Overview

• Three measures take effect October 1 and four proposals are out for consultation until October 20.
• Banks can now reduce spread components on floating-rate loans before the existing three-year lock-in to hasten policy rate transmission to borrowers.
• Lenders may offer a switch to fixed rates at reset points, and working-capital loans against gold and silver now extend to all manufacturers with participation by Tier-3 and Tier-4 urban co-operative banks.
• Basel III norms are eased by raising the eligible limit for offshore perpetual debt instruments, increasing headroom to raise Additional Tier 1 capital.
• Drafts propose extending Gold Metal Loan tenor to 270 days, allowing outsourced-production jewellers, aligning exposure rules for foreign bank branches, and shifting credit-bureau reporting to weekly with CKYC identifiers and faster error correction.