Anti-trust body Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has issued a stern warning to ICICI Bank for selling insurance policies to its credit card holders without their consent and has asked it to stop the practice.

Acting on a complaint filed by one of its credit card and bank account holders to whom the bank sent an ICICI Lombard General policy without consent, MRTPC bench headed by Justice O P Dwivedi passed a cease and desist order and held it as an unfair trade practice to promote its business.

“The practice of issuing Lombard policy in the name of the complainant without his consent would clearly amount to adopting an unfair trade practice by the bank to promote its business,” the bench said. “Accordingly, we direct the respondent to ‘cease and desist’ from adopting the same in future,” it added.