RBI : Banks get time till Dec
end to renew safe deposit locker agreements
The Reserve Bank of India
on Monday gave banks time till end of December 2023 to complete renewal of
agreements for the existing safe deposit lockers of customers. Banks were
earlier required to complete the process by January 01, 2023.
The central bank has
asked them to complete work in phases with intermediate milestones of 50 per
cent by June 30, and 75 per cent by September 30.
Further, lockers that
have been frozen for non-execution of agreement by January 1 should be unfrozen
with immediate effect, RBI said in a statement today.
On August 18, 2021, RBI
had asked banks to enter into revised agreements with existing locker holders
by January 1. However, it noticed that a large number of customers were yet to
sign the revised agreement. In many cases, the banks were yet to inform
customers about the need to do so before the stipulated date (January 1, 2023),
RBI added.
Banks should make
necessary arrangements to facilitate execution of the revised agreements by ensuring
the availability of stamp paper, etc.
The August 2021
guidelines pertain to customer due diligence, model locker agreement, locker
rent, security of strong rooms, and attachment and recovery of contents in a
locker and the articles by any law enforcement authority, among others.
RBI further said there is
a need for revision in the model agreement drafted by the Indian Banks'
Association (IBA) to fully comply with the revised instructions.
"IBA is being
advised separately to review and revise the model agreement to ensure that it complies
with the requirements of circular dated August 18, 2021 and circulate a revised
version to all banks by February 28, 2023," it said in a circular.
www.business-standard.com
dt. 24.01.2023