Banking Awareness of 24, 25 and 26 December 2021

Topic: Appointments

1. Finance Ministry appoints Vandita Kaul as part-time member of PFRDA board.

• Finance Ministry has appointed Vandita Kaul as part-time member of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) board.
• Vandita Kaul is a 1989 batch officer of the Indian postal service.
• She was serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Financial Services.
• She has replaced Madnesh Kumar Mishra at PFRDA board.

Topic: RBI

2. RBI imposes fine on One Mobikwik Systems and Spice Money.

• RBI has imposed a fine of ₹ 1 crore each on One Mobikwik Systems and Spice Money.
• The fine on both payment companies has been imposed for non-compliance with RBI directions on networth requirement for Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units.
• The non-compliances were offences of the nature referred to in Section 26 (6) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• One Mobikwik Systems is the parent company of MobiKwik, which provides a mobile phone based payment system and digital wallet.
• Spice Money is one of the largest Rural Fintech Companies in India.

Topic: RBI

3. RBI imposes monetary penalty on MUFG Bank Ltd.

• RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹30 Lakh on MUFG Bank Ltd.
• The penalty has been imposed for non-compliance with its directions on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’.
• RBI‘s inspection of the bank (with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2019) revealed non-compliance with directions.
• MUFG Bank has the largest network amongst Japanese banks in India.
• MUFG Bank, Ltd. is the largest bank in Japan. It is a scheduled foreign bank in India.

Topic: RBI

4. RBI extended Tokenisation deadline from December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

• Tokenisation deadline has been extended by RBI from December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022.
• Industry bodies such as Merchant Payments Alliance of India and Alliance of Digital India Foundation had sent representations to the RBI for extension of the deadline.
• RBI has also directed industry stakeholders to devise alternative mechanisms to handle any use case that currently requires storage of CoF data by entities other than card issuers and card networks. 
• The use cases include recurring e-mandates, EMI option or post-transaction activity (including chargeback handling, dispute resolution, reward/ loyalty programme, etc.).
• Card-on-file (CoF) refers to the card information stored by payment gateway and merchants to process future transactions.
• Under tokenisation, a unique code is generated to facilitate transactions through cards.
• In September, RBI has banned merchants from storing customer card details on their servers with effect from January 1, 2022.

Topic: Banking System

5. OICL status changed to public category from promoter category shareholder in Axis Bank.

• Oriental Insurance Company has been categorized into public category from promoter category shareholder in Axis Bank.
• In October this year, applications were made to NSE and BSE for reclassification of Oriental Insurance Company to public category from promoter category.
• On 20 December 2021, BSE and NSE have granted their approval for reclassification.
• In September this year, Axis Bank’s board of directors has approved to reclassify Oriental Insurance Company Ltd (OICL) from promoter category to public category shareholder.
• Oriental Insurance Company Ltd (OICL) held a 0.16 % stake in the bank.

Topic: RBI

6. CSB Bank empaneled by RBI as an agency bank.

• CSB Bank has been empaneled by RBI as an agency bank.
• CSB Bank can now undertake the general banking business of central and state governments.
• CSB Bank can now enter into an agreement with different state governments and central government departments for tax collections, pension payment, collection of stamp duty, etc.
• CSB Bank is an Indian private sector bank based in Thrissur, Kerala. It was formerly called Catholic Syrian Bank Limited.

Topic: Appointments

7. Yogesh K Dayal appointed by RBI as additional director on the board of RBL Bank.

• Yogesh K Dayal has been appointed by RBI as an additional director on the board of RBL Bank.
• The appointment is valid for a period of two years, with effect from December 24, 2021 till December 23, 2023 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
• RBI has appointed Yogesh K Dayal, Chief General Manager, RBI as additional director in the exercise of its powers under Section 36AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• RBL Bank’s MD and CEO Vishwavir Ahuja proceeded on leave with immediate effect.
• The Board of Directors of the RBL Bank has appointed Rajeev Ahuja (currently the Executive Director) as interim MD and CEO of the bank.
• Section 36AB gives RBI powers to appoint additional directors if it is necessary to do so in the interest of banking policy or the public interest or the interests of the banking company or its depositors.

Topic: Banking System

8. BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL) and Indian Navy unveil Co-branded credit card.

• Co-branded credit card has been launched by BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL) and Indian Navy for Indian Navy personnel.
• The card is offered on the RuPay platform and has contactless features. The card is available in 3 formats.
• BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB).
• Punjab National Bank (PNB) has entered into a co-lending arrangement with Lendingkart Finance Limited.
• As per RBI Co-Lending Model, bank and NBFC will co-lend the customer in the ratio of 80% and 20%, respectively.

Topic: Taxation

9. Clubs and associations to demand and collect GST on fees collected from members retrospectively.

• Clubs and associations will have to demand and collect GST on fees collected from members retrospectively from July 1, 2017.
• As per the notification issued by Finance Ministry, the date for implementation of amended Section 7 of the GST law is 01 January.
• This amendment inserted a new clause, which comes into effect retrospectively from July 1, 2017.
• A club, an association or a society and its members will be treated as two distinct persons and transactions between these two will be considered taxable.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 24, 25 and 26 December 2021