Bank of Baroda (BoB) will consider appointing an external accounting firm to look into its processes and adherence to know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines in the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation probing large outward foreign exchange remittances aggregating about ₹6,000 crore from one of its branches in Delhi.
Commenting on the forex remittance incident, PS Jayakumar, who assumed charge as Managing Director and CEO of Bank of Baroda on Tuesday, said: “My utmost priority is to examine the current situation and bring about the necessary changes within the bank to ensure such unfortunate incidents do not recur. This will include the appointment of an external accounting firm for full review of our KYC norms and its effectiveness across all branches.”
Jayakumar has assumed of charge of BoB at a time when it is facing serious challenges — a ₹350-crore bill discounting fraud committed by a customer in Ahmedabad; the CBI probing the large outward foreign exchange remittances from its Ashok Vihar (Delhi) branch; and the RBI investigating the grant of loans by the bank’s Dubai branch to the troubled Altas Jewellery Group.
BoB was without a permanent chief ever since SS Mundra was appointed as RBI Deputy Governor with effect from July 31, 2014.
The government had issued a notification on August 14 regarding the appointment of Jayakumar as BoB chief for a period of three years with effect from the date of his assuming charge, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Prior to his appointment as MD and CEO of BoB, Jayakumar was the Co-founder and CEO of VBHC (Value Budget Housing Corporation). Jayakumar is one of the two appointees from the private sector to be made the chief of a public sector bank. The other appointee, Ramesh Sharma, took charge as MD and CEO of Canara Bank on September 11.