The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 17, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹3.95 crore (Rupees Three crore Ninety Five lakhs only) on Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (the bank) for non-compliance with RBI Directions on “Managing Risks and Code of Conduct in Outsourcing of Financial Services by banks”, “Recovery Agents engaged by Banks”, “Customer Service in Banks”, and “‘Loans and Advances - Statutory and Other Restrictions’”. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI conferred under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46 (4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 17, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹12.19 crore (Rupees Twelve crore and nineteen lakh only) on ICICI Bank Ltd. (the bank) for contravention of sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (the BR Act) read with directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and Advances-Statutory and Other restrictions', sub-section (2) of Section 6 and Section 8 of the BR Act read with directions issued by the RBI on ‘Financial Services provided by the Banks’, and non-compliance with the RBI directions on ‘Frauds classification and reporting by commercial banks and select Fls’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI conferred under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Section 46 (4) (i) of the BR Act.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 18, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹2.00 lakh (Rupees Two lakh only) on Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Babra, Gujarat (the bank) for contravention of Section 26 A (2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act) and RBI directions on ‘Loans and advances to directors, relatives, firms/concerns in which they are interested’, ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)’ and ‘Co-operative Banks - Interest Rate on Deposits’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the BR Act.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 15, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.70 lakh (Rupees One lakh Seventy thousand only) on West End Housing Finance Limited (the company) for non-compliance with National Housing Bank (NHB) directions on ‘Housing Finance Companies – Approval of Acquisition or Transfer of Control (NHB) Directions 2016’ and RBI direction on ‘Non-Banking Financial Company - Housing Finance Company (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2021’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 52A read with clause (aa) of sub-section (3) of Section 49 of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 18, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹4.50 lakh (Rupees Four lakh Fifty thousand only) on Gujarat Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Ahmedabad, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)’ and ‘Maintenance of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 18, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) on The Sevalia Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Sevalia, dist. Kheda, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance of directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and Advances to directors, relatives and firms/concerns in which they are Interested’ read with ‘Loans and Advances to Directors etc. - Directors as surety/guarantors – Clarification’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 18, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹2.00 lakh (Rupees Two lakh only) on Makarpura Industrial Estate Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dist. Vadodara, Gujarat (the bank) for contravention of Section 26A (2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act) and RBI directions on ‘Loans and advances to directors, relatives, firms/concerns in which they are interested’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the BR Act.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 03, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1 Crore (Rupees One Crore only) on Union Bank of India (the bank) for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI conferred under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 51(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation (lSE 2021) of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021. The examination of the Risk Assessment Report / Inspection Report pertaining to ISE 2021, and all related correspondence in that regard revealed, inter alia, non-compliance with the aforesaid directions by the bank, to the extent it sanctioned a term loan to a Corporation (i) in lieu of or to substitute budgetary resources envisaged for certain projects; (ii) without undertaking due diligence on the viability and bankability of the projects to ensure that revenue streams from the projects were sufficient to take care of the debt servicing obligations; and (iii) the repayment / servicing of which was made out of budgetary resources. In furtherance to the same, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the said direction, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty on the bank.

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1106

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 28, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹64 Lakh (Rupees Sixty Four Lakh only) on RBL Bank Limited (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions of Reserve Bank of India (Prior approval for acquisition of shares or voting rights in private sector banks) Directions, 2015. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI conferred under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation (lSE 2020) of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2020, and the examination of the Risk Assessment Report / Inspection Report pertaining to ISE 2020, and all related correspondence in that regard revealed, inter alia, non-compliance with the aforesaid directions by the bank, to the extent it failed to (i) obtain annual declaration in Form B from one of its major shareholders, within one month of the close of the three financial years ending on March 31, 2018, March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020, and (ii) furnish certificates to RBI regarding continuance of the 'fit and proper’ status of one of its major shareholders, by the end of September of the said three financial years. In furtherance to the same, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the said direction, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty on the bank.

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1107

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 28, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹8.50 Lakh (Rupees Eight Lakh Fifty Thousand only) on Bajaj Finance Limited, Pune, Maharashtra (the company) for non-compliance with the ‘Monitoring of Frauds in NBFCs (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 58 G read with clause (aa) of sub-section (5) of Section 58 B of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the company with its customers.

Background

The statutory inspection of the company was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2022, and examination of the Risk Assessment Report and Inspection Report pertaining to the aforementioned inspection and all related correspondence pertaining to the same, revealed, inter alia, non-compliance with the RBI directions to the extent of not reporting and delay in reporting of certain frauds to RBI. Consequently, a notice was issued to the company advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for its failure to comply with the RBI directions, as stated therein.

After considering the company’s reply to the notice, additional submissions made by it and oral submissions made during the Personal Hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty, to the extent of such non-compliance with such directions.

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1110

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 15, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on The Jawhar Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Palghar, Maharashtra (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an orThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 10, 2023 imposed a monetary penalty of ₹5.39 Crore (Rupees Five Crore and Thirty Nine Lakh only) on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (the bank) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the ‘Reserve Bank of India (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Directions, 2016’, ‘RBI Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks’ read with ‘Enhancement of maximum balance at end of the day’, ‘Cyber security framework in banks’ read with ‘Guidelines on reporting of unusual cyber security incidents’ and ‘Securing mobile banking applications including UPI ecosystem’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI conferred under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 28, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹4.50 lakh (Rupees Four lakh Fifty thousand only) on The Kalyan Janata Sahakari Bank Limited, Kalyan, Maharashtra (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Interest Rates on Deposits’ and ‘Maintenance of Deposit Accounts’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

This action is based on deficiency in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The statutory inspection of the bank conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021, and examination of the Risk Assessment Report, Inspection Report and all related correspondence pertaining to the same, revealed, inter alia, that the bank had (i) opened Savings Bank (SB) accounts of ineligible institutions, and (ii) levied charges for non-maintenance of minimum balances in SB accounts without notifying the customers. Consequently, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the RBI directions, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, its additional submissions and the oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.

(Yogesh Dayal)      
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1074

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 15, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.20 lakh (Rupees One lakh twenty thousand only) on Finquest Financial Solutions Private Limited, Mumbai (the company) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Know Your Customer (KYC) Directions, 2016’ and ‘Non-Banking Financial Company - Systemically Important Non-Deposit taking Company and Deposit taking Company (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 58G read with clause (aa) of sub-section (5) of Section 58B of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 15, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on The Jawhar Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Palghar, Maharashtra (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 28, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹4.50 lakh (Rupees Four lakh Fifty thousand only) on The Kalyan Janata Sahakari Bank Limited, Kalyan, Maharashtra (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Interest Rates on Deposits’ and ‘Maintenance of Deposit Accounts’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

This action is based on deficiency in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The statutory inspection of the bank conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021, and examination of the Risk Assessment Report, Inspection Report and all related correspondence pertaining to the same, revealed, inter alia, that the bank had (i) opened Savings Bank (SB) accounts of ineligible institutions, and (ii) levied charges for non-maintenance of minimum balances in SB accounts without notifying the customers. Consequently, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the RBI directions, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, its additional submissions and the oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.

(Yogesh Dayal)      
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1074

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 14, 2023 imposed a monetary penalty of ₹3.00 lakh (Rupees Three lakh only) on The Gadhinglaj Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Gadhinglaj (the bank) for contravention of Section 26A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act,1949 (BR Act) and Know Your Customer Directions issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the BR Act.

This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The statutory inspection of the bank conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2022, and examination of the Risk Assessment Report and all correspondence related thereto, revealed, inter alia, that the bank (i) did not transfer eligible amounts to Depositor Education and Awareness Fund, and (ii) allotted multiple UCICs to its customers. In furtherance to the same, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the direction, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1076

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 14, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on Rahimatpur Sahakari Bank Ltd., Rahimatpur, Dist. Satara, (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Maintenance of Deposit Accounts- Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The statutory inspection of the bank conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2022, and examination of the Risk Assessment Report and all correspondence related thereto, revealed, inter alia, that the bank had not conducted annual review of inoperative accounts. In furtherance to the same, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the directions, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and the oral submissions made by it during the personal hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.

(Yogesh Dayal)      
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1075

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 15, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹6.00 lakh (Rupees Six lakh only) on The Sahayadri Sahakari Bank Limited, Mumbai (the bank) for contravention of Section 26A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act), specific directions issued by RBI under the Supervisory Action Framework (SAF), and non-compliance with the RBI Directions on ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ and ‘Maintenance of Deposit Accounts - Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the BR Act.

This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The statutory inspection of the bank conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2022, and examination of the Risk Assessment Report and all correspondence related thereto revealed, inter alia, that the bank (i) had not transferred eligible amounts to Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEA Fund), (ii) had offered interest rates on deposits at rate more than those offered by the State Bank of India in violation of specific directions issued under the SAF, (iii) had not put in place a system for periodic updation of KYC of its customers, (iv) had not conducted annual review of inoperative/dormant accounts, and (v) had not conducted periodic review of risk categorisation of its high-risk customers. In furtherance to the same, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the directions, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, RBI came to the conclusion that the aforesaid charge of non-compliance with the RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.

(Yogesh Dayal)      
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1077

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 28, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹13 lakh (Rupees Thirteen lakh only) on SBPP Co-operative Bank Limited, Killa Pardi, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

This action is based on deficiency in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

Background

The statutory inspection of the bank conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021, and examination of the Risk Assessment Report and all correspondence related thereto revealed, inter alia, that the bank had opened savings deposit accounts of trusts, whose entire income was not exempt from payment of income-tax under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Consequently, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the RBI directions, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice, additional submissions made by it and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the aforesaid charge of non-compliance with the RBI directions was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.

(Yogesh Dayal)      
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1078