ICICI under MRTPC scanner

The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission's investigation net has now fallen on private lender ICICI Bank for making false promises to its credit card customers and violating RBI guidelines.

In its preliminary report, the Director General of Investigation and Registration (DGIR), the investigation arm of MRTPC, has said ICICI Bank caused loss to its credit card users besides violating related RBI guidelines.

DGIR, which is conducting a probe against many banks on the same issue, has already recommended action against HSBC and Citibank.

Sources said during investigation DGIR found ICICI Bank had issued more than 50 types of special credit cards but did not explain their features, benefits and liabilities.

Some of the special cards were Solid Gold Card, Bajaj Capital Card, Help-Age India Card, Kingfisher Card and Amway card apart from many alumnus card for various institutions.

In some cases, special customers were promised life-time free cards by direct sales agents (DSAs) of the bank, but were charged annual fees.