The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 04, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on Shihori Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Shihori, Dist. Banaskantha, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with 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’ and ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)’. 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 October 04, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹7.00 lakh (Rupees Seven lakh only) on Uma Co-operative Bank Ltd., Vadodara, Gujarat (the bank) for contravention of directions issued by RBI on ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)’. 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 19, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.10 lakh (Rupees One lakh Ten thousand only) on Birbhum District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Birbhum, West Bengal (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Reserve Bank of India (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Directions, 2016’ and ‘Membership of Credit Information Companies (CICs)’. 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 and Section 25 (1) (iii) read with section 23 (4) of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.

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 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2022, and examination of the Inspection Report and all correspondence related thereto revealed, inter alia, that the bank had (i) failed to carry out periodic review of risk categorisation of accounts, (ii) failed to undertake risk categorisation of a number of accounts; and (iii) failed to obtain membership of three out of the four CICs. 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 said directions, as stated therein.

After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and 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 on the bank.

(Yogesh Dayal)     
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2023-2024/1201

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 21, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.50 lakh (Rupees One lakh Fifty thousand only) on The Ghatal Peoples Co-operative Bank Limited, West Bengal (the bank) for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on ‘Membership of Credit Information Companies (CICs)’, ‘Exposure Norms and Statutory/Other Restrictions - UCBs’, ‘Reserve Bank of India – (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Directions, 2016’ and for contravention of the provisions of section 26-A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act) read with directions issued by RBI on ‘The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014 –Section 26A of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 - Operational Guidelines’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section 47-A (1) (c) read with Sections 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the BR Act and Section 25 (1) (iii) read with Section 23 (4) of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.

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.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 19, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on District Central Co-operative Bank Limited, Supaul (the bank) for non-compliance with RBI directions on ‘Reserve Bank of India – (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Direction, 2016’. 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 29, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹10,000/- (Rupees Ten thousand only) on The Manjeri Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., Manjeri, Malappuram District, Kerala (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on “Customer Protection - Limiting Liability of Customers of Cooperative Banks in Unauthorised Electronic Banking Transactions”, “Basic Cyber Security Framework for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)”, and “Comprehensive Cyber Security Framework for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)”. 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 25, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹3.00 lakh (Rupees Three lakh only) on Indrayani Co-operative Bank Ltd., Pimpri, Maharashtra (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Income Recognition, Asset Classification, Provisioning and Other Related Matters – UCBs’ and ‘Reserve Bank of India (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Directions, 2016’. 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 October 19, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹13.30 lakh (Rupees Thirteen lakh Thirty thousand only) on SVC Co-operative Bank Ltd., Mumbai, Maharashtra (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘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.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 17, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.50 crore (Rupees Two crore Fifty lakh only) on L&T Finance Limited (the company) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the 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, by an order dated September 18, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹6.00 lakh (Rupees Six lakh only) on Surat National Co-operative Bank Ltd., Surat, Gujarat (the bank) for contravention of directions issued by RBI on ‘Co-operative Banks - Interest Rate on Deposits’ and ‘Customer Protection - Limiting Liability of Customers of Co-operative Banks in Unauthorised Electronic Banking Transactions’. 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 Vadnagar Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Vadnagar, Gujarat (the bank) for contravention 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’, 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 Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated September 18, 2023, a monetary penalty of ₹3.00 lakh (Rupees Three lakh only) on People’s Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dholka, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and advances to directors, relatives and firms/concerns in which they are interested’ 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 Section 46 (4) (i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 18, 2023, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on The Chhapi Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Banaskantha, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and advances to directors, relatives and 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 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 Mahila Co-operative Nagrik Bank Ltd., Bharuch, 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 ‘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.

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.

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.