Case Brief
What Happened
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.00 lakh on The National Cooperative Bank Ltd., Mumbai, for contravention of RBI directions on maintenance of deposit accounts. RBI’s inspection found that the bank charged fixed penal charges for shortfalls in minimum balance in savings accounts, rather than charges proportionate to the shortfall, and also failed to provide the required notice about penal charges becoming applicable if the minimum balance was not restored within one month. After considering the bank’s reply to the show-cause notice, RBI concluded that the non-compliance was substantiated and warranted a penalty under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.