RBI Circulars & Notifications – June 2025

1. NBFC-MFI & NBFC Regulations

NBFC-MFIs must ensure that at least 60% of their total net assets are microfinance loans as per the defined criteria. If they fail to maintain this ratio for four consecutive quarters, they must submit a corrective plan to the RBI. The maximum household annual income for microfinance loan eligibility is fixed at ₹3 lakh.

Net Owned Fund Requirements

2. Penal Interest on CRR & SLR Defaults

• First day of default: Bank Rate + 3%
• From next day onwards: Bank Rate + 5%

3. Lending Against Gold & Silver – Directions 2025

Applicable to all scheduled banks (except payment banks), cooperative banks, NBFCs, and housing finance companies.

Definitions:

• Bullet Repayment Loan: Loan where principal & interest are repaid at maturity.
• Primary Gold/Silver: Metal in any form except jewellery, ornaments, and coins.

Loan Ceilings:

• Bullet loans max tenure: 12 months
• Max collateral: 1 kg gold ornaments, 10 kg silver ornaments, 50 g gold coins, 500 g silver coins

LTV Ratios:

Valued at lower of 30-day average price or previous day’s price (IBJA/SEBI), based on actual purity; gems and add-ons excluded.

Auction Rules:

• Borrower informed before auction; public notice in 2 newspapers.
• 1st & 2nd auction reserve price ≥ 90% of current value; ≥ 85% after 2 failed attempts.
• Auctions conducted by trained staff/empanelled auctioneers only.
• Surplus refunded within 7 days; shortfall recovered per loan agreement.

4. FEMA Amendment – Diamond Dollar Accounts

Validity extended from 2 years to 3 years for opening a Diamond Dollar Account.

5. Large Exposures Framework (LEF)

Deposits with NHB, SIDBI, MUDRA Ltd., or RBI-specified entities for PSL shortfall are exempt from large exposure limits.

• Large exposure definition: Exposure ≥ 10% of Tier 1 capital

Limits:

1. Single counterparty ≤ 20% (25% with Board approval)
2. Group of connected counterparties ≤ 25%

6. Priority Sector Lending – SFB Changes

From FY 2025–26: PSL target reduced from 75% to 60% of ANBC/CEOBE.

• 40% – RBI-mandated sub-sectors
• 20% – Bank’s discretion

7. KYC Updates & AML Compliance

• Low-risk customers: KYC update by 30 June 2026 or within 1 year of due date; no interim restrictions.
• BCs can collect self-declarations for no change/address change.
• Mandatory 3 advance notices + 3 reminders for KYC update.
• Video KYC (V-CIP) treated equal to face-to-face.

8. STRIPS for State Government Securities

STRIPS mechanism now allowed for State Govt./UT securities with:

• Residual maturity ≤ 14 years
• Minimum outstanding ₹1,000 crore
• Tradable in OTC market only

9. Import of Shipping Vessels

Advance remittance limit: USD 50 million without bank guarantee or LoC.

10. Agency Commission Rates (from 1 Apr 2025)

11. Project Finance Directions – Effective Oct 1, 2025

Harmonised rules for all REs.

• DCCO extension: Infra max 3 years, Non-infra max 2 years.
• Cost overrun funding: Max 10% of original cost.
• Project phases: Design, Construction, Operational.
• Land requirement before disbursement: PPP infra 50%, Others 75%.

12. DEA Fund Guidelines (2025)

• Unclaimed deposits (>10 years) transferred monthly to DEA Fund via e-Kuber.
• One consolidated refund claim per month.
• Annual certificate due by 30 Sept each year.

13. AePS Fraud Prevention Guidelines

• Banks must KYC AePS Touchpoint Operators.
• Inactive > 3 months → KYC re-verification before reactivation.
• Continuous transaction monitoring required.

14. Monetary Policy Snapshot – June 2025

15. Supervisory Data Quality Index (sDQI) – March 2025

16. Forex Reserves – July 4, 2025