The Reserve Bank of India organized a conference in Mumbai at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for the heads of assurance functions, including Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Risk Officers, and Heads of Internal Audit from select Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs).
The conference saw the participation of around 300 attendees representing over 120 UCBs, including prominent banks such as Saraswat Bank, SVC Co-op Bank, Cosmos Co-op Bank, TJSB Sahakari Bank, Karad Urban Cooperative Bank, Mahanagar Cooperative Bank, Bharat Cooperative Bank, NKGSB Cooperative Bank, and Kalupur Commercial Cooperative Bank, among others.
Under the theme “Resilient Financial System – Role of Effective Assurance Functions,” this event is part of a series of supervisory engagements that the RBI has been conducting with its regulated entities over the past year. Previous conferences have included heads of assurance functions from Scheduled Commercial Banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies.
The conference featured addresses by RBI Deputy Governors Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao and Shri Swaminathan J. Other notable participants included Executive Directors Shri S.C. Murmu, Shri Saurav Sinha, Shri Rohit Jain, and Shri Manoranjan Mishra, along with senior officials from the RBI’s Regulation, Supervision, and Enforcement departments.
In his keynote address, Shri Rao emphasized the critical role of the three assurance functions—Risk Management, Compliance, and Internal Audit—in maintaining the efficacy and independence essential for the financial system’s resilience. He highlighted the importance of the Chief Risk Officers in managing and mitigating risks within banks’ balance sheets, advocated for a proactive approach in the Compliance function, and stressed the need for clear communication in Internal Audit to ensure timely and effective corrective actions.
Shri Swaminathan outlined the RBI’s supervisory expectations, underscoring the vital role of assurance functions in safeguarding financial soundness and maintaining stakeholder trust. He emphasized the need for robust internal control systems to address emerging and evolving risks and reaffirmed the RBI’s zero-tolerance policy towards poor governance practices.
The conference included technical sessions on Risk Management, Compliance, and Internal Audit led by Chief General Managers of the RBI. There were also presentations on best practices and challenges by heads of assurance functions from select UCBs.
The event concluded with an open house interaction between the participants and the RBI’s Executive Directors and Chief General Manager in Charge of the Department of Supervision.
Presentations on compliance were given by Chief Compliance Officers of Saraswat Cooperative Bank, Bharat Cooperative Bank, and NKGSB Cooperative Bank.
Chief Risk Officers of SVC Cooperative Bank, Cosmos Cooperative Bank, and Kalupur Commercial Cooperative Bank presented on risk management, while Heads of Internal Audit from TJSB Sahakari Bank, Karad Urban Cooperative Bank, and Mahanagar Cooperative Bank discussed internal audit practices.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Megha Saxena, General Manager, Department of Supervision.
