Nomoremoratorium,saysDeepakParekh;RBInon-committal

Responding to industry veteran Deepak Parekh's view that Reserve Bank of India should not extend the loan moratorium further and instead consider a one-time debt restructuring, Governor Shaktikanta Das declined to comment today, although he said that the suggestions have been noted.

Parekh, who is the chairman of Housing Development Finance Corp, was echoing the call for a loan restructuring initially raised by Kotak Mahindra Bank Managing Director Uday Kotak, who is also currently the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry. Speaking at the CII event today, Das said "I have made a note of these suggestions. I will not be able to comment on any one of them now, but I have noted the suggestions."

The RBI had initially offered a threemonth moratorium on loan repayments due between March and May, only to extend it by three months to end-August as lockdowns to contain COVID-19. However, after initially offering loan moratoriums to most customers, lenders have been using the RBI-given leeway to determine who actually need the moratorium support, and who were using it to just delay payments and asset classification. "Please do not extend the moratorium because we see that even people who have ability to pay, whether it is corporates or individuals, are taking advantage under this moratorium and deferring payment," Parekh said,

"There is some talk that there will be some extension of three months. It is going to hurt us and hurt the smaller NBFCs particularly." However, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, from Bharti Enterprises Ltd, used the same forus to suggest that the moratorium should be extended to prevent many more companies from turning into non-performing assets.

Instead of an extension in moratorium on repayments, Kotak and Parekh pitched for a one-time loan restructuring scheme as was offered post the global financial crisis.