ARTICLE · 23 FEBRUARY 2026

Banking & Finance Digest February 16, 2026

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We are delighted to share this week's AKP Banking & Finance Weekly Digest. Please feel free to write to us with your feedback at [email protected].

IndiaFinance and Banking

We are delighted to share this week's AKP Banking & Finance Weekly Digest. Please feel free to write to us with your feedback at [email protected].

1. Regulatory Updates

1.1. India

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

1.1.1. RBI issues draft Circular on the revised guidelines of the Lead Bank Scheme for public comments

The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") has issued a draft Circular to revise the Lead Bank Scheme ("LBS") pursuant to its Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 06, 2026. The proposed framework aims to strengthen district-level credit planning by refining the structure and functioning of LBS fora and clarifying the roles of State Level Bankers' Committees ("SLBCs") and Lead District Manager ("LDM") offices. It introduces a bottom-up approach through block-wise and activity wise assessments and requires banks to monitor the Credit Deposit ("CD") Ratio to achieve a benchmark of 60 per cent (sixty per cent) across rural and

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