Reserve Bank of India amends small finance bank financial statement disclosures to introduce capital market exposure reporting

The Reserve Bank of India issued amendments to its financial statement presentation and disclosure framework for small finance banks, updating the Notes to Accounts exposure disclosures in line with the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities) Amendment Directions, 2026. The changes delete an existing sub-paragraph in the “Exposures” note and insert a new disclosure titled “Exposure to Capital Markets”, requiring an INR crore table (current year and previous year) covering, among other items, direct investments in equity and equity-like instruments and units (including REITs, InvITs and Alternative Investment Funds), certain share-linked advances and collateralised lending against such instruments, credit facilities to capital market intermediaries, financing to non-debt mutual fund schemes, financing for acquisition of promoters’ shares in certain infrastructure companies, underwriting commitments, irrevocable payment commitments by custodian banks, and specified clearing member trade exposures, along with a total capital market exposure figure. The exposure is to be computed in terms of the Small Finance Banks – Concentration Risk Management Directions, 2025 read with the Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities Directions, 2025. The amendments take effect from the date a bank decides to implement the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Credit Facilities) Amendment Directions, 2026 or from April 1, 2026, whichever is earlier.