RBI notification RBI/2026-27/188 · 16 Jul 2026
Official title
Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Resolution of Stressed Assets) Second Amendment Directions, 2026
Summary
Check the official recordThe Reserve Bank of India has introduced prudential norms for Small Finance Banks regarding the acquisition and disposal of Specified Non-financial Assets (SNFAs), which are immovable assets acquired in satisfaction of borrower claims. Banks must establish internal policies covering eligibility, delegation, and disposal timelines, with a maximum holding period of seven years. SNFAs can only be acquired from non-performing accounts and must be recorded at the lower of the net book value of the extinguished exposure or the distress sale value. Partial extinguishment is treated as restructuring. Banks are prohibited from selling SNFAs back to the original borrower or related parties and must disclose these assets separately from NPA metrics. Compliance for legacy assets is required by September 30, 2027.
What you must do
Key dates
Who is affected
Thresholds
Exceptions
If you do not comply
RBI/2026-27/188 DOR.STR.REC.169/21-04-048/2026-27 July 16, 2026
Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Resolution of Stressed Assets) Second Amendment Directions, 2026
Please refer to Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Resolution of Stressed Assets) Directions, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Directions’).
A bank generally does not transact in immovable assets as part of its core business operations, other than in exceptional cases where it acquires such immovable assets in satisfaction of its claims on the borrower. In order to provide clarity on the prudential treatment of such specified non-financial assets including non-banking assets (NBAs), acquired by a bank through various mechanisms, it has been decided to issue prudential norms applicable in such cases.
On examination of the feedback received on the draft Directions issued on May 5, 2026 and in exercise of the powers conferred by the sections 21 and 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and all other laws enabling the Reserve Bank of India (hereinafter called the Reserve Bank) in this regard, the Reserve Bank being satisfied that it is necessary and expedient in the public interest so to do, hereby issues the Amendment Directions hereinafter specified.
These Amendment Directions modify the Directions as under:
i. Paragraph 6(15A) shall be inserted as below:
(15A) ‘specified non-financial asset’ (SNFA) means an immovable asset acquired by a bank in satisfaction or part satisfaction of its claims on the borrower, including non-banking assets (NBAs) acquired in terms of the relevant provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
ii. Paragraph 13B shall be inserted as below:
13B. A bank’s policy shall incorporate suitable clauses for acquisition of an SNFA and disposal thereof. Such provisions shall specify inter-alia the limit on SNFAs as a share of total assets, eligibility criteria, delegation matrix, recovery efforts to be explored before acquisition and maximum period for disposal not exceeding seven years.
iii. A new Chapter VII-A as under shall be inserted:
Chapter VII-A – Prudential Norms on Specified Non-financial Assets
140A. The provisions of this Chapter shall cover all SNFAs including those acquired through bilateral acquisitions or through Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002.
140B. In respect of any SNFA outstanding in the books of a bank as on September 30, 2026 (‘Legacy SNFAs’), compliance with these Directions shall be achieved latest by September 30, 2027.
140C. An SNFA shall be deemed to have been acquired only if the title of the asset is transferred in the name of the bank, and the bank is in a clear position to deal with the asset on its own.
140D. SNFA shall be acquired only in cases where a bank’s exposures to a borrower is classified as non-performing.
140E. SNFA may be acquired from the borrower against full or partial extinguishment of the bank’s exposure on a non-recourse basis.
140F. Partial extinguishment of exposure shall be treated as restructuring and the residual exposure to the borrower shall attract the prudential treatment applicable to restructuring as contained in these Directions.
A. Valuation
140G. Upon acquisition, SNFA shall be recorded in the balance sheet at the lower of the net book value (NBV) of the extinguished exposure or the distress sale value of the SNFA arrived by at least two independent external valuers.
140H. In case of partial extinguishment, the NBV of the extinguished exposure shall be calculated on a proportionate basis, i.e., as a proportion of the share of extinguished debt. Illustratively:
140I. At each subsequent reporting date, the SNFA shall be carried on the balance sheet at the revised NBV. The revised NBV of the SNFA shall be the value of extinguished exposure, net of the notional provisions applicable, had the exposure continued on the books of the bank. In case of partial extinguishment, the revised NBV of the SNFA shall be the extinguished fraction of the NBV of the original exposure.
B. Disposal of SNFAs
140J. A bank shall dispose of the SNFA within the maximum period of disposal as envisaged in the bank’s policy, subject to a maximum period of seven years.
140K. A bank shall make all efforts to dispose of the SNFA at the earliest through a public auction. For the purpose of public auction, a bank shall adhere with the principles of auction enshrined in the SARFAESI Act, 2002.
140L. A SNFA shall not be sold back to the borrower or its related parties. Related parties shall have the same meaning as defined in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. This restriction on sale back to borrower or its related parties shall continue to be adhered to, even in cases where the SNFA has ceased to be an SNFA in terms of paragraph 140M below.
140M. A SNFA put to the bank’s own use shall cease to be classified as an SNFA from the date of being put to use and shall be recorded under the accounting head ‘Fixed assets’ or under any other relevant accounting head.
C. Disclosure Requirements
140N. SNFAs shall not be included in the total stock of residual exposure / Gross NPA / Net NPA / Stressed exposures / Provisioning Coverage Ratio. The same shall be disclosed under the relevant accounting head in the balance sheet of the bank as ‘non-banking assets acquired in satisfaction of claims’.
140O. A bank shall report the details of the SNFAs as per the formats provided in the Annex-2, in CIMS portal.
(Vaibhav Chaturvedi) Chief General Manager
