RBI measures to make little impact, says cooperative body

The Reserve Bank's measures such as a three-month moratorium on repayments will make "little impact" and more relaxations are needed, a cooperative lenders' body said on Wednesday.

The RBI came out with a slew of measures on liquidity apart from the three-month moratorium on loan repayments last Friday to help the banking sector and the broader economy in wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

These announcements will “make little impact - both on the Borrowers and the Lenders”, Sahakar Bharti said in a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

It demanded doubling up the period of non-payment for recognition of an asset as non-performing to 180 days from the present 90 days. The body also said that bank's audited positions as of September 2019 should be considered by RBI for determining the CAMEL (Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity) rating.

Banks should also be allowed to reschedule all borrowal accounts which may have been classified as Overdue, Stressed and NPA up to 31st Dec 2019 without the same being downgraded, it said.

Interest not received on such accounts should be funded with a minimum repayment period of 18 to 24 months, it said.

Similarly, interest accrued but not received after 1st Jan 2020 should be allowed to be paid in six monthly installments commencing from 1st Oct 2020 to 31st March 2021, the letter said.

The letter said both the manufacturing and services sectors have passed through a critical time because of the economic slowdown and natural calamities and we need bold initiatives to support the industry In such a situation to reverse the slowdown and give impetus for revival of Economy, provide employment and gainful income earning opportunities.