The RBI has asked PSBs to put recently announced steps into effect immediately.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has urged banks to continue concentrating on improving the strength of their balance sheets.

Governor Shaktikanta Das of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked state-owned banks on Wednesday to adopt measures announced by the central bank recently in “right earnest” and to continue focusing on steps to strengthen their balance sheets’ resilience.

During a meeting with the Managing Directors (MDs) and CEOs of public sector banks, Das emphasised the importance of PSBs in providing various banking services, including credit, to individuals and businesses while dealing with the pandemic’s challenges. “He impressed upon the to banks quickly implement the measures announced by RBI recently in the right earnest. He also urged the banks to continue focussing on steps to enhance the resilience of their balance sheets,” the RBI issued a statement following the video conference meeting.

In the wake of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the governor announced a slew of steps, including a term liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore to ease access to emergency health services, to boost lending to the MSME industry, to restructure loans, and to rationalise KYC enforcement.

Other topics discussed at the meeting included the current state of the financial sector, credit flows to various industries, including small borrowers and MSMEs, and progress on the Covid Resolution Framework implementation. The transmission of monetary policy and the implementation of Covid-related policy steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India were also discussed.

The governor recognised the importance of PSBs in providing various banking services, including credit, to individuals and businesses while addressing the challenges posed by the pandemic in his opening remarks.

Deputy Governors M K Jain, M. Rajeswar Rao, Michael D Patra, and T Rabi Sankar also attended the meeting.

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