Julio Ribeiro Will Help Citibank Tackle Fraud
Citibank has roped in Julio Ribeiro, former commissioner of police, Mumbai, as consultant to work out a fool-proof system to manage fraud in the banking industry, especially the credit card business.
As part of the move, Citibank has tied up with the Bangalore police to shae information and expertise on fraud management in the financial services industry. The bank has taken similar steps in Mumbai, New Delhi, and is stopping over at Chennai for the next round.
"We are looking seriously at the option of bringing in retired police officials to accompany bank personnel in cases like car loan default which are becoming rampant," Ribeiro said at a press conference here yesterday.
But Citibank fumbled on the question of legality of the suggested measures. Ribeiro accepted that going through courts is the right way but argued that the bank had every right to repossess property that was not being paid for, especially if the customer profile was unfavourable.
Talking of trends in banking fraud, Citibank's Fraud Risk Management Director, Richard Parry, said there is a definite move towards sophisticated counterfeiting of credit cards all across Asia while the present fraud profile in India stays limited to lost and stolen cards.
Earlier, last week in Chennai, Richard Parry, fraud risk management director of Citibank, Asia-Pacific had warned that the credit card market in India is currently unprotected and if this continues white-collar crime will be on the rise. "With India becoming a global economy and having access to global products and services, it is increasingly vulnerable to the risks of white collar crime," Parry said.
With a significant presence in the card business, Citibank closely monitors trends in fraud and shares its experience with the regulatory authority of the concerned country.
Even in India, the bank shares information with government agencies, customs and excise officials regularly. To tackle crime in the industry more effectively, Citibank has initiated a programme to educate law enforcement agencies and the public on issues of fraud management with specific reference to the credit card business. It has joined hands with the city police to create a platform for sharing expertise and experiences of fraud management in the financial services industry in India.
"Any financial institution is best served by being proactive and in trying to minimise losses ahead of time. The methods of sophistication in customer usage is different and so are the methods employed by criminals to break the system," Parry said.