Lockdown 3.0: Banks may need more regulatory support amid Covid-19 crisis

With credit cost expected to increase by 200-350 bps across banks, asset quality may deteriorate to FY18 levels

With the nationwide lockdown extended to May 17, banks are once again seeking some regulatory dispensation and relaxation in asset recognition norms. The most popular of all demands is an extension of the three-month moratorium, which is set to end on May 31.

“When the moratorium was announced on March 27, the anticipation was that the lockdown will end by April 15 and businesses will resume to near-normal operations. All that has been pushed back,” said a senior executive of a private bank, who feels it’s logical for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to extend the period of moratorium