Experts welcome RBI's move to restructure MSME loans

New Delhi [India], Aug 6 : Industry experts on Thursday welcomed the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) accommodative stance and keep the key repo rate unchanged in view of spurting inflationary pressures.
FICCI President Sangita Reddy said much of the stress in prices is on account of food led by lockdown-induced supply-side distortions. Going ahead, as these constraints ease, the pressure on prices will subside and be back on RBI's indicative trajectory.
Reddy appreciated restructuring of MSME loans that were in standard category till March 1 and for setting up a committee to work on resolution framework.
CII President Uday Kotak said the industry is encouraged by RBI's decision to provide a window under the prudential framework to enable lenders to implement a resolution plan in respect of their corporate exposures with the necessary caveats in place.
"The restructuring of MSME accounts will provide the necessary relief to the sector which has experienced one of the most severe impacts resulting from the conditions of lockdown, containment, reverse migration, supply chain and trade choking due to Covid-19," he said.
SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said the asymmetric recovery across rural and urban areas poses a challenge in policy formulation. "The RBI's calibrated approach is in perfect consonance with the evolving situation while keeping enough headroom for the future."
Joseph Thomas, Head of Research at Emkay Wealth Management, said the RBI's emphasis has been on liquidity enhancement measures and the restructuring of the stressed loan portfolios.
"The outlook for growth and inflation continues to be uncertain and contraction in GDP growth is expected. The RBI has clearly stated that there is further room for a rate cut but it will wait and watch for a durable reduction in inflation for further rate action," he said.
Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India, welcomed the announcement of further liquidity infusion to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore to National Housing Board (NHB) which he said should be able to provide some relief during these times of crisis.
Ram Raheja, Director at S Raheja Realty, too said a sentiment upswing will follow among developers and buyers alike given the infusion of additional liquidity to NABARD and NHB. "The MSME loan restructuring will help many companies which are still in distress due to the lockdown," he said.
Mihir Vora, Director and Chief Investment Officer at Max Life Insurance, said the restructuring dispensation for banks will help ease stress on capital requirements of the banking system and allow for a more orderly tackling of the Covid-induced stresses.

Naveen Kukreja, CEO and Co-Founder of Paisabazaar.com, said the inclusion of start-ups in priority sector lending will improve credit flow to the start-up ecosystem and help reduce their cost of borrowing.