The Reserve Bank of India announced monetary penalties on five scheduled commercial banks on 2 May 2025, in separate orders dated 29 and 30 April 2025, covering cybersecurity failures, Know Your Customer lapses, and a range of other conduct and governance breaches. ICICI Bank received the largest individual fine at ₹97.80 lakh, followed by Bank of Baroda at ₹61.40 lakh, while Axis Bank, IDBI Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra each faced penalties of approximately ₹29 to ₹32 lakh.
The RBI stated that all five actions were based on findings from its Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation process and that the penalties were not intended to pronounce on the validity of any transactions entered into by these institutions with their customers.
VIOLATIONS ACROSS THE FIVE LENDERS
ICICI Bank's ₹97.80 lakh penalty encompassed the broadest range of violations, spanning the RBI's Cyber Security Framework, Know Your Customer directions, and the Credit Card and Debit Card Issuance and Conduct directions. RBI said ICICI Bank failed to report a cyber security incident within the stipulated timeline, failed to use robust software to generate alerts for certain categories of accounts, and levied late payment charges on some credit card customers who had not been sent bills.
Bank of Baroda was penalised ₹61.40 lakh for non-compliance with directions on financial services provided by banks and customer service, read with interest rate on deposits, after its staff received non-cash incentives from an insurer and interest was not credited on certain inoperative savings accounts at prescribed intervals. Axis Bank's ₹29.60 lakh fine related to the unauthorised operation of internal accounts. IDBI Bank received a ₹31.80 lakh penalty connected to the Kisan Credit Card interest subvention scheme, while Bank of Maharashtra was fined the same amount for KYC-related deficiencies.
SUPERVISORY BASIS
The orders are consistent with the RBI's stated approach of using the Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation findings as the evidentiary basis for penalty orders.
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