1-1 The department shall be established by a decision of the bank's Board of Directors and shall report directly to the highest executive position in the bank, whether the CEO, General Manager, or Managing Director. In the case of temporary absence of this position, the department shall report to their deputy, and it should not be administratively linked to any other department within the bank.

1-2 The department shall be granted the necessary powers, financial, technical, and human resources support to perform its duties efficiently and with high quality.

1-3 The department must consist of at least three units (the bank determines the level of each unit based on its business volume and number of customers): the Complaints Handling Unit, the Quality and Performance Analysis Unit, and the Financial and Educational Awareness Unit.

1-4 Without prejudice to the provisions regarding the Requirements for Appointments to Senior Positions in financial institutions under the supervision of the Central Bank, the bank must obtain written approval from the Central Bank before appointing or assigning a manager to the department.

2-1 Protecting bank customers.

2-2 Handling customer complaints efficiently and with high quality.

2-3 Responding to any inquiries received.

2-4 Increasing customer satisfaction in the complaint resolution process.

2-5 Addressing and reducing the sources of complaints.

2-6 Enhancing customer awareness of the products and services offered by the bank.

2-7 Developing and updating policies and procedures in accordance with the best local and international practices in customer protection.

3-1 The department must develop the following policies:

- A policy for analyzing complaints and their patterns, addressing their causes and sources (Root Cause Analysis), and obtaining approval from the authorized person in the bank. This policy should also include measuring its effectiveness in addressing the sources of recurring complaints.

- A policy for protecting customer rights and ensuring their care throughout all stages of their interaction with the bank (e.g., marketing and sales procedures, post-sale service quality assurance procedures, complaint handling procedures, customer communication procedures, and credit advisory services procedures).

- A policy for awareness and financial education for the bank’s customers that aligns with the products and services offered by the bank. This policy should include at least the role of the employee responsible for providing a comprehensive explanation of the product or service to the customer, including all obligations associated with that service or product.

3-2 The department manager, or their delegate, must have full authority to make decisions regarding the resolution of complaints with amounts not exceeding SAR 20,000. The bank must establish policies and procedures to organize and monitor this process.

3-3 The department must develop and periodically update (at least once every two years) its operational mechanisms with relevant departments, including service level agreements and escalation processes, to ensure that complaints are handled within regulatory time frames. This mechanism should be technically activated and used to measure compliance, including escalation to the highest executive level.

3-4 To ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of handling complaints, inquiries, and requests, the department should include the following definitions in its internal policies related to customer rights protection and ensure compliance with them: (complaint, inquiry, request, customer), in line with the definitions provided in these regulations.

4-1 The bank must employ an appropriate number of staff in the department and its units, commensurate with the number of customers, products, services provided by the bank, and the volume of complaints. An analytical capacity study (Capacity Analysis) should be conducted at least once a year.

4-2 The department manager and staff must have sufficient knowledge and experience in customer care. They should, at a minimum, hold certifications in basic retail banking and credit advisory. The bank is also required to continuously train them through relevant programs suitable for their work, at least once a year. Additionally, the bank must ensure that department staff are well-versed in customer service skills, the bank’s products and services, and the regulations and instructions governing the relationship between customers and the bank.