RBI Not Looking at Liquidity Facility for NBFCs: N. S. Vishwanathan

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ruled out any special liquidity facility for Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFCs) saying there is enough in the system to meet their needs for borrowings and it is for the lenders to take a call on lending to the NBFCs.

“Reserve Bank’s position is that there is adequate liquidity in the system and it is for the lenders to take a view on which borrower to give money to and I do not think at this moment we are looking at a liquidity facility for NBFCs”, RBI deputy Governor N. S. Vishwanathan said in an analyst meet after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

He was responding to a question that in the financial markets, there is an extreme lack of confidence to lend to below AAA names and the liquidity problems faced by such entities could create further stress on the financial system, impede monetary transmission and affect growth.

Post a fraud at PMC, analysts wanted to know if there are any changes in the annual review process of banks or NBFCs that RBI proposes to make or any specified proposed changes and if that will be effective for the ongoing annual review of the financial year 2019. RBI said there will be revamping of its regulatory and supervisory structure and creating a specialized cadre for this.

“RBI has decided to revamp its regulatory and supervisory structure and creating a specialized cadre. Offsite supervision, as well as analytical vertical, is being strengthened, and for NBFC supervision, we have strengthened all the core pillars- onsite supervision, offsite market intelligence, and statutory auditor angle”, Deputy Governor M. K. Jain said. To a question on the steps RBI is taking to ensure stability of financial system in the country and see the solvency of some of the housing finance companies, Jain said, “RBI makes periodic assessment of risk and vulnerability of the financial system to shocks emanating both from domestic and external adverse developments and takes mitigating steps to enhance its resilience. Such assessments are published twice a year in the financial stability report. The vulnerability arising out of interconnectedness between banks and non-banking financial institutions also forms part of the assessment”.

RBI recently put a draft circular on the “Liquidity Risk Management Framework for NBFCs and Core Investment Companies (CICs) to be adopted by all deposit-taking NBFCs; non-deposit taking NBFCs with an asset size of 100 crores and above for stronger Asset Liability Management (ALM) framework in the NBFCs.

In addition, the draft proposes to introduce Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) for all deposit-taking NBFCs; and non-deposit taking NBFCs with an asset size of 5000 crores and above.

With a view to ensuring a smooth transition to the LCR regime, the proposal is to implement it in a calibrated manner through a glide path over a period of four years commencing from April 2020 and going up to April 2024. (IANS)

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