 126
Total 121277 0.05 0.05 1.38 6004 2400 4097 1188 2909 28119 4172 10477 4260 6927 569 3759 23518 7800 273 174 2815 15913
Private Sector Banks
AXIS BANK LIMITED 10010 0.19 0.08 2.43 559 148 341 144 197 1321 1094 841 903 14 95 314 1816 846 24 73 176 1445
BANDHAN BANK LIMITED 300 0.01 0.02 0.07 20 4 11 1 10 66 1 14 8 0 2 8 71 20 1 2 17 55
CATHOLIC SYRIAN BANK LTD 109 0.04 0.04   3 1 2 0 2 22 1 5 17 0 1 1 19 16 0 0 9 12
CITY UNION BANK LIMITED 221 0.04 0.02 0.35 8 3 12 3 9 42 1 29 14 1 0 5 68 12 0 0 4 22
DCB BANK LIMITED 443 0.30 0.06 1.33 17 3 32 12 20 37 4 6 30 0 4 17 168 43 0 0 8 74
DHANALAKSHMI BANK LTD 69 0.03 0.02 0.28 3 2 3 1 2 8 1 2 8 0 0 1 26 4 0 0 4 7
FEDERAL BANK LTD 680 0.05 0.04 0.54 19 11 31 10 21 205 3 59 53 0 5 10 134 65 1 0 31 53
HDFC BANK LTD. 15105 0.17 0.11 3.03 499 221 545 212 333 1396 3123 1030 989 14 136 393 2763 1468 28 151 246 2103
ICICI BANK LIMITED 11257 0.11 0.06 2.30 601 223 427 201 226 1509 1388 1260 650 11 99 331 1985 751 22 51 192 1757
IDBI BANK LIMITED 2484 0.15 0.04 1.24 116 51 102 50 52 471 20 147 202 2 14 70 699 157 8 2 56 367
IDFC BANK LIMITED 524 0.13 0.05 1.37 28 11 60 20 40 71 4 20 31 1 2 38 112 24 1 4 6 111
INDUSIND BANK LTD 2521 0.20 0.11 1.54 88 45 84 13 71 243 434 107 146 2 47 61 654 206 7 15 38 344
JAMMU AND KASHMIR BANK LTD 439 0.02 0.05 0.47 18 9 10 3 7 188 15 27 12 1 3 5 43 14 0 0 43 51
KARNATAKA BANK LTD 407 0.03 0.03 0.49 14 4 13 2 11 125 2 36 43 0 0 17 52 33 1 0 7 60
KARUR VYSYA BANK LTD 451 0.04 0.03 0.56 22 1 14 0 14 89 1 39 39 0 1 17 114 33 1 3 17 60
KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LTD. 4951 0.39 0.08 3.29 295 75 222 32 190 515 658 321 376 4 25 186 915 387 11 53 71 837
LAKSHMI VILAS BANK LTD 184 0.05 0.03 0.32 11 2 12 1 11 37 0 12 7 0 0 5 61 14 0 2 4 17
NAINITAL BANK LTD 55 0.04 0.00 0.40 5 1 1 0 1 14 0 4 4 0 0 0 10 5 0 1 0 10
RATNAKAR BANK LTD 2255 0.18 0.89 6.85 46 8 23 3 20 81 1134 76 69 1 5 49 321 108 2 35 33 264
SOUTH INDIAN BANK LTD 306 0.03 0.02 0.33 9 2 13 0 13 63 2 35 32 0 0 8 49 41 0 0 21 31
TAMILNAD MERCANTILE BANK LTD 181 0.03 0.02 0.35 5 1 11 4 7 22 1 21 14 1 0 9 69 14 2 2 0 9
YES BANK LTD. 1970 0.38 0.12 1.75 101 54 98 12 86 242 133 154 165 1 13 49 376 215 8 9 22 330
Total 54922 0.13 0.08 1.71 2487 880 2067 724 1343 6767 8020 4245 3812 53 452 1594 10525 4476 117 403 1005 8019
Payment Banks
ADITYA BIRLA IDEA PAYMENTS BANK LIMITED 2 NA 0.00 NA 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
AIRTEL PAYMENTS BANK LIMITED 426 NA 0.02 NA 37 17 0 0 0 18 1 160 6 0 2 7 63 29 0 1 10 75
FINO PAYMENTS BANK LIMITED 25 NA 0.01 NA 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 4 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 1 3 4
INDIA POST PAYMENTS BANK LIMITED 79 NA 0.00 0.12 5 1 0 0 0 24 0 1 2 0 0 4 11 12 0 0 3 16
PAYTM PAYMENTS BANK LIMITED 834 NA 0.00 NA 45 31 1 1 0 50 4 277 10 0 1 24 103 72 0 2 18 196
Total 1366       87 49 2 1 1 97 6 442 18 0 4 35 183 113 0 4 34 292
Small Finance Banks
AU SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 164 0.23 0.01 0.51 6 1 40 5 35 12 0 2 9 0 0 4 26 22 0 4 5 33
CAPITAL SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 9 0.02 0.01 0.07 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0
EQUITAS SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 91 0.04 0.00 0.13 8 0 4 2 2 1 0 6 10 0 1 2 37 7 0 2 1 12
ESAF SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 14 NA 0.00 0.06 0 0 3 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 1 0 1 0 2
FINCARE SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 17 NA 0.00 0.04 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 0 0 2 4
JANA SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 38 NA 0.01 0.16 2 0 3 1 2 2 0 0 2 0 1 7 9 4 0 0 1 7
UJJIVAN SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 40 0.01 0.00 0.09 2 1 2 0 2 6 0 1 1 0 0 1 11 7 0 0 0 8
UTKARSH SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED 15 0.03 0.01 0.03 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 1 0 0 3 2
Total 388 0.04 0.00 0.13 19 3 53 8 45 28 0 11 24 0 2 16 98 46 0 7 13 68
Foreign Banks
AB BANK LIMITED 9 8.18 0.00 9 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0
AMERICAN EXPRESS BANKING CORP. 175 0.05 0.07 175 6 0 1 0 1 1 106 2 4 0 0 7 20 11 0 1 2 14
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP L 2 4.34 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
BANK OF AMERICA N.T. AND S.A. 8 0.65 0.00 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1
BANK OF BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT B.S.C. 4 0.20 0.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
BARCLAYS BANK PLC 54 5.87 8.82 9 3 0 3 0 3 0 23 0 2 0 0 2 10 1 0 0 1 9
BNP PARIBAS 4 0.76 0.00 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
CHINATRUST COMMERCIAL BANK 1 0.00 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CITIBANK N.A 1200 0.15 0.12 34 82 14 16 4 12 60 472 93 28 0 2 38 148 64 1 3 13 166
DBS BANK LTD. 171 0.15 0.02 7 18 0 1 1 0 52 4 22 3 0 1 14 28 10 0 0 1 17
DEUTSCHE BANK AG 94 0.27 0.04 NA 6 4 10 2 8 4 1 1 7 0 2 6 27 8 0 0 0 18
DOHA BANK QSC 3 0.17 0.00 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
EMIRATES NBD BANK (P.J.S.C.) 1 0.00 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPN.LTD. 534 0.27 0.19 21 38 5 17 5 12 16 216 12 13 0 0 38 80 29 0 1 8 61
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 1 0.08 0.00 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MASHREQ BANK PSC 1 3.56 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
QATAR NATIONAL BANK SAQ 1 32.26 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND 63 6.34 0.00 NA 3 1 2 0 2 0 34 0 2 0 0 3 10 1 0 0 2 5
SHINHAN BANK 1 0.05 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK 1867 0.59 0.36 19 110 18 58 20 38 136 688 56 69 2 4 42 267 105 1 5 25 281
SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION 1 0.61 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ LTD 1 0.15 0.00 NA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Total 4196 0.24 0.15 18 269 47 108 32 76 271 1549 188 129 2 9 150 601 232 2 10 53 576
Primary Urban Cooperative Banks 669       31 11 15 8 7 100 2 34 23 0 2 15 349 41 2 3 13 28
Regional Rural Banks 2991       145 40 152 26 126 583 12 151 77 16 9 88 1022 225 8 3 140 320
Others 10092       283 113 432 192 240 433 121 312 190 62 76 343 1406 610 48 50 2581 3032

Annex III - NBFC- wise list of complaints received during 2018-19

NBFC 2017-18 2018-19
Bajaj Finance Ltd. [Formerly: Bajaj Auto Finance Ltd.] 226 1314
Fullerton India Credit Company Limited 26 155
Capital First Ltd. (Old Name Future Capital Holdings Ltd.) 28 100
HDB Financial Services Limited 20 87
Shriram City Union Finance Limited 14 82
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited 3 68
Tata Capital Financial Services Limited 6 61
Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited 16 59
Indiabulls Finance Company Pvt Ltd 8 46
Aditya Birla Capital Limited 10 35
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd 16 31
India Infoline Finance Limited (Old Name- India Infoline Investment Services Ltd.) 1 29
Hinduja Leyland Finance Limited 3 22
Avanse Financial Services Ltd 3 21
Religare Finvest Ltd. 4 20
Manappuram Finance Limited 1 13
L&T Finance Limited 14 10
Daimler Financial Services India Private Limited 1 1
United Petro Finance Ltd 1 1
Bajaj Finserv Limited 12 0
Edelweiss Capital Ltd 3 0
Tata Capital Limited 3 0
Unitech Capital Pvt Ltd 3 0
Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. 2 0
Bhanix Finance And Investment Ltd 2 0
Kotak Mahindra Prime Ltd 2 0
Magma Fincorp Ltd. 2 0
Mahindra Holdings & Finance Limited 2 0
Reliance Commercial Finance Limited 2 0
Shaha Finlease Private Limited 2 0
The Peerless General Finance & Investment Co. Ltd. 2 0
Berar Finance Limited 1 0
BMW India Financial Services Pvt Ltd 1 0
Capri Global Capital Ltd. 1 0
Clix Capital Services Pvt. Ltd. 1 0
DCM Financial Services Ltd 1 0
Home Credit Finance Service 1 0
Home Credit India Finance Private Limited (Formerly known as Rajshree Auto Finance Limited) 1 0
IIFL Wealth Finance Ltd. 1 0
Janalakshmi Financial Services Ltd. 1 0
Manba Finance Private Limited 1 0
Muthoot Finance Limited 1 0
Neogrowth Credit Pvt Ltd 1 0
Singhland Investment Ltd. 1 0
Other Financial Institution (Not an NBFC) 171 997
Total 675 3,991

APPENDICES

Appendix I - Number of complaints received by OBOs

  2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
No. of OBOs 20 21 22
Complaints received during the year 130,987 163,590 195,901

Appendix II - Cost of handling a complaint

  2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Total Cost (₹ Crore) 49.50 61.20 63.55
No of Complaints Handled 1,36,511 1,74,805 2,02,083
Average Cost of handling a Complaint (₹) 3,626 3,504 3,145

Appendix III - OBO wise 'Per-Complaint Cost’ for the year 2018-19

OBO Per Complaint Cost (₹)
Ahmedabad 5,816
Bangalore 3,638
Bhopal 2,984
Bhubaneswar 4,425
Chandigarh 2,301
Chennai 3,117
Dehradun 2,603
Guwahati 9,515
Hyderabad 3,560
Jaipur 3,166
Jammu 19,308
Kanpur 3,638
Kolkata 4,015
Mumbai-I 3,253
Mumbai-II 3,051
New Delhi-I 1,625
New Delhi-II 2,599
Patna 2,939
Raipur 8,536
Ranchi 4,885
Thiruvananthapuram 6,085
All India 3,145

Appendix IV - Position of customer complaints handled by OBOs

Particulars 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Complaints brought forward from previous year 5,524 11,215 6,182
Complaints received 130,987 1,63,590 195,901
Total number of complaints handled 136,511 1,74,805 202,083
Complaints disposed 125,296 1,68,623 190,014
Complaints pending at the end of the year 11,215 6,182 12,069
  (8.21%) (3.54%) (5.97%)
Complaints Pending for less than one month 4,517 2584 7,055
  (3.10%) (1.48%) (3.49%)
Complaints Pending for one to two months 3,185
2140 3,478
  (2.35%) (1.22%) (1.72%)
Complaints Pending for two to three months 1,363 871 499
  (1%) (0.50%) (0.25%)
Complaints Pending for more than three months 2,150 587 1,037
  (1.55%) (0.34%) (0.51%)

Appendix V - OBO-wise receipt of complaints

OBO No. of complaints received during % change in 2018-19 over 2017-18 % to total complaints
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Ahmedabad 9,552 9,607 9,796 1.97 5.00
Bengaluru 7,042 8,906 11,044 24.01 5.64
Bhopal 5,671 4,050 6,107 50.79 3.12
Bhubaneswar 2,582 2,811 4,138 47.21 2.11
Chandigarh 8,189 10,026 13,063 30.29 6.67
Chennai 9,007 10,642 11,557 8.60 5.90
Dehradun 948 3,171 3,958 24.82 2.02
Guwahati 1,569 1,601 2,061 28.73 1.05
Hyderabad 6,570 8,049 10,391 29.10 5.30
Jaipur 6,740 9,068 11,455 26.32 5.85
Jammu 30 501 908 81.24 0.46
Kanpur 8,150 13,314 14,314 7.51 7.31
Kolkata 7,834 10,631 11,793 10.93 6.02
Mumbai-I 16,299 18,085 13,106 -27.53 6.69
Mumbai -II 0 1,884 10,162 439.38 5.19
New Delhi-I 24,837 26,653 33,690 26.40 17.20
New Delhi-II 4,935 9,084 11,242 23.76 5.74
Patna 6,225 7,946 7,998 0.65 4.08
Raipur 237 1,211 1,906 57.39 0.97
Ranchi 715 1,894 2,174 14.78 1.11
Thiruvananthapuram 3,855 4,456 5,038 13.06 2.57
Total 130,987 163,590 195,901 19.75 100.00

Appendix VI - Zone-wise distribution of complaints

  2017-18 2018-19 %change
EASTERN ZONE      
Bhubaneswar 2,811 4,138 47.21
Guwahati 1,601 2,061 28.73
Kolkata 10,631 11,793 10.93
Patna 7,946 7,998 0.65
Ranchi 1,894 2,174 14.78
  24,883 28,164 13.19
NORTHERN ZONE
Chandigarh 10,026 13,063 30.29
Dehradun 3,171 3,958 24.82
Jaipur 9,068 11,455 26.32
Jammu 501 908 81.24
Kanpur 13,314 14,314 7.51
New Delhi-I 26,653 33,690 26.40
New Delhi-II 9,084 11,242 23.76
  71,817 88,630 23.41
SOUTHERN ZONE
Bengaluru 8,906 11,044 24.01
Chennai 10,642 11,557 8.60
Hyderabad 8,049 10,391 29.10
Thiruvananthapuram 4,456 5,038 13.06
  32,053 38,030 18.65
WESTERN ZONE
Ahmedabad 9,607 9,796 1.97
Bhopal 4,050 6,107 50.79
Mumbai-I 18,085 13,106 -27.53
Mumbai-II 1,884 10,162 439.38
Raipur 1,211 1,906 57.39
  34,837 41,077 17.91

Appendix VII - Population group-wise distribution of complaints received

Population Group No of complaints received during % increase decrease (Y-on-Y)
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Rural 17,458 20,600 22,862 10.98%
13.50% 12.59% 11.67%
Semi Urban 17,040 18,570 23,629 27.24%
13.01% 11.35% 12.06%
Urban 59,721 81,124 94,745 16.79%
45.59% 49.59% 48.36%
Metropolitan 36,768 43,296 54,665 26.26%
2807% 26.47% 27.90%
Total 130,987 163,590 195,901 19.75%
(Figures in bracket indicate %age to total complaints of respective year)

Appendix VIII - Nature of Complaints across population group

Nature of complaint Centralised Account Rural Semi Urban Urban Metro Total
Deposit Account 16% 10% 16% 22% 36% 100%
Remittance 17% 8% 19% 26% 30% 100%
Credit Card 76% 1% 2% 7% 14% 100%
Loans and Advances - Housing 19% 12% 23% 23% 24% 100%
Loans and Advances – General 27% 12% 21% 19% 21% 100%
Levy of charges without prior notice 29% 4% 14% 23% 30% 100%
Pension 14% 13% 26% 27% 20% 100%
Failure to meet commitments 30% 6% 15% 25% 23% 100%
Recovery Agent related 42% 4% 9% 10% 35% 100%
Notes and Coins 13% 15% 22% 23% 27% 100%
Non-observance of FPC 40% 7% 12% 18% 23% 100%
Non-observance of BCSBI Codes 38% 9% 14% 18% 21% 100%
ATM / Debit Card related 20% 10% 18% 24% 28% 100%
Mobile / Electronic Banking related 27% 8% 16% 24% 25% 100%
Mis-selling 23% 9% 19% 28% 21% 100%
Others 36% 6% 12% 18% 28% 100%
Out of Subject 81% 2% 5% 6% 6% 100%

Appendix IX – Mode of Receipt of complaints

Mode of Receipt No. of Complaints received during % change
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 (Y-o-Y)
Email 57,472 79,550 96,925 21.84%
(43.88%) (48.63%) (49.48%)
On line 22,366 24,512 44,496 81.53%
(17.07%) (14.98%) (22.71%)
Post/Fax/Courier/hand delivery 51,149
59,528
54,480
-8.48%
(39.05%) (36.39%) (27.81%)
Total 130,987 163,590 195,901  
(*Figures in bracket indicate percentage to total complaints of respective year)

Appendix X – Complainant group-wise classification

  Complaints Received
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Individual 120,105 150,697 179,754
(91.69%) (92.12%) (91.76%)
Individual - Business 3,855 4,686 5,502
(2.94%) (2.86%) (2.81%)
Proprietorship / Partnership 417 473 651
(0.32%) (0.29%) (0.33%)
Limited Company 1,047 1,081 1,317
(0.80%) (0.66%) (0.67%)
Trust 307 326 466
(0.23%) (0.20%) (0.24%)
Association 307 331 325
(0.23%) (0.20%) (0.17%)
Government Department 491 535 960
(0.37%) (0.33%) (0.49%)
PSU 190 1,409 643
(0.15%) (0.85%) (0.33%)
Senior Citizen 1,745 2,098 1,328
(1.33%) (1.28%) (0.68%)
Others 2,523 1,954 4,955
(1.93%) (1.19%) (2.53%)
TOTAL 1,30,987 1,63,590 1,95,901
(*Figures in bracket indicate %age to total complaints of respective year)

Appendix XI - Bank group-wise classification

Bank Group No of Complaints Received During % change
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 (Y-o-Y)
Nationalized Banks 45,364 54,970 61,755 12.34%
34.63% 33.60% 31.52%
SBI 35,950 46,993 59,522 26.66%
27.45% 28.73% 30.38%
Private Sector Banks 35,080 42,443 54,922 29.40%
26.78% 25.94% 28.04%
Payments and Small Finance Banks 0 473 1754 270.82%
0 0.29% 0.90%
Foreign Banks 3,284 3,850 4,196 8.99%
2.51% 2.35% 2.14%
RRBs/ Scheduled Primary Urban Co-op. Banks 2,481 3,229 3,660 13.35%
2% 1.97% 1.87%
Others 8,828 11,632 10,092 -13.24%
6.74% 7.11% 5.15%
Total 130,987 163,590 195,901  

Appendix XII - OBO wise position of complaints disposed during 2018-19

OBO Complaints pending at the beginning of the Year Complaints Received during the Year Complaints handled Complaints Disposed Pending at the end of the year Rate of Disposal (%)
Ahmedabad 0 9,796 9,796 9,450 346 96.47%
Bengaluru 0 11,044 11,044 9,703 1,341 87.86%
Bhopal 22 6,107 6,129 5,822 307 94.99%
Bhubaneswar 11 4,138 4,149 3,947 202 95.13%
Chandigarh 2 13,063 13,065 13,008 57 99.56%
Chennai 0 11,557 11,557 11,324 233 97.98%
Dehradun 82 3,958 4,040 3,660 380 90.59%
Guwahati 5 2,061 2,066 1,987 79 96.18%
Hyderabad 66 10,391 10,457 10,286 171 98.36%
Jaipur 27 11,455 11,482 10,912 570 95.04%
Jammu 0 908 908 880 28 96.92%
Kanpur 901 14,314 15,215 14,755 460 96.98%
Kolkata 280 11,793 12,073 11,518 555 95.40%
Mumbai-I 1538 13,106 14,644 13,667 977 93.33%
Mumbai -II 1296 10,162 11,458 9,517 1,941 83.06%
New Delhi-I 1096 33,690 34,786 32,010 2,776 92.02%
New Delhi-II 321 11,242 11,563 10,663 900 92.22%
Patna 274 7,998 8,272 7,841 431 94.79%
Raipur 0 1,906 1,906 1,891 15 99.21%
Ranchi 109 2,174 2,283 2,210 73 96.80%
Thiruvananthapuram 152 5,038 5,190 4,963 227 95.63%
Total 6,182 1,95,901 2,02,083 1,90,014 12,069 94.03%

Appendix XIII – OBO wise Break-up of Maintainable Complaints during 2018-19

Sr No. OBO No of Maintainable Complaints
1. Ahmedabad 2,691
2. Bangalore 4,481
3. Bhopal 3,155
4. Bhubaneswar 2,579
5. Chandigarh 9,477
6. Chennai 7,224
7. Dehradun 1,198
8. Guwahati 1,374
9. Hyderabad 6,274
10. Jaipur 7,880
11. Jammu 503
12. Kanpur 8,660
13. Kolkata 4,318
14. Mumbai-I 6,155
15. Mumbai-II 3,007
16. New Delhi-I 11,075
17. New Delhi-II 4,729
18. Patna 3,474
19. Raipur 1,052
20. Ranchi 1,324
21. Thiruvananthapuram 1,634
Total 92,264

Appendix XIV Bank-Wise List of Maintainable Complaints Disposed during 2018-19

Sr. No Bank No. of complaints
1. AB Bank Limited 3
2. Abhyudaya Cooperative Bank Ltd. 1
3. Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited 1
4. Airtel Payments Bank Limited 167
5. Allahabad Bank 1,244
6. Allahabad UP Gramin Bank 2
7. American Express Banking Corp. 67
8. Andhra Bank 1,036
9. Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank 1
10. Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank 1
11. Ankola Urban Co-Op.Bank Limited 2
12. Assam Gramin Vikash Bank 1
13. AU Small Finance Bank Limited 75
14. Axis Bank Limited 4,712
15. Bandhan Bank Limited 130
16. Bank of America N.T. and S.A. 4
17. Bank of Bahrain And Kuwait B.S.C. 4
18. Bank of Baroda 4,599
19. Bank of India 2,735
20. Bank of Maharashtra 460
21. Barclays Bank Plc. 23
22. Bardoli Nagrik Sahakari Bank Limited 0
23. Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin Bank 1
24. Baroda Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank 2
25. Bihar Gramin Bank 1
26. Bombay Mercantile Co-Op.Bank Limited 0
27. Canara Bank 3,010
28. Capital Small Finance Bank Limited 7
29. Catholic Syrian Bank Limited 29
30. Central Bank of India 2,212
31. Chaitanya Godavari Grameena Bank 0
32. Chhattisgarh Rajya Gramin Bank 0
33. Citibank N.A. 534
34. City Union Bank Limited 133
35. Corporation Bank 1,551
36. Cosmos Co-Operative Bank LimitedPune 3
37. DBS Bank Limited 59
38. DCB Bank Limited 198
39. Deutsche Bank 36
40. Dhanalakshmi Bank Limited 27
41. Doha Bank QSC 1
42. Ellaquai Dehati Bank 4
43. Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited 48
44. Esaf Small Finance Bank Limited 4
45. Federal Bank Limited 278
46. Fincare Small Finance Bank Limited 5
47. Fino Payments Bank Limited 8
48. Gramin Bank of Aryavart 1
49. HDFC Bank Limited 6,090
50. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited 224
51. ICICI Bank Limited 5,092
52. IDBI Bank Limited 1,299
53. IDFC Bank Limited 196
54. India Post Payments Bank Limited 17
55. Indian Bank 1,320
56. Indian Overseas Bank 1,492
57. IndusInd Bank Limited 1,044
58. Jalgaon Janata Sahakari Bank Limited 1
59. Jammu And Kashmir Bank Limited 208
60. Jana Small Finance Bank Limited 14
61. JP Morgan Chase Bank National Association 1
62. Karnataka Bank Limited 221
63. Karur Vysya Bank Limited 249
64. Kerala Gramin Bank 1
65. Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited 2,081
66. Lakshmi Vilas Bank Limited 105
67. Madhya Bihar Gramin Bank 2
68. Madhyanchal Gramin Bank 1
69. Nainital Bank Limited 20
70. North Kanara G.S.B.Co-Op.Bank Limited 1
71. Oriental Bank of Commerce 1,298
72. Others 4
73. Paytm Payments Bank Limited 270
74. Punjab and Sind Bank 369
75. Punjab National Bank 5,839
76. Purvanchal Bank 3
77. Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank 1
78. RBL Bank Limited 876
79. Royal Bank of Scotland 26
80. Saptagiri Grameena Bank 1
81. Saraswat Cooperative Bank Limited 4
82. Sarva Haryana Gramin Bank 1
83. Sarva U.P. Gramin Bank 5
84. Shinhan Bank 1
85. South Indian Bank Limited 144
86. Standard Chartered Bank 811
87. State Bank of India 33,561
88. SVC Cooperative Bank Limited 2
89. Syndicate Bank 901
90. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited 87
91. Telangana Grameena Bank 1
92. Thane Janata Sahakari Bank Limited 1
93. UCO Bank 1,200
94. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited 16
95. Union Bank of India 2,169
96. United Bank of India 643
97. Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Limited 3
98. Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank 2
99. Vidharbha Konkan Gramin Bank 1
100. Vijay Cooperative Bank Limited 1
101. Yes Bank Limited 924

Appendix XV – Complainant category wise Break-up Turn Around Time (TAT) in Days during 2017-18 and 2018-19

Complaint category 2017-18 2018-19
Non-adherence to BCSBI Codes 30 33
Failure on commitments 47 34
Pension 48 36
Loans and advance-housing 42 36
Notes and coins 35 36
Para-banking 43 37
Mobile banking / electronic banking 44 38
Charges without prior notice 49 40
Remittance 47 40
Deposit account 53 40
Loans and advance- general 55 41
Recovery agent 61 43
Credit card 50 44
ATM/debit card 58 52
Fair practices 62 58
Others 58 53
Overall 53 47

Appendix XVI - Age-wise classification of pending complaints

Pending up to June 30, 2017 June 30, 2018 June 30, 2019
1 Month 4,511 2,584 7,055
3.10% 1.48% 3.49%
1-2 Months 3,181 2,140 3,478
2.35% 1.22% 1.72%
2-3 Months 1,361 871 499
1% 0.50% 0.25%
More than 3 Months 2,139
587
1037
1.55% 0.34% 0.51%
Total Pending 11,192
6,182
12,069
8% 3.50% 5.97%
Complaints handled 136,511 174,805 202,096
(Figures in bracket indicate %age to complaints handled during respective years)

Appendix XVII - Findings of Consumer Satisfaction Survey of Complaints Lodged in OBOs

RBI conducted a feedback collection exercise of those who have registered a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman through Karvy Data Management Limited.

The sample design and sample size achieved: The Survey was conducted in 18 locations throughout the country - five cities in the North zone, four in the South zone, three in the West zone and six in East zone. 3,010 respondents who have faced financial fraud / financial loss and had registered complaints were interviewed face-to-face. 2,285 respondents were interviewed from urban centers and remaining 725 interviews were conducted in the semi-urban/rural locations.

Questionnaire: Apart from consumer name, address, contact number, complaint number of the office of Banking Ombudsman, the questionnaire consisted of source through which the consumer got to know about the Ombudsman Scheme (print media, friends / family, electronic media, internet and others), rating on a scale of five (1-strongly disagree and 5 – strongly agree) on the following:

  1. Process of lodging complaint with BO was simple and easy

  2. Complaint was resolved in reasonable time (60 days)

  3. Ombudsman tried to promote a settlement of the complaint by agreement between the complainant and the bank through conciliation and mediation

  4. Escalating a complaint against any deficiency of service to the Ombudsman drives the service provider to redress the complaint immediately

  5. Overall satisfaction with the resolution of complaint.

Suggestion of the respondent was also solicited at the end of the questionnaire.

Findings:

Source of information: Friends/Family and internet are the most prominent source of information for the complainants. Word of mouth is the most important source of information regarding Ombudsman. Internet followed by print and electronic media also acts as a source of information regarding the Scheme.

Friends and family 63%
Internet 55%
Print media 27%
Electronic media 24%

Note: The total % does not add to 100% as respondents cited more than one source.

At an overall level, respondents are satisfied with the Banking Ombudsman Scheme. Respondents perceive the process of lodging the complaints with BO as easy and simple, although the time frame for resolution of complaints needed to improve. Promoting settlements and effectiveness of escalation is perceived to be satisfactory by respondents.

Ease of lodging complaint 83%
Resolving complaint in reasonable time 68%
Promoting settlement 71%
Effectiveness of escalating to Ombudsman 73%
Overall satisfaction 73%

Appendix XVIII - Position of Complaints received through CPGRAMS

OBO 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Ahmedabad 20 18 27
Bengaluru 14 10 27
Bhopal 8 8 18
Bhubaneswar 1 5 5
Chandigarh 3 5 10
Chennai 15 15 17
Dehradun 0 1 12
Guwahati 3 0 7
Hyderabad 9 4 15
Jaipur 9 7 10
Jammu 0 0 0
Kanpur 21 12 23
Kolkata 8 8 15
Mumbai-I 29 17 40
Mumbai-II 0 0 25
New Delhi-I 37 26 27
New Delhi-II 1 3 29
Patna 4 1 8
Raipur 0 1 2
Ranchi 0 0 1
Thiruvananthapuram 3 8 3
Total 185 149 321

Appendix XIX - Applications received by OBOs under RTI Act, 2005

BO 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Ahmedabad 17 33 17
Bengaluru 30 36 23
Bhopal 30 19 16
Bhubaneswar 2 9 5
Chandigarh 21 51 48
Chennai 45 95 46
Dehradun 5 28 14
Guwahati 3 5 4
Hyderabad 26 53 37
Jaipur 32 48 53
Jammu 0 1 1
Kanpur 181 272 164
Kolkata 16 61 22
Mumbai-I 74 93 80
Mumbai-II - 3 47
New Delhi-I 88 118 139
New Delhi-II 0 40 39
Patna 36 45 62
Raipur 0 2 0
Ranchi 0 9 6
Thiruvananthapuram 10 18 6
Total 616 1039 829

1 22nd Office of Banking Ombudsman has since been opened at New Delhi on July 1, 2019.

2 The revisions were carried out in the years 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2017.

3 A new office of Banking Ombudsman has been set up at New Delhi with effect from July 1, 2019, taking the total number of Banking Ombudsmen at New Delhi to three and at All India to 22.

4 The revenue expenditure includes establishment items like salary and allowances of the staff attached to OBOs and non-establishment items such as rent, taxes, insurance, law charges, postage and telegram charges, printing and stationery expenses, publicity expenses, depreciation and other miscellaneous items. The capital expenditure items include furniture, electrical installations, computers / related equipment, telecommunication equipment and motor vehicles.

5 Complaints handled comprise of 1,95,901 received during the year 2018-19 and 6,182 carried over from the previous year

6 The cases which do not fall under the grounds of complaint specified under Clause 8 of the Scheme and those wherein the procedure for filing the complaint is not adhered to as laid down in Clause 9 of the BOS, are classified as ‘Non-maintainable’ complaints. OBOs return such complaints to the complainants stating the reason and send a copy to bank for suitable action.

7 Clause 9 (3) of the Scheme stipulates that, "No complaint to the Banking Ombudsman shall lie unless:- (a) the complainant had, before making a complaint to the Banking Ombudsman, made a written representation to the bank and the bank had rejected the complaint or the complainant had not received any reply within a period of one month after the bank received his representation or the complainant is not satisfied with the reply given to him by the bank". If complainants directly approach the OBO without filing a complaint with their bank, such a complaint is referred to as First Resort Complaint.

8 Includes awards which were passed in 2017-18 and implemented in 2018-19.

9 Clause 14 of the Scheme provides that “any party aggrieved by an Award issued by the BO under Clause 12 or by rejection of a complaint for the reasons referred to in Sub-Clauses (d) to (g) of Clause 13 of the Scheme, can appeal to the Appellate Authority (AA) designated under the Scheme.”

10 As defined in Section 45-I(f) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and registered with the RBI under Section 45-IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

The Non-Banking Financial Company - Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC), Core Investment Company (CIC), Infrastructure Debt Fund - Non-Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) and an NBFC under liquidation, are excluded from the ambit of the Scheme.

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