Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightens complaint review norms and expands Internal Ombudsman oversight.

Key facts

• All complaints wholly rejected or partially resolved by regulated entities must be auto-escalated to the Internal Ombudsman for review.
• Regulated entities must ensure that no complaint is closed by the same branch or touch point that handled it.
• Compensation may be offered for material loss, loss of time, expenses, and mental agony suffered by complainants.
• Internal Ombudsman shall be a retired or serving officer of rank equivalent to General Manager, appointed for three years and below 70 years of age at tenure end.
• Internal Ombudsman reports administratively to the competent authority and functionally to the Customer Service Committee of the Board.
• Internal Ombudsman shall be a permanent invitee to Customer Service Committee meetings to ensure board oversight.
• Internal Ombudsman shall not handle complaints received directly from the public, only those escalated after internal review.
• Decisions by Internal Ombudsman or Deputy Internal Ombudsman must be submitted to the RBI Ombudsman.
• The directions apply to commercial banks, small finance banks, payments banks, NBFCs, prepaid payment instrument issuers, and credit information companies.
• Housing finance companies, core investment companies, infrastructure debt fund-NBFCs, NBFC-infrastructure finance companies, non-operative financial holding companies, primary dealers, and mortgage guarantee companies are excluded.