The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed monetary penalties on five cooperative banks across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka for various regulatory and statutory violations detected during inspections conducted with reference to their financial position as of March 31, 2025.
The highest penalty of Rs 2.10 lakh was imposed on The Nasik Road Deolali Vyapari Sahakari Bank Ltd., Nashik, for sanctioning loans to relatives of its directors, violating RBI norms on lending to directors and related parties.
Another major action saw RBI levy a Rs 1.50 lakh penalty on The Chitradurga District Co-operative Central Bank Ltd., Karnataka, for sanctioning director-related loans and failing to upload customer KYC records to the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) within the prescribed timeline.
In Gujarat, RBI fined Sarvodaya Commercial Co-operative Bank Ltd., Mehsana, Rs 20,000 for levying penal charges on certain inoperative accounts despite RBI’s revised instructions on unclaimed deposits.
Maharashtra-based Wardha District Ashirwad Mahila Nagari Sahakari Bank Maryadit was penalised Rs 20,000 for breaching prescribed exposure limits on advances, while Navapur Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Nandurbar, was fined Rs 10,000 for failing to furnish information sought by RBI inspectors during the statutory inspection.
RBI clarified that the penalties relate solely to deficiencies in statutory and regulatory compliance and do not affect the validity of transactions entered into by the banks with their customers.
The central bank also noted that the penalties are without prejudice to any further supervisory or regulatory action that may be initiated against the institutions.