Customer complaints of banks, other financial institutions dropped 27.87% in half-year 2021 – Bank of Ghana says

The 2021 Half-Year Complaints Management Report has indicated that the Bank of Ghana received a total of 321 complaints directly from customers of banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions, and non-deposit taking financial institutions in the first-half of 2021, compared with 445 complaints recorded for the same period in 2020.

This is a 27.87% decline in customer complaints of banks and other financial institutions.

Out of the total number of complaints received from customers, 199 complaints were resolved within the required timelines, representing a resolution rate of 61.99%. This represented a decline of 20.7% compared with 368 complaints resolved in the same period of 2020.

The decline was as a result of the complexity of the complaints and the availability of complainants for mediation processes. Some unresolved complaints also related to locked-up funds with distressed SDIs.

For banks alone, the Bank of Ghana received a total of 144 complaints, out of which 131 were resolved and 13 unresolved. In the same period of 2020, 249 complaints were received out of which 241 were resolved and 8 unresolved.

Complaints resolved during the period under review were related mainly to loan transactions including wrong computation of interest rates, wrongful application of penal charges, early loan repayment charges, and credit histories held by licensed credit bureaux. Others included unauthorised and unexplained debits on accounts and charge-back arising from unsuccessful ATM transactions.

The unresolved complaints in the period were due mainly to the complex nature of the complaints which required more documentation to facilitate their determination. Additionally, some of the cases were received in the month of June 2021 and the resolution processes were on-going as at the end of the reporting period.

Overall, the decline in the customer complaints, the Central Bank, largely attributed to the increased awareness of the general public to seek redress from the respective financial institution as a first level in the complaints resolution process.

The report said the Bank of Ghana observed that during the review period, financial service providers resolved most of their customer complaints, hence the decline in the number of complaints escalated to the Central Bank.