RBI penalises SBI for violation of norms PTI

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said it imposed a fine of about Rs. 5.60 lakh on the State Bank of India (SBI) for violation of currency chest norms.

“The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs. 5,62,555 on July 12, 2013, on SBI for violation of the terms of agreement with RBI for opening and maintaining currency chests,” the central bank said in a statement.

The penalty was levied in connection with deficiencies and lapses in the operation and maintenance of the currency chest at the Secunderabad branch of SBI, it said.

Last month, the RBI had imposed a penalty of Rs. 3 crore on SBI for violating know your customer (KYC)/anti-money laundering norms.

The penal action by RBI was taken after an online portal alleged violation of KYC norms and money laundering by banks and financial institutions.

“After considering the facts of each case...Reserve Bank came to conclusion that some of the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty...” the central bank had said in a statement.

It is anticipated that financial sector entities had offered to open bank accounts and lockers for customers without following KYC norms, convert their black money into white and obtain fictitious PAN cards.

Those named in the expose include SBI, LIC, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Reliance Life, Tata AIA, Yes Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Dena Bank, Corporation Bank, Allahabad Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Federal Bank, DCB Bank and Birla Sun Life.

ATM woes top banking grievances

Hundreds of complainants aggrieved by shortcomings in banking services found their grievances redressed within a short period of two months, thanks to the Office of Banking Ombudsman (OBO), Chennai. About 96 per cent of the complaints from individuals ranged from non-dispensation of cash at ATM outlets despite their savings bank account getting debited, inordinate delay in returning the fixed deposit account of a deceased person to the guardian, failure to return title deeds, delay in sanctioning of loans or rejection of them without a valid reason and giving of wrong advice to bank customers, among other issues. Ten banks accounted for 75 per cent of the complaints. While cash transactions-related issues were resolved with the help of CCTV cameras installed at the ATM outlets, the other issues were resolved by inspecting the documents available with the respective banks. In a specific case, an individual had refused to file a complaint when he came to know his ATM card was misused by a relative. Sujatha Elizabeth Prasad, Chief General Manager, Banking Ombudsman Chennai, said: “Most of the problems arose due to lack of financial literacy among the customers. We are going to places where the awareness is low.”