Mumbai, Feb. 12 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday proposed norms barring recovery agents from going too far in their pursuit of a defaulting borrower.

The regulator said that neither the bank's employee, nor the recovery agent should engage in any harsh methods to recover dues. Use of abusive language, sending inappropriate messages either on mobile or through social media, or excessively calling or calling outside the prescribed hours would be considered harsh.

The RBI proposals also bar threatening or anonymous calls, as well as acts of intimidation or harassment, including attempts to publicly humiliate individuals or intrude upon their privacy, among others.

The RBI also proposed that the banks' internal policy should ...