state bank of india Wizard of Corruption

State Bank of India why, Should Not Opt by the people ?

In earlier times when this world was a much better place to live, Communities refrained themselves from accepting any sort of monetary help from authorities and organizations believing that the help they’re getting is just gambling and this help has to be paid with a huge cost for their lives, families and businesses.

Now I too feel the same, after applying for a loan in The State Bank of India, I came to a conclusion that even if you’re asking for help for a good cause then certainly you’re making a big mistake.

My dream was to open India’s first Certified Organic Corporate Cattle Dairy Farm which produces clean, hygienic & good quality of milk and their products because these days even farmers are selling their lands and do not want to continue farming.

I took this step to make a difference in the society and for human welfare. As I started my project I required financial assistance  and the solution which I thought to tackle  was a loan sanction from The State Bank of India, the so called “Bank of the Nation” and here I made a mistake and risked mine, my Project and my family’s lives and earnings.

I’ve came to a conclusion that these days the super-imposition of union, caste discrimination, violations and mockery of law is embedded into the system of The State Bank of India. The non-technical, corrupt, inexperienced, self-centered, egoist officials are sitting on the prime positions of project finance departments. Even the higher officials are supporting their corrupt subordinates and they know all the misdeeds as aforementioned. Either they don’t want to discharge their duties or they’re also part of the corrupt system or maybe they’re under pressure of union or caste discrimination.

I believe that if you want to start a project and require bank finance then you can’t maintain your dignity as an honest Indian rather you have to turn yourself into the most corrupt person and involve yourself into the corrupt activities of the bank officials and their system. You’ll be forcibly bound to bribe the officials and system so that your life, survival of your family and project won’t be at stake and you won’t face all the problems which I’ve faced in my life.

I THINK BEING AN HONEST PERSON AND TO PLEDGE AGAINST CORRUPTION IS THE MOST STUPID DECISION OF AN INDIAN.

I’ve explained below how The State Bank of India and their officials devastated me and my dream project which lead to closure of the project. I’m mentioning all the problems I’ve faced with the bank so that you’ll beware when you’re about to start your business:

·         Improper discharge of the duties by The State Bank of India Officials.

·         Harassment of borrower by The State Bank of India Officials due to non-fulfillment of their selfish needs.

·         Senior officers protecting their corrupt and vindictive officers after complaint being made, leading and promoting corruption in the banking.

·         Disobeying the specific directions and instructions given by the Chairman and Managing Director by the officers of The State Bank of India.

·         Involvement of the officers of The State Bank of India in unfair trade practices.

·         Not following the rules, regulations and guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India and their own bank.

·         Banking ombudsman is working to protect accused and corrupt officials of the bank and not to protect the customers. It seems that their duty is not to redress the consumers’ grievances rather it is to harass the consumers. Consumer feels that he has committed crime by lodging the complaint into ombudsman.

·         The State Bank of India officials are not following Fair Lending Practices Code.

·         Chairman office is not following the rules of consumer grievance redressal system that is being made by them.

·         The State Bank of India is making mockery of the very well established Fundamental Human Right of Right To Information Act 2005, depriving the customer from his account’s information and even when I went to RTI the officials from bottom to top were involved in safeguarding their culprit and accused officials and failed to get the information from the banking  system, finally I was forcibly bound to file the entire matter with Chief Information Commissioner, New Delhi and from  last five months result is awaited.

·         Capital distress management system was not followed.

·         Misuse of rights and duties by the officials of the bank.

·         Intentional harassment by the bank officials and discrimination on the basis of caste, sex and religion which has led to loss of money and prestige of the customer and finally the dream project got killed due to the behavior of these officials.

·         Deficiency in service provided by the bank.

·         Code of fair banking practices in India was not followed (towards excellence adopted by State Bank of India and constituted by the Banking Codes and Standards Bank of India (BC THE STATE BANK OF INDIA)).

-> I’m adding the following clauses and annexures defined by the concerned authorities for your reference to the above mentioned subjects.

Reserve Bank of India amends Banking Ombudsman Scheme: Includes complaints relating to Internet Banking and Non-adherence to Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI)

   The Reserve Bank of India has widened the scope of its Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006, to include deficiencies arising out of Internet Banking. Under the Amendment Scheme, a customer would also be able to lodge a complaint against the Bank for its non-adherence to the provisions of the fair practices code for lenders or the code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers issued by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI). The BCSBI is an independent and autonomous watchdog set up by the Reserve Bank of India to monitor and ensure that the codes and standards adopted by the banks for rendering banking services are adhered to in true spirit.

www.rbi.org.in
www.bankingombudsman.rbi.org.in
www.bcThe State Bank of India.org.in

As per the Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006 by Reserve Bank of India

Chapter IV

Procedure for Redressal of Grievance

8. Grounds of Complaint

(1), (k) levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer;

(r) non-adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the bank;

(s) non-adherence to the provisions of the code of Bank’s Commitments to Customers issued by Banking Codes and Standards Board of India and as adopted by the Bank;

(u) any further matter relating to the violation of the directives issued by the Reserve Bank in relation to Banking or other services.

(2) A complaint on any one of the following grounds alleging deficiency in banking service in respect of loans and advances may be filled with the Banking Ombudsman having jurisdiction:

(b) delays in sanction, disbursement or non-observance of prescribed time schedule for disposal of loan applications;

(c) non-acceptance of application for loans without furnishing valid reasons to the applicant; and

(d) non-adherence to the provisions of the fair practices code for lenders as adopted by the bank or Code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers, as the case may be;

12. AWARD BY THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN

(2) The Banking Ombudsman shall take into account the evidence placed before him by the parties, the principles of banking law and practice, directions, instructions and guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time and such other factors which in his opinion are relevant to the complaint.

Guidelines on Fair Practices Code for Lenders

DBOD.Leg.No.BC.104/09.07.007/2002-03                                   Dated: May 5, 2003

Guidelines on Fair Practices Code for Lenders

(2) Guidelines

(iii) Disbursement of loans including changes in terms and conditions

Lenders should ensure timely disbursement of loans sanctioned in conformity with the terms and conditions governing such sanctions. Lenders should give notice of any change in the terms and conditions including interest rates, service charges, etc. Lenders should also ensure that changes in interest rate and charges are effected only prospectively.

(v) General

a) Lenders should restrain from interference in the affairs of the borrowers except for what is provided in the terms and conditions of the loan sanction documents (unless new information, not earlier disclosed by the borrower, has come to the notice of the lender).

b) Lenders must not discriminate on grounds of sex, caste and religion in the matter of lending. However, this does not preclude lenders from participating in credit-linked schemes framed for weaker sections of the society.

c) In the matter of recovery of loans, the lenders should not resort to undue harassment viz. persistently bothering the borrowers at odd hours, use of muscle power for recover of loans, etc.

d) In case of receipt of request for transfer of borrowal account, either from the borrower or from a bank/financial institutions, which proposes to take- over the account, the consent or otherwise i.e. objection of the lender, if any, should be conveyed within 21 days from the date of receipt of request.

4. The Board of Directors should also lay down the appropriate grievance redressal mechanism within the organization to resolve disputes arising in this regard. Such a mechanism should ensure that all disputes arising out of the decisions of lending institutions’ functionaries are heard and disposed of at the next higher level. The Board of Directors should also provide for periodical review of the compliance of the Fair Practices Code and the functioning of the grievances redressal mechanism at various levels of controlling offices. A consolidated report of such reviews may be submitted to the Board at regular intervals, as may be prescribed by it.

AGRICULTURE / RURAL

Refer to: http://www.The State Bank of India.co.in/user.htm

State Bank of India

Caters to the needs of agriculturists and landless agricultural labourers through a network of 8750 rural and semi-urban branches. Apart from the branches, there are 428 Agricultural Development Branches (ADBs) which also cater to agriculturists. We are the leaders in agri finance in the country with a portfolio of Rs. 64,000 crs in agri advances covering around 80 lac accounts.

Now we are setting up Agri Commercial Branches (ACBs) which will handle high value agri financing involving large investments. It envisages lending through corporate partnerships and other large enterprises for commodity financing, investment credit, other high value agriculture segments like horticulture, floriculture & food processing etc. It also focuses on Agri related SME including setting up of Rice and Dhal mills, seed processing industry, food processing industry, large and small scale dairy units, etc.

·         Providing focused attention on the banking requirements of the agriculture segment,

·         Focus on Key Corporate and Institutional relationships in agriculture, emerging opportunities, and special initiatives, as may be necessary,

·         Reduce NPA levels in Agriculture,

·         Make agriculture a commercial proposition.

FAIR LENDING PRACTICES CODE

FAIR LENDING PRACTICES CODE (FLPC)

1.      Preamble

2.      Important Declarations

1.      Fair Practices

 1. PREAMBLE

Scope:

(a) FAIR LENDING PRACTICES CODE (FLPC for short) is a voluntary code adopted by our Bank, which aims to achieve synchronization of best practices while dealing with Customers in India. It aims to provide valuable inputs to Customers and facilitates effective interaction of customers with the Bank. 

2. Important declarations:

The Bank declares and undertakes

·         To attempt in good faith to resolve any disputes or differences with customers by setting up complaint redressal cells within the organization.

·         To comply with all the regulatory requirements in good faith.

3.9. Financial Distress:

a) The Bank would sympathetically reckon cases of customer’s financial distress.

b) Customers would be encouraged to inform about their financial distress as soon as possible.

c) The Bank would adequately train the operational staff to give patient hearing to the Customers in financial distress and would try to render such help as may be possible in their view.

3.10. Grievance Redressal

a) The Bank would have a Grievance Redressal Cell/ Department/ Centre within the organization.

c) Response to a complaint whether positive or negative or requiring more time for redressal would generally be given within a maximum period of four weeks from the date of receipt of complaint, unless the nature of complaint is such that requires verification of voluminous facts and figures.

POLICY ON CUSTOMER GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL

STATE BANK OF INDIA

POLICY ON CUSTOMER GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL

1. THE STATE BANK OF INDIA’s policy on customer grievances redressal is based on the following principle:

‘The customer is the focus of the Bank’s products, services and people. The Bank’s business growth depends entirely on the satisfaction of customers with what the Bank offers them. A suitable mechanism must therefore exist for receiving and redressing customer grievances courteously, promptly and satisfactorily. Any mistakes made by the Bank should be rectified immediately. The details of grievances redressal mechanism must be in the domain of public knowledge’.

The above principle is incorporated in the Bank’s policy of grievances redressal.

2. Grievances relating to branch transactions:

i) In case of any difficulty in transactions, the customers may approach the Service Manager at the branch or the Customer Relations Executive or the Branch Manager, who will ensure that the customers’ banking needs are attended to. However, if this does not happen, customers may demand the complaint book, which will be available in all branches, and lodge a written complaint. A copy of the complaint shall be returned to customer with an acknowledgement of receipt. The branch shall make efforts to ensure that the redressal of the complaint takes place expeditiously and in any case within a maximum period of three weeks. If for any reason the branch is unable to redress the grievance within three weeks, the customer will be informed of the reasons and the action taken for early redressal.

ii) In case the customer is unable to visit the Branch, he may lodge his complaint on alternate channels viz. Contact Centre toll free numbers 1800 425 3800,  1800 11 22 11  or  080-26599990  or through SMS Unhappy channel by sending SMS ‘UNHAPPY’ to number  8008 20 20 20  . The customers shall be given a unique complaint number which can be used by the complainant for tracking his complaint status. Customers can also send their complaints through email at GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL POLICY contactcentre@The State Bank of India.co.in. Complaints lodged on these channels are forwarded to the branches through web based system for redressal as above. The complainant can also get the status of redressal of his complaint directly from the Contact Centre by calling on the toll free numbers as given above.

iii) In case of difficulty with the branch, or unsatisfactory reply in respect of complaint lodged with the Branch/alternate channel, the customer can approach the Assistant General Manager [Regional Business office (RBO)] / General Manager (Network) of the Local Head Office under whose administrative control the Branch functions. The contact particulars of the officials can be obtained from the Branch or from the helpline numbers at the concerned Local Head Office. The helpline numbers and addresses are given in the Annexure. The numbers will also be made available on the Bank’s website.

iii) The customers can also write to the Grievance Cell at the Local Head Office under whose jurisdiction the Branch functions. The addresses and contact details of the grievance cell of the Local Head Office will be made available at the branches. Customers may also obtain them by calling on the Helpline Numbers.

3. Escalation matrix for customer complaints

Within the overall maximum period of three weeks within which a complaint needs to be redressed, there will be a prescribed escalation matrix for redressal of the complaints at different levels in the organisation. The matrix prescribes the time period for unresolved complaints/ grievances not redressed to customers GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL POLICY satisfaction to be escalated by customers to higher authorities. The escalation matrix for customer complaints is given below:

Sl. No.	Lodging / Escalation /Auto Escalation of complaints	Day of lodging / Escalation	Days available for redressal (Within the maximum three weeks)
1	Branch	Day 1	10 Days
2	Local Head Office	Day 11	6 Days
3	Corporate Office	Day 16	6 Days

redressed within 10 days or the customer is not happy with the redressal by the branch, he may escalate his complaint to Local Head Office on the 11th day of first lodging of the complaint. If the complaint is not redressed within the next 5 days (15 days from day 1), the customer may further escalate the complaint for redressal to the Corporate Centre. The complaint will invariably have to be redressed within a maximum period of 21 days / three weeks.

6. Acknowledgement of grievances and redress:

i) The RBO, LHO or the Corporate Centre as the case may be, will acknowledge the grievance within five days (5) of receipt and initiate action to have the grievance resolved within a maximum period of three weeks. The customer will also be kept informed of the action taken, the reasons for delay if any, in redressal and the progress in redressal of grievance.

ii) Complaints received by e-mail shall be acknowledged by email to the extent possible. The follow up action taken in respect of such complaints shall be advised to customers by email. However in cases of complaints of serious nature and delays in redressal etc., a paper trail will necessarily be created.

ii) In case the customer is unhappy with the redressal provided by the bank or his grievance has not been redressed within one month of the date of the complaint, he can also approach the Banking Ombudsmen located in State Capitals for redressal. The customer will be given the necessary guidance in this regard by the branches and the help lines. The contact details of the Banking Ombudsman of the respective region shall be on display at each branch.

7. Review Mechanism

i. Chairman / Managing Director (MD)/ Dy. Managing Director (DMD)

The redressal of customer grievances takes place mainly at three levels – Branch, Controlling Office (Regional Business Office / Local Head Office) and Corporate Centre. A large number of grievances are addressed by customers directly to the GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL POLICY Chairman /Managing Director / Deputy Managing Director. Where the issues raised in the grievance are considered serious, the Chairman / MD /DMD shall call for a report on the causes that led to the grievance, the redressal and further action taken. Such grievances will be considered disposed off only on approval from the Chairman / MD /DMD.

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM

II. Acknowledgement of grievances and redress:

Branch manager or the Nodal Officer at Local Head Office as the case may be, will acknowledge the grievance within five days of receipt and initiate action to have the grievance resolved within a maximum period of three weeks. The customer will also be kept informed of the action taken, the reasons for delay if any, in redressal and the progress in redressal of grievance.

CODE OF BANKS

6. COLLECTION OF DUES

1.     We will provide you with all the information regarding dues and will endeavour to give sufficient notice for payment of dues.

2.     We will have a system of checks before passing on a default case to collection agencies so that you are not harassed on account of lapses on our part.

3.     We will write to you when we initiate recovery proceedings against you.

4.     All the members of the staff or any person authorized to represent our bank in collection or/and security repossession would follow the guidelines set out below:

i.        You would be contacted ordinarily at the place of your choice and in the absence of any specified place at the place of your residence and if unavailable at your residence, at the place of business/occupation

ii.        Identity and authority to represent would be made known to you

iii.        Your privacy would be respected

iv.        Interaction with you would be in a civil manner

i.        Normally our representatives will contact you between 0700 hrs and 1900 hrs, unless the special circumstances of your business or occupation require otherwise

ii.        Your requests to avoid calls at a particular time or at a particular place would be honored as far as possible

iii.        Time and number of calls and contents of conversation would be documented

iv.        All assistance would be given to resolve disputes or differences regarding dues in a mutually acceptable and in an orderly manner

v.        During visits to your place for dues collection, decency and decorum would be maintained

vi.        Inappropriate occasions such as bereavement in the family or such other calamitous occasions would be avoided for making calls/visits to collect dues

vii.        We will investigate any complaint from you about unfair practices by collection agents.

7.    COMPLAINTS, GRIEVANCES AND FEEDBACK

7.1 Internal Procedures

1.     If you want to make a complaint, we will tell you:

i.        How to do this

ii.        Where a complaint can be made

iii.        How a complaint should be made

iv.        When to expect a reply

v.        Whom to approach for redressal

vi.        What to do if you are not happy about the outcome.

Our staff will help you with any questions you have.

1.     We will tell you where to find details of our procedure for handling complaints fairly and quickly.

2.     If your complaint has been received in writing, we will endeavour to send you an acknowledgement/ a response within a week. If your complaint is relayed over phone at our designated telephone helpdesk or customer service number, we shall provide you a complaint reference number and keep you informed of the progress within a reasonable period of time.

3.     After examining the matter, we will send you our final response or explain why we need more time to respond and shall endeavor to do so within 30 days of receipt of your complaint and will tell you how to take your complaint further if you are still not satisfied.

8.    PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Changing your account

1.     If you want to transfer your account to another branch of our bank we will do so. Your account at the new branch will be operationalized within two weeks of receiving your request, subject to your complying with the required KYC formalities at the new branch. We will intimate you as soon as the account is operationalized. The new branch will be provided with information on your standing instructions/direct debits, if any.

2.     We will cancel any bank charges you would have to pay as a result of any mistake or unnecessary delay by us when you transfer your current / savings account to or from us.

8.10 Remittances Within India

If you want to remit money within India we will inform you how to effect it and will:

a. give description of services and how to use them

b. suggest to you the best way to send the money to suit your needs

c. disclose the details of all charges including commission that you will have to pay for the service as per the Tariff Schedule as amended from time to time.

In case of any delay we will compensate you for the delay and any loss/ additional expense incurred by you.

8.11.1 Loan Products

Applications for loans and their processing

1.     We shall invariably provide you with an acknowledgement of your loan application. We shall make every endeavor to indicate on your application the period within which you can expect to receive a decision on your request for loan.

g. We will also inform you whether you have an option to let equated monthly installments stay constant and increase tenure or vice-versa when the interest rate changes.

m. We will not discriminate on grounds of sex, caste and religion in the matter of lending. However, this does not preclude us from instituting or participating in schemes framed for different sections of the society.

n. We will process request for transfer of borrowal account, either from the borrower or from a bank/financial institution, in the normal course and convey our concurrence or otherwise within 21 days of receipt of request.

8.12 Guarantee

iii. circumstances in which we will call on you to pay up your liability

vi. time and circumstances in which your liabilities as a guarantor will be discharged as also the manner in which we will notify you about this.

1.     We will keep you informed of any material adverse change/s in the financial position of the borrower to whom you stand as a guarantor.