RBI slaps penalty of Rs 2.91 crore on Axis Bank, HDFC Bank

Mumbai: The RBI has imposed penalties totalling Rs 2.91 crore on Axis Bank and HDFC Bank for certain deficiencies in statutory and regulatory compliance.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said a penalty of Rs 1.91 crore has been imposed on Axis Bank for contravention of certain provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, and non-compliance with certain directions on 'Interest Rate on Deposits', 'Know Your Customer (KYC)' and 'Credit Flow to Agriculture-Collateral free agricultural loans'.

A penalty of Rs 1 crore has been imposed on HDFC Bank for non-compliance with certain directions on 'interest rate on deposits', 'recovery agents engaged by banks' and 'customer service in banks', it said in another release.

The RBI also said the penalties are based on deficiencies in statutory and regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the banks with their customers.