Moody’s maintain negative outlook on country’s banking system

22 Jan 2013 Evaluate

Citing concerns over asset quality and the high interest rates, Global ratings agency Moody's has maintained a 'negative' outlook on the country's banking system. 'In India, impaired loans are yet to peak among public sector banks,' Moody's said in its Asia-Pacific Banking Outlook. NPA rose to Rs 1.67 trillion in the quarter ended September 30, from Rs 1.13 trillion a year ago.

Further, the agency has underscored although the government is likely to remain supportive', room for the Reserve Bank  of India to act, by slashing lending rates, remains to be limited due to high inflation and the 'modest fiscal capacity.’

While a slowdown in the global economy has prompted many other central banks to support growth through monetary stimulus, the RBI has hitherto rebuffed calls for lower lending rates citing high inflation and the size of the fiscal deficit.

Meanwhile, the Moody's expect interest rates to fall during 2013, although remain higher than the rest of Asia. Highlighting that 94% of the banks it rates in Asia carry stable outlooks on their deposit ratings, Moody's said the negative outlook on specific banks mostly relate to India.

However, Moody’s in a report also stated that Indian banks are better off than those in Vietnam. The Vietnamese system is in much worse shape than India’s and there is a reasonably high probability that the government will need to step in and take measures to address the issue of high NPLs (non-performing loans), or face the negative economic consequences of a banking system that cannot support credit growth, Moody’s stated.

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