Digital banking crusade

RBI clamps curbs on Kotak Mahindra Bank No new online customers, credit cards Serious deficiencies' and non-compliance detected across various crucial areas of IT governance

- Srinath Sridharan

The Reserve Bank of India has given a directive Tdia to Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, barring it from taking on board new online customers and issuing new credit cards, with immediate effect.

The bank shall, however, continue to provide services to its existing customers, including its credit card customers,' the RBI said in a release.

The RBI has cited grave concerns stemming from its examinations conducted over the past two years, revealing 'serious deficiencies' and non compliances across various crucial areas of IT governance. These areas were identified as 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, etc.

Despite continuous engagement and high-level discussions aimed at bolstering IT resilience, the bank's persistent failure to address these concerns in a timely and comprehensive manner necessitated decisive action from the regulator. All this highlights the critical importance RBI places on robust and sustainable IT systems that are at the core of the accelerating growth of digital banking.