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Complaint against a bank, mortgage company or lender

Last reviewed: August 15, 2026 — VerifiedOCIF

In short

The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, created by Ley Núm. 4 of 11 October 1985, regulates, supervises and handles complaints relating to the financial entities the law defines, and to the many statutes and regulations it administers. The first thing to check is jurisdiction, because that is where most of these complaints die: the OCIF does handle complaints against commercial banks organized and operating in Puerto Rico, mortgage companies, pawnshops, check-cashing businesses, international money transfer companies, small personal loan companies, brokerage houses and AEELA, among others; but it does not handle complaints against national banks — those carrying “national”, “national association” or “N.A.” in their name — savings and credit cooperatives, federal credit unions, banks from other states or abroad, or credit cards issued outside Puerto Rico. Nor can it award you damages, or handle billing disputes on revolving card accounts, which is federal ground. The complaint is filed in original — no fax, email or photocopies accepted — in person, by post or online.

External link

Go to the official site

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www.ocif.pr.gov

What is it?

Ley 4-1985 grants the OCIF powers to regulate, supervise and handle complaints relating to the financial entities the statute defines, and complaints relating to the many statutes and regulations it administers. The complaint procedure is an administrative adjudicative proceeding governed by Ley Núm. 38 of 30 June 2017, the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act of the Government of Puerto Rico, and by Regulation 9551, the Regulation of Adjudication Procedures Under OCIF Jurisdiction. The OCIF itself warns that a person who voluntarily submits to the adjudicative procedure accepts and must abide by the pace of the process, and that its ministerial duty requires it to verify whether the claim and documents reveal violations of law by the respondents, which can result in sanctions against them.

Who can do it?

The OCIF can handle complaints against: securities brokerage houses (broker-dealers); companies granting mortgage loans or persons who broker them; persons engaged in financial intermediation such as debt-reduction plans; pawnshops; check-cashing businesses; international money transfer companies; small personal loan companies; trust companies; movable-property leasing companies with terms longer than one year; finance companies; investment companies organized and licensed in Puerto Rico; commercial banks organized and operating in Puerto Rico; the Commonwealth Employees Association (AEELA) as regards mortgage loans, credit cards, personal loans and other OCIF-regulated business; and companies organized as International Banking Entities (EBI) or International Financial Entities (EFI). It cannot handle complaints against national banks, savings and credit cooperatives, federal credit unions, banks located in a US state or another jurisdiction, foreign banks, finance companies based in other jurisdictions, or companies or banks offering credit cards issued outside Puerto Rico.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Look at the institution’s name before anything else

    This is where it is decided whether your complaint exists at all. The OCIF has no authority over complaints against national banks, and it publishes the tell for recognizing them: national banks usually identify themselves by carrying the words “national”, “national association” or the abbreviation “N.A.” in their trade name. Nor does it handle complaints against savings and credit cooperatives, federal credit unions — usually carrying “credit union” or “federal credit union” — banks from other states or abroad, finance companies based in other jurisdictions, or credit cards issued outside Puerto Rico. Read the full name on your statement.

  2. Step 2: Check your institution is on the other list

    The OCIF does handle complaints against commercial banks organized and operating in Puerto Rico, companies that grant or broker mortgage loans, financial intermediation businesses such as debt-reduction plans, pawnshops, check-cashing businesses, international money transfer companies, small personal loan companies, trust companies, movable-property leasing companies with terms over one year, finance companies, investment companies licensed in Puerto Rico, securities brokerage houses, AEELA as regards mortgages, credit cards and personal loans, and International Banking or Financial Entities.

  3. Step 3: And check the remedy you want is possible

    The OCIF publishes what you cannot obtain by this route. You cannot request compensation for damages. You cannot bring an action on compliance or breach of contract clauses not regulated by the OCIF. You cannot bring actions or remedies covered by federal law. In addition, the Office has no jurisdiction over billing disputes or unrecognized charges on revolving card or credit-line accounts, that being federal ground, and it cannot intervene in matters relating to deposit-account contracts, which are civil contracting disputes outside its reach.

  4. Step 4: Write the complaint with the eight things they ask for

    Ley 38-2017 and Regulation 9551 require every complaint to contain: a complaint letter or form in original, no fax, email or photocopies; name and postal addresses of complainant and respondent; a legible, detailed statement of the facts constituting the claim, with all relevant information; citation of the applicable legal provisions, if known; a copy of every relevant document you hold; if filing on someone else’s behalf, an authorization signed by the complainant to represent them; the request for the remedy you want; and your signature. The OCIF is explicit: if anything is missing, it is barred from starting the procedure until everything is complied with.

  5. Step 5: If you are elderly, say so in the complaint

    This is the fact most people fail to use. There is an expedited procedure for elderly persons: when the claimant is an elderly person, the OCIF’s final order or resolution must issue within forty-five days after the hearing closes, or after findings of fact and conclusions of law are issued, unless that term is waived or extended with all parties’ written consent. But the OCIF conditions it: if a claimant is an elderly person, they must state it in their claim for the OCIF to proceed with the expedited handling. If you do not write it, they do not apply it.

  6. Step 6: File it by one of the three routes

    In person at the OCIF offices: Edificio Centro Europa, Suite 600, 1492 Ave. Ponce de León, opposite the Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907. By post to Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras, Atención: División de Querellas, PO Box 11855, San Juan, PR 00910-3855. Or online, through the link the OCIF publishes on its Querellas page. The phone is 787-723-3131.

  7. Step 7: Expect the procedure’s own pace

    The OCIF answers frankly on how long it takes: it varies case by case. The administrative procedure provides due process with terms the agency must grant the parties to answer, supply documentation and file the corresponding recourse, and the final adjudication varies with those terms. In addition, these disputes usually require technical analysis in specialized areas, and no case is the same as another even when it involves the same institution. The agency says it plainly: whoever voluntarily submits to the procedure accepts and must abide by the pace of the process.

Where to do it

Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, Edificio Centro Europa, Suite 600, 1492 Ave. Ponce de León, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907. Mailing address: PO Box 11855, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-3855, attention Complaints Division. Phone 787-723-3131. The OCIF publishes the complaint form and an online filing link on its Querellas page.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

If your bank carries “N.A.” or “national association” in its name, the OCIF cannot handle the complaint and you must find the federal regulator. If it is a savings and credit cooperative, likewise not: COSSEC supervises those. If it is a federal credit union, that is a federal regulator. If your problem is a charge you do not recognize on a credit card, the OCIF expressly says that is federal ground and it has no jurisdiction. If what you want is compensation for damages, this is not the route: that is asked for in court. If your matter is a deposit-account contract, the Office cannot intervene, that being civil contracting. This guide does not say what filing costs or how long resolution takes: the OCIF publishes no fee, and on time it answers that it varies case by case, with the sole exception of the 45-day term of the expedited procedure for elderly persons. PRFácil gives no legal or financial advice.

Common mistakes

  • Filing against an “N.A.” or “national association” bank, which the OCIF cannot handle.
  • Filing against a savings and credit cooperative or a federal credit union.
  • Taking a credit card billing dispute to the OCIF, which is federal ground.
  • Asking for damages in an administrative complaint.
  • Sending the complaint by fax, email or as a photocopy: it must be the original.
  • Filing without a signature, without the detailed statement of facts, or without asking for a specific remedy.
  • Filing on someone else’s behalf without the authorization signed by the complainant.
  • Being an elderly person and not saying so in the claim, losing the 45-day term.

Frequently asked questions

Can I complain against any bank?

No. The OCIF handles complaints against commercial banks organized and operating in Puerto Rico, but not against national banks — identified by carrying “national”, “national association” or “N.A.” in the trade name — nor against banks located in a US state, another jurisdiction or abroad.

And against a cooperative?

Ley 4-1985 gives the OCIF no authority to handle complaints against savings and credit cooperatives or federal credit unions, which usually carry “credit union” or “federal credit union” in their name.

Can they pay me for the harm I suffered?

Not by this route. The OCIF publishes that in a complaint procedure you cannot request compensation for damages, bring actions on contract clauses it does not regulate, or seek remedies under federal law.

Is there anything faster if I am elderly?

Yes, but you have to ask. When the claimant is an elderly person, the final order or resolution must issue within forty-five days after the hearing closes or after findings of fact and conclusions of law are issued, absent waiver or extension with all parties’ written consent. The OCIF warns that the claimant must state it in their claim for the expedited handling to proceed.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

August 15, 2026

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