The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all public sector banks and large private and foreign banks including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, StanChart and Citi Bank to appoint internal ombudsman for resolution of customer complaints. The RBI in a circular issued in Mumbai said the internal ombudsman would be designated Chief Customer Service Officer (CCSO) and that he should not have worked in the bank in which he/she is appointed as the CCSO. The circular added this initiative will further boost the quality of customer service and ensure an undivided attention to resolution of customer complaints in banks.While all public sector banks will have to appoint a CCSO, the private sector and foreign banks which have been asked to make the appointment include ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Citi Bank and HSBC. The private and foreign banks have been selected on the basis of their asset size, and business mix, among other parameters.The RBI had introduced the Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS) in 1995 to provide an expeditious and inexpensive forum to bank customers for resolution of complaints relating to deficiency in banking services provided by commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled primary co-operative banks. The RBI operates the BOS, free of cost, so as to make it accessible to all. The apex bank will shortly issue detailed operational guidelines in this regard.