The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that it has imposed penalties to the tune of Rs525.244 million on banks during the quarter ended June 30, 2021 for non-compliance with different legal or regulatory requirements.

The SBP takes supervisory enforcement actions against institutions that fail to comply with legal or regulatory requirements and these actions may range from the imposition of penalties, administrative and financial sanctions, and reference to concerned law enforcement/prosecution agencies.

As per details of the significant enforcement actions, a penalty of Rs289.091 million was imposed on MCB Bank Limited for "Violation of regulatory instructions pertainingto AML/CFT & General Banking Operations".

The central bank imposed a penalty of Rs75.759 million on Zarai Taraqiati bank Limited for violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to AML/CFT, Asset Quality & General Banking Operations.

Penalties of Rs62.177 million and Rs 32.504 million were imposed on Sindh Bank and The Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited, respectively.

Meanwhile, a penalty of Rs 31.577mn was imposed on First Women Bank Limited in violation of regulatory instructions pertaining to Asset Quality, CDD/KYC & General Banking Operations.

Furthermore, penalties of Rs 11.100mn, Rs 12.590mn and Rs 10.446mn were imposed on Bank Alfalah Limited, Soneri Bank Limited and Pak Brunai Investment Company Limited, respectively.

"These actions are based on deficiencies in the compliance of regulatory instructions and do not constitute a comment on the financial soundness of the entity," added the SBP.