The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹58.9 crore on ICICI Bank Ltd for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on direct sale of securities from its Held To Maturity (HTM) portfolio and specified disclosure in this regard.

The central bank, in a statement, said this penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, taking into account failure of the bank to adhere to its directions/guidelines.

"This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers," RBI said.

Meanwhile, ICICI Bank, in a statement, said RBI has imposed a penalty on the bank for continued sale of government securities classified as HTM.

"ICICI Bank had continued with the sales from HTM category for a few weeks during the quarter ended March 31, 2017, due to a genuine misunderstanding on the timing of the applicability of RBI’s direction in this matter.

"As per RBI guidelines, the bank had disclosed in its annual report for FY2017 that it had sold more than 5 per cent of investments categorised as HTM," the private sector bank said.

However, the bank said it had not made the specified additional disclosure at that time. The bank added that it has subsequently been making the specified disclosure as directed by RBI in the audited financial results since the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

During the current year (FY2018), the bank has sold less than 5 per cent of securities from its HTM portfolio, according to the statement.

The bank emphasised that it continues to give utmost importance to regulatory compliance and endeavours to meet supervisory expectations.

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