New Delhi, Aug. 6 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to the industry's request to defer the implementation of its guidelines on the conduct of regulated entities in loan recovery and engagement of recovery agents by three months to 1 January 2027. The regulator also clarified that the directions would not apply to the lenders' own employees.

"Considering the technical and operational changes necessitated by the directions, the effective date has been extended to 1 January 2027 to facilitate smooth implementation," the central bank said on Thursday. The norms were earlier slated to kick in from 1 October.

In February, RBI had proposed norms barring recovery agents from going too far in their pursuit of defaulting borrowers. Th...