Savings account not mobile number: RBI

The finance ministry’s ambitious plan to implement portability in savings accounts has not found favour with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The central bank has told the ministry there is no advantage to customers nore to banks from such a plan. “Savings bank accounts cannot be equated with a mobile number,” said a source in RBI. Adding: “The view has already been communicated to the government”. Savings bank account number portability would allow a customer to switch to another bank while keeping the existing account number. Last year, the government had allowed mobile number portability. According to central bankers, if a customer wants to shift to other banks, he or she can simply open an account. Having the same account number will have no specific significance. Neither would it give any benefit to the customer, unlike a telephone number. In addition, RBI says a bank account number is confidential and is not made public, unlike a cell phone number. “There are also security implications also,” added another source. The finance ministry recently announced that it was working to implement savings account portability, which would enable customers to change banks if they were not satisfied with the service and charges of a particular bank. The ministry also hinted at addressing some ‘technical’ issues on the same. The banking regulator has made it clear that if banks want to implement portability they can do so, but savings account portability is not on RBI’s priority list. However, the ministry earlier said once the necessary regulations are in place, banks will have to follow it. To offer portability of a savings account, banks have to work on identification code, know your customer (KYC) norms and core banking solution (CBS) — which could be an uphill task. The banking regulator also said a bank builds its resources on a savings account. A person’s savings account is customised according to the customer’s need. “A number can be transferred to another bank but the associated characteristics and charges cannot be transferred,” the source added. In October, RBI deregulated the savings bank interest rate, one of the few, still administered to promote competition among banks and also to improve monetary transmission.

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Will Subbarao check or boost market rally?

………..Although not many are expecting a rate cut from the credit policy to be announced on Tuesday, a lot of bets are riding on the central bank signalling a change in its stance in favour of growth. Hence, the policy announcement and the accompanying guidance will be closely watched by market participants, some expecting a cut in the stipulated Cash Reserve Ratio………..

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Agnelites on financial awareness drive…………….

The XI Commerce students of Fr. Agnel Multipurpose School & Junior College, Vashi (Navi Mumbai) were taken on a ride of fake v/s genuine currency notes on their study tour to the College of Agricultural Banking on January 21, 2012.  The batch of 97 students led by Kulvinder Kaur and Surekha Duche alongwith Fr. Almeida appreciated Shri Manas Ranjan Mohanty, DGM/MOF for the session handled by him on the security features of the currency notes. The everyday used currency notes looked afresh provided them the much needed awareness on how to detect the fake notes. Shri Simanchala Sahu, DGM/MOF made successful attempt to motivate the students to aspire in life. Citing the example of simple calculation of compound interest, he diverted their attention to the financial literacy and then facilitated their visit to the Financial Literacy Centre. Dr. While Shri Ashok Kapoor updated Fr. Almeida, S/Shri R.L.Sahoo and Ravi Kiran Pala guided the students on the evolution of RBI when they visited RBI Archival Museum. Shri Mangesh Tarambale, AGM/PS, CAB welcomed the batch. Kulvinder Kaur of the Agnel Jr. College in her concluding speech profusely thanked the Reserve Bank and the College of Agricultural Banking for facilitating visit of the students to the great institution and providing them valuable inputs.       

Bye-bye cheques, hello electronic payments

Electronic transactions are making rapid strides, with more and more of us abandoning cheques and cash in favour of Internet banking and cards. Reserve Bank of India data for retail electronic payments show that in 2010-11, the total value of electronic transactions almost doubled that of the previous year. Again, between April and November 2011 the value transacted was 72 per cent more than in the same period the year before.

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RBI in a tizzy over Pak’s precision in faking notes

…The seized notes have all the six basic security features of Indian currency notes: a) micro-printing, which is used by RBI to combat counterfeiting; b) Gandhi watermark; c) security thread; d) 100% cotton paper; e) embossing by insertion of Intaglio images; and f) electro-yet watermark…..

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RBI sees red over bank loans to aid sell-offs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opposed a government plan under which public sector banks will lend money to a new asset management company (AMC), which, in turn, will buy stakes in state-owned enterprises to support the faltering disinvestment programme. According to sources, the central bank has rejected this proposal as it would expose banks to undue market risk and violate capital market exposure limits on banks set by the central bank.................

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Finance ministry clears proposed national microfinance law

Ministry will soon seek cabinet nod; law will take away microlending from purview of state-level laws

…According to the draft legislation, for MFIs operating as non-governmental organizations, trusts or cooperative societies, RBI will have the power to delegate any other supervisory and regulatory entities such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard). “RBI will be the sole regulator under this Act. The draft Bill doesn’t say anybody else as regulator. RBI may delegate other entities it finds fit for this rule,”…..

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Fresh direction to monetary policy?

...Global cues are hardly encouraging and it is certain that the RBI, like many others, will revise downwards its growth forecasts. In short, while inflation concerns have not gone away, the accent of monetary policy will be on growth, specifically in arresting the slowdown.

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Good news at last

...........Lower inflation has been possible partly because of the base effect: in December 2010 inflation had touched 9.45 per cent. Manufactured goods inflation remains elevated. All these will no doubt weigh with the RBI when it unveils the next instalment of the credit policy early next week. After hiking the rates more than a dozen times over a period of 18 months, it paused in December amidst slowing industrial production. It is doubtful that the recent good news, by themselves, will help the RBI resolve its dilemma, whether the interest rates should be cut or left untouched.

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RBI likely to remain in pause mode on rates

..........."The RBI will take a dovish stand on growth and the economic scenario by revising the growth target to 7 per cent from the present 7.6 per cent. Instead to cutting reserve requirements, RBI would prefer to undertake open market operations to raise money for the government.”

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Ministry prods RBI to cut rates, bankers not hopeful

The finance ministry wants the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to switch its policy stance, with growth concerns occupying centre stage and inflation showing signs of moderating. A ministry official said monetary tightening had hurt growth and the central bank should have paused earlier than December 2011. The RBI should cut policy rates to give a push to rate-sensitive sectors, the official added. While bankers are not expecting a repo rate cut at the policy meet on January 24, the ministry thinks it would be needed to spur investment and growth……..

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RBI may go for rate cut in February: Moody's

Global ratings agency Moody's has said inflation in India is likely to moderate to around 6.5% by the middle of this year and the Reserve Bank may go for interest rate cuts by February…………. 

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Time to cut rates

Market wisdom is that RBI won’t do much in its policy tomorrow as, the continuous fall in food inflation notwithstanding, the back of inflation still hasn’t been broken. Though WPI inflation fell to a two-year low of 7.5% in December, largely due to a fall in food inflation to 2.6% (the base effect was a big factor), it is argued that core inflation remains high though it has eased to a 5-month low.......

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Will RBI go for a CRR cut?

…..It’s fairly certain that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will pare its growth forecast for the Indian economy when it announces its quarterly review of monetary policy on Tuesday…….

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‘We plan to become leading pan-India bank with stable growth'

.....While it is true that the RBI may take the decreasing inflation numbers into account while deciding on the rate change, the fact that food inflation has a weight of 14 per cent leaves the other 86 per cent quite important and to be watched. The RBI may take a cue from the monthly inflation numbers before taking a call on the interest rates.

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THE BANKER-TURNED-AUTHOR

This former CMD of Bank of Baroda has books stacked from floor to ceiling in his ‘home office’, in keeping with his post-retirement avatar

Office workers usually daydream about the future as a utopia where they are unshackled from their workstations. Anil Khandelwal, a former chairman and managing director of Bank of Baroda, is precisely the opposite. Retirement can be “professional widowhood, especially in the public sector”, Khandelwal professes, joking that “no one calls you any more”…..

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