Mumbai, Jan 8 (KNN)  Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to exclude non-promoter/non-whole time directors from the list of wilful defaulters through modifications to its master circular on wilful defaulters.

The country’s central bank updated its master circular on wilful defaulters through a notification issued yesterday.  The original master circular on wilful defaulters was issued on July-1, 2014.

“RBI has been receiving references from banks and other agencies seeking clarification as well as posing certain issues concerning the various guidelines contained in the current Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters. These references have been examined and the Master Circular has been modified accordingly,” it said.

While quite a few of the modifications in the guidelines are definitional and clarificatory in nature, certain substantive changes have been made to bring in greater transparency and accountability in the due process required to be adopted for identification of Wilful Defaulters, it added.

“Further, in view of the limited role of non-promoter/non-whole time directors (Nominee and Independent directors) in the management of a company’s debt contracts, their names shall now be excluded from the list of Wilful Defaulters, except in the rarest circumstances…,” it said.

The modifications to the Master Circular are available on: http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/PDFs/73MCWD0070115_AN.pdf  (KNN/ES)