RBI Imposes Rs9.50 Lakh Penalty on 5 Cooperative Banks
Moneylife Digital Team 18 March 2025
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs9.50 lakh on five cooperative banks for non-compliance with the directions issued by the banking regulator. The highest penalty of Rs5 lakh has been imposed on Baramulla Central Cooperative Bank Ltd from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
 
Other banks penalised by RBI are Anantnag Central Cooperative Bank Ltd from J&K, Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd from Gondia in Maharashtra, Jogindra Central Cooperative Bank Ltd from Himachal Pradesh and Gurdaspur Central Cooperative Bank Ltd from Punjab.
 
Baramulla Central Cooperative Bank and Anantnag Central Cooperative Bank have been penalised Rs5 lakh and Rs1 lakh, respectively for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI prohibiting acceptance of fresh deposits.
 
The statutory inspection of both these banks conducted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) revealed that both the lenders accepted fresh deposits in violation of directions issued by RBI.
 
Janata Sahakari Bank from Gondia has been fined Rs1.50 lakh for contravention of the provisions of Section 26A of the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act). The lender failed to transfer eligible unclaimed amounts to RBI’s depositor education and awareness fund (DEA Fund) within the prescribed time. 
 
Gurdaspur Central Cooperative Bank and Jogindra Central Cooperative Bank have also been penalised Rs1 lakh each for contravention of the provisions of Section 26A of the BR Act. Both the lenders also sanctioned or renewed director-related loans in violation of Section 20 of the BR Act.
 
RBI says its action against these five cooperative banks is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce on the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the banks with their customers.
Comments
Free Helpline
Legal Credit
Feedback