RBI lifts curbs on Kotak Mahindra Bank; lender can issue fresh credit cards

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday lifted nine-month old curbs on Kotak Mahindra Bank, allowing it to onboard new customers through its online and mobile banking channels.

The Reserve Bank also permitted the private sector lender to issue fresh credit cards.

The RBI in April 2024 had directed the lender to cease and desist from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels, and issuing fresh credit cards.

Subsequently, the bank initiated remedial measures to address the supervisory concerns and submitted compliances to the Reserve Bank, the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

The bank also commissioned an external audit, with prior approval of RBI, to validate compliance.

"Now, having satisfied itself based on the submissions, and remedial measures undertaken by the bank, the Reserve Bank, has decided to lift the afore-mentioned restrictions placed on Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited," the RBI said.

While announcing the supervisory action against Kotak Mahindra Bank under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act in April last year, the RBI had said the actions were necessitated based on significant concerns arising out of it’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.

Serious deficiencies and non-compliances were observed in the areas of IT inventory management, patch and change management, user access management, vendor risk management, data security and data leak prevention strategy, business continuity and disaster recovery rigour and drill, the RBI had said.