These actions on different entities are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, March 28, 2025: The RBI, by separate orders, has imposed a monetary penalty on 15 different entities, which include 8 Coop Banks, 5 NBFCs, 1 ARC and 1 RRB. These actions on the concerned entities are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance, as per the press release issued by the RBI on Friday.
Penalty On Different Entities
The RBI has imposed as penalty Rs1 lakh on Kodungallur Town Co-operative Bank; Rs5 lakh on The South Canara District Central Co-operative Bank; Rs1 lakh on The Mysore and Chamarajnagar District Co-operative Central Bank; Rs50,000 on The Vellore Co-operative Town Bank; Rs50,000 on Porbandar Commercial Cooperative Bank; Rs1.00 lakh (Rupees One Lakh only) on The Santrampur Urban Co-operative Bank; Rs15 lakh on The Citizens Urban Cooperative Bank; and Rs25.00 lakh (Rupees Twenty Five Lakh only) on The Kangra Central Co-operative Bank.
The RBI has imposed as penalty Rs5 lakh on Savery Transport Finance; Rs50,000 on Purvaja Fincap; Rs50,000 on Habitat Micro Build India Housing Finance Company; Rs3.20 lakh on Mahindra Rural Housing Finance and Rs 4.10 lakh on UCA Finvest.
The RBI has imposed as penalty Rs52.70 lakh on Phoenix ARC.
The RBI has imposed as penalty Rs1 lakh on Karnataka Gramin Bank
Penalty On 8 Coop Banks
1 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on Kodungallur Town Co-operative Bank Ltd., Kerala (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Management of Advances – UCBs’, ‘Income Recognition, Asset Classification, Provisioning and Other Related Matters - UCBs’ and ‘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, 2023. 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:
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 (RBI) has, by an order dated March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs5.00 lakh (Rupees Five lakh only) on The South Canara District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Karnataka (the bank) for contravention of provisions of Section 20 read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act). 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.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of contravention of statutory provisions 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. 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 statutory 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 March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on The Mysore and Chamarajnagar District Co-operative Central Bank Ltd., Karnataka (the bank) for contravention of provisions of Section 20 read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act). 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.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of contravention of statutory provisions 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. 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 certain loans to its director.
This action is based on deficiencies in statutory 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 March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) on The Vellore Co-operative Town Bank Ltd., Tamil Nadu (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI under ‘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 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 failed to upload the KYC records of customers onto Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed timeline.
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 March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) on Porbandar Commercial Co-operative Bank Limited, Dist. Porbandar, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘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 Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. 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, oral submissions made during the personal hearing and examination of additional submissions made by it, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the bank was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had failed to upload the KYC records of customers onto Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed timeline.
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.
6 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1.00 lakh (Rupees One Lakh only) on The Santrampur Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Santrampur, Mahisagar District, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Co-operative Banks - Interest Rate on Deposits’ 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 Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. 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, oral submissions made during the personal hearing and examination of additional submissions made by it, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had failed to:
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.
7 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs15.00 lakh (Rupees Fifteen Lakh only) on The Citizens Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd., Jalandhar (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, 2023. 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:
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.
8 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs25.00 lakh (Rupees Twenty Five Lakh only) on The Kangra Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Himachal Pradesh (the bank) for non-compliance with the conditions subject to which the banking license was issued to it by RBI. 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 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with the conditions of banking license issued by RBI 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 licensing conditions. 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 extended loans outside its area of operation in violation of conditions of the banking license.
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.
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Penalty On 5 NBFCs
The RBI has imposed as penalty Rs5 lakh on Savery Transport Finance; Rs50,000 on Purvaja Fincap; Rs50,000 on Habitat Micro Build India Housing Finance Company; Rs3.20 lakh on Mahindra Rural Housing Finance and Rs 4.10 lakh on UCA Finvest.
1 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs5 lakh (Rupees Five lakh only) on Savery Transport Finance Ltd., Chennai, Tamil Nadu (the company) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the ‘Master Direction- Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Company - Scale Based Regulation) Directions, 2023’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 58 G(1)(b) read with Section 58B(5)(aa) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
The correspondence related to charging higher interest rate than the annualised interest rate mentioned in the loan agreement revealed, inter alia, non-compliance with the RBI directions. Based on the same, a notice was issued to the company 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 company’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia that the following charges against the company were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The company 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 company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company.
2 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) on Purvaja Fincap Pvt. Ltd., Tamil Nadu (the company) for non-compliance with certain provisions of ‘Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Company-Scale Based Regulation) Directions, 2023’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 58 G(1)(b) read with Section 58B(5)(aa) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
The correspondence pertaining to the pre-mature redemption of Subordinated Debts revealed, inter-alia, non-compliance with RBI directions. Based on the same, a notice was issued to the company 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 company’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia that the following charge against the company was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The company had pre-maturely redeemed Subordinated Debts without the consent of RBI.
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 company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company.
3 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) on Habitat Micro Build India Housing Finance Company Private Ltd., Karnataka (the company) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the ‘Non-Banking Financial Company - Housing Finance Company (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2021’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 52A of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by the National Housing Bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the company 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 company’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the company was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The company had failed to obtain prior written permission of the RBI for effecting change in management, resulting in change of more than 30 per cent of its directors, excluding independent directors.
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 company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company.
4 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs3.20 lakh (Rupees Three Lakh Twenty Thousand only) on Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited (the company) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the 'Reserve Bank of lndia (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Directions, 2016’ and ‘Non-Banking Financial Company - Housing Finance Company (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2021’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 52A of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.
The statutory inspection of the company was conducted by the National Housing Bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on the supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the company 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 company’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the company were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
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 company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company.
5 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 4.10 lakh (Rupees Four Lakh and Ten Thousand only) on UCA Finvest Private Limited (the company) for non-compliance with specific conditions under which the company was issued the Certificate of Registration (CoR) by RBI under section 45IA(5) of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (RBI Act). This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 58G read with sub-section (6) of Section 58 B of the RBI Act.
The financial statements of the company for FY 2021-22 and related correspondence in that regard, revealed, inter alia, non-compliance with the specific conditions of the CoR. Based on the same, a notice was issued to the company advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the said conditions of the CoR.
After considering the company’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charge against the company was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The company in violation of the specific conditions of the Certificate of Registration, 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 company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company.
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Penalty On One ARC
1 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 24, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs52.70 lakh (Rupees Fifty Two Lakh Seventy Thousand only) on Phoenix ARC Private Limited (the company) for non-compliance with directions on ‘Settlement of dues payable by the borrower’ issued by RBI. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under Section 12 read with sub-section (1) of Section 30A of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002.
The statutory inspection of the company was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the company 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 company’s reply to the notice, additional submissions made by it and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI found that the following charge against the company was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The company settled dues of certain borrowers having aggregate outstanding principal amount of more than Rs1 crore without the prior approval of its Board of Directors, as required under the directions on ‘Settlement of dues payable by the borrower’.
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 company with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the company.
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Penalty On One RRB
1 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated March 26, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1.00 lakh (Rupees One lakh only) on Karnataka Gramin Bank, Karnataka (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Strengthening of Prudential Norms- Provisioning Asset Classification and Exposure Limit, 2001’ read with ‘Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning Norms-Guidelines, 1996’. 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 51(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) 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 by it 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 failed to classify certain loan accounts as non-performing assets.
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.
