From compliance to compassion

A cultural shift for India's financial regulator — from rule-based monitor to human-centred facilitator

- TAMAL BANDYOPADHYAY

Ithas been a different new year for the banking community this year. Typically, after closing the third quarter of a financial year on December 31 working late, bankers have a light day on January 1.

For many, the day starts with the speech of the managing director (MD). It could be at an open house held at the bank’s headquarters or a webinar — attended by offices across states — or a long message from the MD which typically hits the email box well before the day starts.

Last week, on January 1, bankers were busy launching a nationwide campaign to clear all pending customer grievances under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI's) Integrated Ombudsman Scheme.

As a prelude to this, on December 29, at 10 am, Sonali Sen Gupta, an RBI executive director overseeing the consumer education and protection department, addressed the executive directors of all banks over a video call. Her interaction, which lasted for about half an hour, focused on clearing all pending grievances within 30 days.

At least 920,000 such cases have been pending. They are not related to money alone. The grievances vary from delay in clearing cheques to misbehaviour of a branch manager, and the absence of a ramp at the entrance of a branch inconveniencing senior citizens’ movements.

Here are a couple of examples of customer grievances:

Seventy-year-old Sita Devi (name changed) visited one of the branches of a large bank in Lucknow in September 2024. She wanted to make a fixed deposit of ₹10 lakh. The branch manager and an agent of an insurance company, sitting at the branch, convinced her to sign documents of insurance policy and sold one with a premium of ₹10 lakh every year for five years. It would mature after 10 years — five years after the last premium is paid. She realised her mistake after one year when her grandson told her about the scheme.