Law update · free errata
What changed since July 2026 — and which answer the November paper wants
By Swarnakshi Jha (ex-banker) · 3 September 2026 · JAIIB Nov-2026 cycle · 8-minute read · position verified as on 3 Sep 2026
Every SJA book, mock and video was frozen on 1 July 2026 — that is the date printed on the verification line. Banking law did not stop moving on that day. The Integrated Ombudsman Scheme was replaced the same morning, RBI raised the loan-against-shares ceiling tenfold, Parliament rewrote the MDR provision in August, NPCI changed UPI limits, and the Q1 GDP print landed on 31 August. When we sold you the PDFs we promised free errata whenever the law moved. This is the first one.
JAIIB Law Update Sheet — September 2026 (6 pages, free)Rates and ratios as on 3 Sep · nine changes since July · what starts on 1 Oct 2026 and 1 Jan 2027 · corrections to the textbook baseline · ten "both positions" traps. No sign-up, share it with anyone.
Download the PDFFirst, the rule for answering
JAIIB papers are set from the IIBF textbooks, but a good share of PPB and IE&IFS questions say currently, at present, latest or w.e.f., or name a scheme by year. So carry two numbers where the book and the law disagree, and pick by the wording:
- The stem names an old scheme or year ("under RB-IOS 2021") or says as per the textbook — give the textbook figure.
- The stem says currently / latest / now — give the figure from this update.
- If only one of the two figures appears in the options, that is your answer. Examiners rarely plant both.
Nine changes since 1 July 2026
Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2026 is the law (from 1 July 2026)
RB-IOS 2026 replaced RB-IOS 2021. Higher awards, a much shorter filing window, no ceiling on the size of the dispute; banks, eligible NBFCs, PPI issuers and credit information companies all covered; same CRPC / cms.rbi.org.in / 14448 route.
Textbook · RB-IOS 2021₹20 lakh + ₹1 lakh · file within 1 year of the bank's reply
Now · RB-IOS 2026₹30 lakh + ₹3 lakh · file within 90 days of the end of the bank's 30-day reply period
Loans against shares and IPO finance — limits raised tenfold (from 1 July 2026)
RBI's Capital Market Exposure amendment directions, deferred from April, took effect on 1 July. The physical-vs-demat distinction is gone, the limits apply at the banking-system level, and banks may now fund acquisitions of control over non-financial companies.
Textbook₹10 lakh physical / ₹20 lakh demat · IPO finance ₹10 lakh
Now₹1 crore per individual against shares, debentures, REIT/InvIT units · IPO/FPO/ESOP finance ₹25 lakh
The MDR law changed — but UPI is still free (17 August 2026)
The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2026 amended Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act. The blanket statutory ban on charging for UPI and RuPay-debit payments (in force since 1 January 2020) became a power for the Government to
notify which modes stay charge-free. No charge has been notified.
TextbookZero MDR on UPI / RuPay debit by statute (Sec. 10A PSS Act + Sec. 269SU IT Act)
NowZero MDR continues — by notification power, not by an outright ban. "MDR on UPI" is still zero
UPI: biometric limit doubled; masked names and non-mobile IDs (Aug–Sep 2026)
Biometric (fingerprint/face) authenticated UPI payments now allow ₹10,000 per transaction (from 7 August 2026, up from ₹5,000). NPCI's 5 June circular makes apps mask the counterparty's mobile number and offer UPI IDs that are not built on the phone number — deadline 4 September 2026. Everyday limits are unchanged: ₹1 lakh a day for P2P; ₹5 lakh per transaction / ₹10 lakh per day for specified merchant categories since 15 September 2025.
Deposit pricing rules tightened — effective 1 October 2026 (issued 30 July)
RBI (Interest Rate on Deposits) Second Amendment Directions 2026: the same rate must be offered on the same day for the same amount and tenor to every customer at every branch; bulk-deposit rates must be published on the website daily by 10:00 a.m.; differential rates on rupee bulk deposits may vary only by the depositor's LCR run-off category, non-resident rupee deposits included. The ₹3-crore bulk-deposit threshold is unchanged.
The FCNR(B) / NRE rupee-support window closed on 31 August 2026
To steady a rupee that touched about ₹97 to the dollar in May, RBI ran a package from 8 June: a concessional dollar–rupee swap for fresh 3–5-year FCNR(B) deposits, CRR and SLR exemption on fresh FCNR(B) and NRE deposits of three years and more, and no interest-rate ceiling on them. RBI closed the window on 31 August (advanced from 30 September by its 25 August amendments) after inflows of about US$57 billion. Remember the pair: 2013 window US$34 bn; 2026 window about US$57 bn.
Draft loan-pricing directions — comments till 11 September 2026
RBI's draft (Interest Rates on Loans and Advances) Directions 2026 propose a maximum three-month reset for every floating-rate loan, MCLR computed on a three-month moving average of the cost of fresh deposits and borrowings, a three-year freeze on the non-credit-risk part of the spread, and a start date of 1 April 2027. It is a draft — the current law is still the MCLR (2016) and external-benchmark (2019) framework.
SEBI's simpler nomination rules for demat accounts and mutual funds (1 September 2026)
New single-holder demat accounts and MF folios must nominate or opt out; up to three nominees with percentage shares; only the nominee's name and relationship are mandatory. Do not mix this up with bank deposits, where the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 allows up to
four nominees.
Q1 FY27 GDP and the new price indices (31 August 2026)
Real GDP grew 7.8% in April–June 2026 (nominal 10.3%, GVA 8.2%; manufacturing 9.2%, services about 10%, agriculture 3.6%, mining −2.4%); gross fixed capital formation rose 11.9% to 34.3% of GDP. FY26 growth stands revised to 7.8%. CPI inflation was 4.45% in July 2026 on the new 2024 base; RBI's FY27 growth projection is still 6.7% and it expects inflation to climb toward 5.9% in October–December.
The numbers, as on 3 September 2026
Repo5.25%since 5 Dec 2025 · held Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug 2026
SDF5.00%corridor floor
MSF · Bank Rate5.50%corridor ceiling
CRR3.00%since 29 Nov 2025
SLR18%unchanged since 2020
Fixed reverse repo3.35%unchanged since 2020
USD / INR94.47RBI reference, 3 Sep
91-day T-bill5.26%10-year G-sec about 6.98%
Cumulative easing since February 2025: 125 basis points (6.50 → 6.25 → 6.00 → 5.50 → 5.25). The next MPC meets on 5–7 October 2026 — the last rate decision before your first paper on 1 November. Small-savings rates (PPF 7.1%, SCSS and SSY 8.2%, NSC 7.7%, KVP 7.5%, POMIS 7.4%) have not moved since January 2024; the October–December rates are due around 30 September.
Announced, but effective later — know the date and the number
| Measure | Effective | What to remember |
|---|
| Deposit Directions — Second Amendment 2026 | 1 Oct 2026 | Same-day uniform rates; bulk rates on the website by 10 a.m.; run-off-category pricing |
| TAN not needed for a resident individual/HUF buying property from a non-resident (Finance Act 2026) | 1 Oct 2026 | TDS under Sec. 195 continues; only the TAN requirement goes |
| Customer protection in fraudulent electronic transactions — RBI directions of 24 Jun 2026 | 1 Jan 2027 | Zero liability if the bank is at fault, or for a third-party breach reported within 5 calendar days; bank must prove customer negligence; resolve in 45 days (60 cross-border); SMS alert for every debit above ₹500; one-time relief of 85% of net loss (max ₹25,000) for losses up to ₹50,000. Until then the 2017 rules apply: zero within 3 working days; ₹5,000 / ₹10,000 / ₹25,000 caps for days 4–7 |
| Expected Credit Loss provisioning for scheduled commercial banks (final directions, Apr 2026) | 1 Apr 2027 | Replaces incurred-loss provisioning; five-year glide path. The IRAC norms (90-day NPA; 15 / 25 / 40 / 100% provisions) remain the law for the November papers |
| Draft loan-pricing directions | 1 Apr 2027 (proposed) | Three-month reset; moving-average MCLR; spread freeze three years; migration by 1 Apr 2029 |
Already in force before July — corrections to the textbook baseline
These moved in late 2025 or the first half of 2026. IIBF's textbooks predate them, and a few of our own July explanations carried the textbook figure. Our earlier posts cover the 2026 drift list, GST 2.0 and four nominees; the ones below were still missing from our material.
| Topic | Textbook | Current position | Since |
|---|
| CPI base year | 2012 = 100; food weight 45.86% | 2024 = 100; 12 COICOP divisions, 358 items; food & beverages 36.75%, housing 17.67%. GDP base 2022-23 (Feb 2026) | 12 Feb 2026 |
| Income-tax law | Income-tax Act 1961; previous year and assessment year | Income-tax Act, 2025 — 536 sections, 23 chapters, 16 schedules; a single tax year; 80C → Sec. 123, 80D → Sec. 126, 80E → Sec. 129; rates and limits unchanged | 1 Apr 2026 |
| Co-lending | CLM 2020: PSL only; NBFC 20% / bank 80% | Co-Lending Arrangements Directions 2025: all loans; each lender retains at least 10%; blended rate; escrow; default-loss guarantee up to 5%; transfer within 15 days | 1 Jan 2026 |
| Digital-payment authentication | OTP-based AFA for card-not-present | Authentication Mechanisms Directions 2025: AFA with at least one dynamic factor for every digital payment; biometrics, PIN and device binding allowed | 1 Apr 2026 |
| CRR | 4.5% / 4.0% in the worked examples | 3.00% | 29 Nov 2025 |
| Deposit insurance | ₹5 lakh | Unchanged at ₹5 lakh — a higher cover has been discussed, nothing notified | Feb 2020 |
Ten "both positions" traps
| # | If the question asks… | Textbook answer | Current answer |
|---|
| 1 | Maximum award by the RBI Ombudsman | ₹20 lakh + ₹1 lakh (RB-IOS 2021) | ₹30 lakh + ₹3 lakh (RB-IOS 2026) |
| 2 | Time limit to approach the Ombudsman | 1 year after the bank's reply | 90 days |
| 3 | Loan against demat shares to an individual | ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh physical) | ₹1 crore, no physical/demat split |
| 4 | IPO / FPO / ESOP finance per individual | ₹10 lakh | ₹25 lakh |
| 5 | CRR | 4.5% / 4.0% (illustrations) | 3.00% |
| 6 | Repo / SDF / MSF / Bank Rate | 6.50 / 6.25 / 6.75 / 6.75 (2023 edition) | 5.25 / 5.00 / 5.50 / 5.50 |
| 7 | CPI base year and food weight | 2012; 45.86% | 2024; 36.75% |
| 8 | Nominees on a bank deposit | One | Up to four (2025 Act) |
| 9 | Liability for an unauthorised transaction reported on day 5 | ₹5,000 / ₹10,000 / ₹25,000 slab — still the law till 31 Dec 2026 | Zero for a third-party breach (from 1 Jan 2027) |
| 10 | The year in which income is taxed | Assessment year (Act 1961) | Tax year (Act 2025, from 1 Apr 2026) |
What we changed in the Mock Centre today
Seventy explanations and unit fact-sheets in the question bank now carry both positions, marked [Law update, Sep 2026]: PPB Units 5, 16, 17, 19, 25, 38, 44, 45 and 48 (nomination, ombudsman, customer liability, loans against shares, co-lending, UPI, deposit pricing), RBWM Units 8, 10, 18, 19 and 21 (nomination, MDR, liability, UPI and ATM charges, co-lending, ombudsman), IE&IFS Units 14 and 17 (CPI base, CRR) and AFM Units 29 and 30 (Income-tax Act 2025, GST slabs). One question — the CPI base year — now keys to 2024; every other answer key that follows the textbook was left as it is, and the explanation tells you which figure the paper is likely to want. The books themselves are not reprinted; this sheet is the errata, and it stays free.
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collabwithsjha@gmail.com with the question number and the source. Verified corrections go into the bank within 48 hours and into the next sheet, which follows the 5–7 October MPC.
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Related: 15+ law changes your textbook doesn't know (2026) · Old textbook answer vs current rule · PPB rule changes for November 2026 · November 2026 dates
Independent study aid — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by IIBF. Regulatory position verified on 3 September 2026 against RBI, NPCI, MoSPI, Ministry of Finance and SEBI releases; figures marked "about" are market data and move daily. Exam pattern, dates and passing criteria are set by IIBF — confirm current rules at iibf.org.in.