RBI slaps penalties on 7 banks for violation of norms

Mumbai: The RBI on Tuesday said it has imposed penalties on seven lenders, including Allahabad Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank, for violation of various banking norms.

A penalty of Rs 1.5 crore has been imposed each on Allahabad Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Indian Overseas Bank for non-compliance with various directions issued by RBI on monitoring of end use of funds, exchange of information with other banks, classification and reporting of frauds, and on restructuring of accounts.

A penalty of Rs 1 crore has been imposed on Andhra Bank for similar violations.

The Reserve Bank further said Rs 20 lakh fine each on HDFC Bank, IDBI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank for non-compliance with various directions on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards.

Penalties are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and "is not intended to pronounce" upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the banks with their customers, the central bank added.