RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das led the meetings, deputy governors were also present there. Discussions over credit flow, precisely focusing on credit flows to MSMEs.
The Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das held meetings with the CEOs and top executives of leading banks in the financial sector on Saturday intended to discuss the issues of credit flows, the liquidity distress of non-banking finance organizations including microfinance firms and the enactment of three months moratorium on loan repayment.
Reports were already present that a meeting will be held with MD & CEO of private and public sector banks headed by Shaktikanta Das to discuss the ongoing situation and steps required post lockdown pandemic. This meeting has been organized a couple of days after the Supreme Court of India issued a statement to the bank regulators to ensure that every customer of the bank should get the benefit of a three-month moratorium on loan repayment. Some of the leading banks have already refused moratorium on payments to non-bank lenders although the Reserve Bank of India created an enabling provision for extending repayment holiday.
Steps Taken by Shaktikanta Das
RBI is consciously working on taking several steps to pump in money into the whole system with various packages and relief funds but smaller and mid-sized NBFCs and microfinance firms said they are being left out by the government.
The lockdown imposed amid this coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a dip in credit offtake as the economy of the country has come to a standstill. The cumulative non-food credit of banks has shrunk by ₹ 33872 crores to ₹ 102.9 lakh crore.
“The low credit disbursement is not because of risk aversion,” said Rajnish Kumar chairman of State Bank of India. He also mentioned that credit recovery is a factor of how fast the economy recovers and demand in the market are generated.
Reserve Bank of India is vigilant about the current economic scenario of the country and the operations of financial sector organizations. It is also reviewing overseas branches of banks given the slowdown in the economy around the world.
“Financial help to various sectors, including liquidity to non -banking companies, microfinance institutions, housing finance companies, and mutual funds ” were also discussed.
