Bank staff in sensitive operations to get surprise leave

Under Modified Risk Management guidelines of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Bankers working in sensitive positions such as treasury operations and currency chests, will get surprise holiday of at least 10 working days in a single spell per year.

Highlights

• This will be done as a prudent operational risk management measure.
• Holiday will be given without giving any prior intimation to these employees. Thus, element of surprise will be maintained.
• Six months have been provided to banks in order to comply with these instructions.
• These revised norms have repeal circular of April 23, 2015.

What are the revised norms?

• Under the revised norms, banks are required to ensure that employees on “mandatory leave” do not have access to any physical or virtual resources related to their work. However, internal or corporate email will be available to them.
• Banks will also be preparing a list of sensitive positions to be covered under “mandatory leave” requirements.
• Implementation of this policy will be reviewed under supervisory process.
• Banks will select only “fit and Proper” officers for key and sensitive posts like those in dealing rooms, treasury, relationship managers for high value customers and heads of specialised branches.
• Banks have also been mandated to put in place “staff rotation” policy along with the policy of “mandatory leave” for staff.
• Internal auditors and concurrent auditors are also required to examine implementation of these policies and point out instances of breaches.
• Decisions taken or transactions effected by officers & staff not rotated or availing leave policy will be subjected to comprehensive examination by internal auditors and inspectors.

What are sensitive positions?

As per 2015 circular of RBI, sensitive positions or areas of operations which are covered under ‘mandatory leave’ policy ranges from treasury, currency chests, risk modelling to model validation.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2021