The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 28, 2025 issued the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025, consolidating customer-protection and conduct-related instructions for commercial banks. The Directions set a unified framework to strengthen customer service, transparency, fair treatment, financial inclusion, accessibility, payment and remittance safeguards, deposit handling, and responsible lending practices across bank branches and digital channels.
They require banks to adopt board-approved institutional arrangements for customer grievance redressal, display standardized Key Facts Statements and pricing information, follow clear rules for disclosures (rates, fees, KFS, APR), ensure accessibility and inclusion measures, and implement robust processes for deposit handling, locker services, and speedy settlement of claims. The Directions also prescribe conduct rules for lending (pre-contract disclosures, fair recovery practices, and microfinance protections), operational standards for payment/remittance services, and formats/templates (annexes) for notices, KFS and claim forms.
Applicability spans scheduled commercial banks (excluding SFBs, Payment Banks and LABs) and includes extensive annexures (notice board format, rates-at-a-glance, KFS, claim forms, inventories). Implementation timelines, monitoring and reporting obligations, and repeal/saving clauses are specified to ensure orderly transition to the new consolidated conduct regime.
[Notification No. RBI/DOR/2025-26/170]
