The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed penalties of Rs131.42 million on three major banks for violating various regulatory laws during the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Among these banks, JS Bank Limited was slapped with the biggest penalty of Rs85.148 million in the latest action for violating regulatory instructions pertaining to CDD/KYC (Know Your Customer/Customer Due Diligence), asset quality, FX (foreign exchange) and general banking operations.

In addition, the central bank advised JS to strengthen its controls/processes in the identified areas.

SBP fines four banks Rs 108mn over AML, operational violations

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) was penalised to the tune of Rs9.035 million. The bank was found to be in violation of rules pertaining to CDD/KYC, said the central bank.

The Bank of Punjab was the third on the list, and was fined Rs17.242 million for violating regulatory instructions pertaining to asset quality and CDD/KYC, and has been advised “to strengthen its controls/ processes in the identified areas”.

“These actions are based on deficiencies in the compliance of regulatory instructions and does not constitute a comment on the financial Soundness of the entities,” added the SBP.