India’s RBI Allows HDFC Bank to Resume New Digital Initiatives

(Bloomberg) -- HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank by assets, said India’s banking sector regulator had lifted restrictions on the launch of new digital business-generating activities.

“We are fully committed to ensuring continued adherence to the highest standards of compliance with RBI recommendations,” HDFC Bank said in a statement Saturday, adding the Reserve Bank of India had notified the ban removal on March 11. 

A central bank spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

In Dec. 2020, the central bank had asked the lender to halt all new digital banking initiatives and stop acquiring any new credit card customers. The regulatory action was prompted by multiple outages in HDFC Bank’s online banking services. Last August, the regulator partially lifted the ban, allowing the lender to resume credit card issuances.

“We have utilized this time to draw up short, medium, and long-term plans to meet the evolving digital requirements of our customers and we will roll out these initiatives in the days to come,” the bank said.

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