The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Compliance Function) Directions, 2026, effective immediately.
The following has been stated:
The Directions establish a comprehensive framework for strengthening compliance governance in commercial banks by defining the roles and responsibilities of the Board, senior management, and the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), while ensuring the independence of the Compliance function.
The framework requires banks to adopt a Board-approved Compliance Policy, implement risk-based compliance programmes, establish an independent Compliance Department, conduct periodic compliance risk assessments, strengthen compliance culture through training and accountability, leverage technology for compliance monitoring, and maintain effective reporting and oversight mechanisms.
The Directions also prescribe standards relating to staffing, group-wide compliance, quality assurance, internal audit, and disclosure of compliance failures to promote sound corporate governance and regulatory compliance across commercial banks.
Please refer to the document attached below for more details.
[RBI/DoS/2026-27/408]
