reasonableness of bank charges

Mumbai, May 18 (UNI) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today constituted a working group to formulate a scheme for ensuring reasonableness of bank charges and to incorporate them in the Fair Practices Code, the compliance of which will be monitored by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India.

The members of the working group are Mr N Sadasivan, Mr S Diwakara, Mr H N Sinor, Mr P Saran and Mr Kaza Sudhakar.

The working group will enumerate the various basic banking and financial services rendered to individual customers for which the scheme should be applicable as also to study the basis and methodology adopted by banks for fixing the quantum of fees for such services and to enunciate the principles that could be considered as fair, a RBI release issued here today said.

The working group will also evolve a scheme for ensuring the reasonableness of fixing or changing and notifying service charges based on the principles enunciated above and also suggest suitable additions to the Fair Pratices Code in regard to the scheme to be evolved.

The working group will also suggest measures for monitoring compliance to the relative provisons in the Fair Practices Code by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India besides taking up any other relevant matter.

The working group is expected to submit its report by end-July this year, the release added.

UNI JJ MJ NV1916