Social Responsibility Client Policies (OI7783)

This metric can be used by many different types of organizations. Examples of policies that a financial service organization might have in place to protect its clients may include:

• All employees involved in collections are trained on collection practices and in particular on acceptable and unacceptable debt collection practices which are clearly spelled out in a code of ethics, book of employee rules, or debt collection manual.
• Internal audits check household debt exposure, lending practices that violate procedures including unauthorized refinancing, multiple borrowers or co-signers per household, and other practices that could increase indebtedness.
• Productivity targets and incentive systems value portfolio quality at least as highly as other factors, such as disbursement or customer growth. Growth is rewarded only if portfolio quality is high.
• The institution's collection practices are covered during the initial training of all employees involved in collections (loan officers, collections employees, and branch managers). In particular, collections employees receive training in acceptable debt collections practices and loan recovery procedures.
• The institution documents and communicates to clients about loan policies and procedures for rescheduling credit.
• The institution's prepayment penalties, account closure fees, transaction fees, or other penalties are not excessive.
• The organization has a culture that values and rewards high standards of ethical behavior and customer service.
• Other