Royal Bank of Canada is introducing a new independent dispute resolution process to more quickly respond to client concerns that are unresolved after review by the RBC Ombudsman, the company announced Friday.

RBC has retained the services of ADR Chambers, an alternate dispute resolution firm that already provides arbitration services to RBC investment clients. ADR Chambers will provide an independent appeal process for RBC’s banking clients who do not agree with the observations and recommendations made by the RBC Ombudsman.

In recent years, roughly 15 RBC client disputes annually have resulted in case investigations by the former provider of external dispute resolution services. In 2007, this represented 8% of case volumes submitted to the former provider.

The services of the RBC Ombudsman and ADR Chambers are free to all RBC clients.

IE