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ICICI Bank fined Rs 58.9 crore, could be steepest RBI penalty ever

According to the RBI, this penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in the RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, taking into account failure of the bank to adhere to the directions/ guidelines issued by the RBI.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a stiff monetary penalty of Rs 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank for non-compliance with directions issued by the RBI on direct sale of securities from its HTM (held-to-maturity) portfolio and specified disclosure in this regard. This is probably the steepest penalty imposed by the regulator on a bank for violation of various regulations.

“This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers,” the RBI said in a statement. Banks have to compulsorily keep 19.5 per cent of their deposits in government securities as statutory liquidity ratio (SLR).
According to the RBI, this penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in the RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, taking into account failure of the bank to adhere to the directions/ guidelines issued by the RBI.

Many banks, which are reeling under huge bad loans, had suffered losses recently due to the sharp rise in yields on government securities in the last one year. In fact, banks have been selling securities from their portfolio and the appetite for new securities also waned.