KARACHI – The State Bank of Pakistan takes supervisory enforcement actions against those banks that fail to comply with legal or regulatory requirements.
These actions may range from imposition of penalties, administrative & financial sanctions and reference to concerned law enforcement/prosecution agencies.
In a recent move, the central bank has imposed penalties on Bank Alfalah Limited, 2 Habib Bank Limited, Bank Al Habib Limited, Meezan Bank Limited, Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited, MCB Bank Limited, MCB Islamic Bank Limited and Bank of Khyber.
Bank Alfalah Limited
SBP has imposed a fine of Rs 187.652 million on the bank for violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to FX and General Banking Operations In addition, the bank has been advised to improve its internal processes in order to avoid recurrence of such violations.
Habib Bank Limited
A fine of rs143.376 million was imposed on the Habib Bank over violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to CDD/KYC, FX and General Banking Operations. In addition, the bank has been advised to ensure meticulous compliance with the regulatory instructions to avoid recurrence of similar instances in future.
Bank Al Habib Limited
A penalty of Rs117.239 million was imposed on it for violating the regulatory instructions pertaining to CDD/KYC and FX. In addition to penal action, the bank has been advised to strengthen its systems and controls to ensure meticulous compliance with the regulatory instruction and avoid recurrence of similar violations.
Meezan Bank Limited
The central bank has imposed a penalty of Rs106.200 million for violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to FX. Further, the bank has been advised to strengthen its internal processes in order to minimize recurrence of such violations.
Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited
SBP imposed a fine of Rs70.915 million over violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to FX. Further, the bank has been advised to strengthen its internal processes in order to minimize recurrence of such violations.
MCB Bank Limited
The bank was fined Rs52.90 million for violating the regulatory instructions pertaining to FX and General Banking Operations. Further, the bank has been advised to strengthen its internal processes in order to avoid recurrence of such violations.
MCB Islamic Bank Limited
A penalty of Rs38.544 million was imposed on MCB for violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to AML/CFT, CDD/KYC and FX. The bank has been further advised to ensure meticulous compliance with regulatory instructions to avoid enforcement actions in future.
Bank of Khyber
SBP imposed a fine of Rs30.741 million for violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to CDD/KYC, Asset Quality and General Banking Operations. The bank has been further advised to ensure meticulous compliance with regulatory instructions to avoid enforcement actions in future.
These actions are based on deficiencies in the compliance of regulatory instructions and do not constitute a comment on the financial soundness of these entities, SBP said in a statement.