RBI slaps Rs 79 lakh fine on Apna Sahakari Bank over non-compliance of rules

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 79 lakh on Apna Sahakari Bank Ltd, Mumbai, for non-compliance of the RBI guidelines.

As per the RBI, the bank failed to comply with directions pertaining to Income Recognition, Asset Classification, Provisioning and other related matters (IRAC norms), Interest Rate on Deposits and Maintenance of Deposit Accounts.

"This action is based on deficiency 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," the RBI statement said.

The banking regulator said it had conducted a statutory inspection of Apna Sahakari Bank with reference to its financial position as of March 31, 2019.

Upon inspection, it came to light that the bank had not complied with several directives issued by the RBI, like Non-Performing Asset (NPA) classification, payment of interest on deposits lying in current accounts of deceased individual depositors or sole proprietorship concerns while settling the claims.

Apna Sahakari Bank also failed to comply with directions relating to the levying of penal charges in savings bank accounts for non-maintenance of minimum balances, the RBI said.

After concluding the inspection, the apex bank issued a notice asking the bank to state why a penalty should not be imposed for flouting its directions. The RBI then looked into Apna Sahakari Bank's response and submissions made during the hearing and imposed the monetary penalty after the charges of non-compliance were substantiated.

Also Read: India needs big infra push in health, education, digital economy: RBI Governor

Also Read: Bank deposits grow 12% on higher CASA growth in FY21: RBI