Bank recapitalisation and banking reforms finally go hand in hand (2024)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry have been jointly working on the Rs2.1 trillion recapitalisation package for public sector banks. This piece of information released at the RBI governor’s press conference after the monetary policy committee meeting on Wednesday is definitely more important than RBI’s monetary policy review.

Historically, the government (read: the finance ministry), the majority owner of the PSU banks, decides on which bank gets how much capital. In the past, each time the government announced bank recapitalisation, there was extensive paper work and data gathering and extracting promises on performance from the banks but ultimately it all depended on the whims and fancies of the officials of the finance ministry and lobbying of the respective banks. There was no art or science behind the distribution of money.

This is being changed, and changed for the better. This time around, it seems bank recapitalisation and banking reforms will go hand in hand. This means, there will be definite preconditions and only when the banks accept those conditions, they will get their lifeline in the shape of recapitalisation bonds.

Those banks which have relatively strong balance sheets and are doing reasonably well will get the capital in the first round. The laggards will have to make many commitments, including sale of non-core assets and change in focus areas to be eligible for recapitalisation funds.

This is being done to prevent a recurrence of pile in bad assets and yet another round of government bailout, using taxpayers’ money.

Simply put, banks cannot take recapitalisation funds for granted; they will have to earn it. Far too long the Indian government has been too democratic in doling out money to its ailing banks. It’s time to show the door to those banks which are fast becoming irrelevant. The news of the day is not an actionless RBI’s bimonthly monetary policy review, but the Indian central bank’s determination to play an active role in determining which bank will get how much money, and not leaving it to the government’s benevolence.

An extended pause

The bond market heaved a sigh of relief on Wednesday with the RBI’s bimonthly monetary policy review turning out to be a non-event. There was a minor 3-4 basis points rally in the market after the Indian central bank kept its stance of the policy unchanged—neutral.

One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

No one was expecting RBI to tinker with its policy rate and hence there was no surprise that it has not changed the rate but the relief came from the tone of the policy. It is definitely not more hawkish than the October policy when RBI pressed the pause button. The Indian central bank has made it amply clear that it has no bias and only the flow of data in future will determine the trajectory of the policy. This means, nothing will change too soon (read: the February review) and we are in for an extended pause.

RBI has raised the projection of inflation in the second half of current fiscal year by 10 basis points—from a range between 4.2-4.6% to 4.3-4.7%.

Here, too, there is no surprise—the market has all along been a bit over-ambitious on the inflation front while the central bank remains pragmatic. The growth projection also remains unchanged at 6.7%, keeping in mind quite a few factors including recapitalization of public sector banks and the bulk of money being raised from the primary market. After a sudden slump in the economic growth in the June quarter to a three-year low 5.7%, growth bounced back to 6.3% in the July-September quarter. The Reserve Bank expects 7% growth in the December quarter and 7.8% in March.

Tamal Bandyopadhyay, consulting editor at Mint, is adviser to Bandhan Bank. His latest book, From Lehman to Demonetization: A Decade of Disruptions, Reforms and False Promises, will be released in Delhi on 12 December.

His Twitter handle is @tamalbandyo.

Respond to this column at tamal.b@livemint.com.

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Published: 06 Dec 2017, 07:38 PM IST

Bank recapitalisation and banking reforms finally go hand in hand (2024)

FAQs

What is recapitalization of a bank? ›

A: Recapitalization refers to the process of infusing fresh capital into public sector banks by the government. It aims to strengthen their financial health, enhance lending capacity, and ensure compliance with regulatory capital adequacy norms.

What are the effects of bank recapitalization? ›

Recapitalisation injects equity into banks, enabling them to engage in more substantial lending, investments, and economic activities. With larger balance sheets, banks can better navigate challenges like currency devaluation, providing critical support to businesses and stimulating economic growth.

What did banking reforms do? ›

Reforming the Banks

The Glass-Steagall Banking Act stabilized the banks, reducing bank failures from over 4,000 in 1933 to 61 in 1934. To protect depositors, the Act created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which still insures individual bank accounts.

Which committee is related to banking reforms? ›

The Narasimham-II Committee was tasked with the progress review of the implementation of the banking reforms since 1992 with the aim of further strengthening the financial institutions of India. It focussed on issues like size of banks and capital adequacy ratio among other things.

Is recapitalization good or bad? ›

By trading in debt for equity, the company can reduce the level of debt and, therefore, the amount of interest it pays to its creditors. This, in turn, improves the company's overall financial well-being. Furthermore, recapitalization is a viable strategy to help keep share prices from dropping.

What is the purpose of recapitalization? ›

In a recapitalization, the company seeks to change how much of the assets are paid for by debt or equity, in order to reach a desired capital structure. There are several ways that this can be achieved, including: Issuing debt in the form of long-term loans, exercising an overdraft facility, or issuing corporate bonds.

Is recapitalization the same as restructuring? ›

Recapitalization focuses on injecting fresh capital to strengthen a company's financial position, while restructuring involves broader changes to improve operational efficiency and address underlying issues.

Is a recapitalization a reorganization? ›

A single corporation can reorganize under two code provisions. One reorganization (an "E" reorganization) is a "recapitalization." A recapitalization is typically a transaction between a corporation and some or all of its shareholders or creditors.

What is the recapitalization exit strategy? ›

Owners who utilize recapitalization as an exit strategy share the risk with another investor, usually a private equity firm. They gain both capital resources and access to professional strategic counsel to maximize business value. This strategy helps owners' cash in more when they wish to exit.

Why are banks heavily regulated? ›

U.S. banking regulation addresses privacy, disclosure, fraud prevention, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, anti-usury lending, and the promotion of lending to lower-income populations. Some individual cities also enact their own financial regulation laws (for example, defining what constitutes usurious lending).

Why did FDR close the banks? ›

Bank holiday

Following his inauguration on March 4, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt set out to rebuild confidence in the nation's banking system and to stabilize America's banking system. On March 6, he declared a four-day national banking holiday that kept all banks shut until Congress could act.

How does Dodd-Frank affect banks? ›

Previously, banks could use depositor funds to trade in securities. Because of this, in 2008, JPMorgan Chase lost $6.2 billion on risky trading. To prevent similar cases, the Dodd-Frank Act has created a Volcker rule. It prohibits banks from trading customer's deposits for their profit and using or owning hedge funds.

Who holds banks accountable? ›

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The OCC charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Who wanted federal government reform of banking? ›

Even before his inauguration, President-elect Woodrow Wilson began encouraging congressional leaders to enact banking and currency reform. In March 1913 the Democratic Senate created its first Banking and Currency Committee, chaired by Oklahoma senator Robert D. Owen.

Which banks are regulated by OCC? ›

National banks and federal savings associations are chartered and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Is a recapitalization a buyout? ›

Leveraged recapitalizations have a similar structure to that employed in leveraged buyouts (LBO), to the extent that they significantly increase financial leverage. But unlike LBOs, they may remain publicly traded.

Is refinancing the same as Recapitalisation? ›

What is the difference between recapitalization and refinancing? While refinancing usually refers specifically to the reorganization of a company's debts, recapitalization involves changes to the whole capital structure – including equity.

What is a recap in investment banking? ›

Definition: A Recapitalization or Recap is a financing technique used typically by private equity investors to invest in privately-held businesses that allow the existing owner to restructure the debt and equity of their company to either obtain new capital for future business growth and/or to reduce their personal ...

How do you recapitalize debt? ›

In most types of debt recapitalizations, one or more of the company owners simply goes to the bank and asks for a loan based on the company's financials. The bank will look at the company's cash flow, balance sheet and its ability to meet future expenses and then make a loan based upon these factors.

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