Overview
- India’s central bank, in Wednesday’s policy statement, proposed removing the NPA-linked curb on counting quarterly profits in capital ratios and withdrawing the Investment Fluctuation Reserve, with draft rules to be issued for public comment.
- Ending the NPA condition would let banks add quarterly profits to their capital faster, which can ease capital needs and support more lending.
- Scrapping the IFR would remove a separate buffer against mark-to-market losses because banks already hold capital for market risk under updated investment and valuation rules.
- ICRA expects only a small boost to reported Tier-I ratios of about 6 to 12 basis points, while an SBI report estimates Rs 35,000–40,000 crore of IFR could be redeployed to core equity or profit and loss accounts.
- Some bankers warn earnings could swing more with bond yield moves once the IFR cushion goes, increasing the need for tighter interest rate and trading risk controls.