RBI Imposes ₹2.60 Lakh Penalty on 2 Cooperative Banks and Ebix Payment Services
Moneylife Digital Team 24 April 2026
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of ₹2.60 lakh on two cooperative banks and Ebix Payment Services Pvt Ltd for non-compliance with the directions issued by the banking regulator. The highest penalty of ₹1 lakh has been imposed on Uttar Pradesh-based Hardoi Jilla Sahkari Bank Ltd. The other bank penalised is Aurangabad-based Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagari Sahakari Bank Ltd. 
 
Hardoi Jilla Sahkari Bank has been penalised for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on the know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines.
 
RBI's statutory inspection of Hardoi Jilla Sahkari Bank, conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), revealed that the lender had not established a system to periodically review the risk categorisation of its accounts. Such reviews must be conducted at least once every six months.
 
Further, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagari Sahakari Bank has been fined ₹80,000 for failing to comply with directions issued by RBI. These include guidelines on exposure norms, statutory and other restrictions applicable to urban cooperative banks (UCBs), and operational instructions issued under the supervisory action framework (SAF).
 
RBI statutory inspection found that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagari Sahakari Bank failed to adhere to the prescribed regulatory ceiling on certain advances. It also offered interest rates on some deposits that were higher than those of State Bank of India (SBI), in violation of directions issued under SAF.
 
Similarly, during its inspection of Ebix Payment Services, it was found that the company had failed to properly categorise its customers' risks.
 
As a result, RBI penalised Ebix Payment Services ₹80,000.
 
"After considering the reply and oral submissions of both the banks and Ebix Payment Services during the personal hearing, RBI concluded that the charges of non-compliance with directions were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty," the central bank says.
 
In all cases, RBI says the penalties are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and are not intended to be pronounced on the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into with their customer.
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