NBFCs lose priority sector tag

05 May 2011 Evaluate

RBI clarified that bank loans to NBFCs, excluding microfinance institutions which are categorised as NBFC, would not be classified as priority sector loans. This means the cost of funds of most NBFCs will go up. NBFCs depend on banks for 80 per cent of their credit requirement. About 10-12 per cent of the total bank loans are classified as priority sector loans.

The rates on NBFC loans would definitely go up and there would also be some reduction of credit flow to the sector because some of these transactions were happening only because of priority sector classification. The objective behind the RBI move is to plug the arbitrage which arises due to the stringent conditions attached to bank loans to microfinance institutions. For a bank loan to be classified as priority sector loan, banks are required to ensure a margin cap of 12 per cent and an interest rate cap of 26 per cent by the MFI. Since no such conditions are there for all other NBFCs, banks would prefer giving loans to NBFCs rather than MFIs.

Though as of now bank loans to MFIs will be tagged as priority sector, the central bank clearly indicated this was an interim arrangement and banks would have to meet their priority sector obligations on their own.

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