RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das named ‘Central Banker of the Year 2020 – Asia Pacific’

Shaktikanta Das, The governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has been named ‘Central Banker of the Year 2020 – Asia-Pacific' by The Banker.

The Banker is a London-based international financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times. It is known for its annual rankings of the world's top banks. The 2020 list“celebrates the officials that have best managed to stimulate growth and stabilise their economy”.

The publication named Das as the 2020 Central Banker in the Asia-Pacific region, and stated that the RBI chief had brought in measures to tighten rules around shadow banking and brought Indian banking up to standards through a “restrained approach to governance”.

In a statement on January 3 as per a CNBC-TV18 report, the mag pointed out that Indian banks have faced series of problems in non-performing loans and frauds, besides repeated economic slump wherein the Central Bank cut rates five times in 2019 and was open to cut them again, if necessary.

It added that Das had tried to manage banking issues via scrutiny of lenders outside the traditional bank network and proactively assisted smaller banks.

“Housing finance companies (HFCs) have been brought under RBI regulation… Das moved to help the country's urban co-operative banks install a robust IT system that will allow them to offer banking services at a lower cost and with safeguards to protect the customer… The banking system itself has not gone without scrutiny,” it said.

It added that Das had been vocal about lack of governance in banking and called for tighter rules for public-sector banks (PSBs) – which comprise 60 percent of the sector.

Original Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/rbi-governor-shaktikanta-das-named-central-banker-of-the-year-2020-asia-pacific-4900741.html