Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest

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Central Registry of Securitisation, Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India
Company type Public sector
IndustryFinancial Infrastructure
Founded11 March 2011 (2011-03-11)
Headquarters
New Delhi
,
Area served
India
ProductsOnline security interest registry
Owners Government of India, National Housing Bank and others
Website cersai.org.in

Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest (CERSAI) is a central online security interest registry of India. It was primarily created to check frauds in lending against equitable mortgages, in which people would take multiple loans on the same asset from different banks. [1]

Contents

It is a Government company licensed under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 having its Registered Office at New Delhi.

CERSAI is owned by the Indian Central Government, Public Sector Banks and National Housing Bank for the purpose of operating a Registration System under the provisions of Chapter IV of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002. (SARFAESI Act).

History

In India, before the formation of CERSAI, information on the encumbrance on a property was known only to the borrower and the lender due to fragmented registration system. As a result, people could obtain multiple loans on the same property. Some people used to take one loan from one bank, which would hold the deed papers. Then they used to take several more loans from other banks using attested copies of the deed, by claiming that they had lost the originals. Some people also used to obtain loans using entirely fake title deeds or by using colour photocopies of the original title deed. [1] Properties with unpaid loans were also being sold without informing the buyers of the existing liability on the property. [2]

The decision to form central registry of equitable mortgages was revealed in the 2011 budget speech by then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. It was formed under the Chapter IV Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act). It was registered as a government-licensed company, under the Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. CERSAI become operational on 31 March 2011. 51% of the equity is owned by the government, and the rest is owned equally by National Housing Bank and 10 other public sector banks. [1] [2] The then Chairman of the National Housing bank, R.V. Verma, served as the first acting Registrar, Managing director and CEO of CERSAI, while continuing to hold charge at the National Housing Bank. [3]

Objectives and functions

CERSAI's initial mandate was to maintain a central registry of equitable mortgages, where it contains information on the equitable mortgage taken on a property along with details of the financial institution that has extended the loan as well as details about the borrower. CERSAI also allowed lenders to register transactions of securitisation and asset reconstruction. [3]

The CERSAI registry platform can be accessed online by financial institutions and the general public for a fee. However, the latter can only access information related to equitable mortgages.

This allows prospective lenders to check the registry to ensure that the property against which they are extending a loan to a borrower is not encumbered by a pre-existing security interest created by another lender. Even if it is, with details of the previous loan available to them, they can examine if the value of the collateral is sufficient for them to extend another loan, given the existing liability on the property. For the general public, especially for home buyers, it enables them to check the registry's records to ensure that any property they are planning to purchase, is free of any loan/security interest created by a lender.

CERSAI's mandate was extended in 2012 to start registration of security interests created through assignment of accounts receivables or factoring, through the passage of the Factoring Act, 2012. [4] In January 2016, the mandate was extended even further to allow the CERSAI to start registration of security interests created on movable and intangible assets such as accounts receivables, book debt, and hypothecation as well as to start registration of all other types of mortgages used in India. [5] [6]

According to the government's directives, financial institutions must register details of security interests created by them with CERSAI within 30 days of its creation. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreclosure</span> Legal process where a lender recoups an unpaid loan by forcing the borrower to sell the collateral

Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.

A bridge loan is a type of short-term loan, typically taken out for a period of 2 weeks to 3 years pending the arrangement of larger or longer-term financing. It is usually called a bridging loan in the United Kingdom, also known as a "caveat loan," and also known in some applications as a swing loan. In South African usage, the term bridging finance is more common, but is used in a more restricted sense than is common elsewhere.

Asset-based lending is any kind of lending secured by an asset. This means, if the loan is not repaid, the asset is taken. In this sense, a mortgage is an example of an asset-based loan. More commonly however, the phrase is used to describe lending to business and large corporations using assets not normally used in other loans. Typically, the different types of asset-based loans include accounts receivable financing, inventory financing, equipment financing, or real estate financing. Asset-based lending in this more specific sense is possible only in certain countries whose legal systems allow borrowers to pledge such assets to lenders as collateral for loans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortgage-backed security</span> Type of asset-backed security

A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security which is secured by a mortgage or collection of mortgages. The mortgages are aggregated and sold to a group of individuals that securitizes, or packages, the loans together into a security that investors can buy. Bonds securitizing mortgages are usually treated as a separate class, termed residential; another class is commercial, depending on whether the underlying asset is mortgages owned by borrowers or assets for commercial purposes ranging from office space to multi-dwelling buildings.

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A line of credit is a credit facility extended by a bank or other financial institution to a government, business or individual customer that enables the customer to draw on the facility when the customer needs funds. A financial institution makes available an amount of credit to a business or consumer during a specified period of time.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortgage</span> Loan secured using real estate

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A structured investment vehicle (SIV) is a non-bank financial institution established to earn a credit spread between the longer-term assets held in its portfolio and the shorter-term liabilities it issues. They are simple credit spread lenders, frequently "lending" by investing in securitizations, but also by investing in corporate bonds and funding by issuing commercial paper and medium term notes, which were usually rated AAA until the onset of the financial crisis. They did not expose themselves to either interest rate or currency risk and typically held asset to maturity. SIVs differ from asset-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations in that they are permanently capitalized and have an active management team.

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The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002 is an Indian law. It allows banks and other financial institutions to auction residential or commercial properties of defaulters to recover loans. The first asset reconstruction company (ARC) of India, ARCIL, was set up under this act. By virtue of the SARFAESI Act 2002, the Reserve Bank of India has the authority to register and regulate Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Central mortgage registry to check frauds". The Hindu . 30 June 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Central Registry to check home loan frauds". The Times of India . 22 April 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Move to prevent fraud in loan cases". The Hindu . 2 April 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  4. http://financialservices.gov.in/banking/Factoring%20Act%202011%20Rules.pdf.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. "Types of Mortgages in India". November 2007.
  6. "New CERSAI Rules notified; All kind of Mortgages to be registered with CERSAI". 5 February 2016.