RBI says it will charge banks if they do not improve customer grievance

To operationalize the cost-recovery framework for banks, peer groups based on the asset size of banks as on March 31 of the previous year will be identified

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks to step up disclosures on customer complaints and cost of redressal, cautioning lenders that fail to improve their redress mechanism quickly will be charged.

At the end of March 2020, the total number of complaints across various offices of RBI stood at 3,08,630. This is a steep rise from 1,95,901 complaints outstanding at the ombudsman offices, as per data from the Trends and Progress Report of the RBI.  

If a lender has higher unresolved complaints than average, it will be charged. Bank customers, however, will continue to enjoy free cost of redressal.