Regulator's Ire

The RBI's action on Paytm Bank underscores the need for fintechs and other regulated entities to not lose sight of compliance while pursuing innovation and growth

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A day before the Union Budget, the Reserve Bank of India shocked the financial world with unprecedented curbs against Paytm Payments Bank, which virtually put the bank into a coma and posed an existential threat to its listed parent, One97 Communications. In one fell swoop, the RBI action halved One97’s stock price as institutional investors, sensing the regulator’s fury, dumped the stock en masse.

The regulator did not stop with Paytm Bank. On 5th March, the central bank barred JM Financial Products from issuing loans against shares and debentures, including sanctioning and disbursing loans against Initial Public Offering shares. A day earlier, RBI asked IIFL Finance to stop sanctioning or disbursing gold loans with immediate effect, noting “supervisory concerns” in the company’s gold loan portfolio. RBI also ordered Visa Inc to immediately stop a payments service wherein cards were used to transact with merchants who weren’t allowed to accept such payments.

While the Paytm Bank action has brought the severity of the regulator’s ire to the fore, the RBI, especially after the pandemic, has been taking severe actions against regulated entities, including hefty penalties, over compliance matters.

In November last year, the RBI directed Bajaj Finance to stop sanctioning and disbursing loans under its two lending products, ‘eCOM’ and ‘Insta EMI Card’, with immediate effect. In December ’20, the RBI banned HDFC Bank from issuing new credit cards, which was only lifted in March ’22.

In August ’21, a payment system operator was fined Rs 3 crore for non-compliance with KYC norms among other reasons. The regulator even cancelled the licence of a digital lender for several transgressions, including a failure to comply with the KYC norms.

ACTION ON PAYTM