This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, September 30, 2025: The Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has imposed a monetary penalty on 5 Coop banks. This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs2.25 on Beed District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Maharashtra; Rs1 lakh on The Panchsheel Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited, Dist. Surat, Gujarat; Rs1 lakh on The Sultan’s Battery Co-operative Urban Bank Limited, Wayanad, Kerala; Rs50,000 on The Nilambur Co-operative Urban Bank Limited, Kerala and Rs1 lakh (Rupees One Lakh only) on Kamaraj Co-operative Town Bank Ltd., Tamil Nadu.
1 The Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has imposed, by an order dated September 25, 2025, a monetary penalty of Rs2.25 lakh (Rupees Two Lakh Twenty Five Thousand only) on Beed District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Maharashtra (the bank) for contravention of provisions of Section 26A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act) and non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Membership of Credit Information Companies (CICs) by Co-operative Banks’ and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’. 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 BR Act and Section 25 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2024. Based on supervisory findings of contravention of statutory provisions / non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said provisions and directions. After considering the bank's reply to the notice, additional submissions made by it and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had:
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. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
2 The Reserve Bank of India (RBl) has, by an order dated September 25, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1 lakh (Rupees One Lakh only) on The Panchsheel Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited, Dist. Surat, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘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 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by the RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2024. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank's reply to the notice, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the bank was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had failed to enable its customers to instantly respond by "Reply" to the SMS alerts to notify the objection towards unauthorised electronic banking transactions, if any.
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. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
3 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 25, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1 lakh (Rupees One Lakh only) on The Sultan’s Battery Co-operative Urban Bank Limited, Wayanad, Kerala (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and advances to directors, their 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 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2024. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the bank was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had sanctioned director related loans.
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. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
4 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 25, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) on The Nilambur Co-operative Urban Bank Limited, Kerala (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Co-operative Banks - Interest Rate on Deposits’. 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.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2024. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the bank was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had offered higher interest rates on Non-Resident (External) rupee deposits than those of corresponding domestic term deposits.
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. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
5 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 25, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1 lakh (Rupees One Lakh only) on Kamaraj Co-operative Town Bank Ltd., Tamil Nadu (the bank) for non-compliance with specific directions issued by RBI under ‘Supervisory Action Framework (SAF)’. 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.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2024. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
In non-adherence to directions issued under SAF, the bank had:
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. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
