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RBI imposes monetary penalty on Transport Co-operative Bank Ltd., Indore, Madhya Pradesh
February 25th, 2024
Posted By: Team-MMTaxClub

The Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has, by an order dated February 14, 2024, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on Transport Co-operative Bank Ltd., Indore, Madhya Pradesh (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’ read with ‘Loans and Advances to Directors etc. - Directors as surety/guarantors – Clarification’ and on ‘Investments by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of 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 (i) sanctioned director related loans and a loan where relative of the director of the bank stood as guarantor, and (ii) breached prudential inter-bank (gross) exposure limit. Consequently, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for non-compliance with RBI directions, as stated therein.

After considering the bank's reply to the notice, oral submissions made by it during personal hearing and additional submissions made thereafter, 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.

Source

RBI imposes monetary penalty on Janseva Co-operative Bank Limited, Nashik, Maharashtra
February 25th, 2024
Posted By: Team-MMTaxClub

The Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has, by an order dated February 13, 2024, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) on Janseva Co-operative Bank Limited, Nashik, Maharashtra (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’ read with ‘Loans and Advances to Directors etc. - Directors as surety/guarantors – Clarification’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of 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 (i) sanctioned a director related loan and (ii) sanctioned a loan where relative of the director of the bank stood as guarantor. Consequently, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for non-compliance with the RBI directions, as stated therein.

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

RBI imposes monetary penalty on Hanamasagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Hanamasagar, Karnataka
February 25th, 2024
Posted By: Team-MMTaxClub

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated February 14, 2024, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) on Hanamasagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Hanamasagar, Karnataka (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on “Frauds in UCBs: Changes in Monitoring and Reporting mechanism” read with the directions issued by RBI on “Master Circular on Frauds-Classification and Reporting” and “Reporting of Frauds on XBRL-FMR submission, FMR 2 discontinuation and introduction of FMR-3”. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of 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 Inspection Report, Risk Assessment Report and all correspondence related thereto revealed, inter alia, that the bank had not reported a case of fraud to RBI within the stipulated timeline. Consequently, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for non-compliance with RBI 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 directions issued by RBI was substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty on the bank.

Source

Action against Paytm Payments Bank Ltd under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 – Additional Steps
February 25th, 2024
Posted By: Team-MMTaxClub

The Reserve Bank of India, in exercise of its powers under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, had put certain business restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank, vide Press Releases dated March 11, 2022, January 31 and February 16, 2024. RBI also released a set of FAQs on February 16, 2024 for the benefit of customers, wallet holders and merchants who are availing banking services from Paytm Payments Bank.

2. As the Paytm Payments Bank cannot accept further credits into its customer accounts and wallets after March 15, 2024, certain additional steps have become necessary to (i) ensure seamless digital payments by UPI customers using ‘@paytm’ handle operated by the Paytm Payments Bank, and (ii) minimise concentration risk in the UPI system by having multiple payment app providers. The additional steps are as follows:

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been advised by the RBI to examine the request of One97 Communication Ltd (OCL) to become a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) for UPI channel for continued UPI operation of the Paytm app, as per the norms.

It has been further advised that in the event of NPCI granting TPAP status to OCL, it may be stipulated that ‘@paytm’ handles are to be migrated in a seamless manner from Paytm Payments Bank to a set of newly identified banks to avoid any disruption. No new users are to be added by the said TPAP until all the existing users are migrated satisfactorily to a new handle.

For seamless migration of ‘@paytm’ handle to other banks, NPCI may facilitate certification of 4-5 banks as Payment Service Provider (PSP) Banks with demonstrated capabilities to process high volume UPI transactions. This is in line with NPCI norms for minimising concentration risk1.

For the merchants using PayTM QR Codes, OCL may open the settlement accounts with one or more PSP Banks (other than Paytm Payments Bank).

3. It is further clarified that:

the migration of UPI handles as above is applicable only to such customers and merchants who have a UPI handle ‘@Paytm’. For others who have a UPI address or handle other than ‘@Paytm’, no action is required to be taken by them.

Similarly, the customers, whose underlying account/ wallet is currently with Paytm Payments Bank, are advised to make alternative arrangement with other banks well before March 15, 2024, as already advised in the FAQs released by RBI on February 16, 2024.

4. It is reiterated that the holders of FASTag and National Common Mobility Cards (NCMC) issued by Paytm Payments Bank, may make alternative arrangements before March 15, 2024 to avoid any inconvenience.

5. All the above actions are undertaken in the sole interest of protecting the customers and payment system from any possible disruptions and are without any prejudice to the regulatory or supervisory actions initiated by RBI against Paytm Payments Bank.

Source

Directions under Section 35A read with Section 56 of the BR Act 1949 (AACS) - Thodupuzha Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Kerala - Extension of period
February 25th, 2024
Posted By: Team-MMTaxClub

The Reserve Bank of India issued Directions to Thodupuzha Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Kerala under section 35A read with section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (AACS), vide Directive No. CO.DOS.SED.No.S3361/12-07-005/2022-2023 dated August 23, 2022, from close of business on August 23, 2022, for a period of six months, which were extended from time to time, last being up to February 23, 2024, vide Directive No. DOR.MON.D-94/12.16.051/2023-24 dated November 21, 2023.

The Reserve Bank of India is satisfied that in the public interest, it is necessary to extend the period of operation of the aforesaid Directions. Accordingly, vide the Directive DOR.MON.D-125/12.16.051/2023-24 dated February 14, 2024 in exercise of powers vested in it under sub-section (1) of section 35A read with section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Reserve Bank of India has directed that the Directive No. CO.DOS.SED.No.S3361/12-07-005/2022-2023 dated August 23, 2022, issued to Thodupuzha Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Kerala, the validity of which was last extended up to February 23, 2024, shall continue to apply to the bank for a further period of three months, i.e., from close of business on February 23, 2024, to close of business on May 23, 2024, subject to review. Other terms and conditions of the Directive under reference, as modified from time to time, shall remain unchanged.

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