The Reserve Bank of India’s Central Board of Directors on Friday approved the transfer of ₹87,416 crore as surplus to the Central government for the accounting year 2022-23. This is 188 per cent higher than previous financial year’s surplus transfer of ₹30,307 crore.
The board decided to keep the contingency risk buffer (CRB) at 6 per cent (5.50 per cent in FY22). As per the expert committee to review the extant economic capital framework, CRB is required to be maintained within a range of 6.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent of the RBI’s balance sheet, comprising 5.5 to 4.5 per cent for monetary and financial stability risks and 1 per cent for credit and operational risks.
Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist, Emkay Global Financial Services, said: “The RBI dividend was in line with our expectations. Gains from record gross foreign exchange sales in FY23 would be the major driver of bumper surplus, albeit with profits being partly offset by higher provisioning on MTM (mark-to-market) losses on foreign securities. Besides, higher CRB of 6 per cent of balance sheet versus 5.5 per cent in the past also ate into the profits. The dividend could bring in additional revenue of around 0.2 per cent of GDP.”
The RBI’s Central Board, in its meeting, reviewed the global and domestic economic situation and associated challenges including the impact of current global geopolitical developments, per an RBI statement. The board also discussed the working of the Reserve Bank during FY23 and approved the annual report and accounts for the accounting year 2022-23.