Amid Adani Group developments, RBI chief says Indian banking system stronger, larger to be impacted by ‘case like this’

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the strength, size and resilience of the Indian banking system now are much stronger and larger “to be affected by a case like this” in reference to the developments at Adani Group.

Concerns have been raised in various quarters about Adani Group companies, including about the exposure of lenders to the conglomerate, in the wake of an adverse report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research that also triggered a massive sell-off in the shares of the companies. To queries related to the Adani Group, Das said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made its own assessment to come out with the statement on Friday, where it termed the banking sector as strong and resilient. “The strength, size and the resilience of the Indian banking system now are much stronger and larger to be affected by a case like this,” Das said without directly mentioning about the Adani Group.

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He was responding to a query on whether the RBI will be giving any guidance to domestic banks about their exposure to the Adani Group companies in the context of rating agencies’ reports related to banks’ exposure to the Group. Briefing reporters after the monetary policy announcement, Das said that when banks do lend, they take their calls on the fundamentals of a company and the expected cash flows from projects. He also made it clear that the market capitalisation of the company does not have any role to play there.

Deputy Governor MK Jain said domestic banks’ exposure is “not very significant” to the Adani Group and the exposure against shares is “insignificant”. Meanwhile, Das said that over the years, the appraisal methods of the banks have significantly improved. In the last three-four years, the RBI has taken several steps to strengthen the resilience of banks, including guidelines on governance, audit committees, and risk management committees, making it mandatory to appoint chief risk officers and chief compliance officers.