Citibank Appoints J F Ribeiro As External Ombudsman

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Continuing its commitment to provide best in class service and grievance resolution system to its customers and in line with regulatory and BCSBI directions, Citibank today announced the appointment of eminent citizen and Padma Bhushan awardee Mr. Julio Francis Ribeiro as its external ombudsman for all collections and credit related consumer disputes.

Citibank's initiative of appointing an external ombudsman is the first of its kind in the Indian banking industry and continues its legacy of pioneering service innovations. In 1994 Citibank had laid the foundation of a world-class customer service experience in India through the launch of the 24-Hour CitiPhone service and the Internet service platform was launched in 1999. New features, including an escalation mechanism through e-mail and by telephone via a toll free number were introduced in 2005 to facilitate escalation of unsatisfactorily answered or complex queries.

The appointment of Mr. Ribeiro as an external ombudsman will make available, opinion of a credible, independent expert, to customers who wish to seek such external recourse. Often referred to as 'Super Cop', Mr. Ribeiro, the former Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, Director General of Police, Punjab, Special Secretary in the Government of India's Home Ministry and India's Ambassador to Romania has over the years, used his in-depth understanding of the police and legal system to work with citizen organizations for a variety of social causes. He is a founder member of the Mohalla Committee Movement Trust that fights Communalism and the Public Concern for Governance Trust that fights Corruption. He is the Chairman of the Happy Home & School for the Blind and the Chairman of the Bombay Mother's & Children Welfare Society, which runs hospitals and crèches for the underprivileged.

Customers can directly contact Mr. Ribeiro through his office on email Julio.Ribeiro@citi.com or they can call the Citi toll free telephone 1-800-419-4357(HELP) on all working days between 9.30am and 5.30pm. Calls received will be summarised, investigated and sent to Mr Ribeiro's office for resolution.

All complaints received at Mr. Ribeiro's office will be investigated and resolved within two weeks. The resolution process will involve establishing specific facts of the complaint, the context, and an appropriate response from Citibank. If required, Mr Ribeiro will hear views of both the customer and Citibank. While the findings and observations of Mr. Ribeiro will be totally binding on Citibank, the customer, if dissatisfied, will be free to retain appropriate further recourse.

Announcing this appointment, Mr. P S Jayakumar, Country Business Manager, Global Consumer Group, Citi India said, "We are committed to providing the best of financial products and related services to our clients. The appointment of Mr. Ribeiro will help address the needs of a segment of our customers who are interested in getting unbiased, expert opinion on their specific case/issue. We look forward to working closely with him to further enhance our customer service and satisfaction levels."

Mr. Ribeiro said, "I would encourage customers who have a genuine issue to write or call - and I commit to them that they will receive what I believe to be an honest, fair resolution. The only way to deal with such disputes is transparently."

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Major brand names under Citi's trademark red arc include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Source: Citi (Business Wire India)

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