The RBI is also likely to give banks a comfortable transition period to reduce their exposure to unlisted bonds to less than 20 per cent of their bond portfolio. As a result, banks could return to the debt market, merchant banking sources said.
The RBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) have initiated consultations with market players to harmonise their respective guidelines. Corporates, meanwhile, had sought more time to list their existing bonds on bourses, the sources said.
Sebi had issued a circular making it mandatory for issuers to list all their bonds and debentures. Following this, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) banned its broker-members from dealing in unlisted bonds.
The RBI, too, issued draft guidelines asking banks and financial institutions to pare their exposure to unlisted bonds to 20 per cent of their bond portfolio. These measures brought the unlisted bond market to a standstill.
Unlisted bonds account for about 60 per cent of banks
