conference agenda that you are looking forward to returning to a more stable model of community banking, one focused on prudent underwriting, riskappropriate pricing, portfolio diversification, and stable deposit funding. at the federal reserve we will continue to work to strengthen the economy and to ensure that our supervision and examination policies do not inadvertently impede sound lending by community banks. as we do so, it is important that we hear from you about the economic conditions in your communities and any problems you face in meeting the needs of creditworthy borrowers. i thank you again for the invitation to join you today and look forward to your questions or comments.

scheduled primary cooperative banks functioning in india and provides a forum to the bank customers to seek redressal of their most common complaints against the banks. under the revised scheme, the complainants can file their complaints in any form, including online, and can also appeal to the reserve bank against the awards and other decisions of the banking ombudsmen. the banking ombudsmen currently have their offices in 15 centres spread across the country and are fully staffed and funded by the reserve bank, in order to make the revised scheme more effective. customer service set up in the banks the rbi had appointed the committee on procedures and performance audit of public services ( cppaps – tarapore committee ) in december 2003 to suggest measures for bringing about improvement in the quality of customer service rendered by banks. based on the recommendations of the cppaps, banks were advised, among other things, to put in place an institutional machinery comprising of ( a ) a customer services committee of the board including, as invitees, experts and representatives of customers, to enable the bank to formulate policies and assess the compliance thereof internally ; ( b ) standing committee of executives on customer service, in place of the earlier ad hoc committees, to periodically review the policies and procedures, and working of the bank ’ s own grievance redressal machinery ; and ( c ) a nodal department / official for customer service at the head office and each controlling office, whom customers with grievances could approach in the first instance, and with whom the banking ombudsman ( bo ) and rbi could liaise. customer service department in the rbi as i mentioned, the reserve bank has been taking measures for protection of customers ’ rights, enhancing the quality of customer service and strengthening grievance redressal mechanism in the banks and within the rbi. these activities were, till recently, undertaken by different departments of the rbi. in order, however, to appropriately signal the importance that the reserve bank attaches to the customer service rendered, both by the reserve bank and by the banking sector as a whole, a new department called customer service department, was created in the rbi, on july 1, 2006 by regrouping various customerservice - related activities handled by different departments of the rbi, under a single department. the functions of the department encompass a variety of activities relating to customer service and grievance redressal in the rbi and the banking sector, including the aspects relating to the banking ombuds