Extends debt restructuring deadline
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday, 5 February 2009, announced measures to ease the credit situation. It has extended a forex swap facility for banks until the end of the 2009/10 fiscal year and raised the interest rate ceiling on foreign currency export credit to help ease credit constraints.
In another development, the central bank has given banks two more months, up to March 31, 2009, to reschedule repayments on loans to prevent them from being classified as bad loans. It has also clarified that the deadline will apply to the date on which the borrower makes an application to the bank for restructuring its loan. In December 2008, RBI allowed banks to recast those accounts which were standard accounts as on 1 September 2008.