BoB suspends officials linked to 'bob World' manipulation case

Days after the Reserve Bank of India barred state-owned Bank of Baroda from onboarding fresh customers on its mobile application, the Mumbai-based lender has suspended some officials related to alleged manipulation of 'bob World'.

According to sources, some officials as high as assistant general managers have been suspended in connection with the alleged tampering of customer accounts with the intention to inflate registrations on the bank's mobile app, 'bob World'.

A mail sent to the bank seeking comments on the matter did not elicit any response.

On October 10, the RBI had directed BoB to halt fresh onboarding fresh customers on its mobile application 'bob World' with immediate effect, citing material supervisory concerns.

The action, the RBI had said is based on certain material supervisory concerns observed in the manner of onboarding customers onto the application.

In December 2020, the RBI had barred HDFC Bank from issuing new cards and launching new digital initiatives after repeated instances of technological outages at the lender, which is the market leader in the credit cards segment.

The action against HDFC Bank was followed by a ban on new card issuances by Mastercard and American Express due to their failure to adhere to data localisation rules.

Following remedial action from HDFC Bank, the regulator partially lifted the ban on card issuances in August 2021. However, the ban on launching new technology initiatives continued and was fully lifted in 2022.