RBI imposes monetary penalty worth Rs 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank

New Delhi: In a rare move, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday imposed monetary penalty worth Rs. 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank, the country's biggest private bank, for failing to abide by rules on the sale of bonds in the held-to-maturity (HTM) category.

"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed through an order dated March 26, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs. 589 million on ICICI Bank Limited (the bank) for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on direct sale of securities from its HTM portfolio and specified disclosure in this regard," RBI mentioned in a release.

It added that the penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, taking into account failure of the bank to adhere to the aforesaid directions/guidelines issued by RBI.

"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 release added.