to prevent incidents of fraud in areas of mobile / net banking and electronic fund transfer. treating customers fairly, “ tcf ”, also must ensure that there is a clear specification of liability, if things go wrong. simplicity of the product sold must be ensured and there is a duty to inform the customer about the features of the product. mis - selling will invite consequences. banks must help customers fully understand the features, benefits, risks and costs of the financial products they buy, minimize sale of unsuitable products by encouraging best practice before, during and after the sale the sense of protection which consumers expect and experience while dealing with banks is the benchmark against which we need to evaluate our customer care and customer service policulture of customer - centricity and sensitivity to the needs of the customers especially those belonging to the vulnerable sections of the society. the market forces, competition, technology will continue to help banks achieve better penetration and extend their reach, but these attributes must also result in better, affordable and easy access to banks and banking. as dr. rajan puts it, we need a frugal model. we all need to enshrine basic rights for all financial services consumers by way of a charter of bank customers ’ rights. fslrc has expressed that all financial laws and regulations must protect the interests of the consumers. it recommends a framework for customer protection against mis - selling and defrauding through the fine print stealth banking etc. we must protect customers against unfair contract terms, unjust conduct and protection of personal information through fair disclosure and redress of consumer complaints by financial services providers. annual policy statement released on april 1, 2014 by dr rajan, governor rbi has clearly spelt out that consumer protection is an integral aspect of financial inclusion. the reserve bank proposes to frame comprehensive consumer protection regulations based on domestic experience and global best practices. the banks that have internalized the codes enunciated by the bcsbi may not have much difficulty in adapting to the new statutory framework. the statutory framework also comes with explicit rights, the customers enjoy and the implicit duties that are cast on the banker. the nachiket mor committee on comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low income households has pointed out and i quote “ when the fact is considered that imbalances in information, expertise and power between the buyer and seller of financial products will only be exacerbated in the future then it becomes clear that, existing approaches to customer protection have severe limitations. the “

deepali pant joshi : banks must build a structure to provide superior and efficient customer service inaugural address by dr deepali pant joshi, executive director of the reserve bank of india, at the conference of principal code compliance officers of banks, convened by the banking codes & standards board of india ( bcsbi ), mumbai, 20 may 2014. * * * accompanying charts can be found at the end of the speech. respected shri mahajan, smt rama bijapurkar, member, governing council, banking standards codes and standards board of india ( bcsbi ), shri n raja, ceo, bcsbi and banker colleagues. at the very outset, i thank shri mahajan, chairman, bcsbi for the kind invitation to address principal code compliance officers of the bcsbi, this afternoon. i attach a great deal of value to this interaction. the day long deliberations will provide you the opportunity to • brainstorm with pccos of the member banks on issues relating to code implementation. • discuss how to raise the bar for customer service in your own banks. • share experiences and good practices. the banking codes and standards board of india is an autonomous and independent body set up by the reserve bank. bcsbi is mandated to evolve codes and standards for banks to follow while dealing with their customers so as to ensure that the customers are enabled certain minimum standards of customer service. bcsbi has developed two sets of codes for member banks viz. 1. code of bank ’ s commitment to customers and 2. code of bank ’ s commitment to micro and small enterprises these codes are periodically reviewed and revised in order to reflect the extant regulatory guidelines, contemporary developments in the banking sector and evolving customer expectations. consumer confidence and trust in a well - functioning market for financial services promotes financial stability, growth efficiency and innovation over the long term. ( chart ) financial consumer protection, when reinforced with financial inclusion and financial literacy, will lead to enhanced financial stability. we have had a great thrust on financial inclusion ; as a result, several new consumers of banking products have come into the banking system. we have to ensure adequate customer protection for these new users of banking services. we have to help them through financial education, literacy and awareness to use the diverse range of products and services offered by the banks. awareness of the customer has to be increased. with greater awareness of customers, must come, heightened responsibility of the provider of financial services. please appreciate that today rbi, bcsb