Expect the markets to take the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) persuasive moves on Saturday to direct lending to real estate sector with a pound of salt.

The simple point being, when current loans are under distress, why will banks lend more to realtors in times of accelerating slowdown?

Also, all the measures announced are prospective, so any benefits that will percolate will only be through incremental lending — if it happens.

Nevertheless, here’s a quick check on the likely impact of RBI’s moves: Risk weights on bank exposure to the real estate sector and non-deposit taking NBFCs reduced from 150% to 100%.

This effectively reduces the “tax on lending” to the real estate sector, which means banks can now more freely lend to these ‘pariah’ sectors. However, it remains to be seen whether banks will take the bait given the severe slowdown, especially in the real estate sector and increasing risk of NPAs from there.

Provisioning requirements for housing loans above Rs 20 lakh, commercial real estate sector, personal loans, credit card receivables, loans on capital market exposure and non-deposit taking NBFCs reduced to a uniform level of 0.40% from 1% and 2%, respectively.

Banks now have to set aside less capital every time they lend to these sectors. This increases bank’s liquidity, and reduces pressure on systemic liquidity.

Whether banks will increase their home loan books is another question. Housing finance companies registered with the National Housing Bank allowed to raise short-term foreign currency borrowings under the approval route as a temporary measure.

This will provide much-needed funds for non-deposit taking housing finance companies, though details of this measure are awaited.

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