RBI Ombudsman complaints rise 13.6% in FY25, led by loan and card issues

Complaints under the RBI's Integrated Ombudsman Scheme grew to 1.33 million in FY25, driven by grievances over loans, credit cards and mobile banking

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The complaints registered under the Reserve Bank of India’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS) were up by 13.55 per cent to 1.33 million in FY25 from 1.18 million in FY24, according to the RBI’s Annual Report of the Ombudsman Scheme.

 

How were complaints received by the RBI?

 

The central bank received complaints through the Office of the Reserve Bank of India Ombudsman (ORBIO) and the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC). In FY25, ORBIO received nearly 0.30 million complaints, 0.82 per cent higher than the previous year.

 

Which complaint categories saw the highest share?

 

Out of the total complaints, those related to loans and advances were the highest at 29.25 per cent in FY25. Complaints related to credit cards increased by 20.04 per cent and became the second-highest contributor. Complaints related to mobile/electronic banking accounted for 16.86 per cent of overall complaints, though this category decreased by 12.74 per cent from the year-ago period.

 

Which financial entities saw the most complaints?

 

Complaints against banks formed the largest portion — 0.24 million, accounting for 81.53 per cent of complaints received by the ORBIOs — followed by NBFCs (43,864 complaints), accounting for 14.80 per cent in FY25.

 

Among banks, the share of complaints against private-sector banks was the highest and increased from 34.39 per cent year-on-year in FY24 to 37.53 per cent in FY25. However, the share of complaints received against public-sector banks, which was the highest in FY24, declined from 38.32 per cent to 34.80 per cent in FY25.

 

How many complaints were disposed of?

 

During FY25, the ORBIOs disposed 0.29 million complaints (including pending complaints from the previous year) and achieved a disposal rate of 93.07 per cent.

 

The ORBIOs disposed 0.18 million complaints — 62.16 per cent of the total — as maintainable complaints, while the remaining were disposed as non-maintainable. About 51.91 per cent of maintainable complaints were resolved through mutual settlement, conciliation or mediation, while 43.36 per cent were rejected.