RBI asks banks to seek approval from company’s board before selling derivatives

03 Nov 2011 Evaluate

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had amended the ‘Comprehensive Guidelines of Derivatives’ and asked banks to seek clearance from the company’s board before selling derivative products to them. The guidance of RBI is assumed to have importance as the allegations from few quarters of mis-selling of derivatives products by banks resulted losses to investors in 2008-09 global economic crisis.

In a notification, the RBI said 'before offering any derivative product to clients, banks should obtain board resolution from the corporate which explicitly mentions the limit assigned by the corporate to the bank.'

The board permission has to mention the names and designation of officials of the company authorized to undertake particular derivative transactions for company and specify the names of the people to whom transactions ought to be reported by the bank. Lenders sell derivatives to help companies to hedge risk against fluctuations in foreign exchange value and interest rates and earn fee.

The RBI also asked banks to make sure that there is mention of the names and designation of persons authorized to sign the International Swap and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and similar agreements and also of specific products that can be transacted by the designated official.
    
'It should be ensured that the board resolution submitted by the company is signed by a person other than the persons authorized to undertake the transactions,' the RBI said.

Earlier in April 2011, the RBI had imposed fine of Rs 1.95 crore on 19 banks which include leading banks such as State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI bank and Citibank for violating regulations concerning derivatives. The RBI had penalized banks for the failure to carry out due diligence with regard to suitability of products and sold derivative products to companies not having risk management policies. The banks also failed to verify the adequacy of eligible limits before selling derivatives. 

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