RBI keeps banking hours curtailed till April 30 amid coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday decided to continue with the truncated banking hours of 10 AM to 2 PM till April 30 amid the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown till May 3. The central bank said that it will review its position when banks reopen on May 4, after a three-day banking holiday from May 1 to May 3.

“To minimise COVID spread, the RBI had amended working hours for various regulated markets from April 7 till April 17. However, as the government has ordered that the lockdown would continue till May 3, it has been decided to continue with the amended trading hours,” an RBI press communique said.

It is be noted that May 1, 2 and 3, 2020, are bank holidays.

As per the revised timings, the RBI regulated market opens at 10 AM instead of the earlier 9 AM. The closing timings too have been revised to 2 PM for all segments.

While revising the timings earlier this month, the RBI had said the lockdown has adversely impacted the functioning of financial markets.

The central bank had amended the market timings in order to minimise risks and to ensure that market participants maintain adequate checks and supervisory controls while optimising thin resources and ensuring the safety of personnel.

RBI-regulated markets include, ‘call/notice/term money’, ‘market repo in government securities’, ‘commercial paper and certificates of deposit’, ‘repo in corporate bonds’, ‘government securities’, ‘foreign currency (FCY)/Indian Rupee (INR) trades’ and ‘Rupee Interest Rate Derivatives’.

The central bank further said all regular banking services for customers, including RTGS, NEFT, e-kuber and other retail payment systems will continue to be available as per extant timings.

On April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended the nationwide lockdown till May 3 in view of the seriousness of the situation. He claimed that in the comparison between life and livelihood, life is more important which seems to have guided his decision.