Letters: RBI's soft approach

This refers to the excerpt "The Sahara Endgame" (BS Weekend, May 3) from Tamal Bandhyopadhyay's book Sahara: The Untold Story. In my opinion, the recollection of the events shows the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in poor light. Here is the country's central bank pleading, cajoling, appealing, requesting - everything except "directing" as is expected from a regulator - the Sahara Group to agree to the decisions of the bank. The narration of the events in the extract also gives an unmistakable impression that the approach of the group of officers, which had engaged in marathon discussions with Sahara, had the approval of the top management of RBI. It is not clear from the extract as to why RBI had to be so meek and submissive in its approach. I fervently hope that under the RBI's new leadership, it would be made crystal clear to every participant in the financial sector that who is the boss and whose word would matter and be final. The burden of supervision and enforcement of regulations laid down by RBI would be unimaginable if it were to be weak and soft in its approach.

A Chandramouliswaran Chennai

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