Reserve Bank of India has a strong and resilient balance sheet, says RBI Deputy Governor

Shirish Chandra Murmu, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, has noted in a speech that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has a strong and resilient balance sheet, with adequate level of risk provisioning. Over the years, RBI has consistently worked to align its accounting practices with global best practices, while staying true to core principles of prudence and conservatism. He delivered a speech titled Central Bank Accounting Practices: The Reserve Bank of India and Global Approaches at first International Conference on Central Bank Accounting Practices. He opined that adequate capitalisation is absolutely crucial for central banks of emerging and developing economies. These central banks not only pursue domestic monetary stability but also play a vital role in managing external sector stability amid volatile capital flows and the spill-over effects of monetary policy shifts in advanced economies. A well-capitalised central bank elevates a countrys standing and supports the resilience of the financial sector. In the absence of any internationally recognised risk capital framework for central banks, each central bank finds its own balance between the opportunity cost of central bank capital vis-vis the socio-economic cost and the negative consequences of under-capitalisation. The prudent accounting policies over the years have ensured that RBI has a strong and resilient balance sheet with risk provisions in form of Realised Equity and Revaluation Balances, currently at 7.5% and 17.4% of the balance sheet, respectively. Hence, with an economic capital of about 25% of balance sheet, RBI is in a formidable position to effectively fulfill its public policy mandates while ensuring monetary and financial stability.

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