RBI imposes Rs 1-lakh penalty on Chopda People's Co-op Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), today said that it has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1-lakh on Chopda People''s Co-operative Bank Ltd, based in Jalgaon of Maharashtra. The action has been initiated for violating the provision of Section 5 (ccv) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (AACS) and violation of the Reserve Bank of India''s directive on unsecured advances, the apex bank said in a statement. The RBI had issued a show-cause notice to the concerned bank, in response to which it submitted a written reply, it said. "Based on the reply, the Reserve Bank of India came to the conclusion that the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of the penalty," it said.

More HK banks will set up ops if RBI issues licences: HKTDC

Mumbai, Apr 5 (PTI) The Hong Kong Trade Development Corporation (HKTDC), feels that more Hong Kong banks would set up operations in India if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issues licenses to foreign banks. "Presently, we have HSBC in India. We feel some more banks will be interested in starting operations in India if RBI permits banking licenses to foreign banks," HKTDC's Assistant Executive Director, Raymond Yip, told reporters here today. India is the second-largest market for Hong Kong as nearly 11 Indian banks have their operations here, he said. "With the economy reviving slowly, we are expecting a few more Indian banks to set up their operations in Hong Kong," he said. The HKTDC is also focusing on the Indian market for enhancing its imports and exports, he said. "We (India and Hong Kong) export and import pearls and jewellery at a larger scale as compared to other products. At the same time, India is emerging as an IT hub. Therefore, we are also looking at this sector as a potential trade destination for Hong Kong," Yip said.

NE lags in electronic clearing system: RBI

Ruling that the Northeast was yet to pick up the electronic clearing system (ECS), a senior Reserve Bank official today said Clearances through the ECS in the region is only one per cent of the national average. "More awareness in required to refine the payment and settlement systems in the region. Of late, Manipur has started payment of salaries through this system. In Meghalaya some debit clearing (like BSNL bills) is done through ECS," RBI Regional Director Surekha Marandi said. Addressing a workshop on popularizing ECS for payment of salaries and pension, she said the electronic transfer of payments were safe, efficient, time saving time and it helped better fund management. "Clearances through cheques take three days time, while through ECS it is done in one day. The ECS also ensures better customer satisfaction," she said.Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said all state government employees will be brought in the loop."The beneficiaries of government schemes and other weekly payments will be done through this system in near future," Sangma said. Meghalaya additional chief secretary (in charge finance) BK Dev Verma said the ECS reduces the paper work and the exercise of going to banks. "The possibility of fraud is also nil," he said. Meghalaya government is in the process of starting e-payment of pension. "Next, we will start the payment of salaries through ECS. The banks have to gear up to handle the tasks, because gradually all government transactions will be done through electronic payment," Verma said.