Rbi Audits Start Early This Year

Stung by criticism of inaction in the Ketan Parekh affair, the Reserve Bank of India has started auditing of some of the private sector banks early this year. These include Bank of Punjab, Centurion Bank, Global Trust Bank, UTI Bank and IndusInd Bank.

Though central bank officials said the investigations were routine and in the normal course of yearly inspections, banking sources said the RBI action is unusual because the audits of the five banks began simultaneously on April 16. Also, the audits were conducted even before the banks had finalised their annual accounts.

Normally, RBI inspections begin only after the banks finalise their accounts. However, two of these banks