RBI Deputy Governor inaugurates CSP at SBI’s Kurla (East) branch

Dr. K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India inaugurated a customer service point ( CSP) of SBI's Business Correspondent M/ s Geosansar Advisors Pvt. Ltd. at the bank's Nehru Nagar, Kurla ( East) branch. State Bank of India has set up more than 29,000 CSPs across India. J K Sinha, Chief General Manager ( Rural Business), State Bank of India, Corporate Centre; Dr. J N Misra, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, Local Head Office, Mumbai; Apurv Bagri, President & CEO, Metdist Group, London and Nish Kotecha, Chairman, Geosansar were present on the occasion. 

Banks rue lack of armed guards

.......Though Reserve Bank of India is yet to take a call on making the security installations mandatory across branches, RBI Regional Director Mr N.S. Vishwanathan, averred that there was no freeze on recruitment of security guards. However, regarding policy changes, the call rests with the head office, he added...........

Read - Deccan Chronicle

World Consumer Rights Day

.......“In the financial sector, banking, financial services and investor protection are pedestrian and consumers have major problems. At present the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as a monolith regulator is unable to do much for the consumer, though the establishment of an ombudsman was thought to be a good idea but unfortunately the people posted being from the banking sector as an opportunity for retired officials rehabilitation is affecting the functioning and has not gone well to address real grievances in a systematic way.”..........

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EPF rate for 2011-12 slashed to 8.25%

Just days before the Union Budget 2012-13, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has taken a bold decision to slash the rate of interest on deposits in the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) to 8.25 per cent for 2011-12.........

Read - Express India

HDFC Bank's Rural Initiative in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh

This is a major milestone for the Bank in its journey to make 10 mn families (i.e. 40 mn Indians) self-sufficient through 'Viable Finance'.

Gudivada in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh will witness our Bank's 300th Grameen Loan Mela Mahotsava for this financial year (501st overall) tomorrow. It is truly a grand finale and RBI Dy Governor Dr K.C.Chakrabarty has agreed to grace the occasion along with our MD Mr Puri. This is a major milestone for the Bank in its journey to make 10 mn families (i.e. 40 mn Indians) self-sufficient through 'Viable Finance'. This is our board-approved mandate and is aimed at helping rural folks meet their banking and financial needs. Be it financing for tractors, auto, two wheelers, commercial vehicles or even gold loan, HDFC Bank is providing solutions tailormade for the mns of Indians in the hinterland. The journey began two years back, which has seen the Bank traversing the countryside, taking organized finance there, freeing people from the clutches of money-lenders, and, thereby, making a difference to their lives. Chomu in Rajasthan, Pimpalgaon in Maharashtra and Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu are some of the mofussil locations. Earlier this month, the Bank launched a gold loan scheme customized for the rural customer, thus ensuring that the most prized asset remains in safe hands even as the Bank plays the facilitators in unlocking value of the asset.

http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/HDFC-Banks-Rural-Initiative-in-Gudivada-Andhra-Pradesh/5376605619

Federal Bank revives arm to expand retail lending business

At a time when most banks have failed to convince the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in allowing them to set up subsidiary companies, Federal Bank has revived its wholly-owned arm to expand its retail loan business..................

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NBFCs come under RBI's lens

.............The RBI said it has come across cases where some NBFCs obtain registration from the Bank, park their funds in fixed deposits with commercial banks but do not commence NBFI activities for several years thereafter. NBCFs must necessarily commence business within six months of obtaining certificate of registration (CoR), the central bank said.................

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Deutsche Bank boosts its Indian operations

......... Indian banking watchdog, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has approved Deutsche Bank's plan to open two branches in Ahmedabad and Surat, which will take its network to 17 outlets................

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Corruption, Coalition Politics Hurting Reforms: Govt

......RBI, while keeping interest rates unchanged to keep prices under control in its monetary policy review, pointed to the deterioration in central government finances."Credible fiscal consolidation will be an important factor in shaping the inflation outlook," RBI Governor D Subbarao said. Agreeing with the RBI on the need for fiscal consolidation, the Survey said: "The principal way in which this has to be achieved is by raising tax-GDP ratio and cutting down wasteful expenditures." ......

Read - Outlookindia

Caught smuggling liquor, Mumbai cops suspended

Fourteen Navi Mumbai policemen were suspended after they were caught allegedly smuggling out 45 cases of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from Goa. The men were in uniform at the time and they were on duty escorting a convoy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)...............

Read - Hindustan Times

Bills on the anvil

.....The Debt Management Office is proposed to be set up through legislation in the Finance Ministry for better management of public debt. The government has proposed to set up an independent DMO, aimed at separating the RBI's roles as the decider of interest rate in the market and being the banker to the government. At present, both the government's debt and fresh borrowings are managed by the central bank. In his 2011-12 Budget speech, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had mooted the proposal to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill. The Reserve Bank of India has opined against setting up a separate entity, DMO, to manage the sovereign debt of the government, saying only the central bank has the requisite expertise to manage market volatility. RBI had further said that in order to achieve monetary and financial stability, separation of debt management from central bank seems to be a "sub-optimal choice". .......

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Debt is crowding out credit : K Kanagasabapathy

......One inherent conflict in the RBI's operations is that it is really difficult to distinguish its monetary operations from debt management operations. The recent liquidity augmenting measures are intended apparently to ease monetary conditions to enable the banking system to expand its credit portfolio to productive sectors of the economy. But, what seems to have been actually achieved at least thus far is to see that the extraordinary appetite of the government to borrow from the market sailing through smoothly...........

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World Bank’s financial sector report likely by April

.....India’s FSAP was initially completed by the IMF/World Bank in 2001 but it was not made public, as it was part of the pilot FSAP assessment of 12 countries. The committee on financial sector assessment (CFSA) — co-chaired by RBI Deputy Governor and Economic Affairs Secretary — completed a self-assessment in 2009. ........

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Govt to infuse Rs 12,000 cr in PSU banks this fiscal: Survey

......"As capital is a key measure of bank's capacity for generating loan assets and is essential for balance sheet expansion, the government of India has regularly been investing additional capital in the PSBs to support their growth and keep them financially sound and healthy so as to ensure that the growing credit needs of economy are adequately met,"........

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RBI's U-turn: Indian companies losing pricing power

India Inc’s top line growth remains robust, but the picture pales on the margin front. While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Duvvuri Subbarao blamed poor pricing power for this, his stance is a break from the past. In previous monetary policy reviews, the apex bank had said pricing power remained intact despite a slowing environment and corporate India was able to pass on higher costs to customers. So what has caused this change of stance?...............

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Current account deficit a challenge

The Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday country’s current account deficit (CAD) was likely to remain high, on the back of feeble export growth and volatile crude oil prices. The central bank also pointed out that the financing of CAD would be a challenge. “The financing of CAD will continue to pose a challenge so long as the global situation remains uncertain,” the central bank said in a statement...............

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RBI policy on expected lines, say bankers

......"The review was on expected lines and I am not disappointed by the Governor leaving all the policy tools unchanged. The RBI has done its bit last week with a 75 bps CRR cut," .........

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Budget 2012: The message from Mint Street to Pranab

......  "Credible fiscal consolidation will be an important factor in shaping the inflation outlook," says RBI in its monetary policy review. The biggest danger to monetary policy in the months to come is from inflation, which in turn decides the interest rates. In a five-page note on mid quarter monetary policy review, the RBI has said the timing and the magnitude of interest rate cuts will be driven by inflation risk. .........

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Two documents, common concerns : The Hindu

.....The RBI's scheduled mid-quarter policy review was hardly the non-event it was feared it would turn out to be. A cut in interest rates was not on the cards and with no expectation of one, attention turned to the RBI's views on the economy, especially inflation, fiscal consolidation and growth. Inevitably there is an overlap between the central bank's views and the Economic Survey, although they vary in their emphasis. Both agree with the official forecast that the economy will grow by 6.9 per cent during this year. However the Survey is much more optimistic about the future.......

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Economic Survey Has 14 New Ideas for Budget: Pranab

.........The Survey said the slowdown in economic growth should act as "a wake-up call" for the government and the RBI to address the domestic issues hampering recovery. Referring to tight monetary policy, persistently high inflation and slowing investment and industrial activity, it said, "there is room and need to be innovative in terms of policy; the slowing of economy is a wake-up call in that respect"..........

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As Subbarao remains unrelenting, a survey of caution from Basu

It is now clear that D Subbarao, Pranab Mukherjee and the rest of us aren't really part of the same economy. Monetary policy will remain fixated on inflation; fiscal policy will be captured by political tug-of-wars; and beyond them, we will continue to reel under high prices and soaring but impotent interest rates. That high interest rates have not been able to control the inflation rate is a fact Mint Street, home to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has been consistently dismissing...................

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Reserve Bank of India Rate Decision; Growth

Brinda Jagirdar, general manager and head of economic research at the State Bank of India, discusses the Reserve Bank of India's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 8.5 percent and growth expectations for the country.

Subbarao’s pregnant pause: no certainty of rate cut in April

....... To be sure, Subbarao’s policy statement of Thursday, however, is full of signals. Read the fine print carefully, and you will understand why the RBI governor, who has made it clear earlier that he will be one of the most careful observers of what finance minister Pranab Mukherjee does in his Union Budget on 16 March, did nothing to reduce key rates .......

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Is the RBI waiting for the impossible to happen?

...... If the government does not bring out a good Union Budget with proposals to cut subsidies and deficits, interest rates may stay where they are and will further lower growth estimates for 2012-13. On the face of it, it looks like wishful thinking that this government will turn reformist to please the RBI. On the other hand, the government might pile on political pressure on the RBI to cut rates — and that is worse.........

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Inflation fears, fiscal slippage force RBI to keep rates on hold

.......Reiterating its concerns on the fiscal situation, which saw sharp increase in government borrowing, the central bank said " credible fiscal consolidation will be an important factor in shaping inflation outlook" which has key determinant of policy actions in the past two years.........

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Knitwear exporters decry RBI policy report

Coimbatore, March 15: Knitwear exporters have expressed disappointment with the RBI's mid-quarter policy review announcement made this morning. The exporters have for some time now been demanding a cut in the interest rate to help them withstand the pricing pressures and sustain in the global market. “This has not happened; neither has the RBI addressed our request for a separate chapter for exports,” said Dr A. Sakthivel, President, Tirupur Exporters' Association. 

HBL

All hands on deck for growth: Saugata Bhattacharya

.... The Survey’s message has been reinforced by the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy review, with the two pretty much endorsing a common view on the growth-inflation tradeoff. Maybe the Survey is just a bit more inclined on the side of growth. Inclusive growth is its leitmotif: “The govt is in a position to turn its attention more exclusively to inclusive growth…primary concern to advance the economy’s productivity and improve income distribution...during the current year, all hands have to be on growth.”……… 

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RBI mid-quarter policy review highlights

Highlights of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mid-quarter review of monetary policy announced Thursday.................

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