- The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has approved a proposal to shift regulation of Housing finance companies(HFCs) from the National Housing Bank(NHB) to the RBI.
- Hence,HFCs will now be treated as one of the categories of non-banking financial companies(NBFCs) for regulatory purposes.
- Further,any housing finance institution which is a company desirous of making an application for registration under the NHB Act,1987 must approach the department of Non-Banking Regulation at the RBI.
- RBI will also review the current regulatory framework applicable to housing finance companies(HFCs) following which it will come out with revised regulations.
- Until the new guidelines,HFCs shall continue to comply with the directions and instructions issued by the NHB which will continue to carry out supervision of HFCs.
- The National Housing Bank(NHB) was set up in 1988 under the National Housing Bank Act,1987.NHB is an apex financial institution for housing.
- Its objective is to operate as a principal agency to promote housing finance institutions both at local and regional levels and to provide financial and other support incidental to such institutions and for matters connected therewith.
- Recently,RBI had divested its stake in National Housing Bank(NHB) and National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (Nabard) by making them fully government-owned.
