Indian banks withstood 2008 global crisis well, says Sinha

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor, Anand Sinha, said that Indian commercial banks fared well during the 2008 global financial crisis as they had diligently followed the regulatory mechanisms laid down by the RBI.

Sinha was delivering the inaugural address at the one-day seminar on ‘Basel III: Implementation and challenges in banks’,
organised by the Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) at their headquarters in the city on Friday.

Sinha, who is the incharge of regulation of commercial banks, non-banking financial companies and urban cooperative banks in the Reserve Bank of India, said that banks globally were facing more challenges now and macro sustainability was a necessity.

“Putting regulations in place and implementing the same were equally important for achieving growth and sustainability,” he said.
Sinha, who made a presentation on the genesis of the 2008 economic crisis, its causes and the regulatory reforms following the crisis, stressed the need for banks to adapt to the latest Basel III norms.

He said the Basel III guidelines were important to improve the ability of banks to withstand periods of economic and financial stress by prescribing more stringent capital and liquidity requirements.

BoM chairman and managing director, AS Bhattacharya, welcomed Sinha and participants.

Other speakers at the seminar included RBI general manager, Ajay Chowdhary; Rohit Bammi and Kunthal Sur of KPMG, and Muzzamil Patel of Ernst and Young.