NEW DELHI : Competition Commission of India is investigating banks across the country for lending and borrowing at approximately same rates, the antitrust watchdog’s chairman Ashok Chawla said.
There could be no reasonable justification for banks with different balance sheets to hold the same interest rates, Chawla said on the sidelines of an event here. While refusing to name the lenders being investigated, he said these banks were spread across the country.
The panel was also investigating oil-marketing companies for having changed prices simultaneously despite the deregulation of petrol as well as diesel.
In 2013, the panel had initiated a probe into the alleged cartelisation and fixing of petrol prices by the three state-owned oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corp Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. However, the proceedings were stayed by the Delhi High Court on the companies’ plea.
Chawla further said that the problems of the real estate sector could not be solved by the competition commission alone. On the issue of the effectiveness of the commission, Chawla acknowledged that the panel’s impact has been hampered by companies’ strategy to delay paying fines it had imposed. Of the 110 bln rupees penalty that the panel has imposed till date, it has been able to realise just about 10 bln rupees. -Cogencis
