New Delhi, Feb. 24 -- On 11 February, the Reserve Bank of India released draft guidelines that seek to make banks more accountable for the financial products they sell to individuals. The guidelines aim to prevent banks from mis-selling various financial products, especially life insurance plans that double up as investments. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman supported the RBI's move, calling mis-selling an offence.

While the draft guidelines dwell on various dubious selling practices, they don't detail the specific checks and balances banks would need to maintain, or the penalties they would incur if for failing to do so. For now, it's business as usual. However, if the RBI specifies these details, the life insurance industry could en...