Karnataka   

‘Banking Ombudsman helps protect customers’ interests’

CHAMARAJANAGAR: The Banking Ombudsman for the State, K.R. Anand, has said the Banking Ombudsman Scheme was implemented to ensure better system of banking and to protect the interest of customers.

He was addressing a meeting of customers of various banks here on Thursday.

Mr. Anand said that banking ombudsman played a role of negotiator between the banks and customers to solve their problems.

Mr. Anand said he had received only two complaints so far from the Chamarajanagar district jurisdiction.

He said a booklet had been issued to banks about the code of commitment to customers.

Many people aired their complaints to the ombudsman at the meeting. There were complaints about delay in sanctioning of crop loans and loans being denied to customers who had pledged gold jewellery in nationalised banks. Many people urged the ombudsman to streamline the banking policy so that rural students could get education loan easily.

The district unit president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) Mahesh Prabhu said that ICICI Bank should be held responsible for the death of Siddaraju, the farmers who committed suicide recently allegedly owing the harassment by the agents hired by the bank to recover loan from him.

He alleged that the bank had violated all rules and regulations while lending loans to farmers to buy tractors. He charged that the bank had forcibly given loans to the farmers in the district without verifying their repayment capacity.

Mr. Prabhu also alleged that banks were not sanctioning home loans to rural customers. The KRRS members urged Mr. Anand to take steps to regulate the functioning of ICICI Bank in the State. A memorandum was submitted to Mr. Anand urging him to conduct an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in sanctioning loans by the bank.

Nagarathna, wife of Siddaraju, also submitted a memorandum to Mr. Anand.

After receiving the complaints from the customers, Mr. Anand said that a detailed report would be submitted to the Reserve Bank of India on the issue. He said the steps would be taken to meet the demands of customers for smooth functioning of banks.

Deputy Secretary, banking ombudsman, Shivaprasad; regional manager of State Bank of Mysore, Mysore, Shivaram; deputy general manager of SBM Nataraj; assistant general manager of NABARD K.L. Vinay, and Lead Bank manager Giridhar Karkala were present.

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