No credit to corporates without identification number: RBI

Schedule for getting the legal entity identifier (LEI) number spread out till Dec 2019

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said corporate borrowers who do not obtain the legal entity identifier (LEI) number from banks won’t be given credit.

However, the schedule for getting the LEI number is spread out till December 2019 and depends on the exposure. The 20-digit unique code will be used to maintain a credit database with the RBI’s Central Repository of Information on Large Credits to facilitate assessment of aggregate borrowing by corporate groups, and monitoring of the financial profile of an entity or group. The central bank had announced introducing the LEI number in a phased manner in its October policy. According to RBI norms, any corporate with exposure of more than Rs 5 crore has to obtain an LEI number.

“Borrowers who do not obtain LEI as per the schedule are not to be granted renewal/enhancement of credit facilities,” the central bank said in a statement on its website. For total exposure of Rs 1,000 crore and above, a corporate entity will have to take the LEI number by March 31, 2018; between Rs 500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore by June 2018; between Rs 100 crore and Rs 500 crore by March 31, 2019; and between Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore by December 2019. 

The schedule for LEI number for exposure below this would be announced separately, the RBI said.