RBI Bulletin February 2021 – State of the Economy;Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit in India: Assessing the Future Path of Monetary Policy from Overnight Indexed Swap (OIS) Rates; India’s Banking Sector through the Lens of PBR

The Reserve Bank of India today released the February 2021 issue of its monthly Bulletin. The Bulletin includes Monetary Policy Statement, 2020-21: Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) February 3-5, 2021, one Speech, four Articles and Current Statistics.

The four articles are: I. State of the Economy; II. Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit in India: Recent Developments; III. Assessing the Future Path of Monetary Policy from Overnight Indexed Swap (OIS) Rates; IV. Do Markets Know More? India’s Banking Sector through the Lens of PBR.

Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies

Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies sets out various developmental and regulatory policy measures on (i) liquidity management and support to targeted sectors; (ii) regulation and supervision (iii) deepening financial markets; (iv) upgrading payment and settlement systems and (v) consumer protection.

Monetary Policy Statement, 2020-21 Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) February 3-5, 2021

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on 3rd, 4th and 5th February, 2021 and deliberated on current and evolving macroeconomic and financial developments, both domestic and global. The MPC voted unanimously to leave the policy repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent. It also unanimously decided to continue with the accommodative stance of monetary policy as long as necessary – at least through the current financial year and into the next year – to revive growth on a durable basis and mitigate the impact of COVID-19, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward. The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank rate remain unchanged at 4.25 per cent. The reverse repo rate stands unchanged at 3.35 per cent.

Risk Based Internal Audit (RBIA) Framework – Strengthening Governance arrangements

The banks are required to put in place a risk based internal audit (RBIA) system as part of their internal control framework that relies on a well-defined policy for internal audit, functional independence with sufficient standing and authority within the bank, effective channels of communication, adequate audit resources with sufficient professional competence, among others. Banks are expected to re-orient their approach, in line with the evolving best practices, as a part of their overall Governance and Internal Control framework. Banks are encouraged to adopt the International Internal Audit standards, like those issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

RBI releases the Financial Stability Report, January 2021

The Financial Stability Report (FSR), which reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability, and the resilience of the financial system in the context of contemporaneous issues relating to development and regulation of the financial sector. The release of FSR was rescheduled to incorporate the first advance estimates of national income for 2020-21 that were released by the National Statistical Office on January 7, 2021.

Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2019-20

Reserve Bank of India released the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2019-20, a statutory publication in compliance with Section 36 (2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. This Report presents the performance of the banking sector, including co-operative banks, and non-banking financial institutions during 2019-20 and 2020-21 so far.

RBI’s Bi-Monthly Review dt. 4th December 2020 – Key Takeaways and Highlights

RBI Monetary Policy Highlights: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 percent and maintained an ‘accommodative’ stance. The RBI MPC began its three-day deliberations on Wednesday. In another major announcement, RBI Governor said that the commercial and co-op banks will not give out dividends this year and retain all the profits.

RBI working group suggests permitting large NBFCs to convert into bank

RBI had constituted an internal working group on 12 June to review extant ownership guidelines and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks.The internal working group of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggested that large Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFCs) can convert into banks if they fulfill certain criteria. “Well run large NBFCs, with an asset size of ₹50,000 crore and above, including those which are owned by a corporate house, may be considered for conversion into banks subject to completion of 10 years of operations and meeting due diligence criteria and compliance with additional conditions specified in this regard,” the central bank panel recommended.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Crisis – All you want to know about

Lakshmi Vilas Bank is the third Bank after the PMC and Yes Bank to be placed under Moratorium in the recent times. The financial position of The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. (the bank) has undergone a steady decline with the bank incurring continuous losses over the last three years, eroding its net-worth. In absence of any viable strategic plan, declining advances and mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), the losses are expected to continue. The bank has not been able to raise adequate capital to address issues around its negative net-worth and continuing losses. Further, the bank is also experiencing continuous withdrawal of deposits and low levels of liquidity.

FAQ’s – Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTROs)

RBI issued Updated instructions on Targeted Long Term Repo Operations as on 26th October 2020