The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed corporate rating agencies to scan companies' bank account details, capturing the flow of fund in and out of the firms and assessing their ability to repay loans, reported The Economic Times.

However, many companies are reluctant to part with such information except when banks or regulators order a forensic audit of borrower’s copy, the report said.

According to the report, a step like this will red flag the possible diversion of fund through subsidiaries, shell companies or other parties, putting them under a watch.

Similarly, the mood is gloomy for the rating agencies as well. “Agencies have told the banking regulator about the enormity of the exercise, the sheer logistics and time it would involve, that credit rating firms are not auditors. But RBI is insistent,” a bank official said, as reported by ET.

RBI, which gives rating agencies the accreditation to rate loans of Rs 10 crore or more, said that any actions on a bank debt could immediately influence ratings of other tradeable data such as bonds and debentures floated by the company to raise funds, the report mentioned.