SBI Says Worst Over, RBI Stalls Liberalisation for Foreign Banks
The State of India on Tuesday said that the worst in the economy was over with reports indicating a clear improvement, the Reserve Bank said it will hold back liberalization plans enabling operation of foreign banks in the country due to the ongoing economic crisis.
“The worst in the economy is over. Economic data indicate things are better,” said SBI chairman OP Bhatt while speaking to reporters after a meeting RBI Governor D Subbarao in Mumbai.
On the RBI cutting both the repo and reverse repo rates by 0.25 percentage points each, Bhatt said that the apex bank had sent a clear signal that interest rates should ease.
“It (the RBI rate cuts) is a very clear-cut signal that interest rates should ease,” he said.
Different banks would respond differently to the rate cuts, he said. Responding to queries on an industry-wide reduction in lending rates, Bhatt said the SBI would take a call on the matter after a meeting of its asset-liability committee (ALCO) on the issue.
While expressing optimism over growing higher than the industry this fiscal, he said the non-performing assets (NPAs) in the industry were not unmanageable.
Separately, the RBI, in its annual monetary policy 2009-2010, has said that it considers advisable, for the time being, to continue with the current policy and procedures governing the presence of foreign banks in India.
The policy roadmap for the liberalization plan was divided into two phases, the first of which concludes its four-year span this month. The apex bank however, said it would initiate the second phase after a review of experience in the first leg, but stopped short of putting a timeframe for the assessment.
The RBI said: “proposed review will be taken up after due consultation with the stakeholders once there is greater clarity regarding stability, recovery of the global financial system, and a shared understanding on the regulatory and supervisory architecture around the world.”
