RBI’s loan recast formula lends relief to realty biz

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India’s framework for loan recast or stress resolution for the Covid-19 related stress which allows banks to restructure loans of real estate companies at the project level comes as a major relief for developers who have been hit amid the pandemic and their specific projects have come to a halt due to liquidity crunch.

Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Property Consultants, feels the RBI’s move to permit banks to restructure loans of realty firms at the project level rather than the entity level is “indeed a good move. It will help restart projects which have been stuck due to the impact of the COVID-19. Both buyers and developers will stand to gain when stuck projects will eventually see the light of the day.”

He noted that from a buyers’ standpoint, they will no longer have to wait for an indefinite period for their homes. As for developers, they will get the requisite liquidity to eventually complete their projects.

Overall, it will ease liquidity within the cash-strapped real estate sector which was already struggling even before the pandemic set in. COVID-19 had only worsened its woes further, Puri noted.

As per RBI, the requirement of an inter-creditor agreement (ICA) in respect of the entity to which lending institutions have exposure is a basic feature of Prudential Framework for Resolution of Stressed Assets dated June 7, 2019, and consequently that of the resolution framework for COVID-19-related stress.