BoI will provide liquidity to brokers, not to sell in panic

MUMBAI: Bank of India will not resort to panic selling and is open to offer funds to brokers needing additional liquidity in the face of the stock market mayhem, a top bank official said. "We will not resort to panic selling as we are confident that the markets will revive as the fundamentals of the economy remain strong," BoI Chairman and Managing Director T S Narayanasami told reportes here. The 30-share Sensex continued its southward movement on Tuesday for the second day, registering an intraday fall of 2,029 points. Trading had to be suspended for about an hour but the index still closed in the red, down by over 850 points. "The current crisis is a temporary thing and we in the bank are taking a very pragmatic view of the situation. We will be willing to provide brokers with additional liquidity," he said. Also, if required, the bank will, with due consent of the regulator, could look at adjusting the margin for them, he added. As per laws, bank's capital exposure could be 40 per cent of their networth. Bank of India could take exposure up to Rs 2200 crore, which at present was much below the figure.