RBI fines Punjab National Bank for breach of rules

July 6 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday that it has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.32 crore on Punjab National Bank for non-compliance with regulations on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’ and breach of KYC norms. The RBI has in its statutory inspection found that PNB “sanctioned working capital demand loans to two State Government-owned Corporations against amounts receivable from Government by way of subsidies/refunds/reimbursements.” PNB also failed to preserve the records pertaining to the identification of customers and their addresses obtained during the course of business relationships in certain accounts. The RBI also said that the action against PNB is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transactions or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.