HomeCirculars › RBI/2012-13/555

Valuation Guidelines for Discom Bonds

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2012-13/555 · issued 27 Jun 2013 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI prescribes valuation norms for bonds issued by state power discoms under the 2012 financial restructuring scheme: mark-to-market if traded, or YTM-based with state government guarantee mark-ups.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A branch operations officer in Indore holds a discom bond that is not traded. She checks the FIMMDA YTM rate for a central government bond with the same maturity, say 8.00%. Since the bond is in the discom phase and guaranteed by the state government, she adds 0.75%, making the valuation rate 8.75%. She uses this to calculate the bond's value for her bank's books.

What changed

RBI issued specific valuation guidelines for bonds issued by state power distribution companies (discoms) under the Government of India's 2012 financial restructuring scheme. These bonds have a two-phase structure: initially serviced by discoms with state government guarantees, later taken over and serviced by state governments.

What it means for you

Banks holding these discom bonds must value traded bonds at market price and untraded bonds using YTM rates for central government securities of equivalent maturity, plus a spread. The spread is 75 bps if state-guaranteed during the discom phase, 100 bps if not guaranteed, and 50 bps during the state government phase. These bonds remain subject to existing prudential norms for non-SLR securities.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Who it affects

All scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs), Banks holding or acquiring discom bonds under the 2012 restructuring scheme

❓ Common questions

What valuation method applies if discom bonds are not traded?

Untraded bonds must be valued on a YTM basis using FIMMDA-published YTM rates for central government securities of equivalent maturity, plus a mark-up: 75 bps if state-guaranteed during the discom phase, 100 bps if not guaranteed, and 50 bps during the state government phase.

Do these bonds follow standard non-SLR security rules?

Yes, apart from the specific valuation methodology, these bonds continue to be governed by extant prudential norms applicable to non-SLR securities.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
The guidelines have been repealed. Please refer to the Reserve Bank of India (Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio of Commercial Banks) Directions, 2021 . RBI/2012-13/555 DBOD.BP.BC.No.105/21.04.132/2012-13  June 27, 2013 All Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs) Dear Sir, Bonds issued by State Distribution Companies (Discoms) – Guidelines on Valuation Government of India had formulated and approved a Scheme for Financial Restructuring of State Owned Power Discoms to enable their turnaround and ensure their long term viability (Ministry of Power, GoI Office Memorandum No.20/11/2012-APDRP dated October 5, 2012). The Scheme, inter-alia, envisaged the conversion of 50 per cent of the outstanding Short Term Liabilities (as on March 31, 2012) of Discoms to banks into bonds. These bonds will be issued by Discoms and will be serviced by them for a specified initial period till they are taken over by the State Governments in a phased manner. However, these bonds will be duly backed by the guarantees of the respective State Governments, till the time their liabilities are taken over by them from the Discoms. While issuing guarantee to the Discoms for issuance of bonds, the State Governments are required to take into consideration their respective guarantee limits as per relevant Act/Rules, if any. 2. As these bonds are to be acquired by banks under special circumstances and these have two distinct features, viz., (i) issued and serviced by State Discoms with the guarantee of the respective State Governments during the initial period and (ii) issued and serviced by the State Governments during the latter period, the following methodology will be applicable for valuation of such bonds: (i) If these bonds are traded and quoted, they will be valued at their current ‘Market Value’ as defined in paragraph 3.5 of our ‘Master Circular - Prudential norms for Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio by Banks’ dated July 2, 2012. (ii) In case the bonds are not traded and quoted, they will be valued on the YTM basis. The relevant YTM will be YTM rates for Central Government Securities of equivalent maturities as put out by FIMMDA on the valuation day with the following mark-ups: (a) During the period when bonds’ liabilities are with the State Discoms and If guaranteed by respective State Governments – 75 basis points If not guaranteed by respective State Governments – 100 basis points (b) During the period when bonds’ liabilities are with the respective State Governments – 50 basis points. 3. Apart from the above, the bonds will continue to be governed by extant prudential norms as applicable to non-SLR securities. Yours faithfully, (Chandan Sinha) Principal Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2012-13/555 · issued 27 Jun 2013. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=8070&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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