According to newspaper reports, RBI is stated to have imposed a fine of Rs 49.5 crore on 22 banks for violation of not only KYC norms but also anti money laundering rules. A member of the top management of the Bank had said some time ago that there were no violations of anti- money laundering rules.. I do not know how the Bank would now save itself of embarrassment if someone were to invite the Bank's attention to the contradiction in the pronouncement of the Bank and the action finally taken. It is most unfortunate that the RBI had landed itself in such a situation. The fact that the violation of the RBI rules is so widespread in the Banking Industry is a pointer to the fact that the RBI has not been able to put the fear of God in the members of the industry and its capacity to enforce its rules is suspect. As a retired official of the Bank who gets perturbed if the image of the Bank gets eroded, my humble suggestion to the Bank would be to do a through introspection on its effectiveness and on the steps to be taken to reverse the image of a weak regulator. Recently, in the process of helping one of my friends, I found that even a small private sector bank with its headquarters in down south could not care for the KYC norms and there was clear indication from the records that it had not done any verification needed for satisfying itself of the KYC norms. If this situation is allowed to continue, the situation might go beyond repair.
- A.Chandramouliswaran
No comments:
Post a Comment