Tata, Birla, India Post among 26 applicants for bank licences

The 13th floor of the Reserve Bank of India’s headquarters in south Mumbai saw an unusual sight: many visitors carrying huge cartons filled with documents lining up before the office of Chandan Sinha, Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Department of Banking Operations and Development. The documents, some running into over 20,000 pages, were part of the applications for banking licences, the deadline for which expired today...............

Read | Business Standard

From Tata to Birla, a bank is new trophy

.......The RBI hasn’t said how many licences it plans to issue but it is safe to assume that the winners will include a mix of industry houses, state-owned companies and small financial services outfits. The regulator has already indicated that it will cherry pick industrial houses with squeaky-clean reputations, diversified ownership, and with little or no exposure to the real estate and broking businesses. It has said it would run a detailed background check on the applicants with other regulators and enforcement and investigative agencies. In the case of the Tatas and the Birlas, it will be a sort of second coming if they win the licences...........

Read - The Telegraph

Financiers look at becoming bankers

.............The common refrain among them is however making it past the tough norms put out by the Reserve Bank of India for the non operative financial holding companies. For non banking finance companies (NBFCs) particularly the process of converting to a bank and meeting provisions of cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio will be a tough call.......

Read - IE

We see case for revising norms by RBI if response for banking licences is tepid: DK Mittal, Finance Ministry

...... I understand, many of the applications will have certain conditionalities attached to them. It is up to the committee which RBI intends to set up to see whether they want to agree to those conditionalities or not. However, RBI will have a policy problem - if they agree to certain condationalities, then they have to commit general relaxation. But let me say, what would be appropriate from the country point of view, that RBI considers a granting application to everybody who is eligible rather than restricting any number............

Read - ET

Two-tier bank selection process

The Reserve Bank of India is expected to shortlist contenders for the banking licences before cherry picking the eventual winners. Banking mavens believe the central bank will adopt a two-step selection process: it will first weed out the weak candidates and then pick the winners from the residual bidders. Although the RBI has not formally announced how many licences it intends to issue, many expect it to green-light five to six banks............

Read - The Telegraph

More onus on bankers

With the economy slowing and India Inc’s debts looking worrying with the rupee slipping the way it is, it is not surprising RBI’s latest Financial Stability Report (FSR) should say macro risks have risen over the past 6 months. The ratio of India’s short-term debt to forex reserves, for instance, has risen by nearly half between March 2011 and December 2012, from 21% to 31%. That said, what’s comforting is RBI’s tests show the financial system is well equipped to handle even fairly severe stress levels. The report, however, does point to some issues that call for more prudence..............

Read - FE

You can bank on them

......The Rangarajan Committee defined financial inclusion as “the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low-income groups at an affordable cost.” So, the news that more than two dozen of India’s leading corporate houses, financial services companies, non-banking financial companies, public sector firms and India Post have applied for licences to set up new banks is a welcome one. But here, we must temper our enthusiasm for financial inclusion with some caution. Ownership of banks by corporate houses should not become a licence for crony capitalism............

Read - Hindustan Times

Holistic approach to financial inclusion

..........Before looking into the issue in the Indian perspective, we must understand what we mean by the financial inclusion. It is simply the delivery of financial services—Credit, Saving, Insurance, remittance etc. at the affordable costs to the disadvantaged section and the low income segments of society. Dr K C Chakarbarty, RBI Deputy Governor, defined the term as “Financial Inclusion is the process of ensuring access to appropriate financial products and services needed by all sections of the society in general and vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups in particular at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent manner by mainstream institutional players.” Hence it brings the positive changes to the lives of the served which ultimately lead to the social, political and educational inclusion. It is nothing but to ensure growth with equity.................

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Muthoot Finance applies for banking licence

...........Muthoot Finance’s board, at a meeting on Sunday, noted that if the promoters are granted an in-principle approval to start a bank, the shareholding structure and business of the company would have to be restructured in compliance with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines within 18 months, the company said in a filing to BSE...........

Read - Mint

My View on "Madhu's nostalgia @ 'Father' Joseph's retirement....."

I have seen, heard and ‘experienced’ the qualities of F R Joseph excellently brought out by Madhu. I have not worked with him. He may not know me. But I know him through my best friend Somarajan. And therefore I know, the love and affection Joseph has accumulated will be a reservoir which will help him live an active, healthy, peaceful and happy post-retirement life. I wish him the best in life ahead. 

- M.G.Warrier

VITALINFO - Link with ex RBIites

Thanks Mangesh. VITALINFO is widening its coverage to include pension updates and other issues of interest to retired officers. I would appreciate gist of important circulars/developments of interest to us being included. The obituary though saddening reminds me that just as our colleagues are leaving us one by one I too should be ready to leave sooner or later. Keep improving the contents of our favourite VITALINFO.

Regards

B. Kamath, Retd. CGM

Dear Sir,

INVITATION TO JOIN EXRBITES GROUP 

EXRBITES is basically an Internet based Group of Reserve Bank of India employees, serving or retired, including those who later opted for Associate Institutions. The Group was founded in Sept 2009.  The name of the Group signifies that all of us will have to be "Ex" today or tomorrow and when retired we should not lose contact with our friends with whom we have spent/will be spending 30-40 years of our life. We are already 389 strong and still growing. The main aim of the group is to promote goodwill, maintain database of members to enable them to share any information/material/photos including their experiences/aspirations/views with other members. The membership to the Group is absolutely free. You are welcome to join. For becoming member please go to the website/homepage of the group by clicking at the following link or by typing it in your browser:-http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/exrbites 

Once the page opens please click at “Join this Group” and do the needful. You will instantly receive a message that your request has been sent to the Group. You must have an account in Yahoo for proceeding further. If you don't have, please open one. It is very simple- when it asks for your ID/password etc, please take the page little down and click at "Create New Account". Alternatively you can also open a new account in yahoo by typing in your browser  <mail.yahoo.com>.  For any difficulty/assistance or any  further information you want about the Group please feel free to contact the undersigned at any time.
With regards
Madan Gauria Moderator
EXRBITES
Add: 1234/ 44B, Chandigarh-160047
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Kaun Banega RBI Governor ?

Dr Ashok Lahiri who till recently was the Executive Director of ADB at Manila is a very strong candidate. He was the Chief Economic Adviser at Ministry of Finance and P Chidambaram had sent him to ADB in early 2007. The tenure for ED is 3 years but he has been ED, ADB for a record 6 years. He was in Delhi recently and had met both PM & FM to canvas for this position.

 Source

Do we dare imagine a foreigner leading the RBI?

.......Whether he manages to pull it off or not, the appointment is significant for India, where central bank governors struggle to protect their independence from being encroached upon by the political class. This is because interest rate is part of vote bank politics and the political class would love to have a say in the decisions related to it. Because of this their recruitment is done on political considerations rather than economic. But, it is also about a mindset. Sonia Gandhi, as a victim of intense verbal abuse for being a foreign national and chief of the Congress, would know about this better. Now, do we dare imagine a foreign national, however eminent she is, heading the Reserve Bank of India? You bet.

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A banking revolution in rural India?

Earlier this year India's central bank said it intended to issue new banking licences, as part of its plan to expand the country's financial sector, especially in rural areas. As the deadline for applications approaches many big firms are expected to be in the race, but they will need to meet tough conditions set by the Reserve Bank of India.

Watch the video.............

Fake Currency probe in Pondy underway

.....According to police, two currency notes of Rs 500 denomination and one of Rs 20 were found in the cash bundles sent to the Reserve Bank of India ,Chennai from the SBI main office here a few days back. RBI Manager Joshi lodged a complaint.........

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Separate officer to probe Rupee Bank cases

.............The meeting discussed a number of issues, including hardship cases pending with the Reserve Bank of India, inquiries pending under Section 88 and appointing flying squads for filing criminal cases and giving letters to the directors asking them to furnish information about irregularities during their tenure. The list of former directors also has been provided by the department to the account holders and depositors’ committee...............

Read - DNA

When it comes to the rupee, ‘you ain’t seen nothin’ yet’

........To conclude, tough times lie ahead for the rupee. The recent Financial Stability Report released by the RBI points out that “rise in India’s overall external debt is an added source of concern.” But that is a very mild “British” sort of way of putting it. What we need here is a classic American expression. When it comes to the rupee “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”.

Read - Mint

RBI flags external risks to financial system

..........The twice-yearly Financial Stability Report (FSR) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said Thursday that risks to the banking sector are on the rise amid tight liquidity and deteriorating asset quality concerns, and the credit quality of commercial banks could deteriorate further if the current macroeconomic situation persists. It added that external sector vulnerability is emerging as a major risk to the financial system..............

Read - Mint

Canara Bank, Interest Rate and high cost of funds

...........Depending on borrowed funds at high cost to do banking business and maintaining high NPAs without disciplining the willful defaulters will naturally add to the cost of funds and bank  cannot blame RBI for that. It is unfortunate that bank is taking shelter blaming  RBI  for its miserable failure in Asset Liability Management............

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India’s gamble on gold could come unstuck

.............The debate is even acquiring a proletarian angle. Indians are estimated to privately hold 18,000 tonnes of gold, which is some 350 times the size of the official gold holdings of the Reserve Bank of India. When the import duty on gold bars was raised from 4 per cent to 6 per cent in January 2013, gold was trading at $1,692 an ounce. Gold has since fallen to $1,200, a decline of 29 per cent..........

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Lender says suit against it based on 'misconception'

....“If article 110(b) is interpreted in the manner sought by the plaintiffs, it would amount to imposing a fetter on the board of directors, the bank and the shareholders to decide on the manner in which the board should be appointed and the people who shall be appointed on the board...Such an interpretation would effectively create a pooling agreement,”........

Read | Business Standard

Govt efforts may go kaput as price fall makes gold attractive

The government has increased the duty on gold multiple times and the RBI has tried to use the credit route to choke off lending against gold. Bank credit cards will not always let you buy gold and some gold backed funds will retreat. But, the curious fact is that gold really appears to be a good buy at a time when the price is falling notwithstanding the rupee’s depreciation........

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Curbs on use of credit card to buy gold, take a swipe at online jewellery sales

.........“In just four days, our sales have dropped 20 per cent. It was first HDFC, now ICICI, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank have all stopped their EMI option. We have been getting calls from customers about failures in payment processing,” said Gaurav Khuswaha, founder of Bangalore-based Bluestone.com. He said the RBI guidelines were for the purchase of gold coins and bars and not for jewellery. “The move will impact our jewellery sales, though we don’t sell gold coins. We are planning to take up this matter with the banks directly and also with the Gems and Jewellery Federation of India,”........

Read - HBL

My View on "HDFC Bank was probed on COBRAPOST Expose"

The clarification given by the MD, Shri Aditya Puri, does not save the embarrassment caused to it by the IT sleuths probing them. If the bank had accepted the deposits without the normal precautions expected to be observed by them, I wonder how credible IT would find their witness to be. After all, the bank cannot afford to let down the depositors after accepting their deposits in the manner they might have done. It would be interesting to know  what the MD has to say about the taped conversation of their executives with Cobrapost persons who had come to them as clients and what action has been taken against them. I find that the part-time Chairman of the bank was the Banking Secretary decade ago ( he must be about 75 years old ) and one does not know how comfortable he is at the helm of the bank after being extraordinarily strict and correct when he was the Banking Secretary. His predecessors for nearly 15 years were RBI top executives and the bank has shown its competence in carefully pitching on persons for the position of their part time Chairman !!

A.Chandramouliswaran

RBI asks banks to keep uniform charges for same services

........"Accordingly, if a particular service is provided free at home branch the same should be available free at non-home branches also. There should be no discrimination as regards intersol charges between similar transactions done by customers at home branch and those done at non-home branches," RBI said in a directive. Charges levied by banks on their customers for products and services are called intersol charges........

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RBI revises bank KYC guidelines, advises new set of norms

.........."The increasing complexity and volume of financial transactions necessitate that customers do not have multiple identities within a bank, across the banking system and across the financial system. This can be achieved by introducing a unique identification code for each customer," RBI said in a master circular on Know Your Customer (KYC)/Anti-Money Laundering (ALM), released on Monday................

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IRDA plans cap on sales by bank-promoted insurers

......With many banks starting their own insurance ventures, newer, non-bank promoted insurers have been finding it difficult to find distribution partners with a wide network. Under the current existing norms for distribution, a bank can become only a corporate agent, which allows it to sell products of one life insurance company and one non-life company and one standalone health insurance company........

Read - HBL

Complaints lower than bank branches this year, says Ombudsman

COIMBATORE, JUNE 27:  

It was a pat for bankers in the Coimbatore region when Banking Ombudsman Sujatha E. Prasad observed that the number of complaints registered by the Ombudsman Cell so far this year was lower than the branch network and customer base. “We got only 280 complaints this year. There are 503 branches of various banks operating in this region and around four million accounts,” she said. On the nature of complaints, she said that only three pertained to opening of new accounts.......................

Read - HBL

Get alerts for banking frauds

.........."There have been instances where a fraudster comes back to an account or credit card after having duped a customer once. These alerts may not avert the first fraud but they do help you avoid a repeat attack. Because once a fraud is reported, banks flag an account and any transaction after that goes through extra scrutiny," ...........

Read | Business Standard

Jet Airways, HDFC Bank launch 'JetPriviledge-HDFC World Debit Card

.............“We are extremely proud to launch this unique, first-of-its-kind co-brand Debit Card in partnership with HDFC Bank. The launch of JetPrivilege HDFC Bank World Debit Card is a milestone achievement for us as it marks the entry of JetPrivilege into the expanding debit card segment. As card usage increases in tier II and tier III cities, the launch of this co-brand debit card will allow Jet Airways to connect millions of customers across India by rewarding their spends with JPMiles, which can be redeemed for free flights.”..................

Read | Business Standard

Vijaya Bank all-woman branch

BANGALORE, JULY 1:  

Karnataka Minister for Women & Child Development Umashree inaugurated Vijaya Bank’s all-woman branch at Ramamurthy Nagar, Bangalore. It is the bank’s second all-woman branch and first in Bangalore.........

Read - HBL

SBT introduces 'Doorstep Banking' facility

......The major benefits to the customers include zero security risk in the movement of cash from their office to the bank and costs incurred on the transportation of money. To start with, the van will pick up cash from the customer's doorsteps from 10 am to 4.30 pm and this is likely to be extended later, a bank press release said. ......

Read | Business Standard

Know if you are in CIBIL’s list of defaulters or not

....A control number is generated every time a CIR is requested from CIBIL by the bank. Control number refers to a nine digit unique number which enables CIBIL to track an individual's credit report from its database. Every time bank seeks for credit report of an individual from CIBIL, a new control number is generated..............

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