The commission on Wednesday finalised a new chapter on banking for the CVC manual in consultation with Reserve Bank of India officials, senior executives of nationalised banks and the CBI. CVC chairman N Vittal said in the course of talks with banks, an assurance was provided that there will be no undue harassment of bank personnel.

The separate chapter in the CVC manual will be effective January 1 and will cover present and future bank fraud cases, he said. A notification to this effect will be issued within a week, he added. It was also decided between the CVC and banks that advisory bodies will be set up in all public-sector banks under the supervision of RBI's regional offices within a month. This will be in addition to the central advisory body already existing atthe Reserve Bank. While cases at the level of general managers and above will be taken up with the central advisory body, the bank-level advisory body will take up cases relating to lower levels, Vittal said.

While the Central Bureau of Investigation will directly examine cases of fraud referred to it by banks, the Central Vigilance Commission will step in only after advise from advisory bodies, Vittal said. The new norms will have overriding powers over earlier guidelines, the CVC chief said.

The advisory bodies for banks will have personnel of proven high integrity comprising retired district judges and police officers, at least of the rank of deputy inspector general, Vittal said. On how the commission will ensure the candidate's credentials, Vittal said the CVC will do a thorough back-ground check on names suggested by banks.

Elaborating on the coordination mechanism between bankers and the CBI, Vittal said under the new guidelines, the CBI will have to hand over documents taken from banks forinvestigation within four days. In the interim, the investigation agency can take photocopies of the documents.