Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Repurchase Transactions (Repo)) Directions, 2025
UR
- Applies toBanks and other entities RBI allows to trade in repo (repurchase transactions)
- StatusIn force
- ImportanceMUST READ
- IssuedNov 11, 2025
- Amendmentsnone tracked
- Length47 points in 4 sections · 5 min read
The four dates on this rule
- PublishedNov 11, 2025The day RBI put this document out.
- Starts to applyNot statedNot stated separately in this document. Read the rule itself before you assume a start date.
- Time to get readyNot statedCannot be worked out until the day it starts to apply is known.
- Last date to actNot statedNo date to act by was found in this document. Other dates may sit inside single paragraphs.
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What it says
Must know
1. Where a repo can trade
This rule covers repo deals made on stock exchanges, electronic platforms and over the counter.
2. Government bonds are eligible
Central and state government securities can be used in a repo deal.
3. Not your own bonds
Listed corporate bonds work as collateral, but never a firm's own bonds or a related company's bonds.
4. Money-market papers eligible
Commercial papers and certificates of deposit can also be used.
5. Debt ETF units eligible
Units of debt ETFs can be used too.
6. Municipal bonds are eligible
Municipal debt securities count as eligible collateral as well.
7. Regulated entities can repo
Any RBI-regulated entity can take part in a repo deal.
8. Listed companies can repo
Any listed company can take part too.
9. Only their own special bonds
An unlisted company holding special government securities may repo only those securities.
10. All-India institutions included
Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB, SIDBI and the infrastructure finance bank can all take part.
11. RBI can add participants
RBI can allow any other entity to join later.
12. One day to one year
A repo deal must run for at least one day and at most one year.
13. Three venues for trading
A repo can be traded on a stock exchange, an approved electronic platform, or over the counter.
14. RBI must approve platforms
RBI must approve any platform before repo trades happen on it.
15. Report within 15 minutes
Most repo trades must be reported to RBI's own systems within 15 minutes.
16. Platforms must share data
Every trading and reporting platform must give RBI any data it asks for.
17. Participants must answer RBI
A participant must give RBI any information it asks for, by the deadline RBI sets.
18. Settles next day at latest
The first leg of a repo settles the same day or the next day.
19. Settlement is versus payment
Every repo settles on a delivery-versus-payment basis, securities and cash together.
20. Government bonds clear centrally
A government-securities repo clears through a central clearing agency or another one RBI approves.
21. Other securities clear via exchange
A repo in any other eligible security clears through an exchange's clearing house or an RBI-approved entity.
22. Repoed securities can be resold
A security taken under repo can be sold outright or passed into another repo.
23. Only short-sellers may resell
Only entities allowed to short-sell may resell a repoed security outright.
24. Or swapped for another security
A repoed security can instead be swapped for another one under the clearing agency's rules.
25. Collateral priced at market value
Collateral is priced openly at the going market price when the repo starts.
26. Second leg price plus interest
The buy-back price is simply the first price plus interest.
27. Haircut set by agreement
The haircut is fixed either by the clearing house or by agreement between the two sides.
28. Corporate bonds need 2% haircut
Corporate bonds and debentures need at least a 2% haircut.
BankPulse example. A bond worth Rs 100 crore needs a minimum 2% haircut, so the loan against it comes to Rs 98 crore.
29. RBI-regulated entities use Annex II
An RBI-regulated entity must book a repo the way Annex II says.
30. Others use normal accounting
Any other participant can book a repo under the usual accounting standards.
31. Government repo skips CRR/SLR
Money borrowed through a government-securities repo does not count for CRR or SLR.
32. Repoed bond counts for SLR
The bond bought under a government-securities repo can itself count toward SLR.
33. Corporate-bond repo is a liability
When a bank repos in corporate bonds, that borrowing counts as a liability for CRR and SLR.
34. Sign the standard repo agreement
Both sides sign the market body's standard master repo agreement.
35. Platform trades follow platform rules
A repo traded on a platform follows that platform's own rulebook.
36. Tri-party repo needs its agreement
A tri-party repo needs its own signed agreement with the Tri-Party Agent.
Background
1. Called the 2025 Directions
This rulebook is the 2025 Directions for repo transactions.
2. Replaces earlier repo rules
This rulebook replaces every earlier RBI direction on the same subject.
3. Effective immediately
The rule started the day RBI issued it.
4. RBI's own repo tools excluded
RBI's own Liquidity Adjustment Facility and Marginal Standing Facility repos follow separate rules, not this one.
5. What DvP means
Under DvP, the buyer's money and the seller's securities move at the same time.
6. What a haircut is
A haircut is the gap between what the collateral is worth and how much is borrowed against it.
7. Repo also means reverse repo
In this rulebook, the word repo also means reverse repo, read whichever way the deal runs.
8. What a tri-party repo is
A tri-party repo uses a neutral Tri-Party Agent to sit between the borrower and the lender.
9. Agent rules sit elsewhere
Separate rules for who can become a Tri-Party Agent are set out in Annex I.
10. Trading method is flexible
The two sides can agree on how the trade is arranged and matched.
11. Old repo circulars withdrawn
Every earlier RBI circular on repo is listed as withdrawn in Annex III.