 "RBI looking at additional loans for home buyers of stuck projects")
In a bid to resolve stress in housing projects, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could consider giving a “special dispensation” to help banks provide additional finance to customers with restructured home loan accounts, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).
A meeting of a committee under G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant was held on June 19 to discuss issues related to "legacy stalled projects" in real estate. The meeting was attended by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairman Ravi Mittal, RBI representatives, chief executive officers (CEO) of Noida Authority, financial services secretary Vivek Joshi, senior officials of the ministries of finance and housing and urban affairs, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and SBICAP Ventures, among others.
ET quoted a source as saying that in the meeting banks asked for the special regulatory dispensation to release additional funds through existing individual home loan accounts that have been either restructured or revived while keeping the asset classification as "standard." The person added that the RBI representative present at the meeting said that the banking regulator would consider the special dispensation and they were likely to inform the panel of their decision soon.
He said any such regulatory relief could also allow banks to release the remaining amount of approved loans without compromising the quality of their assets.
The National Capital Region (NCR) and Mumbai alone accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country’ stuck housing projects, it was revealed at the meeting. Also, home buyers with a capital commitment of close to Rs 2 trillion had bought about 60 per cent of the stuck projects.
To ensure faster delivery of houses to buyers, the Centre was also looking at the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), and Swamih (Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing) Fund, besides the IBC to complete housing projects stuck in limbo, officials had earlier said.