MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed changes in the criteria for identifying upper layer non-banking finance companies, pitching for an asset-size-based approach as against the earlier parametric system and also inclusion of state-run non-banks into the list.
According to the draft guidelines, upper layer NBFCs will be those having assets of over Rs 1 lakh crore.
"With a view to adopt a transparent, simple and absolute criteria for identification of upper layer NBFCs, it is proposed to replace the existing methodology with asset size criteria, which is currently proposed as Rs 1,00,000 crore and above," the draft put on the RBI website said Friday.
The draft comes at a time when the listing of Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, is under intense public debate and all eyes are focused on whether the entity, a core investment company, gets a reprieve.
According to the current list published January 2025, well after Tata Sons sought to cancel its NBFC licence, there are 15 upper-layer NBFCs, and only Tata Sons had not gone for listing even after the September 2025 deadline despite featuring in the list.
Tata Sons had an asset base of Rs 1.75 lakh crore as of March 2025. A slew of state-run enterprises, which are large enough in size were excluded in the UL list.
One of the mandatory norms for being in the upper layer is the debt level. In order to come out of the list, Tata Sons way back in March 2024 had cleared all its debt of Rs 22,000 crore and has since been a net debt-free entity and accordingly it had sought RBI nod to cancel its license in August 2024 but RBI has not acted on the request.
The new draft norms also pitched for inclusion of the government-run entities in the list of upper layer NBFCs.