Regulatory Alerts2009-03-17
Regulating Banking Employees' Communications With Customers for Payment of Outstanding Debts
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority issued this circular to address customer complaints regarding excessive and poorly timed debt collection calls. It mandates banks to implement a mechanism that restricts such communications exclusively to debtors or their formally named guarantors, ensuring calls occur only during official banking hours. Additionally, banks must follow up with non-responsive customers through competent authorities and report their implementation measures within one month.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority Headquarters
Banking Supervision Department Ref. No.: 17456/15/8211 Enclosures:
Date: 1 Rabi' al-Awwal 1431 Corresponding to: 17 March 2009
Circular
To: The Bank, Respected
After greetings: Subject / Regulating Banking Employees' Communications With Customers for Payment of Outstanding Debts
With reference to the Authority receiving complaints from bank customers regarding the frequent telephone calls received by them and their family members, relatives, or friends at various and unsuitable times from bank collection staff, aimed at pressuring them to pay their outstanding debts to these banks.
And in the Authority's keenness to regulate the process of collecting bank customers' debts and the communications regarding this matter, while protecting customer privacy, the Bank is required to establish a suitable mechanism to restrict those communications to debtors or their guarantors whose names and signatures appear on the banking documents as guarantors, excluding other family members, relatives, or friends. Furthermore, communications must be confined and specified to official banking working hours, and customers who do not respond regarding their bank debt should be followed up on through the competent authorities. We hope to receive feedback on the measures taken in this regard within one month from its date.
Yours sincerely,
Deputy Governor for Technical Affairs Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Kholif
Distribution Scope: All banks operating in the Kingdom
- Legal Department
- Complaints Unit / Al-Mahous
P.O. Box 2992, Riyadh 11469, Central Telegraph: 404400, Telephone: 4662440, Fax: 4662865