MUMBAI, April 25 Reuters The Reserve Bank of India39;s RBI increased scrutiny of banks and other financial firms has resulted in a spate of supervisory restrictions, most recently on Kotak Mahindra Bank, India39;s fourth largest private lender by assets.

On Wednesday the RBI barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from taking on new customers digitally and issuing credit cards, due to information technologyrelated deficiencies.

Since 2020, the RBI has placed business restrictions on HDFC Bank, India39;s largest private lender, Paytm Payments Bank, the banking unit of fintech firm Paytm, and JM Financial, among others. Following are some of the key actions

HDFC BANK

In December 2020 the RBI ordered HDFC Bank to stop all launches of new digital products and issuance of new credit cards following multiple outages on the bank39;s digital banking channels.

The restrictions lasted until March 2022 which hindered the bank39;s business growth, contributing to underperformance of its stock compared to its peers.

BANK OF BARODA

In October 2023, the central bank barred staterun Bank of Baroda from adding customers to its mobile app, bob World.

Al Jazeera reported that Bank of Baroda had linked mobile numbers of strangers to boost registrations on the application, compromising security.

The restriction is yet to be lifted.

BAJAJ FINANCE

In November 2023 the RBI ordered India39;s largest nonbank finance company NBFC, Bajaj Finance, to stop offering loans under two of its lending…