Despite bankers' plea, RBI is unlikely to change its new NPA norms

Banks have pleaded on the Feb 12 directive, tightening the leeway earlier given; however, the regulator seems unlikely to yield

The February 12 circular of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on bad debt recognition norms have miffed bankers and corporates alike but sources in the know of the central bank's thinking maintain that it is unlikely to budge from its stance.

RBI, the sources say, has taken away leeway from bankers on postponing the problem of bad debt. And, apart from scrapping the earlier restructuring schemes, there is nothing much it has done that is not in line with the now functioning Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

RBI feels banks have clearly abused its earlier rules for restructuring of loans. "Look