The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) organised the third annual conference of Internal Ombudsmen (IOs) in Mumbai on July 13, 2026, bringing together representatives from banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), credit information companies (CICs) and other regulated entities.

The conference was attended by Internal Ombudsmen, Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers, Executive Directors overseeing customer service, Principal Nodal Officers, RBI Ombudsmen and senior RBI officials.

In his keynote address, Deputy Governor Swaminathan J. urged Internal Ombudsmen to ensure fair, meaningful and effective resolution of customer complaints. He also called on them to identify recurring issues, conduct root cause analysis and recommend corrective measures to strengthen grievance redressal and reduce the need for complaints to be escalated externally.

The conference featured discussions on recent developments in grievance redressal, regulatory expectations and insights from RBI Ombudsmen, with a focus on improving complaint resolution quality and strengthening customer service across regulated entities. An open-house session led by Executive Director Sonali Sen Gupta also explored ways to further enhance the effectiveness of the Internal Ombudsman framework.