BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has restated that the dream for a significant reduction in the quantum of complaints in the banking industry can only be combated if the zero- tolerance measure can be adopted.

Acting Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, CBN, Mr Chris Chukwu said this during the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) workshop in Lagos titled: Consumer complaints management in the banking industry, stating that a more mutually beneficial relationship between banks and their customers cannot happen by chance, but that it can only happen if banks and other financial institutions inculcate high ethical financial standards and the CBN educates the customers and adopts zero-tolerance on unfair financial practices.

He said though the new consumer protection regime is expected to yield more fruitful results, the consumer complaints management through the activities of the Bankers’ Committee as well as the then Banking Supervision Department of the CBN had been quite commendable.

“For example, out of 1,123 complaints received by the Sub-Committee as at 20th September, 2011, 852 had been resolved, 271 outstanding with a total estimated recovery of N7.3b and $16.5m,” he said.

Assuredly, Chukwu said, “there may be several challenges relating to the extant complaints management system going forward, also the full implementation of the current consumer complaints management regime, the volume of complaints we receive shall continue to dwindle.”

However, he noted that with the creation of the Consumer Protection Office within the CBN in March 2010, consumers can now channel complaints to the CBN directly, pointing out that what this means is that there are variety of options available to consumers.

On the other hand, the Managing Director, Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, (NDIC), Alhaji Ibrahim Umaru, noted that it is clear that bank customers could only complain when their expectations are not met through poor quality service delivery.

Umaru said the recent rising trend in bank customer complaints being witnessed in the country is an indication of neglect and harped on the need to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers as well as the existence of poor corporate governance in some of the banks in the system.

Pledging quality service to consumers, he said, “on our part as regulatory/supervisory authorities, we would continue to strengthen our supervisory framework so as to ensure that the system remains safe and sound for quality services to be rendered to bank customers at all times.”

However, “continuous complaints against banks could threaten confidence not only in the affected banks but the entire system at large. It is therefore high time the banks took prompt responses to customer complaints seriously,” he said.