RBI licence cancellations and severe actions

When Action Arrived

Published action records across the covered window, split into RegOversight severity bands. Empty intervals remain visible.

RBI action records by publication interval and severity band
Interval	Total	S0–S1 · lifted / low	S2–S3 · moderate / high	S4–S5 · major / severe
Jan	24	9	3	12
Feb	28	13	9	6
Mar	27	11	6	10
Apr	28	5	4	19
May	26	11	9	6
Jun	35	11	16	8
Jul	44	10	18	16
Aug	27	7	12	8
Sept	19	2	8	9
Oct	17	0	1	16

What Stood Out

Each finding is grounded in precomputed metrics. Open it to inspect the supporting numbers and the limits of the claim.

Severe actions took a larger share of the action mix

Severe actions numbered 110, or 40.0% of the mix, compared with 115 and 31.3% in 2025. Cancellations numbered 20, against 24 in 2025, while supersessions were 0, compared with 3.

Banks accounted for most of the fall in disclosed penalty value

Disclosed penalty value fell by ₹20.86 crore, from ₹33.01 crore to ₹12.14 crore. Banks accounted for 81.5% of the decline, with ₹6.67 crore across 15 actions versus ₹23.68 crore across 39 in 2025.

The penalty distribution shifted toward a smaller upper tail

The median disclosed penalty rose to ₹2.7 lakh from ₹2.0 lakh in 2025, while the maximum fell to ₹95.4 lakh from ₹3.32 crore. The 90th percentile was ₹16.3 lakh, against ₹36.4 lakh, and the 95th percentile was ₹38.6 lakh, against ₹65.0 lakh.

First-time entities made up most of the distinct-entity cohort

Of 907 distinct entities, 568 were first-time entities and 339 were returning. First-time entities accounted for 62.6%.

What RBI Did and Where It Landed

Amber bars show the current mix. The fine marker shows the comparable earlier period, so a change is visible rather than merely asserted.

Action mix

Primary recorded action category.

Monetary penalty167 · 60.7%
Previous 258 · 70.1%
Business restriction84 · 30.5%
Previous 69 · 18.8%
Licence cancellation20 · 7.3%
Previous 24 · 6.5%
Action lifted4 · 1.5%
Previous 14 · 3.8%

Lifecycle

Fresh actions, extensions and withdrawals.

Fresh action201 · 73.1%
Previous 297 · 80.7%
Extension70 · 25.5%
Previous 57 · 15.5%
Lifted / withdrawn4 · 1.5%
Previous 14 · 3.8%

Entity types

Action records by regulated-entity class, not entities affected.

Co-operative bank186 · 67.6%
Previous 266 · 72.3%
NBFC61 · 22.2%
Previous 59 · 16%
Bank17 · 6.2%
Previous 40 · 10.9%
Payment entity8 · 2.9%
Previous 2 · 0.5%
Credit bureau3 · 1.1%
Previous 1 · 0.3%

Why RBI acted

Overlapping themes; one action may carry several reasons.

Reporting & disclosure118 · 42.9%
Previous 192 · 52.2%
Governance & oversight76 · 27.6%
Previous 86 · 23.4%
KYC / AML61 · 22.2%
Previous 86 · 23.4%
Capital & exposure norms57 · 20.7%
Previous 76 · 20.7%
Lending norms51 · 18.5%
Previous 102 · 27.7%
Other50 · 18.2%
Previous 45 · 12.2%

Defining Actions

Up to four non-duplicative actions selected for monetary impact, breadth, severity or relief. Quiet periods may show fewer.

RBI imposes monetary penalty on Union Bank of India
Largest disclosed penaltyS4 High
27 Mar 2026₹95.4 lakhmonetary penalty
Union Bank of India
Union Bank of India received the largest disclosed penalty in the period. The action concerned non-compliance with RBI directions on limiting customer liability in unauthorised electronic banking transactions and on automation of income recognition, asset classification and provisioning processes.
Read case brief RBI source
RBI cancels Certificate of Registration of 192 NBFCs
Widest orderS5 Severe
15 Jul 2026licence cancellation
Naveen Merico Engineering Co. Private Limited
RBI cancelled the Certificate of Registration of 192 NBFCs under Section 45-IA(6) of the RBI Act, 1934. This was the widest order in the period.
Read case brief RBI source
Winding up of Paytm Payments Bank Limited
Institutional exitS5 Severe
28 Jul 2026licence cancellation
Paytm Payments Bank Limited
RBI cancelled the banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank Limited under Section 22(4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The release also notes that the High Court ordered winding up and appointment of a liquidator.
Read case brief RBI source
Cessation of “Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.” as a banking company within the meaning of sub section (2) of Section 36 (A) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
Highest severity, single entityS5 Severe
27 Jul 2026licence cancellation
Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.
Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. ceased to be a banking company within the meaning of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, via RBI notification published in the Gazette of India. It was the highest-severity single-entity action.
Read case brief RBI source

What It Cost

167 actions had a disclosed amount. Totals and distribution shape are kept separate from action volume.

Median: ₹2.7 L
Largest: ₹95.4 L
Top five: ₹3.45 cr
95th percentile: ₹38.6 L

Change by entity type

Arithmetic attribution of the change in disclosed value. Contributions may exceed 100% or run in the opposite direction.

Entity type	Current	Previous	Contribution
Bank	₹6.67 cr	₹23.68 cr	81.5%
Co-operative bank	₹2.76 cr	₹5.45 cr	12.9%
NBFC	₹1.88 cr	₹3.35 cr	7%
Credit bureau	₹34.92 L	₹2 L	-1.6%
Payment entity	₹47.7 L	₹50.6 L	0.1%

Entity Coverage

Declared: 951
Names extracted: 961
Canonical links: 965
First seen: 568

Entity counts are breadth indicators, not action counts. One bulk order can name hundreds of companies.

Some source records declare entities but contain no extracted names.

Orders Still in Force

Orders: 31
Entities: 31
Expiring next: 17
Duplicate entity rows: 0

Next expiry window: 1 Jan 2027–31 Dec 2027.