The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on July 31, 2026 issued the Reserve Bank of India (Urban Co-operative Banks - Supervisory Returns) Directions, 2026, establishing a comprehensive framework for submission of supervisory returns by Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs). These Directions, effective immediately, apply to all UCBs and mandate submission of periodic and ad-hoc data through RBI’s Centralised Information Management System (CIMS). The Directions aim to standardize reporting practices, enhance data quality, and ensure timely and accurate regulatory reporting.
The Directions place significant responsibility on the Board and senior management of UCBs to ensure robust governance, data integrity, and risk management in reporting. UCBs are required to maintain strong data architecture and IT infrastructure capable of supporting accurate, consistent, and timely data aggregation even during stress situations. Emphasis has been laid on automation, reconciliation with internal records, and maintaining audit trails to ensure reliability and transparency of supervisory data.
Further, the Directions prescribe a detailed list of supervisory returns (such as Form B, CRR/SLR returns, asset quality, fraud monitoring, ALM returns, etc.) along with their periodicity and strict timelines (ranging from 5 to 30 days depending on return type). Returns must be submitted through online portals, with penalties applicable for delays or incorrect reporting. The Directions also repeal earlier guidelines on supervisory returns while safeguarding past actions, and clarify that RBI’s interpretation shall be final in case of any ambiguity.
[Notification No. RBI/DoS/2026-27/442 DoS.CO.DSG.36/33.01.001/2026-27]
