meta_id 2955176

On March 10, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the Reserve Bank of India (Payments Banks - Prudential Norms on Capital Adequacy) Amendment Directions, 2026, amending its 2025 prudential norms framework for payments banks. The amendment addresses paragraph 52 of the original 2025 directions, which governs the treatment of total counterparty credit risk (CCR). The RBI stated that the amendments provide greater clarity and largely align the framework with international standards. The key changes include: substitution of Table 10, which sets add-on factors for market-related off-balance sheet items, specifically for exchange rate contracts and gold, with revised percentages based on contract duration (1 percent for contracts of one year or less; 5 percent for contracts over one year to five years; and 7.5 percent for contracts over five years); insertion of a new note clarifying that add-on factors apply to all outstanding CCR exposures; and amendment of paragraph 52(5)(i)(a) regarding risk weights for clearing members. The amendment specifies that where a bank acts as a clearing member of a qualified central counterparty (QCCP) for its own purposes or offers clearing services to clients, a 2 percent risk weight applies to the bank's trade exposure to the QCCP in respect of over-the-counter derivatives transactions, exchange-traded derivatives transactions, and securities financing transactions. The amendment also provides that clearing members are not required to maintain capital for certain transactions if they obtain and maintain an independent, written, and reasoned legal opinion protecting them from liability in the event of QCCP default. The Amendment Directions came into effect from the date of issue, March 10, 2026. Payments banks operating in India must ensure compliance with these revised prudential norms.