SBP directs banks to observe impartiality

KARACHI: The central bank has directed financial institutions not to discriminate any customer on the ground that he/she belongs to a particular category of customers.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in a statement issued on Thursday, said the bank is receiving complaints from customers that they are being discriminated for their belonging to a high risk category, such as politically exposed persons (PEPs).
The State Bank advised all banks/development finance institutions to put in place an internal mechanism for speedy handling of such complaints and nominate senior officers with the responsibility of dealing with complaints and issues related to PEPs.
The statement said the central bank has established a special unit in its consumer protection department for handling grievances against such discriminatory practices.
This unit will monitor and handle the complaints, which remain unresolved by banks’ internal procedure.
SBP’s instructions, issued on August 19, 2008, had already prohibited discrimination on the basis of specific occupation, trade, region, gender and other factors while providing financial services in normal course of business.