Not referring cases to internal ombudsman a concern: RBI

RBI deputy governor Swaminathan J expressed concern that many customer grievances resolved by the RBI integrated ombudsman were never referred to the bank's internal ombudsman.

Swaminathan stated that bypassing the internal ombudsman undermines the purpose of the internal ombudsman framework.

Banks must refer all eligible complaints promptly and without exception to their internal ombudsmen.

Complaint management systems should prevent complaints from inadvertently bypassing the internal ombudsman process.

Effective internal ombudsman performance should naturally reduce external escalations and provide customer resolutions.