RBI: If you place your hard-earned cash in the bank, then this information is valuable. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has requested that banks provide consistent interest rates at all branches for deposits of identical amounts made on the same day. Discrimination should not occur in this situation.

As per the updated RBI guidelines, the interest rates offered on deposits (including bulk deposits) must align with the rates previously published on the banks’ websites. RBI specified that it is not permissible for any bank to offer varying rates on deposits of the identical amount received on the same day. Furthermore, the Reserve Bank announced that banks are required to publish interest rates for bulk deposits on their websites by 10:00 a.m. each business day. Nonetheless, a grace period of up to 10 minutes has been allowed.

This indicates that banks need to adjust interest rates by 10:10 a.m. The RBI also allowed banks some flexibility to provide varying interest rates on large deposits within the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) framework, as long as the differences are based on sound financial criteria. These guidelines will take effect starting October 1, 2026. The RBI mentioned that this regulation was established after consulting with stakeholders on the draft guidelines released in June.

The RBI has levied a fine of one lakh rupees on the Rajnandgaon District Cooperative Central Bank for breaching banking rules. The bank faces allegations of offering one percent higher interest than the allowed limit on employee accounts. As stated by Sudhir Soni, CEO of the District Cooperative Central Bank, NABARD carried out the inspection from December 15, 2025, to January 7, 2026, with officials from the NABARD Regional Office in Raipur.

Under this, the NABARD office reported to the RBI that 143 accounts belonging to our staff were being charged one percent higher interest. We closed 106 of these accounts and recovered Rs 393,000. However, on July 23rd, we received a letter from the RBI, imposing a penalty of Rs 100,000. The bank has since paid the fine.