RBI imposes Rs 3 crore penalty on SBM Bank

A penalty of Rs 3 crore has been imposed on SBM Bank (India) by the RBI for non-compliance of regulatory norms by SBM Bank (Mauritius), which amalgamated with the former in November 2018.

The RBI said in a statement that the penalty has been imposed for non-compliance by SBM Bank (Mauritius) with certain provisions of directions issued by the central bank on ‘Time-bound implementation and strengthening of SWIFT – related operational controls’ and ‘Cyber Security Framework in Banks’.

The central bank further said that it conducted a scrutiny in order to examine the implementation of SWIFT related operational controls in SBM Bank (Mauritius) at its Indian operations, and it was observed that it failed to comply with certain provisions.

Based on the findings of the scrutiny and taking into account that Indian undertaking of the bank was amalgamated with SBM Bank (India), a notice was issued to SBM Bank (India) advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions.