At a time when decisions on resolution of a number of stressed accounts are stuck in a limbo, RBI Deputy Governor NS Vishwanathan has asked lenders to speed up the process.
"Timely resolution is very important. I would request you to ensure that resolutions are done in time, not just for regulatory requirement but also because it will result in better valuation going forward," Vishwanathan said.
In the revised framework for resolution of bad assets released on June 7, Vishwanathan said that the central bank has given a lot of freedom to banks to determine the contours. "We are making less intrusive regulations and hope that banks will use this to deal with genuine stress in their balance sheets to address the problem," he said.
As per the new norms, lenders are required to sign an Inter-creditor Agreement (ICA) to decide upon a final resolution plan for a stressed account within 30 days of the first default. The consortium then has a time- frame of 180 days to implement the resolution plan. However, these plans are still facing delays and adding pressure on lenders' balance sheets due to aging provisions.
Vishwanathan also pointed out that the banking regulator has been aligning the needs of the Indian banking system with Basel norms. "As a regulator, we are aligned to your requirements and we will tailor them to the requirements of Indian Industry and banking system but we also have to be consistent with global standards," he said.
He added that the RBI is working on a framework following the reforms published by the Basel committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in December 2017. He said that the draft guidelines on the same will be released in 2020 for consulation with stakeholders, with final norms put in place for implementation before 2020.
Vishwanathan also indicated that the regulator will soon be releasing final guidelines on revised compensation policy of top officials of private, foreign banks. The RBI had issued draft guidelines in February 2019. "We have got excellent comments from the market, bankers and HR practitioners and we will soon come out with final guidelines on the revised compensation policy," he said.
The draft proposed that at least 50 percent of compensation of senior officials of private and foreign banks, including whole time directors and chief executive officers should be variable.
Source: moneycontrol.com