In a flat one week of time, RBI has imposed penalties on more than seven urban cooperative banks for different reasons for not following its direction. These banks are based in different states of the country. AP Mahesh Bank was the one which was fined the highest amount, followed by The Ahmedabad Mercantile Co-operative Bank, SVC Bank and Saraswat Bank.
The Reserve Bank of India has, by an order dated June 28, 2021, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 112.50 lakh (Rupees one crore twelve lakh and fifty thousand only) on Andhra Pradesh Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., Hyderabad for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI contained in Master Directions on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits’ and ‘Know Your Customer’.
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 62.50 lakh on the Ahmedabad Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Ahmedabad for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI contained in Master Directions on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits’.
Similarly, the Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 37.50 lakh on SVC Co-operative Bank Ltd., Mumbai for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI contained in Master Directions on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits’ and Circular on ‘Frauds Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism’.
Saraswat Co-operative Bank was fined Rs 25 lakh for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI contained in Master Directions on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits’ and Master Circular on ‘Maintenance of Deposit Accounts’.
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, says RBI
Earlier on June 23, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 2 lakh (Rupees Two lakh only) on Janseva Sahakari Bank Limited, Pune (the bank) for contravention of the direction issued by RBI on Know Your Customer (KYC).
Similarly, RBI imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 4 lakh (Rupees Four lakh only) on Excellent Co-operative Bank Ltd., Mumbai (the bank) for contravention of the directions issued by RBI on ‘Maintenance of Deposit Accounts’ and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’.
The Ajara Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Ajara, Kolhapur was also fined a monetary penalty of Rs 2 lakh (Rupees Two lakh only) by the RBI. The UCB was found guilty of contravention of direction issued by the RBI on ‘Maintenance of Deposit Accounts’.