KARACHI: State Bank Governor Ashraf Wathra, in his inaugural address to a seminar on Financial Consumer Protection, has said that the financial institutions must treat their consumers fairly as this practice also promotes competition in the industry.
The seminar, organised by the SBP under the auspices of Saarc Finance at National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF) Islamabad, was attended by the participants from central banks of Saarc countries.
Ashraf Wathra emphasised on the responsibility of the board of directors and senior management of the banks in bringing a cultural shift to ensure fair treatment of the customers. “The banks have to take a leading role in promoting and ensuring consumer protection,” he said.
Local and foreign experts on the subject shared their views on financial consumer protection in banks and the importance to conduct supervision.
On the importance of transparency and public awareness, Wathra suggested that at the time of offering a product or service, banks should give adequate information to their customers so that they could take informed decision.
He urged the need for a robust, fair, unbiased and efficient complaints’ resolution mechanism within the banks. Financial Consumer Protection should ideally rest on self-regulation complemented by regulatory reinforcement, he added.
There are 28 different banks and thousands of their branches in Pakistan.
