Lending uniformity seen from April

Come April, the entire credit market could see a marked change. For starters, farm loans will be extended at a bank''s base rate. In addition, the market for short-term loans will shrink. Unlike now, when banks are offering less-than-a-year loans at 6-7 per cent, the lenders will not have the freedom to lend below the base rate from April. From all available indications, the base rate for most public sector banks will be around 9 per cent and they will be unable to offer below that rate. "The base rate will put an end to cross-subsidisation. All the rates above the base prime lending rate (BPLR) will now come closer to the base rate and sub-BPLR loans will move above the base rate. Banks will have better bargaining power and bargaining will be more scientific," said Punjab National Bank Chairman and Managing Director KR Kamath. Punjab & Sind Bank Chairman and Managing Director GS Vedi said base rates would bring in more transparency and would be beneficial to the borrower. In a note, ICICI Securities said if the Reserve Bank of India''s draft guidelines were implemented from April, as proposed, the new norms might affect short-term borrowings by non-banking finance companies and some companies, as their current short-term borrowing rates were lower than the base rate for most banks. "Bankers were mispricing loans under the present system. Sub-BPLR lending for loans up to Rs 2 lakh, which is proposed to be permitted, will help improve availability of credit and pricing for small borrowers," added Union Bank of India Chairman and Managing Director MV Nair. "SME (small and medium enterprises) borrowers, who got loans at higher rates, will be able to reduce their cost of borrowing," Indian Overseas Bank Chairman and Managing Director SA Bhat told a news agency. At present, SMEs are availing credit at around 14-16 per cent. In addition, a private sector bank executive said banks would exercise the interest rate reset option at faster frequency, as the base rate would be more dynamic. Given that it will be linked to the cash reserve ratio, which RBI uses as a tool to periodically adjust liquidity and the cost of deposits, the rates are going to be more dynamic. Besides, it will also be a function of loan demand and the amount of liquidity available in the market. For instance, given that banks are parking around Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 80,000 crore through RBI''s reverse repo window used to suck out excess liquidity, they are expected to continue maintaining higher than the prescribed 25 per cent statutory liquidity ratio. "The market for short-term loans will shrink, but banks will look to invest more in corporate bonds and commercial papers given the restriction on lending below the base rate," said Corporation Bank Chairman and Managing Director JM Garg. But there are some issues on which bankers are seeking greater clarity. "It is unclear whether the tenor premium can be considered as tenor discount. For instance, if I want to lend for short term, it doesn''t make sense to add a tenor premium to my base rate. Any lending for a tenor below my base rate tenor should have a tenor discount," the chief financial officer of a private sector bank said. Besides, some of the lenders will approach RBI to put curbs on sub-base rate lending in phases. "It will affect our overall structure given that majority of the loans are below the existing benchmark rate," said an executive at one of the largest banks in the country.   Corporation Bank''s Garg said the bank would see yield on advances rise marginally from the present level of 10 per cent, as 80 per cent of the loans were extended below the prevailing BPLR. "On short-term loans, I was earning 6 per cent, which will be 9 per cent or higher from April," he said. But, as far as margins are concerned, PNB''s Kamath said it would be zero sum game. Meanwhile, at a meeting with bank chiefs on Thursday, RBI said that lenders should be ready to roll out the base rate mechanism from April and added that it would address any concerns that banks had.