March 2017 deadline for bank cleanup still ‘stands’

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor N.S. Vishwanathan said on Tuesday that a deadline of March 2017 for banks to clean up stressed assets from their balance sheets still "stands," indicating the central bank would not be extending the timeline.

Vishwanathan, talking to reporters on the sidelines of a banking event, also said the incremental addition of stressed assets in banks was coming down.

The March 2017 deadline had been set by the previous RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan, but bankers and analysts had speculated whether the central bank under new Governor Urjit Patel would be open to extending it.