Inspection & supervision: RBI dons new clothes

The Reserve Bank has not changed the objectives of supervision but how it supervises the system. And, the change is dramatic

Has the RBI started micromanaging banks? I had slipped in this question at a fireside chat with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das at the Business Standard Banking Summit last December.

He looked surprised: “This is the first time I am hearing that!”

He said the RBI had intensified and deepened its supervision. It’s a continual process: The RBI has changed its method as well as approach. Going beyond numbers, it is looking at the business model of banks and raising the red flag when required.

What’s more, the RBI takes banks into confidence all through. It’s a