The Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs 10 crore on HDFC Bank Ltd for violating the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and does not pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement of the bank with its customers, RBI clarified.
The violation was identified after examining documents on marketing and sale of third-party non-financial products to the bank's customers based on a whistleblower complaint to the RBI about irregularities in the auto loan portfolio of the bank. Subsequently, a notice was issued to the bank demanding to show cause for why a penalty must not be imposed. The monetary penalty was imposed after considering the bank's reply, oral submission during personal hearing and examination of clarifications and documents furnished by the bank, the RBI said.