India Banking Regulator Assures Investors Wary on Adani Exposure

Anirban Nag, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- India’s central bank on Friday said the country’s banking sector was “resilient and stable” as it stepped in to assuage investors rattled about lenders’ exposure to the embattled Adani Group.

The Reserve Bank of India, which is also the banking sector regulator, said banks were in compliance with rules, including loan exposure to large companies. It didn’t name Adani Group.

“Various parameters relating to capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity, provision coverage and profitability are healthy,” the central bank said.“The RBI remains vigilant and continues to monitor the stability of the Indian banking sector.”

The RBI’s statement comes at a time when a short seller’s report has hammered shares of companies part of the Adani Group. The Group has shed more than $100 billion in market value since Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in a Jan. 24 report.

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In a 413-page response, Adani said Hindenburg’s conduct was “nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law.”

The turmoil has also hit banks that have given loans to Adani companies. Shares of State Bank of India, the nation’s top lender by assets, have fallen since the Hindenburg report came out. The lender said Friday its exposure to Adani Group was about $3.3 billion, or 0.9% of its loan book.

Foreign institutional investors pulled a net $2 billion out of India’s stock market from the country Jan. 27 through Jan. 31, the biggest three-day selloff since March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.