The Reserve Bank of India has directed cooperative banks to create Investment Fluctuation Reserve (IFR) with a view to guard against unforeseen fluctuations in market and remain solvent. RBI said in a statement that all cooperative banks shall build IFR out of realized gains on sale of investments, and subject to available net profit. This with the aim of building up adequate reserve to guard against market risks, it added. All the urban cooperative banks, irrespective of their liabilities, will be required to maintain IFR, the statement added. All the state cooperative banks and district central cooperative banks shall also be required to maintain IFR on similar lines, minimum threshold in which shall be computed with reference to their investment in current category. RBI also said that with a view to address the systemic impact of sharp increase in the yields on government securities, it has decided to grant UCBs (which are not mandatorily required to create IFR) the option to spread provisioning for mark to market losses on investments held in AFS (Available for Sale) and HFT (Held for Trading) category for three quarters up to June-2018 only.
