Mumbai, Jan 5 (IANS): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.50 crore on Bajaj Finance for violation of codes governing the methods employed to recover dues amongst others.

Accordingly, the company was found to be in violation of directions issued "on Managing Risks and Code of Conduct in Outsourcing of Financial Services by NBFCs and Fair Practices Code (FPC) for applicable NBFCs... and a specific direction to the company to ensure full compliance with FPC in letter and spirit", said an RBI statement.

"This penalty has been imposed... taking into account the failure of the company to ensure that its recovery agents did not resort to harassment or intimidation of customers as part of its debt collection efforts and thereby failing to adhere to the aforesaid directions issued by RBI," it said.

The central bank noted that there were persistent or repeat complaints about recovery and collection methods adopted by the company.

"This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the company with its customers."