Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday asked non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), including housing finance companies, to strengthen governance standards and assurance mechanisms.

The governor held a meeting with MD & CEOs of select large NBFCs. Government NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs) also participated in the meeting, the RBI said in a statement.

These entities constitute nearly 50 per cent of the total assets of all NBFCs, including HFCs.

Acknowledging the important role played by the sector in delivering credit to the unbanked and underserved areas, Das advised that NBFCs and HFCs need to remain alert to avoid any complacency during good times.

"The governor highlighted the need for further strengthening the governance standards and assurance mechanisms viz. compliance, risk management and internal audit in these entities," the central bank said.

Discussions were also held on diversifying the resources for NBFCs and HFCs to contain the increasing reliance on bank borrowings; risks associated with high credit growth in retail segment mostly in unsecured; and prioritising the upgradation of IT systems and cyber security.

Strengthening balance sheets with improved provisioning cover; monitoring stressed exposures and slippages; ensuring robust liquidity and asset-liability management; ensuring reasonableness and transparency in pricing of credit; and adherence to fair practices code including robust grievance redress mechanism, too were discussed.

The meeting was also attended by deputy governors M Rajeshwar Rao and Swaminathan J and Managing Director of National Housing Bank (NHB) S K Hota, besides a few senior officials of the RBI.

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