SBI & its associate banks top list of banking ombudsman complaints

State Bank of India (SBI) and associates figure prominently in the list of the annual report of the banking ombudsman scheme for the year 2010-2011 accounting for 31 per cent of the total complaints received against them.

Nationalised banks were second in the list with 29 per cent of complaints, followed by 24 per cent against private sector banks and 10 per cent against foreign banks, said the Report released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.

Other highlights of the report pointed out that during the year 2010-11, the banking ombudsman received 71,274 complaints, compared to 79,266 complaints received during the previous year, indicating there was decline of 10 per cent in the number of complaints received during the year.

Further, the banking ombudsman disposed of 94 per cent of the total complaints received. ATM cards, debit and credit card related complaints (24 per cent) continued to be the single largest area of complaints, it said.

Non-adherence to prescribed working hours, refusal to accept, or delay in accepting, payments towards taxes, refusal to issue or delay in issuing or failure to service, or delay in servicing, or redemption of government securities, refusal to close or delay in closing of accounts were other areas of complaints.

The appellate authority handled 167 appeals during the year. No appeal was pending at the end of 2010-11. Intensive awareness campaigns were undertaken by banking ombudsman throughout the year to ensure greater reach of the Scheme among the members of public.

It also indicated that people still preferred physical mode of complaint to electronic mode,  as 73 per cent complaints were received by way of letters/post cards/fax and complaints received by email and online constituted 14 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.