Kotak Mahindra Bank shares in focus after RBI ban; what private lender says

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, which are down 5.4 per cent year-to-date, will be in focus on Thursday morning after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked the private lender to cease and desist, with immediate effect, from onboarding of new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards.

"We have received an order from the RBI which directs us to temporarily pause onboarding of new customers though our online and mobile banking channels and issuance of fresh credit cards. The bank has taken measures for adoption of new technologies to strengthen its IT systems and will continue to work with RBI to swiftly resolve balance issues at the earliest," Kotak Mahindra Bank said.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, which is scheduled to report its quarterly results on Saturday, May 4, 2024, said it wants to reassure its existing customers of uninterrupted services, including credit card, mobile and net banking. "Our branches continue to welcome and onboard new customers, providing them with all the Bank’s services, other than issuance of new credit cards,” it clarified.

The RBI suggested that the restrictions would be reviewed upon completion of a comprehensive external audit to be commissioned by the bank with the prior approval of RBI, and remediation of all deficiencies that may be pointed out in the external audit as well as the observations contained in the RBI Inspections, to the satisfaction of the apex bank.

"Further, these restrictions are without prejudice to any other regulatory, supervisory or enforcement action that may be initiated against the bank by the Reserve Bank," the central bank said.

These actions, the RBI said, are necessitated based on significant concerns arising out of Reserve Bank’s IT Examination of the bank for the years 2022 and 2023 and the continued failure on part of the bank to address these concerns in a comprehensive and timely manner.