'Tough to prevent PNB-like fraud': Patel slams govt for diluting RBI powers

Governor says frauds like PNB are painful; regulatory powers must be ownership-neutral

In a broadside against the government, which has been critical of the role of the banking regulator in failing to spot the massive fraud at the Punjab National Bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel on Wednesday said the central bank had “very limited authority” over public sector banks as its power to govern had been curtailed. 

Speaking at a function in Gandhinagar, the central bank governor indicated that RBI was actually helpless, as neither did it have power to replace the board of public sector banks, or force a merger, nor could it revoke the licence of