The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed monetary penalties on three cooperative banks for regulatory violations, with Kolhapur District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd. receiving the highest penalty of Rs 13.30 lakh.
Kolhapur DCCB, Maharashtra, was penalised for violating provisions of the Banking Regulation Act relating to director-related loans. Following NABARD’s statutory inspection based on the bank’s financial position as on March 31, 2025, RBI found that the bank had sanctioned loans connected to its directors, attracting a penalty of Rs 13.30 lakh.
In a separate action, RBI imposed a Rs 3 lakh penalty on The United Puri-Nimapara Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Odisha, for failing to upload customers’ Know Your Customer (KYC) records to the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed timeline. The violation came to light during NABARD’s statutory inspection.
Meanwhile, Manmad Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Maharashtra, was fined Rs 1 lakh after RBI found that it had sanctioned a loan to a relative of one of its directors, violating the central bank’s directions on loans and advances to directors, their relatives and related entities.
In all three cases, RBI clarified that the penalties were imposed solely for deficiencies in regulatory and statutory compliance and do not question the validity of any customer transactions or agreements. The central bank also noted that the penalties are without prejudice to any further supervisory or regulatory action that may be initiated against the respective banks.
