The Reserve Bank will soon come out with comprehensive guidelines to protect consumers from being cheated by entities which are regulated by the central bank."The Financial Sector legislative Reforms Commission (FSlRC) report recommends adoption of consumer protection framework that will empower and require regulators to ensure consumer protection for the financial activities regulated by them," RBI Executive Director N S Vishwanathan said on the sidelines of an event organised by Assocham on Friday.
"The bank (RBI) is in the process of framing comprehensive consumer protection regulations based on domestic experience and global best practices," he said, adding, the existing norms would be strengthened.All the RBI regulated entities would come under this be it banks or NBFC, he said.
Asked if RBI is considering setting up a fund for consumer protection, he said, "at present there are no such plans. We only have a Depositor Education and Awareness Fund."On aligning fund raising requirement with new Companies Act, Vishwanathan said, in June 2013, RBI issued a circular saying that private placement norms applicable to non-NBFCs will be applicable to NBFC as well.
As per the existing norms, Non-banks Financial Companies (NBFCs) also cannot raise funds through private placement from more than 49 people at a time, he said.