Banking on chang

Banking Ombudsman Judy Chang is clear as to what her job is. “The banking ombudsman is not a watchdog for the banking industry,” she says; “It is not about setting standards and pulling up the industry in any way.” She insists that the banking ombudsman will serve as a mediator between the bank and the customer. The Office of the Banking Services Ombudsman (BSO) was opened last week Monday at the Central Bank without much fanfare and the expected barrage of complaints. Her only boss is Central Bank Governor, Ewart Williams, and dismisses the view that she is obligated to the banks. Chang’s  appointment came into effect on May 1 after serving as chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) for five years. Chang’s role as banking ombudsman involves investigating complaints from individual and small businesses with respect to financial services that banks provide. Although no formal legislation is in place, six commercial banks have volunteered to help the banking ombudsman. These include Citibank, First Citizens Bank (FCB), Intercommercial Bank, RBTT Bank, Republic Bank, and Scotiabank.

According to Chang, before a complaint reaches the office of the BSO it must first be lodged at the bank in question. “The process must start from the bank,” she said. She explained that if the disgruntled customer is not satisfied with the bank’s response to the matter after a period of two months, then they can lodge a complaint with the banking ombudsman and then it will be investigated. The banks have been dealing with complaints for the past two years, noted Chang, stressing that under the Code of Banking Practice banks have agreed to deal with complaints and other disputes customers may have with the banks. “We just provide another avenue for people who are not satisfied with the recommendations they receive from the banks,” she said. However, there are some limitations to the types of complaints that Chang will investigate. The complaint must not be related to the banks’ general interest rate and risk policies or pricing of products and services. “You cannot come to me and say that the interest charged by this bank is more than what they should charge because as I see it when you have a relationship with a bank it is a contractual relationship.

“You should be told everything about the transaction up-front and you should be fully aware of what you are getting into and it is something you have to abide by.” If, however, the customer is not told at the beginning of the agreement what the rate is, Chang said her office will take a look.  “But to say that the rate charge at the beginning is too high or that the banks want to price a product and charge a certain finance fee, we do not get into that area because we leave that to competitive forces between banks.” Once a customer’s complaint meets the required specifications, they are asked to fill out a form which they can get at the ground floor of the Central Bank and then Chang will start her investigations. “Sometimes there are two and three sides to a story. So a customer can tell me one thing but I also need to find out the banks’ side and then marry the two,” she said. Citing experiences from other ombudsman services, Chang said her investigations should not take more than three months and depends on how far apart the parties are and what are the complaints. “Some of them might be straightforward, others we may need to get information about the bank. We are an impartial party trying to ensure that both parties are at one at the end of the day.” Chang added that the banks do not have to agree with her recommendations and can opt out of the whole system or even take the matter to court. “This is not a court of law, it is a process to get two parties together, and it is relatively simple and informal, taking into consideration the overall trend is fairness and equity.”

She noted though that currently there are not many complaints and those that they have received may or may not meet the criteria that was set out. She said she will analyse each one and respond to them accordingly. “Business is slow right now so maybe that is a good sign that there aren’t many complaints.” However, Chang does expect things to pick up as people become more aware of the banking ombudsman and the services that are offered, free of charge. She added that while this is the first time that a banking ombudsman has been appointed in TT, she does not think that it is that overdue citing the Canadian ombudsman who has been around for only five or six years ago. She added that while this job is a heavy responsibility, she is honoured to be considered for the post. “I retired once before and again I am being called to work again.” A chartered accountant by profession, she retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers about seven years ago and then took up the position of chairman at UTC. She noted though, that her stint at UTC was not a full time post, but the position of banking ombudsman is definitely full time. “This job is putting me back to work,” she said and was all for the idea of “providing the man in the street with another avenue to deal with the banking business.” At the end of the day, she hopes that her job will lend more credibility to the banking system.