of the system. people will access the redress mechanism only when they are assured of an impartial outcome. it requires a lot of courage, persistence and knowledge to pursue and follow up grievances with banks / financial institutions. it will be in our own interest to usher in a culture where people are encouraged to complain if anything is amiss. the felt attributes of consumer protection are a result of the customer care policies that banks promise to have in place. but, many a times, the same are not implemented at the ground level mainly due to ignorance and lack of sensitivity on the part of the frontline managers. skill building and knowledge enhancement of bank staff is necessary, if we wish to have a pro - active consumer protection policy in the banking industry. conclusion 23. as a part of my inaugural speech i have tried to set the tone of the seminar, by touching upon different facets and attributes of consumer protection, drawing from the global as well as the indian experience. i am tempted to refer here to the comments made by the world bank – imf team in its report on the financial sector assessment for india about consumer protection : “ india has comprehensive policies and compliance mechanisms for the protection of banking consumers, and is ahead of most countries in this area. going forward, including nonbanking financial companies ( nbfcs ) in the mandates of the banking codes and standards body of india and of the banking ombudsman system ( bos ), ensuring consumer protection of the entire financial system, and devising a strategic consumer awareness program, will further strengthen the system ”. i accept this feedback with all the humility at my command, and i am fully aware that much more needs to be done to improve the consumers ’ lot. even in a free market economy with competition as the necessary pre - condition, it is not necessary that the consumer is treated as the king. but what we must strive to bring about is a culture where the consumer is treated as a good human being by focusing on the values of fairness, transparency, and non - discrimination. going forward, customer - centricity will be a must for the regulators and the regulated entities alike in the wider interest of financial stability, an essential cornerstone of which is consumer protection. 24. i hope that this joint seminar between the banque de france and the reserve bank of india lays down the foundation of a long and fruitful partnership between the two institutions and that such seminars become a regular event. considering the impressive list

the protection, safety and security of this important class of customers cannot be wished away. in this context, the regulators and governments can play an important role by providing an efficient infrastructure for mobile payments. this framework might include regulation of low – risk money transfer services, enabling non - bank organizations to facilitate low - risk / low value transactions and wherever possible, implementing regulations at the system level ( without interfering with the customer interface ). on the part of banks, rather than treating mobile payments as a threat, they need to see it as an opportunity to access otherwise unprofitable low - income segments market. banks will need strong partners and a strong platform to succeed. in india also, we have been proactively pursuing the three objectives and are even exploring the possibility of enshrining financial inclusion in the code of banking practices ( in india referred to as the code of commitments ). 17. in terms of financial education, while the thrust would continue to be on the basics in terms of products, services, risk profile and suitability, we need to think ahead and look at the scenario where self – service banking is on the rise. the evolution of atms in india is only the beginning of the self - service menu. we are yet to witness the full range of products and services where the customers will be helping themselves ( and of course the banks ) with gadgets and apps that they may not be very familiar or comfortable with. so, welcome customer education and hand holding! retail distribution of financial products 18. the retail distribution of financial products and services was subject to review in australia and united kingdom alike and the issues thrown up by these reviews have great lessons for consumer protection. the retail distribution, as is now being carried out, may not necessarily be in the best interest of the consumers. there are certain issues, particularly from the perspective of incentive structures for sale of financial products, monitoring of aml requirements, risks of mis - selling, inadequate understanding of risks by the sales persons, etc. that make it important that financial service providers and regulators to have a close look at the practices followed in retail distribution of financial products. 19. as regards regulating the activities of the financial advisers, it is very important that the people with small means get proper advise at the right time and at least cost. the regulators, perhaps, have to take this responsibility upon themselves with a view to empowering the consumers and helping them protect their life savings. regulation and market failure 20. there have been a