Israeli banks must improve their services to customers, the government regulator told industry leaders on Sunday.
Bank supervisor Yair Avidan cited long waits at call centers as well as a lack of availability for recycling mortgages at lower interest rates.
“In the context of technological developments and due to the Covid crisis, banking companies have widely used appointment scheduling systems. This technological use creates difficulties for clients, whether it is technical difficulties in fixing the appointment or the insufficient availability of bankers, so that the services are not always provided within a reasonable time, â€he said. Globes said citing Avidan in a statement.
“In addition, due to the extent of activity in the residential real estate sector, there has been an increase in demand for banking services for home loans. Following this increase, the supervisor of banks received complaints about long waits in call centers and the lack of availability of the services of a banker specializing in mortgage loans, for recycling mortgage loans.
Avidan wrote: “For this reason, we feel it fair to stress that banking companies should strive to provide customers with appropriate solutions to receive service in a range of channels – call centers, digital / online means. and the branches themselves, and more generally to identify professional and operational bottlenecks and to streamline procedures with clients, in order to provide answers to their needs.
“In this context, clients should be allowed to choose not to use the system to set up appointments and receive a response in branch, and in addition, various ways should be considered to extend the hours available for meetings and face to face services. in which a meeting is required with a branch banker, â€he said.
No sanctions were threatened for the banks’ non-compliance, however, according to the report.
