RBI imposes Rs 25 lakh penalty on Axis Bank

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 2 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 25 lakh on private sector lender Axis Bank for non-compliance with certain provisions of Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.
A scrutiny was carried out by RBI in February and March 2020 in a customer account. It was observed that the bank had failed to carry out on-going due diligence that the transactions were consistent with its knowledge about the customer, customer's business and risk profile.
A notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause why penalty should not be imposed on it for contravention of the directions.
After considering the bank's reply and oral submissions, the RBI came to the conclusion that the charge of contravention of/non-compliance with its directions were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.
The penalty was imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under provisions of section 47A(1)(c) read with section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949.
The RBI said that the action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.