The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd (BHFL) for failing to obtain prior written permission before a management reshuffle that changed more than 30% of its directors, excluding independent directors.
The central bank said, in a statement, that the charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid statutory directions by the company was substantiated and warranted imposition of the monetary penalty.
The RBI action pertains to a statutory inspection of BHFL by the National Housing Bank (NHB) with regards to its financial position as of March 31, 2022. The examination of the inspection report and supervisory letter showed that the company revealed this development, the regulator said.
“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 company with its customers,” RBI said.
BHFL, the housing finance arm of Bajaj Finance Ltd, was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pune-based Bajaj Finserv Ltd on June 13, 2008. During fiscal 2015, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bajaj Finance. On September 24, 2015, BHFL received a Certificate of Registration from NHB to set up its housing finance company.
