Let RBI be sole regulator for all home loan providers: SBI chief

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SME Times News Bureau | 20 May, 2013
The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), Saturday sought the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should become the sole regulator for all home loan institutions - banks as well as housing finance companies.

"Where is the justification for a separate home loan regulator? Why should not the RBI become the sole regulator," asked SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri while talking to reporters on the sidelines of an ICC Banking Summit here.

While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) currently regulating the housing loans provided by banks, state-owned National Housing Bank is the regulatory body for home loans disbursed by housing finance companies such as LIC Housing Finance Co Ltd and HDFC Ltd.

"Perhaps the regulations of objective to be better served with RBI itself become the sole regulator for all loans including home loans. In no other country do we have different regulators for different verticals such as industrial loans, home loans and vehicle loans," Chaudhuri contended.

The SBI chief also said the minimum tenor of term deposits should be brought down to three days from seven days to make it more flexible for the depositors.

"This (minimum tenor of seven days) was right in a situation when there were no daily investment instruments available. Now, we have the shadow banking institutions offering investors investment even for one day," he said.

The SBI had already made requests to the apex bank to reduce the minimum tenor to three days, Chaudhuri added.