Enforcement Action: SBP penalizes Banks Rs.219.138 Million in December

January 14, 2020 (MLN): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed monetary penalty worth Rs 219.138 million on five banks in December 2019 that violated SBP’s rules and regulations.

According to a notice issued by SBP, the penalty was imposed mainly on violations in the area of CDD/KYC/CFT and FX Operations.

Among the banks, the highest penalty of Rs 96.095 million was imposed on Bank Alfalah Limited on December 23, 2019. In addition to penal action, the bank has been advised to conduct an internal inquiry on certain breaches/violation of regulatory requirements. Further, the bank has been advised to strengthen its process related to KYC/CDD, in order to avoid recurrence of such violations in future.

Another major, bank MCB Bank Limited, was fined Rs 49.499 deficiencies in the area of foreign trade operations. Summit Bank was fined Rs 17.422 million for the same offense.

Fines of Rs 34.578 million and Rs 21.544 million were imposed on Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited and National Bank limited for procedural violations in the area of CDD/KYC. Additionally, the banks have been advised timelines to bring improvements in their systems/controls to avoid recurrence of such violations in future.

Earlier, in November SBP had penalized Banks Rs 192.67 million for similar violations.

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