Ready to be 'Neelakantha', drink poison to clean the banking system: RBI Governor Urijit Patel

Gandhinagar: Expressing deep anguish over a spate of banking frauds, RBI Governor Urjit Patel has said that like the 'Neelakantha' (Lord Shiva), he will do everything possible to clean the rot in the Indian banking system and to make it more transparent and efficient.

"If we need to face the brickbats and be the Neelakantha consuming this poison, we will do so as our duty," Patel said.

''The central bank will persist with its endeavours and get better with each trial and tribulation,'' the RBI Governor added.

Patel made these remarks while delivering a lecture at the Gujarat National Law University on Wednesday.

During his speech, Patel said, ''Banking frauds amount to the looting of our country's future by some in the business community in cahoots with some lenders.''

He, however, pledged to break the unholy nexus between businessmen and bankers.

''As the guard of people's deposits at banks, I will do my best to break the unholy nexus," he said.

Referring to the Rs 12,967 crore scam at PNB, he said, "I have chosen to speak today to convey that we at the Reserve Bank of India also feel the anger, hurt and pain at the banking sector frauds and irregularities."

Patel said RBI has in place an asset quality review of banks and "we are doing all we can to further strengthen it".

Patel's comments came come almost a month after India's second-largest lender, state-owned Punjab National Bank was allegedly defrauded of around Rs 13,000 crore by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi in connivance with some bank employees.