FINANCIAL STABILITY REPORT - REPORTS AND INDICES

News: Indian economy resilient despite global uncertainty, says RBI

 

What's in the news?

       Despite the global economy facing heightened uncertainty due to banking system fragility in certain countries, persisting geopolitical tensions and moderating but elevated inflation, the Indian economy and the domestic financial system remain resilient supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in the 27th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR).

 

Key takeaways from the report:

1. Sustained growth:

       As per the FSR continuing growth momentum, moderating inflation, narrowing current account deficit, rising foreign exchange reserves, ongoing fiscal consolidation and a robust financial system are setting the economy on a path of sustained growth.

2. Positives from banks and corporates:

       Healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates are engendering a new credit and investment cycle and brightening the prospects of the Indian economy.

3. Rising CRAR:

       The capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) and the common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) rose to historical highs of 17.1% and 13.9%, respectively, in March 2023.

4. Reducing NPA levels:

       Scheduled Commercial Banks’ gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio continued its downtrend and fell to a 10-year low of 3.9% in March 2023 and the net non-performing assets (NNPA) ratio declined to 1%.

 

Go back to basics:

Financial stability report:

       It is a bi-annual report published by RBI.

       The RBI looks at the state of both the global as well as domestic economy.

       It reflects on risks to financial stability and the resilience of the financial system in the context of contemporary issues relating to development and regulation of the financial sector.

       It focuses on public and private banks with the following aspects:

       Capital availability for working

       Cost of NPAs and whether they are manageable

       Credit flow in different sectors of the economy

       Credit flow at personal levels (households)

       Macro-financial risks in the economy

       Macro-financial risks refer to the risks that originate from the financial system but affect the wider economy as well as risks to the financial system that originate in the wider economy.