Master Circular of RBI on Wilful Defaulters
As you are aware, the Reserve Bank of India has, from time to time, issued a number of circulars to banks and financial institutions (FIs) containing instructions on matters relating to wilful defaulters.
In order to enable the banks/FIs to have all the existing instructions on the subject at one place, this Master Circular has been prepared.
The Master Circular incorporates all the instructions/guidelines issued on cases of wilful default, which are operational as on date.
Yours faithfully,
(Sudarshan Sen)
Chief General Manager
Chief General Manager
Reserve Bank of India
1 July 2014
Purpose:
To put in place a system to disseminate credit information pertaining to willful defaulters for cautioning banks and financial institutions so as to ensure that further bank finance is not made available to them.
Application:
To all scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs and LABs) and All India Notified Financial Institutions.
Structure:
1. Introduction
Pursuant to the instructions of the Central Vigilance Commission for collection of information on wilful defaults of Rs.25 lakhs and above by RBI and dissemination to the reporting banks and FIs, a scheme was framed by RBI with effect from 1st April 1999 under which the banks and notified All India Financial Institutions were required to submit to RBI the details of the wilful defaulters. Wilful default broadly covered the following:
a) Deliberate non-payment of the dues despite adequate cash flow and good networth;
b) Siphoning off of funds to the detriment of the defaulting unit;
c) Assets financed either not been purchased or been sold and proceeds have been misutilised;
d) Misrepresentation / falsification of records;
e) Disposal / removal of securities without bank's knowledge;
f) Fraudulent transactions by the borrower.
Accordingly, banks and FIs started reporting all cases of wilful defaults, which occurred or were detected after 31st March 1999 on a quarterly basis. It covered all non-performing borrowal accounts with outstandings (funded facilities and such non-funded facilities which are converted into funded facilities) aggregating Rs.25 lakhs and above identified as wilful default by a Committee of higher functionaries headed by the Executive Director and consisting of two GMs/DGMs. Banks/FIs were advised that they should examine all cases of wilful defaults of Rs 1.00 crore and above for filing of suits and also consider criminal action wherever instances of cheating/fraud by the defaulting borrowers were detected. In case of consortium/multiple lending, banks and FIs were advised that they report wilful defaults to other participating/financing banks also. Cases of wilful defaults at overseas branches are required to be reported if such disclosure is permitted under the laws of the host country
.
Further, considering the concerns expressed over the persistence of wilful default in the financial system in the 8th Report of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance on Financial Institutions, the Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the Government of India, constituted in May 2001 a Working Group on Wilful Defaulters (WGWD) under the Chairmanship of Shri S. S. Kohli, the then Chairman of the Indian Banks' Association, for examining some of the recommendations of the Committee. The Group submitted its report in November 2001. The recommendations of the WGWD were further examined by an In House Working Group constituted by the Reserve Bank. Accordingly, the Scheme was further revised by RBI on May 30, 2002.
The above scheme was in addition to the Scheme of Disclosure of Information on Defaulting Borrowers of banks and FIsintroduced in April 1994, vide RBI Circular DBOD.No.BC/CIS/47/20.16.002/94 dated 23 April 1994.
The term "wilful default" has been redefined in supersession of the earlier definition as under:
A "wilful default" would be deemed to have occurred if any of the following events is noted :-
(a) The unit has defaulted in meeting its payment / repayment obligations to the lender even when it has the capacity to honour the said obligations.
(b) The unit has defaulted in meeting its payment / repayment obligations to the lender and has not utilised the finance from the lender for the specific purposes for which finance was availed of but has diverted the funds for other purposes.
(c) The unit has defaulted in meeting its payment / repayment obligations to the lender and has siphoned off the funds so that the funds have not been utilised for the specific purpose for which finance was availed of, nor are the funds available with the unit in the form of other assets.
(d) The unit has defaulted in meeting its payment / repayment obligations to the lender and has also disposed off or removed the movable fixed assets or immovable property given by him or it for the purpose of securing a term loan without the knowledge of the bank/lender.
The terms “diversion of funds” and “siphoning of funds” should construe to mean the following:-
2.2.1 Diversion of funds, referred to at para 2.1(b) above, would be construed to include any one of the undernoted occurrences:
(a) utilisation of short-term working capital funds for long-term purposes not in conformity with the terms of sanction;
(b) deploying borrowed funds for purposes / activities or creation of assets other than those for which the loan was sanctioned;
(c) transferring funds to the subsidiaries / Group companies or other corporates by whatever modalities;
(d) routing of funds through any bank other than the lender bank or members of consortium without prior permission of the lender;
(e) investment in other companies by way of acquiring equities / debt instruments without approval of lenders;
(f) shortfall in deployment of funds vis-à-vis the amounts disbursed / drawn and the difference not being accounted for.
2.2.2 Siphoning of funds, referred to at para 2.1(c) above, should be construed to occur if any funds borrowed from banks / FIs are utilised for purposes un-related to the operations of the borrower, to the detriment of the financial health of the entity or of the lender. The decision as to whether a particular instance amounts to siphoning of funds would have to be a judgement of the lenders based on objective facts and circumstances of the case.
The identification of the wilful default should be made keeping in view the track record of the borrowers and should not be decided on the basis of isolated transactions/incidents. The default to be categorised as wilful must be intentional, deliberate and calculated.
While the penal measures indicated at para 2.5 below would normally be attracted by all the borrowers identified as wilful defaulters or the promoters involved in diversion / siphoning of funds, keeping in view the present limit of Rs. 25 lakh fixed by the Central Vigilance Commission for reporting of cases of wilful default by the banks/FIs to RBI, any wilful defaulter with an outstanding balance of Rs. 25 lakh or more, would attract the penal measures stipulated at para 2.5 below. This limit of Rs. 25 lakh may also be applied for the purpose of taking cognisance of the instances of 'siphoning' / 'diversion' of funds.
In cases of project financing, the banks / FIs seek to ensure end use of funds by, inter alia, obtaining certification from the Chartered Accountants for the purpose. In case of short-term corporate / clean loans, such an approach ought to be supplemented by 'due diligence' on the part of lenders themselves, and to the extent possible, such loans should be limited to only those borrowers whose integrity and reliability are above board. The banks and FIs, therefore, should not depend entirely on the certificates issued by the Chartered Accountants but strengthen their internal controls and the credit risk management system to enhance the quality of their loan portfolio.
Needless to say, ensuring end-use of funds by the banks and the FIs should form a part of their loan policy document for which appropriate measures should be put in place. The following are some of the illustrative measures that could be taken by the lenders for monitoring and ensuring end-use of funds:
(a) Meaningful scrutiny of quarterly progress reports / operating statements / balance sheets of the borrowers;(b) Regular inspection of borrowers’ assets charged to the lenders as security;
(c) Periodical scrutiny of borrowers’ books of accounts and the no-lien accounts maintained with other banks;
(d) Periodical visits to the assisted units;
(e) System of periodical stock audit, in case of working capital finance;
(f) Periodical comprehensive management audit of the ‘Credit’ function of the lenders, so as to identify the systemic-weaknesses in the credit-administration.
(It may be kept in mind that this list of measures is only illustrative and by no means exhaustive.)
In order to prevent the access to the capital markets by the wilful defaulters, a copy of the list of wilful defaulters (non-suit filed accounts) and list of wilful defaulters (suit filed accounts) are forwarded to SEBI by RBI and Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd. (CIBIL) respectively.
The following measures should be initiated by the banks and FIs against the wilful defaulters identified as per the definition indicated at paragraph 2.1 above:
a) No additional facilities should be granted by any bank / FI to the listed wilful defaulters. In addition, the entrepreneurs / promoters of companies where banks / FIs have identified siphoning / diversion of funds, misrepresentation, falsification of accounts and fraudulent transactions should be debarred from institutional finance from the scheduled commercial banks, Development Financial Institutions, Government owned NBFCs, investment institutions etc. for floating new ventures for a period of 5 years from the date the name of the wilful defaulter is published in the list of wilful defaulters by the RBI.
b) The legal process, wherever warranted, against the borrowers / guarantors and foreclosure of recovery of dues should be initiated expeditiously. The lenders may initiate criminal proceedings against wilful defaulters, wherever necessary.
c) Wherever possible, the banks and FIs should adopt a proactive approach for a change of management of the wilfully defaulting borrower unit.
d) A covenant in the loan agreements, with the companies in which the banks / notified FIs have significant stake, should be incorporated by the banks / FIs to the effect that the borrowing company should not induct a person who is a promoter or director on the Board of a company which has been identified as a wilful defaulter as per the definition at paragraph 2.1 above and that in case, such a person is found to be on the Board of the borrower company, it would take expeditious and effective steps for removal of the person from its Board.
It would be imperative on the part of the banks and FIs to put in place a transparent mechanism for the entire process so that the penal provisions are not misused and the scope of such discretionary powers are kept to the barest minimum. It should also be ensured that a solitary or isolated instance is not made the basis for imposing the penal action.
While dealing with wilful default of a single borrowing company in a Group, the banks / FIs should consider the track record of the individual company, with reference to its repayment performance to its lenders. However, in cases where a letter of comfort and / or the guarantees furnished by the companies within the Group on behalf of the wilfully defaulting units are not honoured when invoked by the banks / FIs, such Group companies should also be reckoned as wilful defaulters.
In case any falsification of accounts on the part of the borrowers is observed by the banks / FIs, and if it is observed that the auditors were negligent or deficient in conducting the audit, they should lodge a formal complaint against the auditors of the borrowers with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to enable the ICAI to examine and fix accountability of the auditors. Pending disciplinary action by ICAI, the complaints may also be forwarded to the RBI (Department of Banking Supervision, Central Office) and IBA for records. IBA would circulate the names of the CA firms against whom many complaints have been received amongst all banks who should consider this aspect before assigning any work to them. RBI would also share such information with other financial sector regulators/Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) / Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
With a view to monitoring the end-use of funds, if the lenders desire a specific certification from the borrowers’ auditors regarding diversion / siphoning of funds by the borrower, the lender should award a separate mandate to the auditors for the purpose. To facilitate such certification by the auditors the banks and FIs will also need to ensure that appropriate covenants in the loan agreements are incorporated to enable award of such a mandate by the lenders to the borrowers / auditors.
In addition to the above, banks are advised that with a view to ensuring proper end-use of funds and preventing diversion/siphoning of funds by the borrowers, lenders could consider engaging their own auditors for such specific certification purpose without relying on certification given by borrower’s auditors. However, this cannot substitute bank’s basic minimum own diligence in the matter.
The aspect of diversion of funds by the borrowers should be adequately looked into while conducting internal audit / inspection of their offices / branches and periodical reviews on cases of wilful defaults should be submitted to the Audit Committee of the bank.
(a) Banks/FIs should submit the list of suit-filed accounts of wilful defaulters of Rs.25 lakh and above as at end-March, June, September and December every year to a credit information company which has obtained certificate of registration from RBI in terms of Section 5 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005 and of which it is a member. Reserve Bank of India has, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Act and the Rules and Regulations framed thereunder, granted Certificate of Registration to (i) Experian Credit Information Company of India Private Limited, (ii) Equifax Credit Information Services Private Limited, (iii) High Mark Credit Information Services Private Limited and (iv) Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL) to commence/carry on the business of credit information. Credit Information Companies (CICs) have also been advised to disseminate the information pertaining to suit filed accounts of Wilful Defaulters on their respective websites.
(b) Banks / FIs should, however, submit the quarterly list of wilful defaulters where suits have not been filed only to RBI in the format given in Annex 1.
(c) In order to make the current system of banks/FIs reporting names of suit filed accounts and non-suit filed accounts of Wilful Defaulters and its availability to the banks by CICs / RBI as current as possible, banks / FIs are advised to forward data on wilful defaulters to the CICs/Reserve Bank at the earliest but not later than a month from the reporting date.
d) After examining the recommendations of the Committee to Recommend Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information Companies (Chairman: Shri. Aditya Puri) it has been decided to implement the following measures with regard to reporting and dissemination of information on wilful defaulters:
- Banks/FIs may continue to furnish the data on wilful defaulters (non-suit filed accounts) of Rs. 25 lakhs and above for the quarter ending June 30, 2014 and September 30, 2014 to RBI in the existing format.
- In terms of Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005, banks/FIs are advised to furnish the aforementioned data in respect of wilful defaulters (non-suit filed accounts) of Rs. 25 lakhs and above for the quarter ending December 31, 2014 to CICs and not to RBI. Thereafter, banks/FIs may continue to furnish data in respect of wilful defaulters to CICs on a monthly or a more frequent basis. This would enable such information to be available to the banks/FIs on a near real time basis.
Explanation
In this connection, it is clarified that banks need not report cases where
(i) outstanding amount falls below Rs.25 lakh and
(ii) in respect of cases where banks have agreed for a compromise settlement and the borrower has fully paid the compromised amount.
Banks/FIs should take the following measures in identifying and reporting instances of wilful default:
(i) With a view to imparting more objectivity in identifying cases of wilful default, decisions to classify the borrower as wilful defaulter should be entrusted to a Committee of higher functionaries headed by the Executive Director and consisting of two GMs/DGMs as decided by the Board of the concerned bank/FI.
(ii) The decision taken on classification of wilful defaulters should be well documented and supported by requisite evidence. The decision should clearly spell out the reasons for which the borrower has been declared as wilful defaulter vis-à-vis RBI guidelines.
(iii) The borrower should thereafter be suitably advised about the proposal to classify him as wilful defaulter along with the reasons therefor. The concerned borrower should be provided reasonable time (say 15 days) for making representation against such decision, if he so desires, to a Grievance Redressal Committee headed by the Chairman and Managing Director and consisting of two other senior officials.
(iv) Further, the above Grievance Redressal Committee should also give a hearing to the borrower if he represents that he has been wrongly classified as wilful defaulter.
(v) A final declaration as ‘wilful defaulter’ should be made after a view is taken by the Committee on the representation and the borrower should be suitably advised.
Reserve Bank examined, the issues relating to restraining wilful defaults in consultation with the Standing Technical Advisory Committee on Financial Regulation in the context of the following recommendations of the JPC and in particular, on the need for initiating criminal action against concerned borrowers, viz.
a. It is essential that offences of breach of trust or cheating construed to have been committed in the case of loans should be clearly defined under the existing statutes governing the banks, providing for criminal action in all cases where the borrowers divert the funds with malafide intentions.
b. It is essential that banks closely monitor the end-use of funds and obtain certificates from the borrowers certifying that the funds have been used for the purpose for which these were obtained.
c. Wrong certification should attract criminal action against the borrower.
Banks / FIs should closely monitor the end-use of funds and obtain certificates from borrowers certifying that the funds are utilised for the purpose for which they were obtained. In case of wrong certification by the borrowers, banks / FIs may consider appropriate legal proceedings, including criminal action wherever necessary, against the borrowers.
It is essential to recognise that there is scope even under the existing legislations to initiate criminal action against wilful defaulters depending upon the facts and circumstances of the case under the provisions of Sections 403 and 415 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860. Banks / FIs are, therefore, advised to seriously and promptly consider initiating criminal action against wilful defaulters or wrong certification by borrowers, wherever considered necessary, based on the facts and circumstances of each case under the above provisions of the IPC to comply with our instructions and the recommendations of JPC.
It should also be ensured that the penal provisions are used effectively and determinedly but after careful consideration and due caution. Towards this end, banks / FIs are advised to put in place a transparent mechanism, with the approval of their Board, for initiating criminal proceedings based on the facts of individual case.
RBI / Credit Information Companies disseminate information on non-suit filed and suit filed accounts respectively, as reported to them by the banks / FIs and responsibility for reporting correct information and also accuracy of facts and figures rests with the concerned banks and financial institutions. Therefore, banks and financial institutions should take immediate steps to up-date their records and ensure that the names of current directors are reported. In addition to reporting the names of current directors, it is necessary to furnish information about directors who were associated with the company at the time the account was classified as defaulter, to put the other banks and financial institutions on guard. Banks and FIs may also ensure the facts about directors, wherever possible, by cross-checking with Registrar of Companies.
Professional Directors who associate with companies for their expert knowledge act as independent directors. Such independent directors apart from receiving director's remuneration do not have any material pecuniary relationship or transactions with the company, its promoters, its management or its subsidiaries, which in the judgment of Board may affect their independent judgment. As a guiding principle of disclosure, no material fact should be suppressed while disclosing the names of a company that is a defaulter and the names of all directors should be published. However, while doing so, a suitable distinguishing remark should be made clarifying that the concerned person was an independent director. Similarly the names of directors who are nominees of government or financial institutions should also be reported but a suitable remark 'nominee director' should be incorporated.
Therefore, against the names of Independent Directors and Nominee Directors, they should indicate the abbreviations “Ind" and "Nom" respectively in brackets to distinguish them from other directors.
In the case of Government undertakings, it should be ensured that the names of directors are not to be reported. Instead, a legend "Government of -------- undertaking" should be added.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs had introduced the concept of a Director Identification Number (DIN) with the insertion of Sections 266A to 266G of Companies (Amendment) Act, 2006. In order to ensure that directors are correctly identified and in no case, persons whose names appear to be similar to the names of directors appearing in the list of wilful defaulters, are wrongfully denied credit facilities on such grounds, banks/FIs have been advised to include the Director Identification Number (DIN) as one of the fields in the data submitted by them to Reserve Bank of India / Credit Information Companies.
It is reiterated that while carrying out the credit appraisal, banks should verify as to whether the names of any of the directors of the companies appear in the list of defaulters/ wilful defaulters by way of reference to DIN/PAN etc. Further, in case of any doubt arising on account of identical names, banks should use independent sources for confirmation of the identity of directors rather than seeking declaration from the borrowing company.
Format for submission of data on cases of wilful default (non-suitfiled accounts) of Rs.25 lakh & above to RBI on quarterly basis:
The banks/FIs are required to submit data of wilful defaulters (non-suit filed accounts) in Compact Disks(CDs) to RBI on quarterly basis, using the following structure (with the same field names):
Field
|
Field Name
|
Type
|
Wi-dth
|
Description
|
Remarks
|
1
|
SCTG
|
Numeric
|
1
|
Category of bank/FI
|
Number 1/2/4/6/8 should be fed
1 SBI and its associate banks 2 Nationalised banks 4 Foreign banks 6 Private Sector Banks 8 Financial Institutions |
2
|
BKNM
|
Character
|
40
|
Name of bank/FI
|
Name of the bank/FI
|
3
|
BKBR
|
Character
|
30
|
Branch name
|
Name of the branch
|
4
|
STATE
|
Character
|
15
|
Name of state
|
Name of state in which branch is situated
|
5
|
SRNO
|
Numeric
|
4
|
Serial No.
|
Serial No.
|
6
|
PRTY
|
Character
|
45
|
Name of Party
|
The legal name
|
7
|
REGADDR
|
Character
|
96
|
Registered address
|
Registered Office address
|
8
|
OSAMT
|
Numeric
|
6
|
Outstanding amount in Rs. lakhs (Rounded off)
| |
9
|
SUIT
|
Character
|
4
|
Suit filed or not
|
Type ‘SUIT’ in case suit is filed. For other cases this field should be kept blank.
|
10
|
OTHER_BK
|
Character
|
40
|
Name of other banks/ FIs
|
The names of other banks/FIs from whom the party has availed credit facility should be indicated. The names may be fed in abbreviated form e.g. BOB for Bank of Baroda, SBI for State Bank of India etc.
|
11
|
DIR1
|
Character
|
40
|
Name of director
|
(a) Full name of Director should be indicated.
(b) In case of Government companies the legend “Govt. of ____undertaking” alone should be mentioned.
(c) Against the names of nominee directors of banks/ FIs/ Central Govt./ State Govt., abbreviation 'Nom' should be indicated in the brackets.
(d) Against the name of independent directors, abbreviation 'Ind' should be indicated in the brackets.
(e) In the case of Directors who held office at the time the account of the borrower entity was classified as defaulter, but are no longer on its Board, the symbol @ should be indicated in brackets against their names.
|
12
| DIN_DIR1 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR1 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR1
|
13
| DIR2 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
14
| DIN_DIR2 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR2 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR2
|
15
| DIR3 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
16
| DIN_DIR3 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR3 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR3
|
17
| DIR4 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
18
| DIN_DIR4 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR4 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR4
|
19
| DIR5 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
20
| DIN_DIR5 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR5 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR5
|
21
| DIR6 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
22
| DIN_DIR6 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR6 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR6
|
23
| DIR7 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
24
| DIN_DIR7 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR7 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR7
|
25
| DIR8 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
26
| DIN_DIR8 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR8 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR8
|
27
| DIR9 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
28
| DIN_DIR9 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR9 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR9
|
29
| DIR10 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
30
| DIN_DIR10 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR10 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR10
|
31
| DIR11 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
32
| DIN_DIR11 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR11 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR11
|
33
| DIR12 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
34
| DIN_DIR12 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR12 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR12
|
35
| DIR13 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
36
| DIN_DIR13 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR13 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR13
|
37
| DIR14 | Character |
40
| Name of director |
As in DIR1
|
38
| DIN_DIR14 | Numeric |
8
| Director Identification Number of DIR14 |
8 digit Director Identification Number of the Director at DIR14
|
Total bytes
|
953
| ||||
1) If total numbers of directors exceed 14, the name of additional directors may be entered in blank spaces available in the other directors’ columns.
(2) The data / information should be submitted in the above format in Compact disks as .dbf file only. While submitting the CD, the banks/FIs should ensure that:
- the CD is readable and is not corrupted / virus-affected.
- the CD is labelled properly indicating name of the bank, name of the list and period to which the list belongs, and the name of list indicated on label and in the letter are same.
- the name and width of each of the fields and order of the fields is strictly as per the above format.
- records with outstanding amount of less than Rs.25 lakh have not been included.
- no suit-filed account has been included.
- use of following types of words have been avoided (as the fields can not be properly indexed) : ‘M/s’, ’Mr’, ‘Shri’ etc.
- the words ‘Mrs’, ‘Smt’, ‘Dr’ etc. have been fed at the end of name of the person, if applicable.
- Except for field "SUIT" and some of the fields from DIR1 To DIR 14, as applicable, information is completely filled in and columns are not kept blank.
(3) In case of 'Nil' data, there is no need to send any CD and the position can be conveyed through a letter/fax.
(4) A certificate signed by a sufficiently senior official stating that ‘the list of wilful defaulters has been correctly compiled after duly verifying the details thereof and RBI’s instructions in this regard have been strictly followed’ is sent along with the CD.
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