In a major, pro-consumer move after Sandeep Bakshi took over as the CEO and Managing Director of ICICI Bank, it gone ahead and send its code of commitment to customers — not only for retail customers but also for small, medium and micro enterprises. It may be recalled that this code, was proposed during the tenure of Raghuram Rajan as governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, the RBI made no effort to get banks to commit to the code. Moneylife Foundation has repeatedly asked the RBI,
during Dr Rajan’s tenure to make the consumer charter more than just a motherhood statement.
In this context, ICICI Bank’s decision to publish the code and publicly agree to adhere to it is a big move forward and its commitment to this will be eagerly watched in the coming months.
Here is what ICICI Bank has sent out to customers.
It says:
“We, at ICICI Bank, endeavour to adopt higher standards of banking practices to extend better customer service and achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.
The Bank is a member of the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI). As a member, we have formulated and adopted a Code of Commitment to Customers, in line with the guidelines provided by BCSBI:
- Code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers
- Code of Bank’s Commitment to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (“MSME”)
The Code applies to all the products and services offered by our bank or by agents acting on our behalf, whether provided across the counter, over the phone, by post, through interactive electronic devices, online or by any other method.”
The code is essentially the five-point charter of rights that the RBI has formulated:
Right to Fair Treatment: Promote safe and fair customer dealing for banking in a digitised environment and good and fair banking practices by setting minimum standards in our dealings with you. Both the customer and the financial services provider have a right to be treated
with courtesy. The customer should not be unfairly discriminated against on grounds such as gender, age, religion, caste and physical ability when offering and delivering financial products.
Right to Transparency, Fair and Honest Dealing: Increase transparency so that you can have a better understanding of what you can reasonably expect from us. The financial services provider should make every effort to ensure that the contracts or agreements it frames are transparent, easily understood by and well communicated to, the common person. The product’s price, the associated risks, the terms and conditions that govern use over the product’s life cycle and the responsibilities of the customer and financial service provider, should be clearly disclosed. The customer should not be subject to unfair business or marketing practices, coercive contractual terms or misleading representations. Over the course of their relationship, the financial services provider cannot threaten the customer with physical harm, exert undue influence, or engage in blatant harassment.
Right to Suitability: The products offered will be appropriate to your needs. The products offered should be appropriate to the needs of the customer and based on an assessment of the customer’s financial circumstances and understanding.
Right to Privacy: Your personal information shall be kept confidential unless you have offered specific consent to the bank or such information is required to be provided under the law or it is provided for a mandated business purpose. Customers’ personal information should be kept confidential unless they have offered specific consent to the financial services provider or such information is required to be provided under the law or it is provided for a mandated business purpose (for example, to credit information companies). The customer should be informed upfront about likely mandated business purposes. Customers have the right to protection from all kinds of communications, electronic or otherwise, which infringe upon their privacy.
Right to Grievance Redressal: Increase awareness of our customers and enhance customer protection and grievance redressal mechanism. The customer has a right to hold the financial services provider accountable for the products offered and to have a clear and easy way to have any valid grievances redressed. The provider should also facilitate redress of grievances stemming from its sale of third party products. The financial services provider must communicate its policy for compensating mistakes, lapses in conduct, as well as non-performance or delays in performance, whether caused by the provider or otherwise. The policy must lay out the rights and duties of the customer when such events occur.
ICICI Bank says it will acknowledge all formal complaints, including complaints filed through electronic means, within three working days and work to resolve it within 30 days.
More interestingly, the bank has also provided specific links to its policies on redressal, customer rights, compensation, deposits, lockers as well as the model code for direct selling agents.
Is it enough to restore credibility to the much weakened adventurous bank brand post the 2008 crisis. (ICICI shares last soared well ahead of HDFC in Dec-Jan 2007-08)
Can ICICI be more like HDFC than HDFC itself ? Can the DNA change with a CEO change ?
Will HDFC still retain its aura after the anticipated departure of Mr. Puri the forever MD of who magically delivered consistent 20% plus eps growth for over 2 decades
As they say...time will tell.