Page 10 - Banking Finance August 2023

RBI CORNER

His stint with RBI included being a ensure that banks do not run into as- Bank for Agriculture and Rural Develop-
member of the faculty at the Bankers' set liability mismatches. ment (Nabard), Sitharaman advised the
Training College. He has worked in the agri-finance institution to work towards
central office as well as the Bengaluru, ensuring efficiency and outcomes at the
RBI slaps fine on J&K Bank
Mumbai, and New Delhi Regional Of- ground level with improvement in rural
BoM and Axis Bank
fices of the Reserve Bank. income as the top priority.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slapped
With production and marketing of
RBI Dy Guv Janakiraman fines on the lenders for non-compliance 'Shree Anna' a national priority in the
on certain directions.
ongoing International Year of Millets
gets 6 depts
Jammu and Kashmir Bank was down 2023, she also directed Nabard to en-
Newly-appointed Reserve Bank
0.7 percent at Rs 56.10 at 10.18am on courage farmers to enhance the area
Deputy Governor Swaminathan
the National Stock Exchange (NSE), covered under Millets, and to protect
Janakiraman will look after six depart-
while Bank of Maharashtra was trad- the returns of farmers who are already
ments, including supervision and finan-
ing 0.37 percent lower and Axis Bank growing Also Read - IDBI Bank Q1
cial inclusion, the central bank said in
0.26 percent lower. profit jumps 62% to Rs 1,224 crore
a release. Janakiraman replaced M K
Jammu and Kashmir Bank was fined Rs millets.
Jain who recently demitted office after
2.5 crore as it did not ensure necessary "The Finance Minister emphasised on
completion of his term. The other port-
steps to see if the data submitted to concerted efforts to sensitize farmers
folios allocated to Janakiraman are In-
Central Repository of Information and to shift towards more remunerative
spection Department, Premises De-
Large Credit (CRILC) was accurate or but less water-guzzling crops, espe-
partment, Rajbhasha Department,
not. CRILC collects and stores data on cially millets, pulses and oilseeds," a
and Consumer Education and Protec-
borrowers' credit exposure. The bank Finance Ministry tweet said.
tion Department.
sent messages through the SWIFT net-
work without confirming if the trans- Compromise settlement is
RBI governor asks banks actions are accurately recorded in the
not available to borrowers
Core Banking System (CBS) or not.
to focus on governance
Jammu and Kashmir Bank had granted
RBI governor Shaktikanta Das has as a matter of right: RBI
loan to a corporation without confirm-
asked banks to strengthen governance The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
ing if the bank had the resources to
standards and to pay special attention plugged interpretation gaps in its re-
pay back the debt.
to compliance, risk management and cently issued circular on "Framework
Bank of Maharashtra has been asked for Compromise Settlements and Tech-
audit functions. In a meeting with
to cough up Rs 1.45 crore since it nical Writeoffs", clarifying "penal mea-
bank chiefs, he also asked them to
granted loan to a corporation without sures" and "minimum cooling period",
ensure that they adhere to the central
thoroughly checking if the projects among others, through frequently
bank's guidelines on linking retail loans
would generate enough revenue to asked questions.
to an external benchmark. Das met
repay the debt. The bank also failed to
with managing directors and chief ex- This comes in the wake of bank unions
implement certain control measures
ecutive officers of public sector banks opposing a clause in the circular that
for ATMs.
and large private banks. allows banks' boards to take up propos-
als for compromise settlements in re-
The governor acknowledged the per- Take steps to boost rural
spect of debtors classified as fraud or
formance of the Indian banking system
credit: FM tells Nabard wilful defaulter.
despite challenging global circum-
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
stances. However, he emphasised the The central bank underscored that
asked Nabard to encourage farmers to
importance of remaining cautious and compromise settlement is not available
shift towards more remunerative but
vigilant during such times. In the past, to borrowers as a matter of right;
less waterguzzling crops, especially
the central bank had raised concerns rather, it is a discretion to be exercised
millets, pulses and oilseeds.
over the growing level of unsecured by the lenders based on their commer-
loans . It had highlighted the need to In a review meeting of the National cial judgment.
10 | 2023 | AUGUST | BANKING FINANCE