This article is written by Komal Saloni, from Jamnalal Bajaj School of Legal Studies, Banasthali Vidyapith. This is an exhaustive article which deals with the impact of budget on the Indian banking system. This article also talks about how the Budget 2021-22 will empower India’s banking and financial systems.

Introduction

In the Union Budget 2021-2022, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February, 2021 dedicated a budget estimate at INR 34.83 lakh cr. for expenditure in 2021-2022 to ensure that the economy is given the compulsory push for the economic progression of the country as the COVID-19 pandemic hampers and weaken the revenues of the government.

The fiscal deficit, that is the difference between the government’s total revenue and the money that disburses on necessary public requirements likely welfare plan and building infrastructure, for the financial year 2021-2022 stand up to 9.5% of the nation’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

This implies “that” when the government obtains INR 100 as income from approaches for example, taxes, it results in spending INR 109.5 to encounter the allegiance approaching various industries and sectors. Accordingly, the government said it plans to gradually reduce the fiscal deficit to 6.8% in 2022, and 4.5% by 2021.

Indian banks are blinking at intimidation that is ferocious enough to hamper the sector. The Indian moneylender is ready to take a massive stroke because of the asset’s quality although they are ill-equipped to accept the blow. Borrowers are expected for relief shortly, banks are likely to be sheathed with a giant wave of bad loans that were retained at the inlet by way of restructuring and forbearance. The central might have a plan of action to buffer the sector from this discomfort. As stated by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman in her budgetary speech.

Bad bank bang on time

Formerly the large nuggets of the existing bad loans are moved to the new establishment, banks can aggressively focus on fresh business and new productive lending. The alarm of future loan defaults is restraining banks from taking further susceptibility to industries. This combined with conquered demand has slowed down the flow of credit to the productive sector. All-inclusive growth of financial standing has slowed down to less than 6% on an annual footing, Industries contracting to several segments with credit extension. Liberating banks from the affliction of bad loans could help in accelerating credit outgrowth.

What is a bad bank?

A ‘Bad bank’ is a bank established for buying the bad loans and another leveraged holding of other financial organizations. Formerly, destructive assets are released to this institution, aiming for a prior resolution by expert authorities to start, although the arising banks can concentrate on their business. The banks can transfer the Non-performing assets (NPAs) to bad banks at a deducted rate. The price discovery can take place at a later stage.

Merits and demerits of bad bank

• As there are always two sides of every matter, the proposed bad banks also have their criticism, including views of former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who straightforwardly felt that such an approach would simply transfer the exacerbated debt from one bank to the other firm. As he said, the focus required to be on restructuring the bad loans.
• Additionally, despite the government and the Reserve Bank of India agreeing on creating an institution to confront bad debt, the dissimilarity in structures under the present plan would need to be straightened out.
• However, offshoot into ‘bad bank’ for neatening up the balance sheet and ensuring maximum risk transfer, the bad assets are conveyed entirely to a separate entity. 

Creation of the “bad bank”

• A bad bank is established to buy the bad loans and other illiquid holdings of other financial institutions. The entity holding substantial Non Performing Assets will further sell these holdings to the bad bank at market price. On transferring such assets to the bad bank, the native institutions may clear their balance sheet however, it will still be compulsory to take records. The structure of the bad bank may assume the risky assets of a large number of financial institutions rather than a single bank.
• A well-known example of a bad bank was Grant Street National Bank. Bad Banks were considered as a way to shore up private institutions with high levels of bad assets during the financial crisis of 2008.
• The bad loans and Non-Performing Assets of the bank will affect a lot to its soundness because the higher supply to consume into inability and profitability to provide fresh loans. A bad bank directly soaks up these bad loans. Therefore, the other banks will have a fresh start and are encouraged to lend.
• To reorganize and neaten the bank books, the budget 2021-2022 promulgate an Asset Management Company (AMC) and an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC). The Asset Reconstruction Company would take away the bad loans from the banks at a deducted rate and the Asset Management Company would control the credit and endeavor to recover the maximum feasible. 
• Consequently, the Asset Management Company will be required to involve in fetching fresh capital, lenders, investors, and trading off factory assets etc. If it is successfully exercised, it can transform the countenance of the Indian Banking System by intensifying consumer belief, particularly in the Public Sector Banks, which have been beaten up by Non-Performing Assets above 10%.

Reasons for the creation of bad bank

The suggested ‘bad bank’ promised a centralized company that would inaugurate the biggest and most challenging fear of loans from Public Sector Banks to polish their balance sheets and other bank books, and would acknowledge politically firm decisions to bring down debt, encouraging more lending to stimulate the economic undertaking.

Today, it is a cost-effective exercise. That’s considering the NPA assets net value with banks has fallen adequately. A bad bank wasn’t constituted earlier because the net book value of NPAs was sky-high and immoderate.

Transference of this capital would have been more exorbitant. However nowadays, the NPAs net book value is extremely low — barely 15% in most cases. Banks have formed important provisions previously. The point here is if there are people specialized in resolutions and if all Non Performing Assets are elicited at one point, then the bank administrators can focus on rest of the business. 

Current approach and drawbacks

• Subsequently, the decisions to settle individual stressed loans have been left to banks themselves, who find it difficult to resolve these cases for many reasons. Banks are required to acknowledge the real extent of bad loans but have the pliability to restructure them.
• The present structure provides banks with excessive discretion in problem-solving. In maximum instances, banks straightforwardly refinance the debtors, considering costlier for the government as it shows that the bad debts remain rising, it eventually increases the recapitalization charges for the government.
• Additionally, as addressed by the economic survey that the decision to refinance the banks to persist their lending has still not been figured out too, as banks vacillate in lending regularly with sufficient capital in hand until banks can’t estimate the future consequences of bad loans on their Balance-sheet and other books, Furthermore, the Private Assets Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) also have not been proved more successful than banks in settling bad debts.

New approach

This is the time to contemplate a disparate approach, addressed by the economic survey, outlining how the problem of the Twin Balance Sheet of banks and corporates can be solved.

1. Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency (PARA) would acquire identified (immense) loans from banks and then formulate them, additionally by granting debt reduction or by transforming debt to equity and trading the shares in deals. Once the loans are out of the books from the Public Sector Banks (PSBs), the government would recapitalize them, reinstate their financial healthiness and allow them to retrieve new loans.
2. Equivalently, formerly the financial reasonableness of the over-indebtedness of the undertaking (such as the massive, over-indebted configuration and steel industries) is reinstated, they would be capable to concentrate on their functioning, instead of their finances. After that, they will ultimately be able to contemplate current investments.

If the bad bank is outlined with a high-quality business model, it is possible that it adhered to the twin balance -sheet complications in India and also adhered to the capital adequacy concern too.

The conception of a bad bank has presented in prominence as our finance minister Nirmala Sitaramana promulgate in the Union Budget 2021-2022 freshly that an Asset Management Company (AMC) and an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) would be accepted to lessen the stressed debt of ₹2.25 lakh crore in the banking and finance sector.

The main purpose to create a bad bank are:

(a) To polish the Indian banks Balance-Sheet, 

(b) To authorize the banks to extend at the necessary extent of capital adequacy by preparing fresh capital from the market, and 

(c) To pay attention to credit extension is important to uplift the investment and ultimately boost the economic growth. 

The concept of a bad bank is not new. In the year 2018, the government introduced a plan for public sector banks (PSBs) called ‘Project Sashakt’, this plan included five-point for the resolution of Bad loans in PSBs.The government then indicated and talk about a design, with the leading concepts and principles of an Asset Management Company (AMC) resolution approach, under which a separate AMC would be established to emphasize asset reversal, protection, and job opportunities as well. The government stated that the functions of the new corporation will be oriented with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) procedure and IBC laws. But the government didn’t call it a bad bank that time and clearly stated that the plan won’t get involved with the process of bad assets resolution of banks that would be conducted by banks themselves. 

Post COVID-19 period: best time for bad banks

COVID-19 has been an additional jolt on the balance sheets of banks. The pandemic has affected the entire economic undertaking significantly, administering out the ache on the banks’ balance sheets. The six-month loan suspension provides short-term relaxation to the companies. Nevertheless, after the suspension period, some of those accounts turned to be restructured by the banks. The active numbers of the banks indicated that the fragile banks have been affected more. Stating an example, the Yes Bank which has its one-third loans is under the overburdened category has been restructured approximately 5% of the loan book. As expected by the analysts the complete restructuring in the banking industry in response to COVID-19 expected around 3% of the loan book. To a great extent, it will depend upon the economic recovery proceeds onward.

The Union Budget 2021-2022 was historic and unique as presented, it is for the first time a paperless budget proposed on the tablet in the house shows new hope for India in this decade for further establishment of their leadership as the global superpower. 

Particularly the fourth budget addressed after declining in the economy doesn’t shy off from raising the capital expenses and providing an economic push to boost the morale of an economy that is stumbling under the blow of an ‘Erst in a 150-year development’.

Pandemic hit the pockets of Indians as the salaries did not exactly jump high, not any change in tax slabs, and probability of the fuel price going up, incorporated with reasonable inflation, the wallet got lighter. But when talking about the heels of the pandemic, which appears to be completely casual receding, where surprisingly banks were less affected, whether managed sensibly the budget assuredly provides cheer, hope, and opportunity for development in the Banking sector. Budget 2020-21 has been an assortment for the Indian Banking Industry. Although the credit growth has continued low-spirited, Stressed Assets and Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) have brought down insignificantly. 

Speculations are swarming that Union Budget 2020-2021 possibly involves measures to tackle bad loans for good. The most likely and effective measure between them is anticipated to be a bad bank, which is a long-established requirement of the banking and financial sector.

A bad bank is an establishment for buying ill-liquidated holdings and bad loans from different financial institutions to achieve early resolutions. This pulls out the financial institution to freely focus on their business. It also expedites the resolution process by focusing on it; now the resolution process has to involve all the lenders likely to have extended a loan to the company. After the COVID-19 pandemic trauma, not only the bad banks cost-effectively option but also the decline in Non Performing Assets (NPAs) net value of the bank has created a profitable option for the government in its attempt to hold bad loans.

Shape up or ship out

The finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was very clear in her budgetary speech that the public sector banks will have to be ‘practically strong and professionally headed to fulfill the need of a flourishing and growing India’. In a nutshell, Banks need to be far more structured and efficient. The commitment to privatize two Public Sector Banks (PSBs) will only bring further momentum to the banking and financial industry, particularly Public Sector Banks (PSBs), as these banks will be forced to be more ruthless and will face a more competitive environment moving onwards.

Positive consequences of Budget 2021 on the banking sector

Insurance will be a game-changer

India has fallen behind the developed nations and its Asian equivalents, particularly evolving economies like., Philippines and Thailand, in the framework of our conduct towards the insurance companies. The Insurance perforation and concentration of India are considerably less in comparison to further Asian countries. This sector will experience a considerably necessary encouragement and boost with the proffered addition in FDI limits to 74% and the planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) for the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The increase in concentration on good health and good fortune will also accelerate additional capital inflow within this sector and the wide-reaching banks, which have a depository of insurance upshot, will be obligatory to constitute.

Insurance

In the foregoing budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaramana made a crucial enrichment in the deposit shield of organized Commercial Banks — from INR 1 lakh to INR 5 lakh. Even though the bank goes broke, the amount of deposits per consumer is also secure. In the budget of 2021, the Finance Minister has put forward an additional modification to this mechanism, that even though this INR 5 lakhs can be retrieved effortlessly by the depositors without overabundant restrictions. This will assist depositors in an alarming condition.

Spend more, save less

By Repo Rate decline the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has specified a dig for the banks to spend more and save less. The huge capital expenditure that the Budget says will take things ahead in an equivalent direction as the concentration would be on managing public expenditure and increasing consumption of the public. Banks will have a considerable and conclusive role to entertain in the place. In reality, we overwhelmingly witness the interest on loans getting more economical or more catchy and innovative financial output being provided by banks as an inducement to their customers to encourage the customers to spend more.

The push-in direction of digital payments increase

In the previous annual year, the UPI-related payments have grown almost three times. This is no way attainment. It has supported us to transform further into a cashless economy. The certainty that the finance minister picked to accentuate the push with regards to digital payments is progressing to be a boon for banks and other financial establishments as this will assist them progress toward being an integral part of their customers’ existence, on-the-contrary if they develop a payment functioning that can match with the market of Paytm and Amazon Pay. This is the point where banks can get together because the gains overshadow the pains.

Non-performing assets to be closely watched

The concentration on Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and their consequences on the balance sheets of banks have been the subject matter of inspection in recent years and this has further assisted the banks in reducing them, however, it has been unpretentious. Financial forbearance was undeniably demarcated in the current Economic inspection and the decision to constitute an independent structure that will pivot on these non-performing assets is an appreciable walk. This will further strengthen the banks’ conflict against non-performing assets, supporting the banks to provide additional value to customers who, in return, provide additional value to the banks and their shareholders.

The measures contributed to the Budget by the finance minister will be a call for the Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector to blueprint a plan of growth and development while they pay attention to their customers, as well as the experts, and blueprint a plan which will aid them to grow while supporting the nation to attain its goal of flattering a $5-trillion economy over the next couple of years.

Budget 2021: five major challenges in Indian Banking System 

The recapitalization bonds have been used in the last four years by the government to permeate capital into the Public Sector Banks (PSBs). The expectations from the Union Budget 2021-22 too, are of recap bonds in the given budget restrictions.

The bond direction includes Public Sector Banks (PSBs) agreeing to bonds released by the government, which, when returned, gets moved back to banks as capital. This is in favor of the government as it works for the government as their accountability gets limited to only interest constituents although the Public Sector Banks necessarily require a lot of capital to receive interest on bonds. Until now, the government has contributed the capital of above Rs. 2.70 lakh crore over these bonds. The approximate amount of capital for Public Sector Banks ranges from Rs. 25,000 crore to Rs. 50,000 crore, however, the actual subvention depends on an announcer component like., NPA estimates, regulatory forbearance, privatization of PSBs, and bad banks pass over in the amalgamation process.

Regulatory forbearance has blown up capital measures

The current capital acceptability measures in Public Sector Banks do not gaze undesirable, but the current regulatory forbearance after Covid buries the actual scenario. 

In September, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India had promised to postpone the execution of the last share of 0.625 % of the capital management safeguard for a year till September 2021. Likewise, the Supreme Court held that the loan accounts which were not categorized as Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the banks’ books till August 31, 2020, cannot be proclaimed as Non Performing Assets till additional notice. These relaxations show a highlight of pleasant capital levels in the financial banking system, but a pragmatic evaluation of the forbearance will raise the capital necessity of the banks including Public Sector Banks (PSBs). Certainly, the private sector banks have belligerently raised capital from the market because of the flare-up of the pandemic.

Capital for supporting recovery

Public Sector Banks (PSBs) play a very important role in the lending system, for taking the risk or increasing lending activities the capital levels of banks are very important. Covid hit service sectors and other businesses as well, Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) need funds for establishing businesses. Presently, the public sector banks do not have any internal creation of capital.

For example, the Public Sector Banks as a package have continued their debt at Rs. 26,015 Crore in 2019-20 as contrary to a total income of Rs 8.34 lakh crore. The valuation of public sector banks in the stock market is also lesser to uplift the equity capital at the present stage, which means banks have a very high dependency for capital on the government. Although, the risk-taking ability of banks is also impacted by the limited capital.

New NPA cycle on the horizon

After Covid-19, banks are facing firm aggression of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in unsecured loans, services sector, and MSMEs. The suspension on loans and the two-year transformations called by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have secured weak borrowers, but once the transformation period ends, the situation may slip for the worst one. The recent stress test done by RBI’s revealed that bank NPAs could jump from 7.5% in September 2020 to 13.5% by September 2021. As addressed by RBI, “If the macro environment breaks down, the ratio may increase to 14.8 % under the drastic stain scenario”. This type of immoderate situation would demand a huge investment capital inculcated from the government in Public Sector Banks (PSBs). However, if the government is determined to establish a bad bank, the affliction may get reduced.

IBC suspension can delay recovery

The delay in bad loan recovery is also generating capital inadequacy. As the government has temporarily suspended the fresh proceedings after the pandemic many bad loans or restructuring of cases are stuck down. The suspension of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code ended in March this year. The corporate sector is also not very eager to buy distressed assets while there is a good time to buy quality businesses after the Covid interruption. Indeed, numerous corporates are concentrating on digitizing the operations and operational regulations.

Privatization of banks left out of PSB consolidation

The government excluded half a dozen PSBs from the amalgamation exercise. Namely, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Punjab & Sind Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and UCO Bank. These banks are not pre-eminently sound. Designated an enormous number of private banks, Small Finance Banks (SFBs), and consolidated PSBs, these mid-sized PSBs will discover it challenging to survive. It is probably that any capital investment in these banks will all pour down the drain. Eventually, the budget presented a blueprint for the privatization of these banks, the government’s difficulty to recapitalize banks will also tumble down significantly.

Suggestions

“There are always two sides of every matter, the proposed bad banks also have their criticism, including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who considered that such an approach would simply transfer the envenom debt from one bank to the other institution. As he said that the focus required to be on restructuring the bad loans”.

“The decisions to establish the development finance institutions (DFIs) in both the sectors, private as well as the public sector are worthy to be applauded”.

 – Narasimham Committee

‘‘The covid situation, flinging its contour on the banks balance-sheets considering the historical data immaterial and also the risk version created on expected losses provide default records’’. Financial steadiness, thus, is at an intersection. The positioning of a Bad Bank may not be a better idea as it would encourage Public Sector Banks to give way to heedless lending.

– Retired senior banker, an Economist 

I agree with the above-mentioned statement, as also every matter has its two-side if there is a positive aspect of that it comes with the negative aspects too. It should be the priority of the policymakers that the focus required be on restructuring the bad loans.

Conclusion

The idea of a government-funded bad bank didn’t appeal so much before. However, the rising stress in the banking system, after COVID-19, calls for an effective resolution mechanism. Now a bad bank could make sense as the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman ultimately accepted the industry’s well-established demand for a bad bank, accordingly the union budget laid down the cornerstone to place the banking emergency in the rearview mirror. The finance minister affirmed that the government will establish an asset management institution as well as an assets reconstruction company that will take up the books and bad loans of the banking sector. A bad bank must assist the Indian banking system to break down their losses and centralize their key businesses of lending.

India not just needs any bad bank but a bad bank cooperatively owned by the bank themselves. The State Bank of India as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is 0.82% as the Indian Banks cooperation have recently revived the offer for bad banks. It is not just advantageous but imperative also, provided that India’s broken banks start lending again, to combustible growth, as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accompanied by India at the growing point in the banking sector directed by the federal government’s Jan Dhan Yojana, budget 2021-2022 focuses on enhancing the country’s banking and financial system. Also, the saving system is encouraging for people that are starting to demonstrate with financial services even more than before. While the Indian banking system strengthens with the help of financial technology, the consumer will appear as the resultant gainer.

References 

• https://www.businesstoday.in/union-budget-2021/expectations/budget-2021-5-big-challenges-in-indian-banking/story/429275.html
• https://www.india.gov.in/spotlight/union-budget-2021-2022
• https://www.outlookindia.com/outlookmoney/banking/budget-2021-what-does-it-mean-for-banks-financial-institutions-6097
• https://www.forbes.com/advisor/in/banking/union-budget-2021-how-will-the-way-you-bank-and-save-change/
• https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/bad-bank-is-actually-a-good-idea/article33841960.ece
• https://www.moneycontrol.com/annual-report/statebankindia/directors-report/SBI/2018
• https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/banks/what-is-project-sashakt-and-will-it-help-clear-the-banking-mess/story/279970.html

---

LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join: