Skip to main content

Banks can provide partial credit extension to corporate bonds

The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) has allowed banks to provide partial credit enhancement (PCE) to bonds issued by corporate entities and special purpose vehicles (SPV) for funding projects, subject to certain riders.
“Banks will be allowed to offer PCE only in the form of a non- funded irrevocable contingent line of credit. A view on allowing the PCE as a funded loan facility will be taken in due course, after reviewing the implementation and performance of the contingent PCE offered by banks,” the central bank said.
It added the purpose of allowing banks to extend PCE was to enhance the credit rating of bonds issued to enable companies to access funds from the bond market on better terms.
The aggregate PCE provided by all banks for a given bond issue would be limited to 20 per cent of the bond issue size.
The PCE facility, to be provided at the time of the bond issue, will be irrevocable. The central bank said banks could offer PCE only in respect of bonds whose pre- enhanced rating was at least ‘ BBB-’. Banks cannot provide PCE by way of guarantee.
RBI said banks providing PCE to bonds issued by a corporate entity or an SPV wouldn’t be eligible to invest in those accrues on it, the unpaid accrued interest event of project failure or bankruptcy, the PCE must rank below the claims of the enhanced bond holders, in terms of repayment priority.
The norms say PCE facilities to the extent drawn should be treated as an advance in the balance sheet. Un- drawn facilities would be an off- balance sheet item and reported under ‘ contingent liability’, RBI said.
Business Standard, New Delhi, 25th Sept. 2015

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

RBI deputy governor cautions fintech platform lenders on privacy concerns during loan recovery

  India's digital lending infrastructure has made the loan sanctioning system online. Yet, loan recovery still needs a “feet on the street” approach, Swaminathan J, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said at a media event on Tuesday, September 2, according to news agency ANI.According to the ANI report, the deputy governor flagged that fintech operators in the digital lending segment are giving out loans to customers with poor credit profiles and later using aggressive recovery tactics.“While loan sanctioning and disbursement have become increasingly digital, effective collection and recovery still require a 'feet on the street' and empathetic approach. Many fintech platforms operate on a business model that involves extending small-value loans to customers often with poor credit profiles,” Swaminathan J said.   Fintech platforms' business models The central bank deputy governor highlighted that many fintech platforms' business models involve providing sm

Credit card spending growth declines on RBI gaze, stress build-up

  Credit card spends have further slowed down to 16.6 per cent in the current financial year (FY25), following the Reserve Bank of India’s tightening of unsecured lending norms and rising delinquencies, and increased stress in the portfolio.Typically, during the festival season (September–December), credit card spends peak as several credit card-issuing banks offer discounts and cashbacks on e-commerce and other platforms. This is a reversal of trend in the past three financial years stretching to FY21 due to RBI’s restrictions.In the previous financial year (FY24), credit card spends rose by 27.8 per cent, but were low compared to FY23 which surged by 47.5 per cent. In FY22, the spending increased 54.1 per cent, according to data compiled by Macquarie Research.ICICI Bank recorded 4.4 per cent gross credit losses in its FY24 credit card portfolio as against 3.2 per cent year-on-year. SBI Cards’ credit losses in the segment stood at 7.4 per cent in FY24 and 6.2 per cent in FY23, the rep

India can't rely on wealthy to drive growth: Ex-RBI Dy Guv Viral Acharya

  India can’t rely on wealthy individuals to drive growth and expect the overall economy to improve, Viral Acharya, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday.Acharya, who is the C V Starr Professor of Economics in the Department of Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business (NYU-Stern), said after the Covid-19 pandemic, rural consumption and investments have weakened.We can’t be pumping our growth through the rich and expect that the economy as a whole will do better,” he said while speaking at an event organised by Elara Capital here.f there has to be a trickle-down, it should have actually happened by now,” Acharya said, adding that when the rich keep getting wealthier and wealthier, they have a savings problem.   “The bank account keeps getting bigger, hence they look for financial assets to invest in. India is closed, so our money can't go outside India that easily. So, it has to chase the limited financial assets in the country and