New Delhi/Mumbai: For violating several norms such as those for know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs.27 crore on 13 banks, including HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank.
HDFC Bank – the second largest private sector lender in the country – said RBI had carried out a scrutiny of the transactions related to advance import remittances and had issued a show-cause notice. HDFC Bank was fined Rs.2 crore. Bank of Baroda faced a penalty of Rs.5 crore after RBI found irregularities related to a Rs.6,100-crore scam that was unearthed last year in some of the bank’s branches in New Delhi. Another public sector lender Delhi-based Punjab National Bank was fined Rs.3 crore. Though the amount of penalty is not material to the size of the bank, reporting is done in terms of SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015, PNB said.
HDFC bank said “The bank has implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan, to strengthen internal controls and mechanisms so as to ensure such incidents do not recur.” “Pursuant to the internal audit of the Bank of Baroda, RBI and investigative agencies in October 2015 were advised by the Bank of certain irregularities observed,” Bank of Baroda said.