Indian Banking Association (IBA) has asked banks to follow the industry code of conduct with regard to collection of bad debts.The Reserve Bank had earlier warned banks to ban recovery agents if they continued their abusive practices."We have asked all the banks to check the credentials of recovery agents, fix minimum qualifications for them, and ensure that proper training is given to them so that complaints against their recovery methods could be minimised," IBA chairman M B N Rao told PTI.Referring to the decision of the Delhi Consumer Commission to impose a fine of Rs 55 lakh on ICICI Bank for excesses committed by its recovery agents, Rao said: "We have nothing to say except that banks would have to follow the rule of the law."He, however, said that complaints against recovery agents were exaggerated.Terming the ICICI Bank incident as an aberration, he drew a parallel with the auto industry. Just as a few accidents happen when millions of cars are sold in the country, the high-handedness in recovering loans are also rare cases, he said.The IBA chief, however, said the consumer forums and courts are always free to take action on the complaints of clients.Rao, who is also chairman and managing director of Canara Bank, said most banks followed a code of conduct and duly laid out procedures when it comes to recovery.
