SBP levies Rs 192.67 mln monetary penalty on four banks

December 11, 2019 (MLN): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed monetary penalty worth Rs 192.67 million on four banks in November 2019 that involved in violating 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.

Among four banks, the highest penalty of Rs 91.85 million was imposed on MCB Bank Limited on November 6, 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, to avoid recurrence of such violations in future.

Another major bank Allied Bank Limited was fined Rs 60.795 million for the same violation. Moreover, SBP has also advised the bank to conduct an internal inquiry on breaches of regulatory requirements and take disciplinary action against the delinquent officials.

On November 7, 2019, Rs 25.984 million fine was faced by Habib Bank Limited. In addition to penal action, the bank has been advised timelines to bring improvements in its systems/controls to avoid recurrence of such violations in future.

The Bank of Punjab was the fourth in terms of penalty with Rs 14.04 million. Further  SBP advised the bank to strengthen its process related to KYC/CDD, in order to avoid the occurrence of similar violations in future.

Earlier in October, SBP had charged Habib bank Limited with a Monetary Penalty of Rs. 35.62 million, on account of violations in the areas of Foreign Exchange operations and Customer Due Diligence (CDD).

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