ICRA Quote by Anupama Reddy, Vice President & Co-Group Head, ICRA Ltd on RBI announcement on REIT

“RBI’s new REIT lending framework enables bank funding to REITs, with prudential safeguards in place. By enabling financing to cash flow generating, listed REITs, the norms could unlock a refinancing opportunity of ~Rs. 26,000 crore for banks and improve liability diversification for REITs through longer-tenure bank debt.  At the same time, calibrated safeguards — exposure caps, strong security structures, escrow-backed cash flow ringfencing, and restrictions on back-ended repayments — ensure risk containment. With comfortable leverage levels and significant headroom for growth, the framework supports positioning of REITs as a more resilient, debt-enabled asset class in India’s commercial real-estate ecosystem.”