Amid multi-agency probe into the Rs 11,400 crore fraud at PNB, the Reserve Bank today said it had cautioned banks thrice since August 2016 on the risks arising from potential misuse of SWIFT infrastructure, which was created by banks for their business needs.

The central bank has also decided to constitute an expert committee under Y H Malegam, a former member of the Central Board of Directors of RBI, to look into the reasons for high divergence observed in asset classification and provisioning by banks and the steps needed to prevent it.

The committee has also been tasked to looking into the factors leading to an increasing incidence of frauds at banks and the measures (including IT interventions) needed to curb and prevent it.

“In the wake of SWIFT-related fraud involving significant amount, reported recently by Punjab National Bank, RBI has today reiterated its confidential instructions and mandated the banks to implement, within the stipulated deadlines, the prescribed measures for strengthening the SWIFT operating environment in banks,” RBI said in a statement.

As carried in MC