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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday announced a series of regulatory amendments aimed at faster transmission of policy rates, easing gold loan norms and relaxing norms of large credit exposures. Three of the seven changes will take effect from October 1, while the remaining four have been released as draft proposals for public feedback.Under the revised directions on interest rate on advances, banks will now be allowed to reduce spread components on floating rate loans before the current three-year lock-in period, a move aimed at benefiting borrowers. This could result in faster transmission of rate cuts, leading to lower EMIs or interest outgo. Additionally, banks may offer borrowers the option to switch to fixed-rate loans at the time of interest rate resets, though this will no longer be mandatory.This apart, the RBI has expanded the scope of lending against gold and silver collateral allowing banks and tier-3 and -4 urban co-operative banks to extend working capital loans to any borrower using gold as a raw material, not just jewellers.Norms for Faster Transmission of Rates UnveiledThe central bank also revised the Basel III capital regulations, increasing the eligible limit for perpetual debt instruments (PDIs) issued in foreign currency or rupee-denominated bonds overseas. The move is expected to provide banks with greater headroom to raise tier-1 capital via offshore markets.Among the draft proposals, the RBI has suggested extending the repayment tenor for gold metal loans (GML) to 270 days from 180 days and allowing non-manufacturing jewellers to avail GML for outsourced production.The regulator also proposed aligning the Large Exposures Framework (LEF) and Intragroup Transactions and Exposures (ITE) norms for foreign bank branches in India. eExposures to head offices will now be considered only under LEF and credit risk mitigation benefits will be extended to a broader set of exposures.To improve the timeliness and accuracy of credit data, the RBI has proposed that credit institutions submit information to credit bureaus on a weekly basis, replacing the current fortnightly requirement. The draft also mandates faster error rectification and inclusion of CKYC numbers in consumer reports. Public comments on the draft circulars are invited until October 20.

BNP Paribas on Monday bought stakes in Nifty stocks Hero MotoCorp and IndusInd Bank via bulk deals. The French multinational bank acquired shares worth Rs 1,035 crore in the two-wheeler company and Rs 771 crore in the private sector lender. It spent a total of Rs 1,806 crore to buy the shares of the two companies. The shares were bought via BNP Paribas Financial Markets, a division of BNP Paribas focused on providing capital markets and investment services to institutional clients, corporates, and governments. It is essentially the bank’s trading, investment banking, and market solutions arm. In Hero MotoCorp, BNP bought over 19.52 lakh shares at a price of Rs 5,302.91 apiece, marginally lower from the Friday closing price of Rs 5,328. The stock today ended with gains of 0.33% on the NSE at Rs 5,345.50.In IndusInd Bank, a couple of bulk deals were executed. BNP bought over 1.06 crore shares at a price of Rs 723.6 apiece in the one deal at deal size of Rs 772 crore. In another deal, it sold 7,969 equity shares at a price of Rs 728.15 apiece taking the deal size to 58 lakh. It was a net buyer at approximately Rs 771 crore.BNP Paribas Financial Markets was also a net seller of shares in Max Healthcare Institute. It sold over 82.90 lakh shares in the company at a total consideration of Rs 922 crore. The selling price of the shares was Rs 1,111.66 apiece. It also bought over 3.53 lakh shares at a price of Rs 1,125.02 per share, taking the deal size to Rs 40 crore. On the net basis, it sold Rs 882 crore worth of shares.Also Read: Force Motors bulk deal: BNP Paribas sells shares worth Rs 122 crore in multibagger stockShares of Max Healthcare Institute today ended the day at Rs 1,105 on the NSE, declining by Rs 18.40 or 1.64% over the Friday closing price. In another bulk deal, Aether Industries shares were sold by Goldman Sachs via Goldman Sachs FDS Goldman Sachs India Eq Portfolio. It sold over 11.51lakh shares at a price of Rs 735.01 per share. The total deal size was approximately Rs 85 crore.Shares of Aether Industries today closed at Rs 745.10, gaining Rs 10.40 or 1.42%.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)