In recent years RBI came up with some schemes for crafting capital structure for standard but struggling projects. From the following which of the following statement is INCORRECT-

i. Under 5:25 scheme of RBI banks are allowed to extend log-terms loans of 20-25 years to match the cash flow while refinancing them every 5 or 7 years

ii. Under SDR scheme lending banks can convert the full or part of the loan into equity share of the company which has taken loan

iii. Under S4A (Systematic Structuring of Sustainable Accounts) banks are allowed rework stressed loans under the oversight of an external agency.

Solution

The 5:25 scheme allows banks to extend long-term loans of 20-25 years to match the cash flow of projects, while refinancing them every 5 or 7 years. Until now, banks were typically not lending beyond 10-12 years. As a result, cash flows of infrastructure firms were stretched as they tried to meet shorter repayment schedules. Under SDR, banks who have given loans to a corporate borrower gets the right to convert the full or part of their loans into equity shares in the loan taken company. The SDR scheme which was introduced by the RBI in June 2015 thus helps banks recover their loans by taking control of the distressed listed companies. The SDR an initiative can be taken by the group of banks or JLF that have given loans to the particular defaulted entity. Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) -a distressed company to be eligible for S4A, the RBI has laid down three conditions. The project must be operating and already generating cash. The total loans to the entity should be ₹500 crore or more. The lending banks are required to hire an independent agency to evaluate how much of the debt is ‘sustainable’. For the loan to be eligible for S4A, at least 50 per cent of it should be ‘sustainable’. While RBI’s earlier ideas to resolve bad loans such as Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) required banks to oust existing promoters, S4A allows the incumbent management to continue, as long the default isn’t wilful.