Newsletter May 2012: India’s stricter-than-Basel rules are ‘credit positive’

MUMBAI – Stricter capital requirements for Indian banks than those proposed in the internationally-agreed Basel III framework are described by Moody’s rating agency as “credit positive” in an early-May note. The agency was commenting on final rules for the implementation of Basel III in India, issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, the previous week. “These stricter standards are credit positive for Indian banks as they focus on strengthening Tier 1 capital and attach a higher value to core equity within Tier 1 capital,” the agency note said.