No more deposit slips, promise

MUMBAI: The focus of the Reserve Bank of India has now shifted to according “the highest priority to the service of the common person.� The RBI had already come out with a slew of measures to safeguard the depositors’ rights.
The RBI on Tuesday said that it plans to advise banks to lay down a transparent and comprehensive policy, setting out the rights of the depositors in general, and small depositors in particular. The policy would also be required to cover all aspects of operations of deposit accounts, charges leviable and other related issues to facilitate interaction of depositors at branch levels.
The RBI also said that for settlement of claims of deceased depositors, a uniform procedure to be adopted by the banks would be evolved in consultation with IBA.
The RBI has already implemented some measures, on the basis of the recommendations of the committee on banking operations, concerning deposit accounts and other facilities relating to individuals. These measures include introduction of the drop box facility for cheques and a facility for acknowledgement of cheques through regular collection counters, delivery of cheque books over the counters on request, issue of statement of accounts at monthly intervals, informing existing account holders at least a month in advance of any change in the minimum balance in savings accounts and charges for non-maintenance, and agreeing to the request for opening non-resident ordinary (NRO)
accounts jointly with residents.
A standing committee was constituted by the RBI to undertake procedures and performance audit on public services and regulatory clearances and to coordinate with the ad hoc committees on customer services set up by banks. SS Tarapore is the chairman of the committee. The committee has submitted four reports covering forex transactions, government transactions, banking operations relating to deposit accounts and other facilities; and currency management (non-business).
“It is more of a customer welfare issue. There has been a demand from the customers. The cost side considerations had driven banks to quarterly statement of accounts. There is however an alternative of soft statement,� said Romesh Sobti, chief executive India, ABN Amro Bank.
Depositors had been facing problems in the recent past, as some of the private sector banks had started charging customers for a host of services. Banks had started sending statements by e-mail, while physical statements were sent only four times, or just once, a year.
Even as banks have indicated that they will follow the RBI policy, there are indications that they will charge the customers if a customer, for instance, wants bank statements every month.
“There is a cost associated with every service. If we have to send bank statements every month, we may start charging as banks also incur courier and other charges,� said a senior private sector banker.
The RBI has also advised banks to have non-officials in the Ad hoc committee, and the tenure of this committee has been extended by another six months.
“The customer service in banks will improve. If you have officials in the committee they will only defend the system. External persons in the committee will help in the overall working of the committee,� said Corporation Bank CMD Cherian Varghese.