RBI imposes monetary penalty on Axis Bank Ltd

Case Brief

By an order dated November 02, 2023, RBI imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 90.92 lakh on Axis Bank Ltd. The penalty was levied for non-compliance with RBI directions relating to KYC, loans and advances/statutory and other restrictions, outsourcing conduct standards, and rules for opening and operating current accounts. RBI said the action followed inspection and scrutiny findings that the bank had not preserved certain customer identification/address records, had made persistent calls to some customers, had not ensured appropriate behaviour by recovery agents, had not ensured tape recording of recovery-agent calls, and had not obtained declarations when opening current accounts. RBI clarified that the penalty was based on regulatory compliance deficiencies and was not intended to pronounce on the validity of any customer transaction or agreement.