RBI assures investors on Adani exposure
Banking sector ‘resilient and stable’, says India’s central bank
Various parameters relating to capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity, provision coverage and profitability are healthy. The RBI remains vigilant and continues to monitor the stability of the Indian banking sector.”
India’s central bank on Friday said the country’s banking sector was “resilient and stable” as it stepped in to assuage investors rattled about lenders’ exposure to the embattled Adani Group.
The Reserve Bank of India, which is also the banking sector regulator, said banks were in compliance with rules, including loan exposure to large companies. It didn’t name Adani Group.
“Various parameters relating to capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity, provision coverage and profitability are healthy,” the central bank said. “The RBI remains vigilant and continues to monitor the stability of the Indian banking sector.”
The RBI’s statement comes at a time when a short seller’s
Reserve Bank of India statement
report has hammered shares of companies part of the Adani Group.
Market value plunges
The Group has shed more than $100 billion in market value since Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in a January 24 report.
In a 413-page response, Adani said Hindenburg’s conduct was “nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law.”
The turmoil has also hit banks that have given loans to Adani companies. Shares of State Bank of India, the nation’s top lender by assets, have fallen since the Hindenburg report came out. The lender said Friday its exposure to Adani Group was about $3.3 billion, or 0.9% of its loan book.
Foreign institutional investors pulled a net $2 billion out of India’s stock market from the country January 27 through Jan. 31, the biggest three-day selloff since March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.