RBI: Send vital bank staff on 10-day surprise leave

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to ensure that employees working in sensitive positions are asked to go on a surprise leave of at least 10 days every year. This follows a revision to the central bank’s risk management guidelines.
Earlier, employees in sensitive positions were required to go on mandatory leave. However, despite the mandatory leave directive, it was noticed that in cases of frauds, employees had managed to cover their tracks before going on leave. The mandatory leave regulations have been in place since April 2015. But in the case of the Nirav Modi fraud, the Punjab National Bank employee concerned managed to make fraudulent entries in the Swift system for years before being apprehended.
“Employees posted in sensitive positions or areas of operation shall be compulsorily sent on leave for a few days (not less than 10 working days) in a single spell every year, without giving any prior intimation to these employees, thereby maintaining an element of surprise,” the RBI said. The central bank added that once on leave, the employee should not be granted access to office files or systems.
Banks have been asked to decide at their board level which of the positions qualify to be part of the sensitive list.
The RBI has been periodically updating its risk management guidelines with the intention of reducing fraud. These including having a ‘maker-checker’ approach and incorporating a policy of staff rotation.