The Reserve Bank of India has imposed penalties on four urban cooperative banks of Gujarat on Tuesday. The names of the banks include Maninagar Co-operative Bank Ltd., Ahmedabad, Janata Co-operative Bank Ltd., Godhra, Dhanera Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dhanera and Sarvodaya Sahakari Bank Limited, Modasa.
The total fine imposed on these banks are worth Rs 17 lakh. RBI imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1.00 Lakh on Maninagar Co-operative Bank Ltd., Ahmedabad, Gujarat for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)’ and ‘Co-operative Banks – Interest Rate on Deposits’.
A monetary penalty of Rs 3.50 Lakh has been imposed on the Janata Co-operative Bank Ltd., Godhra, Dist. Panchmahal, Gujarat. The bank was found guilty of non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Donations to Trusts and Institutions where Directors, their relatives hold position or are interested’ and ‘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’.
Similarly, RBI imposed monetary penalty of Rs 6.50 lakh on Dhanera Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dhanera, Gujarat for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and advances to directors, relatives and firms/concerns in which they are interested’; ‘Loans and advances to directors etc. – directors as surety / guarantors – clarification’ and on ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)’.
Lastly, a monetary penalty of Rs 6.00 Lakh was imposed on Sarvodaya Sahakari Bank Limited, Modasa, Gujarat. The bank was penalized for non-compliance with the 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’, ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs)’ and ‘Interest Rate on Deposits – Directions 2016’.
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, clarifies the RBI.
In September 2023, RBI had imposed penalties on 15 urban cooperative banks.