‘RBI Move Will Help Banks Save ₹7,400 cr'

Limited cash reserve ratio reprieve

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The banking industry can save around ₹7,400 crore — assuming credit growth of 9 per cent for housing and 5 per cent for vehicle and MSME loans — as cash reserve ratio (CRR) benefits following the limited reprieve from CRR maintenance given recently by the RBI to incentivise credit flow to specific sectors, according to State Bank of India’s research report, Ecowrap.

CRR is the slice of deposits that banks have to mandatorily park with the RBI. Currently, it is at 4 per cent. Banks don’t earn any interest on their CRR balances with the RBI.

The RBI has allowed banks to deduct the equivalent of incremental credit disbursed by them as retail loans for automobiles, residential housing and MSMEs over and above the outstanding level of credit to these segments as at the end of the fortnight ended January 31, 2020, from their deposits for the maintenance of CRR.