The Hindu Business Line : `RBI norms may impact finance cos' liquidity access'

MR NEERAJ SWAROOP (right), CEO-India, Standard Chartered Bank, with Mr Murali M. Natrajan, Regional Head, Consumer Banking, India & Nepal, at the launch of 24-hour service assurance in Mumbai on Wednesday. — Paul Noronha

Mumbai , Nov. 15

The guidelines issued by RBI recently may impact the non banking finance companies' access to liquidity, said Mr Neeraj Swaroop, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, India.

The RBI has restricted NBFC's borrowing limits. They will have to maintain a capital adequacy ratio of 10 per cent. As per the guidelines, all non-deposit taking NBFCs will be able to raise borrowings only up to 10 times their net-owned funds.

"The new guidelines will change the way the balance sheet of an NBFC is funded," said Mr Swaroop. However, he said that the guidelines would have no material impact on how NBFCs deal with their customers.

Currently, there are different regulations for large NBFCs and bank-sponsored NBFCs. With these guidelines, the gap in the regulations will reduce, he said. Mr Swaroop was speaking on the sidelines of a conference to announce the launch of an SMS-based service.

Mandatory passbook

On the RBI decision to make issue of passbooks mandatory to savings bank account holders, Mr Swaroop said that there were a number of people who were satisfied with receiving statements. "There are different ways of receiving the bank statement - from the ATM, Internet or branch. Offering a passbook to everyone is a challenge and the banking industry is currently in dialogue with the Indian Banks Association," he said.

Customer service

Standard Chartered Bank on Wednesday launched a customer service initiative through which they can SMS if there is a complaint or need assistance. The sender will receive a personalised call from the bank within 24 hours of sending the SMS. The customer needs to send an SMS to the number 9980033333 with the text "Service." If complaints are not addressed in 24 hours then the bank will credit around Rs 100 to the customer's account.

Mr Swaroop said that this has been launched as a pilot project in Chennai and would be rolled out nationally early next year. On an average, the bank's call centre receives around 20,000 service related calls a day.

More Stories on : NBFCs | Financial Policy | RBI & Other Central Banks

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