Banks, NBFCs need to give attention to inoperative, mule accounts, cybersecurity: RBI governor

The RBI MPC has maintained the status quo on repo rates during the October policy meeting

Banks and non-bank lenders or NBFCs need to give more attention to risks emerging from deposit accounts, cybercrime, mule accounts, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das alerted on October 9.

“Banks and NBFCs underwriting standards and post-sanction monitoring have to be robust. Continued attention also needs to be given to potential risks from inoperative deposit accounts, cybersecurity landscape, mule accounts, etc,” Das said in his Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) speech.

The RBI governor also said that the health parameters of banks and NBFCs continue to be strong but highlighted some concerns on unsecured loans. “There has been some recent commentary on the likelihood of stress build-up in a few unsecured loan segments like loans for consumption purposes, microfinance loans and credit card outstanding. The Reserve Bank is closely monitoring the incoming information and will take measures, as may be considered necessary,” he said.

The RBI MPC has maintained the status quo on repo rates during the October policy meeting, opting to hold it steady despite the US Federal Reserve's recent rate cut of 50 basis points. The repo rate stays at 6.50 percent. The RBI has changed the stance to 'neutral' from 'withdrawal of accommodation'.