Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Supervisory Returns) Directions, 2026

RBI/DoS/2026-27/424 DoS.CO.DSG.18/33.01.001/2026-27 July 31, 2026

Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Supervisory Returns) Directions, 2026

Table of Contents

• Chapter I - Preliminary
  • A. Short Title and Commencement
  • B. Applicability
  • C. Definitions
• Chapter II - Governance and Oversight
  • A. Role of the Board and Senior Management
  • B. Data Architecture and IT Infrastructure
  • C. Accuracy and Integrity in Reporting
• Chapter III - Filing of Supervisory Returns
  • A. Operational Guidelines
  • B. List of Applicable Returns
  • C. Timelines
  • D. Exceptions
  • E. Penalties
  • F. Other Instructions
• Chapter IV - Repeal and Other Provisions
  • A. Repeal and Saving
  • B. Application of other laws not barred
  • C. Interpretations

In exercise of powers conferred under Section 27 and Section 35-A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, Chapter III-A the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and all other provisions / laws enabling the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’) in this regard, RBI being satisfied that it is necessary and expedient in the public interest so to do, hereby, issues Directions hereinafter specified.

Chapter I - Preliminary

A. Short Title and Commencement

1. These Directions shall be called the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Supervisory Returns) Directions, 2026.
2. These Directions shall come into effect immediately upon issuance.

B. Applicability

3. These Directions shall be applicable to Small Finance Banks (hereinafter collectively referred to as 'banks' and individually as 'bank').

C. Definitions

4. In these Directions, unless the context states otherwise, the terms herein shall bear the meaning assigned to them below. (1) ‘Centralised Information Management System (CIMS)’ refers to an online platform of RBI for return submission, data dissemination, and other related purposes. (2) ‘Supervisory Returns’ refer to all periodic / ad-hoc data submitted to RBI in formats prescribed from time to time, irrespective of the technology platform, periodicity, and the mode of submission.
5. All other expressions unless defined herein shall have the same meaning as have been assigned to them under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Companies Act, 2013, or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereto or other regulations issued by RBI or the Glossary of Terms published by RBI or as used in commercial parlance, as the case may be.

Chapter II - Governance and Oversight

A. Role of the Board and Senior Management

6. The Board and Senior Management shall include the identification, assessment, and management of data quality risks as part of its overall risk management framework. The framework shall include standards for both in-house and outsourced risks for data-related processes, policies on data confidentiality, integrity, availability, and risk management.
7. The bank shall ensure that the risk data aggregation capabilities and risk reporting practices are fully documented and subjected to high standards of validation that are aligned with the bank’s other independent risk management reviews. Validation of risk data aggregation and risk reporting practices should be conducted by staff with specific Information Technology (IT), data and reporting expertise. The Board and Senior Management shall ensure that adequate resources are deployed for this purpose.
8. The Board and Senior Management shall ensure that the ability of the bank to aggregate and report data at a consolidated level or at any relevant level within the organisation is not hindered by its group structure (e.g., sub-consolidated level, jurisdiction of operation level). Data aggregation and reporting shall be independent of the choices that the bank makes regarding its legal organisation and geographical presence, subject to the statutory limitations, if any.
9. While considering any acquisition / divestiture, new product development, IT change initiatives, the due diligence process shall consider the impact of such activities on data aggregation and reporting. In such cases, it shall be ensured that data aggregation and reporting facilities are integrated within the existing reporting framework within a timeframe.

B. Data Architecture and IT Infrastructure

10. The bank shall design, build, and maintain the data architecture and supporting IT infrastructure for complete, accurate, and timely data aggregation as well as reporting not only in normal times but also during times of stress or crisis.
11. The data aggregation and reporting practices shall be considered an essential part of the bank’s business continuity planning process and subject to a business impact analysis.
12. Roles and responsibilities shall be established among business owners and the IT team so as to ensure that the data is kept current and aligned with the data definitions and with the bank’s data reporting policies.
13. The bank should ensure that the resources and IT infrastructure are adequate to meet a broad range of on-demand, ad hoc reporting requests, including requests during stress / crisis event and to meet supervisory queries. The bank should be able to generate subsets of data based on scenarios requested by the Supervisors. For example, the bank should be able to accurately aggregate data on exposure for a particular period for a specific industry cluster in a district.

C. Accuracy and Integrity in Reporting

14. All returns / risk reports shall be reconciled with the bank’s own sources, including accounting data where appropriate, to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the same.
15. The bank shall maintain proper records of sources and aggregation rules for generating returns’ data.
16. The bank shall strive to achieve a higher degree of automation in the generation of data for filing of returns.
17. The bank should measure and monitor the accuracy of data and develop appropriate escalation channels and action plans to rectify any deterioration in data quality.

Chapter III - Filing of Supervisory Returns

A. Operational Guidelines

18. RBI has introduced various online portals, links to which are available on RBI website, for filing all applicable online returns by the bank. The bank shall submit all the returns through online mode in the formats and in the manner as communicated to them, unless specified otherwise. Returns submitted in hard copy format through hand delivery / post / courier, or in soft copy format through emails, shall not be accepted (i.e., would not be deemed to have been submitted by the bank), unless prescribed to be submitted in such format. As a contingency measure, in case of non-availability of online portals, the bank may be advised to submit the returns through email. However, the bank shall re-submit the return through online mode as soon as the online portal becomes available. The list of returns and periodicity are also available on RBI website.
19. The bank is provided with a Super User Credential for User with defined access rights who, in turn, can create other users (with different roles such as maker and checker) with required access rights. The bank can monitor the status of its returns’ submission on the portal. Return formats, guidance notes on returns filing, validation rules, help documents for submission of data are available on the respective reporting portals.
20. The bank shall report data on its domestic and overseas operations, including the operations of IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) and Overseas Banking Units (OBUs), wherever applicable.

B. List of Applicable Returns

21. The bank shall submit the applicable returns with accurate and complete data, strictly within the prescribed timelines as given below: