ICICI Bank Faces Roughly $1M Penalty Over Regulatory Non-Compliance

ICICI Bank IBN has been charged a monetary penalty of INR7.5 million ($85,479) by the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) for non-compliance with regulatory requirements.

The penalty was imposed on the bank for not complying with certain RBI guidelines related to the “Valuation of Properties - Empanelment of Valuers” and the “Opening of Current Accounts by Banks – Need for Discipline.”

Details of ICICI Bank’s Regulatory Fines

The penalty has been levied following a Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation (ISE 2024) conducted by the RBI, assessing IBN’s financial position as of March 31, 2024.
 
According to the RBI, the inspection revealed instances where ICICI Bank did not comply with certain regulatory directives, leading to a notice asking it to explain why a penalty should not be imposed. After evaluation of the bank’s response to the notice, additional submission and oral arguments presented during a personal hearing, the RBI determined that the following breaches warranted the financial penalty.

IBN failed to conduct independent property valuations for certain mortgage loans. Also, it opened and maintained certain current accounts that didn’t comply with applicable regulatory standards.

The RBI stated that the penalty is solely based on the identified compliance shortcomings and does not comment on the validity of any transactions or agreements between the bank and its clients. It clarified further that this action does not prevent the RBI from pursuing additional actions against ICICI Bank in the future.

This follows a penalty of INR97.8 lakhs imposed by the RBI in May 2025 for non-compliance with certain directives related to “Cyber Security Framework in Banks”, “Know Your Customer (KYC)”, and “Credit Card and Debit Card -Issuance and Conduct.”

ICICI’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank

Over the past six months, IBN’s shares have gained 12.2% compared with the industry’s 22.3% rise.

IBN currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Litigations/Probes Faced by Other Finance Firms

Earlier this month, UBS Group AG UBS agreed to pay $300 million to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve a legacy matter related to the mis-selling of mortgage-linked investments by Credit Suisse in the United States.

On Aug. 1, 2025, UBS-owned Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC agreed to settle all Credit Suisse’s outstanding consumer relief obligations under the 2017 settlement for its residential mortgage-backed securities business.

Similarly, last month, CNBC reported that Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD is under investigation by Lithuania's central bank, its lead regulator in the European Union (EU), regarding its newly launched tokenized equity products.

The scrutiny follows Robinhood’s recent launch of its Stock Tokens product across the EU, aimed at offering blockchain-based tokenized access to shares, including those of private firms. The offering sparked immediate questions from OpenAI, which openly distanced itself from HOOD’s product.

Robinhood defended the tokens by highlighting that they are backed by ownership interests designed to provide investors with indirect exposure to private markets. Nonetheless, regulators remain wary, specifically regarding the transparency and legality of how these digital instruments are offered to retail investors.

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