New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India, also known as the Bankers’ Bank, imposed a monetary penalty on three Gujarat-based cooperative banks for non-compliance with regulatory guidelines.

In the first case, the RBI, by an order dated January 27, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.10 lakh on Shree Savli Nagrik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Dist. Vadodara, for contravention of provisions of Section 26A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act) and for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Investment by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks,’ ‘Know Your Customer (KYC),’ and ‘Membership of Credit Information Companies (CICs) by Co-operative Banks.

The bank had: 1. failed to transfer eligible unclaimed amounts to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund within the prescribed time; 2. breached the ceiling of total investments held under the Held to Maturity (HTM) category; 3. failed to upload the KYC records of customers onto the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed time; and 4. failed to submit credit information of its borrowers to three CICs.

In the second case, by an order dated January 28, 2025, the apex bank imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.00 lakh on The Kosamba Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dist. Surat, for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’ and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC).

The bank had failed to adhere to the prudential interbank (gross) and counterparty exposure limits; upload the KYC records of customers onto the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed time; and carry out a periodic review of the risk categorization of accounts at least once in six months.

In the third case, the RBI, by an order dated January 28, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.00 lakh on The Vadali Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Dist. Sabarkantha, for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and Advances to directors, relatives, and firms/concerns in which they are interested’; ‘Placement of deposits with other banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’; and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC).

The bank had sanctioned a loan wherein a relative of its director stood as guarantor; failed to adhere to the prudential interbank (gross) and counterparty exposure limits; and failed to carry out a periodic review of the risk categorization of certain accounts at least once in six months.

These actions followed statutory inspections conducted by the RBI, which assessed the financial positions of these banks as of March 31, 2023. DeshGujarat