Bank, Fi, Nbfc Staff To Bare Stock Deals

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked for information on stock market dealings of officers of banks, financial institutions and non-banking finance companies.

The regulator wants information for the sake of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the stock market scam.

"We have been asked to give information on every share purchase by our in-laws. Only the grand children are spared. This is ridiculous," said a senior banker.

Most of the banks have already circulated the RBI directive and gone back to the regulator saying no body has bought any shares. Some of the directors of a few banks have refused to furnish information and even threatened to resign, banking sources said.

The apex bank has asked the banks, FIs and NBFCs to provide details of every deal between September 1999 and April 2001. The RBI has also asked for the copies of the bank accounts of the officials (of the ranks of manager and above) of the banks for the period September 1999 to June 2001.

The apex bank has issued the instructions to both the public and private sector banks in the last month.

The central bank has even asked the commercial banks to give the names and addresses of the broking companies (with whom the bank officials have done dealings) and even the phone numbers of the bank officials. The apex banks has also asked for the stock market deals done by any relative (engaged in stock-broking business) of the bank officials. The names and addresses, bank accounts and stock exchange membership details of such relatives of bank officials have also been asked to provide.

"In the banking sector alone, officers of manager and above level could be 1.5 lakh. Add to that the directors and the relatives of these 1.5 lakh officers. It is impossible to furnish the information," commented another banker.