DFIM Circular Letter No. 12: Regarding Implementation of the Guidelines For Customer Services and Complaint Management

Department of Financial Institutions and Markets Bangladesh Bank Head Office Dhaka. Ref No.: DFIM.CLD.FIN.01 DFIM Circular Letter No. 12 To: All Chief Executive Officers/Managing Directors of all Financial Institutions operating in Bangladesh.

Dear Sir,

Reference is drawn to your attention to DFIM Circular Letter No. 13/2011, dated: 02 August 2011 and FICSD Circular No. 01/2014, dated: 13 July 2014 regarding the Guidelines for Customer Services and Complaint Management.

2. Instructions have been issued to establish a Complaint Cell in each financial institution to resolve received complaints promptly through the relevant circular/letter. Furthermore, guidelines titled "Guidelines for Customer Services and Complaint Management" have been issued to ensure the protection of customer interests, ensure minimum standards of customer service, and establish a proper procedure for complaint resolution.

3. However, it has recently been observed that although most complaints brought by customers are resolvable through the internal management/complaint cell of the financial institution, they remain unresolved, leading to an increase in the number of such complaints. It has also come to light that some financial institutions are not accepting customer complaints/applications, or if accepted, are providing responses/resolutions outside the prescribed complaint resolution policy. Such actions harming customer interests are not desirable. In this regard, the following instructions are issued:

(a) Complaint cells must be established at the Head Office, Regional Offices, and Branches under the direct supervision of the Chief Executive Officer, and it must be ensured that customer applications/complaints are resolved and reported in accordance with the "Guidelines for Customer Services and Complaint Management" issued by Bangladesh Bank;

(b) Complaints/applications from all types of customers, including depositors and borrowers, must be accepted by providing an acknowledgment receipt, regardless of which office of the financial institution, including the Head Office, they are submitted to;

(c) Complaints received from customers must be resolved within the timeframes specified in Section 3.06 of the "Guidelines for Customer Services and Complaint Management" provided through FICSD Circular No. 01, dated: 13 July, 2014. If the resolution of a complaint requires a long time, the complainant must be kept informed about the progress and outcome of the complaint;

(d) The names of the officers responsible for customer service and complaint management at the Head Office, Regional Offices, and Branches must be displayed for public viewing;

(e) It must be ensured that financial institutions submit reports to the Bangladesh Bank website on a monthly/quarterly basis regarding the measures taken in response to customer complaints, in accordance with Section 2.02.x.7 of the "Guidelines for Customer Services and Complaint Management"; and

(f) Sincere efforts must be continued to improve the quality of customer service.

4. These instructions are issued under the powers conferred by Section 18(c) of the Financial Institutions Act, 1993, and shall take immediate effect.

Yours faithfully,

(Md. Zulkar Nayeem) Director (DFIM) Phone: 9530178 Date: 13 Asharh 1429 27 June 2022