RBI/2015-16/12
DNBR (PD) CC.No.053/03.10.119/2015-16

July 01, 2015

To

All Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs),

Dear Sir/Madam,

Master Circular – “Non-Banking Financial Companies – Corporate Governance (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2015”

As you are aware, in order to have all current instructions on the subject at one place, the Reserve Bank of India issues updated circulars / notifications. The instructions related to the captioned subject contained in various circulars issued by RBI updated as on June 30, 2015 are reproduced below. The updated circular has also been placed on the RBI web-site (https://www.rbi.org.in).

Yours faithfully,

(C.D.Srinivasan)
Chief General Manager

Table of Contents

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
DEPARTMENT OF NON-BANKING REGULATION
CENTRAL OFFICE, CENTRE I, WORLD TRADE CENTRE
CUFFE PARADE, COLABA, MUMBAI 400 005

Notification No. DNBR.019/CGM (CDS)-2015 dated April 10, 2015

The Reserve Bank of India having considered it necessary in the public interest and being satisfied that for the purpose of enabling the Bank to regulate the credit system to the advantage of the country, it is necessary to issue the directions relating to Corporate Governance as set out below, in exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 45-L, 45-M and 45-MA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934), and of all the powers enabling it in this behalf, hereby gives the Directions hereinafter specified.

1. Short title and commencement of the Directions

1. These Directions shall be known as the Non-Banking Financial Companies – Corporate Governance (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2015.

2. These Directions shall come into force with immediate effect.

2. Extent of the Directions

1. These Directions shall apply to every non-deposit accepting Non-Banking Financial Company with asset size of Rs.500 crore and above (NBFCs-ND-SI), as per its last audited balance sheet, and all deposit accepting Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs-D), henceforth called as Applicable NBFCs.

2. The provisions of these Directions shall not apply to a Systemically Important Core Investment Company as defined in the Core Investment Companies (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2011.

3. Constitution of Committees of the Board

(1) Audit Committee

i. All Applicable NBFCs shall constitute an Audit Committee, consisting of not less than three members of its Board of Directors.

Explanation I : The Audit Committee constituted by a non-banking financial company as required under Section 177 of the Companies Act, 2013 shall be the Audit Committee for the purposes of this paragraph.

Explanation II : The Audit Committee constituted under this paragraph shall have the same powers, functions and duties as laid down in Section 177 of the Companies Act, 2013.

ii. The Audit Committee must ensure that an Information System Audit of the internal systems and processes is conducted at least once in two years to assess operational risks faced by the NBFCs.

(2) Nomination Committee

All Applicable NBFCs shall form a Nomination Committee to ensure 'fit and proper' status of proposed/ existing directors.

Explanation I : The Nomination Committee constituted under this paragraph shall have the same powers, functions and duties as laid down in Section 178 of the Companies Act, 2013.

(3) Risk Management Committee

To manage the integrated risk, all Applicable NBFCs shall form a Risk Management Committee, besides the Asset Liability Management Committee.

4. Fit and Proper Criteria

(1) All Applicable NBFCs shall

1. ensure that a policy is put in place with the approval of the Board of Directors for ascertaining the fit and proper criteria of the directors at the time of appointment, and on a continuing basis. The policy on the fit and proper criteria shall be on the lines of the Guidelines contained in Annex 1;

2. obtain a declaration and undertaking from the directors giving additional information on the directors. The declaration and undertaking shall be on the lines of the format given in Annex 2;

3. obtain a Deed of Covenant signed by the directors, which shall be in the format as given in Annex 3;

4. furnish to the Reserve Bank a quarterly statement on change of directors, and a certificate from the Managing Director of the NBFC that fit and proper criteria in selection of the directors has been followed. The statement must reach the Regional Office of the Reserve Bank within 15 days of the close of the respective quarter. The statement submitted by NBFCs for the quarter ending March 31, should be certified by the auditors.

Provided that the Bank, if it deems fit and in public interest, reserves the right to examine the fit and proper criteria of directors of any non-banking financial company irrespective of the asset size of such non-banking financial company.

5. Disclosure and transparency

(1) All Applicable NBFCs shall put up to the Board of Directors, at regular intervals, as may be prescribed by the Board in this regard, the following:

1. the progress made in putting in place a progressive risk management system and risk management policy and strategy followed by the NBFC;

2. conformity with corporate governance standards viz., in composition of various committees, their role and functions, periodicity of the meetings and compliance with coverage and review functions, etc.

(2) All Applicable NBFCs shall also disclose the following in their Annual Financial Statements, with effect from March 31, 2015:

1. registration/ licence/ authorisation, by whatever name called, obtained from other financial sector regulators;

2. ratings assigned by credit rating agencies and migration of ratings during the year;

3. penalties, if any, levied by any regulator;

4. information namely, area, country of operation and joint venture partners with regard to Joint ventures and overseas subsidiaries and

5. Asset-Liability profile, extent of financing of parent company products, NPAs and movement of NPAs, details of all off-balance sheet exposures, structured products issued by them as also securitization/ assignment transactions and other disclosures, as given in Annex 4.

6. Rotation of partners of the Statutory Auditors Audit Firm

All Applicable NBFCs shall rotate the partner/s of the Chartered Accountant firm conducting the audit, every three years so that same partner does not conduct audit of the company continuously for more than a period of three years. However, the partner so rotated will be eligible for conducting the audit of the NBFC after an interval of three years, if the NBFC, so decides. NBFCs shall incorporate appropriate terms in the letter of appointment of the firm of auditors and ensure its compliance.

7. Framing of Internal Guidelines

All applicable NBFCs shall frame their internal guidelines on corporate governance with the approval of the Board of Directors, enhancing the scope of the guidelines without sacrificing the spirit underlying the above guidelines and it shall be published on the company's web-site, if any, for the information of various stakeholders.

(C D Srinivasan)
Chief General Manager

Annex-1

‘Fit and Proper’ Criteria for directors of NBFCs

Reserve Bank had issued a Directive in June 2004 to banks on undertaking due diligence on the persons before appointing them on the Boards of banks based on the ‘Report of the Consultative Group of directors of Banks / Financial Institutions’. Specific ‘fit and proper’ criteria to be fulfilled by the directors were also advised.

2. The importance of due diligence of directors to ascertain suitability for the post by way of qualifications, technical expertise, track record, integrity, etc.needs no emphasis for any financial institution. It is proposed to follow the same guidelines mutatis mutandis in case of NBFCs also. While the Reserve Bank does carry out due diligence on directors before issuing Certificate of Registration to an NBFC, it is necessary that NBFCs put in place an internal supervisory process on a continuing basis. Further, in order to streamline and bring in uniformity in the process of due diligence, while appointing directors, NBFCs are advised to ensure that the procedures mentioned below are followed and minimum criteria fulfilled by the persons before they are appointed on the Boards:

(a) NBFCs should undertake a process of due diligence to determine the suitability of the person for appointment / continuing to hold appointment as a director on the Board, based upon qualification, expertise, track record, integrity and other ‘fit and proper’ criteria. NBFCs should obtain necessary information and declaration from the proposed / existing directors for the purpose in the format given at Annex- 2.

(b) The process of due diligence should be undertaken by the NBFCs at the time of appointment / renewal of appointment.

(c) The boards of the NBFCs should constitute Nomination Committees to scrutinize the declarations.

(d) Based on the information provided in the signed declaration, Nomination Committees should decide on the acceptance or otherwise of the directors, where considered necessary.

(e) NBFCs should obtain annually as on 31st March a simple declaration from the directors that the information already provided has not undergone change and where there is any change, requisite details are furnished by them forthwith.

(f) The Board of the NBFC must ensure in public interest that the nominated/ elected directors execute the deeds of covenants in the format given in Annex-3.

Annex-2

Name of NBFC: ________________________

Annex-3

Form of Deed of Covenants with a Director

THIS DEED OF COVENANTS is made this ______ day of ________Two thousand _____ BETWEEN _______________, having its registered office at ____________ (hereinafter called the ‘NBFC") of the one part and Mr / Ms_____________ of ______________ (hereinafter called the "Director") of the other part.

WHEREAS

A. The director has been appointed as a director on the Board of Directors of the NBFC (hereinafter called "the Board") and is required as a term of his / her appointment to enter into a Deed of Covenants with the NBFC.

B. The director has agreed to enter into this Deed of Covenants, which has been approved by the Board, pursuant to his said terms of appointment.

NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED AND THIS DEED OF COVENANTS WITNESSETH AS FOLLOWS :

1. The director acknowledges that his / her appointment as director on the Board of the NBFC is subject to applicable laws and regulations including the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the NBFC and the provisions of this Deed of Covenants.

2. The director covenants with the NBFC that :

(i) The director shall disclose to the Board the nature of his / her interest, direct or indirect, if he / she has any interest in or is concerned with a contract or arrangement or any proposed contract or arrangement entered into or to be entered into between the NBFC and any other person, immediately upon becoming aware of the same or at meeting of the Board at which the question of entering into such contract or arrangement is taken into consideration or if the director was not at the date of that meeting concerned or interested in such proposed contract or arrangement, then at the first meeting of the Board held after he / she becomes so concerned or interested and in case of any other contract or arrangement, the required disclosure shall be made at the first meeting of the Board held after the director becomes concerned or interested in the contract or arrangement.

(ii) The director shall disclose by general notice to the Board his / her other directorships, his / her memberships of bodies corporate, his / her interest in other entities and his / her interest as a partner or proprietor of firms and shall keep the Board apprised of all changes therein.

(iii) The director shall provide to the NBFC a list of his / her relatives as defined in the Companies Act, 1956 or 2013 and to the extent the director is aware of directorships and interests of such relatives in other bodies corporate, firms and other entities.

(iv) The director shall in carrying on his / her duties as director of the NBFC:

1. use such degree of skill as may be reasonable to expect from a person with his / her knowledge or experience;

2. in the performance of his / her duties take such care as he / she might be reasonably expected to take on his / her own behalf and exercise any power vested in him / her in good faith and in the interests of the NBFC;

3. shall keep himself / herself informed about the business, activities and financial status of the NBFC to the extent disclosed to him / her;

4. attend meetings of the Board and Committees thereof (collectively for the sake of brevity hereinafter referred to as "Board") with fair regularity and conscientiously fulfil his / her obligations as director of the NBFC;

5. shall not seek to influence any decision of the Board for any consideration other than in the interests of the NBFC;

6. shall bring independent judgment to bear on all matters affecting the NBFC brought before the Board including but not limited to statutory compliances, performance reviews, compliances with internal control systems and procedures, key executive appointments and standards of conduct;

7. shall in exercise of his / her judgement in matters brought before the Board or entrusted to him / her by the Board be free from any business or other relationship which could materially interfere with the exercise of his / her independent judgement; and

8. shall express his / her views and opinions at Board meetings without any fear or favour and without any influence on exercise of his / her independent judgement;

(v) The director shall have :

1. fiduciary duty to act in good faith and in the interests of the NBFC and not for any collateral purpose;

2. duty to act only within the powers as laid down by the NBFC’s Memorandum and Articles of Association and by applicable laws and regulations; and

3. duty to acquire proper understanding of the business of the NBFC.

(vi) The director shall :

1. not evade responsibility in regard to matters entrusted to him / her by the Board;

2. not interfere in the performance of their duties by the whole-time directors and other officers of the NBFC and wherever the director has reasons to believe otherwise, he / she shall forthwith disclose his / her concerns to the Board; and

3. not make improper use of information disclosed to him / her as a member of the Board for his / her or someone else’s advantage or benefit and shall use the information disclosed to him / her by the NBFC in his / her capacity as director of the NBFC only for the purposes of performance of his / her duties as a director and not for any other purpose.

3. The NBFC covenants with the director that:

(i) the NBFC shall apprise the director about:

1. Board procedures including identification of legal and other duties of Director and required compliances with statutory obligations;

2. control systems and procedures;

3. voting rights at Board meetings including matters in which Director should not participate because of his / her interest, direct or indirect therein;

4. qualification requirements and provide copies of Memorandum and Articles of Association;

5. corporate policies and procedures;

6. insider dealing restrictions;

7. constitution of, delegation of authority to and terms of reference of various committees constituted by the Board;

8. appointments of Senior Executives and their authority;

9. remuneration policy,

10. deliberations of committees of the Board, and

11. communicate any changes in policies, procedures, control systems, applicable regulations including Memorandum and Articles of Association of the NBFC, delegation of authority, Senior Executives, etc. and appoint the compliance officer who shall be responsible for all statutory and legal compliance.

(ii) the NBFC shall disclose and provide to the Board including the director all information which is reasonably required for them to carry out their functions and duties as a director of the NBFC and to take informed decisions in respect of matters brought before the Board for its consideration or entrusted to the director by the Board or any committee thereof;

(iii) the disclosures to be made by the NBFC to the directors shall include but not be limited to the following :

1. all relevant information for taking informed decisions in respect of matters brought before the Board;

2. NBFC’s strategic and business plans and forecasts;

3. organisational structure of the NBFC and delegation of authority;

4. corporate and management controls and systems including procedures;

5. economic features and marketing environment;

6. information and updates as appropriate on NBFC’s products;

7. information and updates on major expenditure;

8. periodic reviews of performance of the NBFC; and

9. report periodically about implementation of strategic initiatives and plans;

(iv) the NBFC shall communicate outcome of Board deliberations to directors and concerned personnel and prepare and circulate minutes of the meeting of Board to directors in a timely manner and to the extent possible within two business days of the date of conclusion of the Board meeting; and

(v) advise the director about the levels of authority delegated in matters placed before the Board.

4. The NBFC shall provide to the director periodic reports on the functioning of internal control system including effectiveness thereof.

5. The NBFC shall appoint a compliance officer who shall be a Senior executive reporting to the Board and be responsible for setting forth policies and procedures and shall monitor adherence to the applicable laws and regulations and policies and procedures including but not limited to directions of Reserve Bank of India and other concerned statutory and governmental authorities.

6. The director shall not assign, transfer, sublet or encumber his / her office and his / her rights and obligations as director of the NBFC to any third party provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit delegation of any authority, power, function or delegation by the Board or any committee thereof subject to applicable laws and regulations including Memorandum and Articles of Association of the NBFC.

7.The failure on the part of either party hereto to perform, discharge, observe or comply with any obligation or duty shall not be deemed to be a waiver thereof nor shall it operate as a bar to the performance, observance, discharge or compliance thereof at any time or times thereafter.

8. Any and all amendments and / or supplements and / or alterations to this Deed of Covenants shall be valid and effectual only if in writing and signed by the director and the duly authorised representative of the NBFC.

9. This Deed of Covenants has been executed in duplicate and both the copies shall be deemed to be originals.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF THE PARTIES HAVE DULY EXECUTED THIS AGREEMENT ON THE DAY, MONTH AND YEAR FIRST ABOVE WRITTEN.

Annex-4

Indicative List of Balance Sheet Disclosure for NBFCs with Asset Size Rs.500 Crore and Above and Deposit Taking NBFCs

1. Minimum Disclosures

At a minimum, the items listed in this Annex should be disclosed in the NTA by all applicable NBFCs. The disclosures listed are intended only to supplement, and not to replace, other disclosure requirements as applicable.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

NBFCs should disclose the accounting policies regarding key areas of operations at one place along with NTA in their financial statements. A suggestive list includes - Basis of Accounting, Transactions involving Foreign Exchange, Investments - Classification, Valuation, etc, Advances and Provisions thereon, Fixed Assets and Depreciation, Revenue Recognition, Employee Benefits, Provision for Taxation, Net Profit, etc.

3.1 Capital

3.2 Investments

3.3 Derivatives

3.3.1 Forward Rate Agreement / Interest Rate Swap

3.3.2 Exchange Traded Interest Rate (IR) Derivatives

3.3.3 Disclosures on Risk Exposure in Derivatives

Qualitative Disclosure

NBFCs shall describe their risk management policies pertaining to derivatives with particular reference to the extent to which derivatives are used, the associated risks and business purposes served. The discussion shall also include:

a) the structure and organization for management of risk in derivatives trading,

b) the scope and nature of risk measurement, risk reporting and risk monitoring systems,

c) policies for hedging and / or mitigating risk and strategies and processes for monitoring the continuing effectiveness of hedges / mitigants, and

d) accounting policy for recording hedge and non-hedge transactions; recognition of income, premiums and discounts; valuation of outstanding contracts; provisioning, collateral and credit risk mitigation.

Quantitative Disclosures

3.4 Disclosures relating to Securitisation

3.4.1 The NTA of the originating NBFCs should indicate the outstanding amount of securitised assets as per books of the SPVs sponsored by the NBFC and total amount of exposures retained by the NBFC as on the date of balance sheet to comply with the Minimum Retention Requirements (MRR). These figures should be based on the information duly certified by the SPV's auditors obtained by the originating NBFC from the SPV. These disclosures should be made in the format given below.

3.4.2 Details of Financial Assets sold to Securitisation / Reconstruction Company for Asset Reconstruction

3.4.3 Details of Assignment transactions undertaken by NBFCs

3.4.4 Details of non-performing financial assets purchased / sold

NBFCs which purchase non-performing financial assets from other NBFCs shall be required to make the following disclosures in the NTA to their Balance sheets:

A. Details of non-performing financial assets purchased :

B. Details of Non-performing Financial Assets sold :

3.5 Asset Liability Management Maturity pattern of certain items of Assets and Liabilities

3.6 Exposures

3.6.1 Exposure to Real Estate Sector

3.6.2 Exposure to Capital Market

3.6.3 Details of financing of parent company products

3.6.4 Details of Single Borrower Limit (SGL) / Group Borrower Limit (GBL) exceeded by the NBFC

The NBFC should make appropriate disclosure in the NTA to the annual financial statements in respect of the exposures where the NBFC had exceeded the prudential exposure limits during the year. The sanctioned limit or entire outstanding, whichever is high, shall be reckoned for exposure limit.

3.6.5 Unsecured Advances

a) For determining the amount of unsecured advances the rights, licenses, authorisations, etc., charged to the NBFCs as collateral in respect of projects (including infrastructure projects) financed by them, should not be reckoned as tangible security. Hence such advances shall be reckoned as unsecured.

b) NBFCs should also disclose the total amount of advances for which intangible securities such as charge over the rights, licenses, authority, etc. has been taken as also the estimated value of such intangible collateral. The disclosure may be made under a separate head in NTA. This would differentiate such loans from other entirely unsecured loans.

4. Miscellaneous

4.1 Registration obtained from other financial sector regulators

4.2 Disclosure of Penalties imposed by RBI and other regulators

Consistent with the international best practices in disclosure of penalties imposed by the regulators, placing the details of the levy of penalty on the NBFC in public domain will be in the interests of the investors and depositors. Further, strictures or directions on the basis of inspection reports or other adverse findings should also be placed in the public domain. The penalties should also be disclosed in the NTA.

4.3 Related Party Transactions

1. Details of all material transactions with related parties shall be disclosed in the annual report

2. The company shall disclose the policy on dealing with Related Party Transactions on its website and also in the Annual Report.

4.4 Ratings assigned by credit rating agencies and migration of ratings during the year

4.5 Remuneration of Directors

All pecuniary relationship or transactions of the non-executive directors vis-à-vis the company shall be disclosed in the Annual Report.

4.6 Management

As part of the directors’ report or as an addition thereto, a Management Discussion and Analysis report should form part of the Annual Report to the shareholders. This Management Discussion & Analysis should include discussion on the following matters within the limits set by the company’s competitive position:

1. Industry structure and developments.

2. Opportunities and Threats.

3. Segment–wise or product-wise performance.

4. Outlook

5. Risks and concerns.

6. Internal control systems and their adequacy.

7. Discussion on financial performance with respect to operational performance.

8. Material developments in Human Resources / Industrial Relations front, including number of people employed.

4.7 Net Profit or Loss for the period, prior period items and changes in accounting policies

Since the format of the profit and loss account of NBFCs does not specifically provide for disclosure of the impact of prior period items on the current year's profit and loss, such disclosures, wherever warranted, may be made in the NTA.

4.8 Revenue Recognition

An enterprise should also disclose the circumstances in which revenue recognition has been postponed pending the resolution of significant uncertainties.

4.9 Accounting Standard 21 -Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS)

NBFCs may be guided by general clarifications issued by ICAI from time to time.

A parent company, presenting the CFS, should consolidate the financial statements of all subsidiaries - domestic as well as foreign. The reasons for not consolidating a subsidiary should be disclosed in the CFS. The responsibility of determining whether a particular entity should be included or not for consolidation would be that of the Management of the parent entity. In case, its Statutory Auditors are of the opinion that an entity, which ought to have been consolidated, has been omitted, they should incorporate their comments in this regard in the "Auditors Report".

5. Additional Disclosures

5.1 Provisions and Contingencies

To facilitate easy reading of the financial statements and to make the information on all Provisions and Contingencies available at one place, NBFCs are required to disclose in the NTA the following information:

5.2 Draw Down from Reserves

Suitable disclosures are to be made regarding any draw down of reserves in the NTA.

5.3 Concentration of Deposits, Advances, Exposures and NPAs

5.3.1 Concentration of Deposits (for deposit taking NBFCs)

5.3.2 Concentration of Advances

5.3.3 Concentration of Exposures

5.3.4 Concentration of NPAs

5.3.5 Sector-wise NPAs

5.4 Movement of NPAs

5.5 Overseas Assets (for those with Joint Ventures and Subsidiaries abroad)

5.6 Off-balance Sheet SPVs sponsored

(which are required to be consolidated as per accounting norms)

6. Disclosure of Complaints

6.1 Customer Complaints