There is a need for a single redressal mechanism for all types of financial transactions in the country , feels Ranjana Sahajwala, ban of the RBI. king ombudsman of the RBI.

The RBI created the office of banking ombudsman (OBO) to act as a mediator or adjudicator between the customer and the bank. It publishes a yearly report on the complaints received and resolved by the body .

With so many changes happening across the financial landscape, said Sahajwala, it is not always possible to segment the area of concern clearly. Although there are separate redressal mechanisms for banking, insurance, securities and pension, there is a need for a single authority to effectively address all consumer problems.

"We have several challenges. Since the ombudsman office is a relatively nascent institution, its role is limited. There is a change in the financial services industry , with the same institution or its subsidiary selling banking, insurance, securities and pension services. At times, it is not very clear where the issue lies, in case of a complaint.

One redressal agency for the entire sector is a must," she said while addressing the gathering at the ICFAI Business School on emerging trends in applied finance and business economics.

The OBO dealt with almost 1.07 complaints between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. It disposed off 1.01 lakh complaints, over a third of which were on the failure of banks to meet commitments and or observe the fair practices code.

It said in its annual report that 50% of the complaints were "non-maintainable," because the complaints filed did not follow the prescribed rules or were filed without approaching the bank first for resolution. However, on the ground, it is observed that banks do not take customer complaints seriously .

Recently , RBI deputy governor S S Mundra had warned banks, especially public sector banks, of action for not setting up the internal ombudsman scheme, even one year after the structure for the scheme was proposed. "Noncompliance will be viewed very seriously and may even attract penal action," Mundra had said. #casansaar (Source - Times of India)