RBI tightens norms governing loan defaults; permits banks to act against guarantors in case of wilful default

10 Sep 2014 Evaluate

Tightening the norms governing loan defaults, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to classify guarantors, group firms and management as ‘wilful defaulters’ by lenders. The banking regulator, through its notification, clearly underscored that those guarantors, who refused to comply with the demand made by the banker despite having sufficient means to make payment of the dues, could also be treated as a wilful defaulter.

However, it highlighted this would be applicable only prospectively and not to cases where guarantees were taken prior to the notification. It further clarified that it wanted banks/ financial institutions to ensure this position made known to all prospective guarantors at the time of accepting guarantees.

According to the procedure, once a borrower or guarantor has been classified as defaulter, banks would cut further advances to such defaulters and initiate legal actions for recovery of the funds owed to the banks. Further, it asserted that in the event of principal debtors failing to make payments, bankers will be able to proceed against the guarantor/surety even without exhausting the remedies against the principal debtor.

However, RBI has cautioned banks to review the track record of the individual company, with reference to its repayment performance to its lenders, while dealing with wilful default of a single borrowing company in a group. According to banking sources, combined default by 50 corporates amounts to over Rs 40,000 crore of bank loans and most of these corporates have refused to pay up despite having capacity for repayment.

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