RBI on Unsecured Lending & MFI Asset Quality

Mumbai, Aug 6 (PTI) The Reserve Bank does not have any concern on asset quality from unsecured loans perspective, including microfinance (MFI), Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Wednesday.

The system NPAs (non-performing assets) are also "satisfactory", Malhotra told reporters, stressing that the proportion of dud assets is not increasing.

Recalling that the NPAs in the unsecured segment like personal loans and credit cards, and also MFI, were indeed seen to be rising, Malhotra said the RBI acted by raising the risk weights which had the intended impact of slowing credit growth in the segments.

"We have seen a slowdown in credit growth there. From an overall perspective, this (NPAs in unsecured loans and MFI) is not a cause of concern for us," he said.

Malhotra also assured that MFIs, which serve the bottom of the pyramid and help deepen financial inclusion, will get all the attention as is required.

Meanwhile, allaying fears of a decline in deposit rates leading to a shift of deposits to avenues beyond banks, Malhotra said there will not be any impact on banks' ability to lend, especially to the big-ticket corporate sector.

He added that the shift of deposits to other financial instruments is also healthy in some aspects.

"Banks have sufficient funds in order to meet the needs of the economy, corporate, households, and the government sector. There is certainly a shift from banking to equity. On the whole, it is a healthy trend for the economy .. I think we should not be unduly concerned about that," he said.

Meanwhile, Malhotra also said that instructions have been issued to banks to avoid misselling of any products or services, but accepted that there is a scope to do more on the subject for people's benefit.

The RBI Governor also said that the MuleHunter to help lenders identify Mule accounts used in frauds platform has been adopted by 15 banks across the country now.

The Governor refused to answer queries related to the fraud-hit IndusInd Bank, which has announced a new managing director and chief executive a few days back.