Ethics and Compliance
Fair Practices Code
The Fair Practice Code is drafted to facilitate and maintain a high degree of ethical standards in our Operations. We at Svasti are committed to behaving in a fair, ethical and transparent manner in the conducting of our lending business.
We commit to be being fully compliant with the KYC guidelines issued by the RBI and to our Fair Practices Code, which is compliant with the RBI circular dated 1 July 2013 (RBI/2013-14/42 DNBS (PD) CC No.340/03.10.042/2013-14) and the Code of Conduct for MFIs in India.
01. The process of applying for a loan will not be cumbersome
02. The rate of interest charged will be in adherence with the RBI guidelines
03. Only relevant documents, in accordance with KYC norms set by RBI, will be collected from customers
04. The RBI guidelines for preventing over-indebtedness among customers will be followed
05. All loan applications will be verified by field staff and go through necessary credit bureau checks to ensure the repayment capacity of the borrowers
06. The moratorium between grant of loan and due date of repayment of first installment will be at least equal to repayment frequency
07. No fee on non-credit products/services will be collected without prior declaration to the client
08. No late fee will be charged on late payment
09. No penalty will Charged on prepayment
10. No security deposit or margin will be collected
01. All communication to the borrower shall be in the vernacular language
02. Svasti will provide each customer with a copy of the loan card, which contains the following information:
- A statement articulating Svasti’s commitment to transparency and fair lending practice
- Information that identifies the borrower
03. Pricing of the loan, which involves only three components:
- The interest rate
- The processing fee
- The insurance premium
04. The method of application of the interest
05. All other terms and conditions attached to the loan including those linked to over‐indebtedness
06. Fee structure for non-credit products that are issued with consent of the customer
07. Confirmation that there is no penalty charged on delayed payment
08. Confirmation that there is no security deposit or margin being collected
09. An assurance that the privacy of the customer will be respected
10. The moratorium between the grant of the loan and the due date of the repayment of the first installment
11. A declaration that Svasti will be accountable for preventing inappropriate staff behaviour and providing timely grievance redressal
12. The grievance redressal number and contact details
In addition, the loan card will contain the acknowledgement by Svasti of all repayments including installments received and the final discharge
If there is a change in the terms and conditions, the rate of interest, the disbursement schedule, service charges etc., the change will be intimated to the customer through a notice
The branch will have the following information displayed for the benefit of the customer:
01. The FPC document, in the vernacular language, articulating Svasti’s commitment to transparency and fair lending practices.
02. All the product details.
03. The effective rate of interest charged.
04. The processing charge.
05. The insurance premium.
06. A declaration that Svasti will be accountable for preventing inappropriate staff behaviour and providing timely grievance redressal.
07. The name, contact number and the email address of the customer care-in-charge.
08. The contact details of the Officer in Charge of the Regional Office of DNBS of RBI under whose jurisdiction the Svasti office falls.
The following information will be displayed on the website.
01. The effective rate of interest.
02. The loan agreement and the terms and conditions.
The contact information of the customer care and the Officer in Charge of the Regional Office of DNBS of RBI under whose jurisdiction the Svasti office falls.
01. The disbursement time will be intimated to the customers in advance.
02. All disbursement of loans will be done at a central location.
03. There will be more than one individual involved in the process of disbursement.
01. Collection will happen in a centralized location.
02. Collection will be done by employees of Svasti and collection will not be outsourced to recovery agents.
03. The field staff will adhere to the Employee Code of Conduct (ECOC) and the Collection Code of Conduct (CCOC).
04. Field staff shall be trained to inculcate appropriate behaviour towards customers.
05. Collection by the field staff will not be done using any abusive or coercive methods.
06. Customers will be informed about registering complaints on the customer care number and action will be taken against staff found guilty of violating the ECOC or the CCOC.
01. Field staff will be trained to make required enquiries with regard to existing debt of the customers.
02. Free training will be offered to the customers by the field staff or other employees of Svasti authorized to do so. The training will help the customers familiarize themselves with the procedures and systems related to the loan.
Compliance
An internal body will be set up to monitor and audit Svasti’s compliance of existing RBI guidelines and help implement any future guidelines issued by RBI or SRO.
Complaints
In case of any complaints, customers should call the following:
Officer in charge of customer grievances – Ganesh Khirsagar
Phone number – +91-9769616817 (between 10 am and 5 pm)
Complaints can also be addressed to custservice@svasti.in
Svasti is accountable in preventing inappropriate staff behaviour. Svasti ensures timely grievance redressal. In case complaints are not addressed in one month, the customer may appeal to the Officer-in-Charge of the Regional Office of Department of Non-Banking Supervision (DNBS) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Address for the Regional Office of DNBS of RBI:
Department of Non-Banking Supervision
Mumbai Regional Office
Garment House
Dr. A. B. Road, Worli
Mumbai 400 018.
The Hindi version can be found here.
Institutional Principles And Code Of Ethics
The fundamental principles on which the organization is structured. Svasti is committed to upholding the Core Values of Microfinance as laid out in the Industry Code of Conduct.
+ To provide low-income clients – women and men – and their families, with access to financial services that are client focused and designed to enhance their well-being, and are delivered in a manner that is ethical, dignified, transparent, equitable and cost effective.
+ To ensure quality services to clients, appropriate to their needs, and delivered efficiently in a convenient and timely manner.
+ To maintain high standards of professionalism based on honesty, non-discrimination and customer centricity.
+ To provide complete and accurate information to clients regarding all products and services offered.
+ To create awareness and enable clients and all other stakeholders to understand the information provided with respect to financial services offered and availed.
+ To ensure that clients are protected against fraud and misrepresentation, deception or unethical practices.
+ To ensure that all practices related to lending and recovery of loans are fair and maintain respect for client’s dignity and with an understanding of client’s vulnerable situation.
+ To safeguard personal information of clients, allowing disclosures and exchange of relevant information with authorized personnel only, and with the knowledge and consent of clients.
+ To ensure high standards of governance and management.
+ To monitor and report social as well as financial data.
+ To provide clients formal and informal channels for feedback and suggestions.
+ To consistently assess the impact of services in order to enhance competencies and serve clients better.
+ To provide a formal grievance redressal mechanism for clients.
In Addition:
Svasti is also committed to:
+ Non-discrimination policy: Svasti will not discriminate among employees or clients on the basis of caste, creed, region, language, race or sex.
+ Provide clients the loan they need without over-burdening them with debt
+ Promote and strengthen the Microfinance movement in the country by bringing low-income clients to the mainstream financial sector.
+ Build progressive, sustainable, and client-centric systems and practices to provide a range of financial services (consistent with regulation) to clients.
+ Promote cooperation and coordination among themselves and other agencies in order to achieve higher
Svasti is committed to following the Institutional Conduct Guidelines from the Industry Code of Conduct. Svasti
01. Shall have an appropriate mechanism for ensuring compliance with the Code of Conduct.
02. Shall have appropriate policies and operating guidelines to treat clients and employees with dignity.
03. Shall maintain formal records of all transactions in accordance with all regulatory and statutory norms, and borrowers’ acknowledgement/acceptance of terms/conditions must form a part of these records.
04. Shall have detailed board-approved process for dealing with clients, at each stage of default.
05. Shall not collect shortfalls in collections from employees except in proven cases of frauds by employees.
06. Shall have a Board approved debt restructuring product/program for providing relief to borrowers facing repayment stress.
07. Shall seek a reference check from previous employer for any new hire.
08. Shall provide within 2 weeks the reply to the reference check correspondence for another MFI.
09. Shall honour a one-month notice period from an outgoing employee.
10. Shall not recruit an employee of another MFI without the relieving letter from the previous MFI employer except where the previous employer (MFI) fails to respond to the reference check request within 30 days.
11. Shall not assign a new employee recruited from another MFI, to the same area he/she was serving at the previous employer, for a period of 1 year. This restriction applies to positions up to the Branch Manager level.
12. Shall have a dedicated process to raise the client’s awareness of options, choices, rights and responsibilities as a borrower and shall conduct regular checks on client awareness and understanding of the key terms and conditions of the products/ services offered / availed.
13. Shall agree to share complete client data with all RBI approved Credit Bureaus, as per the frequency of data submission prescribed by the Credit Bureaus.
14. Shall establish dedicated feedback and grievance redressal mechanisms to correct any error and handle/receive complaints speedily and efficiently.
15. Shall designate an official to handle complaints and/ or note any suggestions from the clients and make his/ her contact numbers easily accessible to clients.
The Hindi version can be found here.
