NBFCs better placed than corporates for bank nod

Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) seem to have an edge over corporates in bagging the new banking licences, if the draft norms issued by the Reserve Bank of India are any indication. This is particularly the case with NBFCs with strong track record. “Though corporates are eligible to apply for banking licences under these norms (draft guidelines for new banking licences), there is ambiguity on how RBI would define ‘diversified ownership’.  As a result, clarity is yet to emerge on eligibility of Reliance Capital (54% promoter holding), Bajaj Finserv (58%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (25%),” said Pathik Gandotra, Chinmaya Garg, Kavitha Rajan of IDFC Securities in a report on Monday. The analysts are also of the view that, “NBFCs with strong track record (as Shriram Transport, IDFC) and diversified parent ownership (as L&T Finance) could be likely recipients of the new bank licences.” However, few analysts think differently. Mahrukh Adajania and Parees Purohit of Standard Chartered said in a report on Tuesday said that it is positive for groups without existing financial businesses and less so for those with existing NBFCs.  “Less positive for existing NBFCs -M&M Finance and Shriram as their asset financing business will need to merge with the bank,” said Adajania and Purohit. Also, if industrial houses come into the picture it may trigger acquisition of small private sector players in the banking sector. Mihir Sheth, Anil Agarwal, Subramanian Iyer, Reshma Seth and Sumeet Kariwala of Morgan Stanley Research said in a report on Tuesday, “From a near-term perspective, the fact that industrial houses have been allowed to apply could be perceived by investors / markets to be a positive catalyst for small private sector banks (as potential acquisition plays).” Also, increase in number of players may have its own disadvantages. “It (introduction of new aggressive banks) is likely to increase existing fragmentation levels, raise competitive intensity (both on the lending and deposit sides) as well as escalate cost pressures,” said Manish Chowdhary, Aditya Narain of Citigroup Global Markets in a report on Monday. This could also lead to an erosion of the scarcity premium for existing private sector banks - especially the smaller ones (Yes Bank, Kotak, old private sector banks) - though should be gradual and over a longer period of time, said Chowdhary and Narain.

DNA

NBFCs fret over RBI proposals

Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are upset over new regulatory recommendations from a Reserve Bank of India panel that wants them to increase their cash cushion by redefining what constitutes a substandard loan. If the RBI working group's suggestion to make asset classification norms similar to banks is implemented, NBFCs will have to classify loans that involve due payments of more than 90 days as "substandard" and make provisioning of 15% with respect to their assets. What this could mean is that a greater share of loans will be seen as non-performing assets (NPA) - triggering a squeeze on the firms' funds, harsher methods to recover loans or interest and a loss of business, say the NBFCs. They add they might have to charge higher rates. "We give loans to mostly the un-banked people such as truck drivers who want to buy second-hand trucks. Most of them are first time customers. They have no collateral and no repayment track record. And banks do not fund them. From those customers' point of view, stricter norms will make things difficult," said R.Sridhar, Managing Director, Shriram Transport Finance Corporation.  "For banks 90 days (to classify a loan as substandard) is okay. But, for NBFCs what is reasonable is 180 days," added Sridhar, whose company extends 400,000 loans a year for pre-owned trucks. "Ninety days mean we have to start acting after 30 days of overdue. This will change recovery practices," Sridhar said. N. Sivaraman, president, L&T Finance, said unorganised sector customers need a different approach. "For example, small contractors may not be very regular in repayment. It does not mean they default," he said. Ramesh Iyer, managing director, Mahindra Financial Services Ltd, said the new norms for vehicle loans suggest legal support for recovery and income tax benefits, which might balance the tough cushioning norms.

HT

Indian companies will find it difficult to raise funds abroad, says RBI

NEW DELHI: Indian companies will find it difficult to raise funds from the overseas market due to the impact of US sovereign debt rating downgrade by Standard and Poor's on global financial market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said.  Several lenders and financial institutions including Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), IDBI Bank, Bank of India and Indian Bank have already postponed their overseas offerings, said a central bank note on impact of rating downgrade on India. RBI further said its decision to relax the norms for repayment of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) may not yield the desired results. "The relaxation in ECB (external commercial borrowings) guidelines offered by the Reserve Bank for repayment of... liabilities (by companies) may not be as useful as foreign sources might dry up," the note to the Sub-Committee of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) said. In May, RBI had raised the overall limit for ECBs to $30 billion from $20 billion for the current financial year, a move seen as a breather for corporates battling high interest rates. Earlier this month, S&P downgraded the US government's 'AAA' sovereign credit rating -- a development which raised concerns that investors will lose confidence in its economy. As per the note, the outstanding of trade credit and loans is about $205 billion as on March 31, 2011, as per India's International Investment Position.

ET

Nebulous, hazardous norms

...One is at a loss to find the RBI mandating listing within two years of licensing. Why this tearing hurry when the insurance regulator had barred insurance companies from going public for ten years by putting a bar on Indian promoters holding 74 per cent of the capital from offering their shares to the public during this period?....

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Central bank’s proposed norms may hit NBFCs’ profitability

The guidelines suggested by an RBI working group on Monday are likely to impact the NBFCs’ profitability. Industry experts feel that with increased capital requirement in a rising interest rate scenario, NBFCs are likely to face tough challenges in maintaining a decent bottomline growth once the guidelines are implemented...........

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A tale of two banking sectors

Sure, times are difficult for the banking sector as a whole with slowing credit growth, hikes in interest rates and rise in non-performing assets. However, public sector banks have additional pressures to deal with, mostly concerning asset quality.

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Madhavpura Mercantile Bank seeks merger in order to survive

Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank (MMCB), infamous for its association with stock broker Ketan Parekh, has got a six months’ breather from the banking regulator. As a last-ditch attempt to keep the bank alive, a revival package is being worked out by merging MMCB with another bank, said an official of the Gujarat Urban Cooperative Banks Federation (GUCBF).

Mint

Mandi Urban Bank awaits RBI nod to restart operations

Shimla: With the financial health of Mandi Urban Cooperative Bank (MUCB) having improved, the government awaits a nod from Reserve Bank of India to permit the bank that was asked to suspend operations 7 years to start functioning again. Papers laid in the Vidhan Sabha monsoon session that concluded on Wednesday revealed that RBI carried out a statutory inspection of MUCB under Banking Regulation Act for the year 2010-11 from 3rd to 9th August, 2011. A proposal to RBI for relaxing or removing restrictions imposed on the bank was submitted in March and April, 2011 and a response for the request to resume normal banking operations was still awaited, chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal who is also the state finance minister disclosed in the paper. Financial position of the bank on 30th July, 2011 was shown that it had total deposits of Rs 29.47 crore and had investments of Rs 27.62 Cr.  MUCB with a share capital of Rs 2.1 Cr had reserves of 4.36 crore and the financial position of the bank was conducive for normal functioning of the bank, Dhumal stated. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had imposed a complete ban on withdrawal of money from the bank seven years ago after it detected misappropriation of funds and other large scale financial bunglings. At the time of closure there were about 2600 depositors with the bank and non performing assets had crossed Rs 7.7 crore.  An RBI inspection then had revealed that loans had been advanced to employees and relatives of those in the management. Loans of even those not eligible were noticed to have been written off.

My Himachal

I-T sleuths train their guns on co-operative banks

AHMEDABAD: The many erring co-operative banks in the state might find income tax (I-T) sleuths on their doors soon. The I-T department has decided to go behind the banks which allegedly help tax evaders by flouting norms like Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-money Laundering (AML) guidelines among others. Sources with the department said that the soon to be set-up Directorate of Income Tax (Criminal investigation), or DCI, which will have directors posted in eight cities of the country including Ahmedabad, will look into these cases. "Details of cash transactions, especially those above Rs 10 lakh in banks, remain to be a crucial data during investigations of the I-T department. But a number of cash transactions go unnoticed when banks flout AML guidelines. Banks flouting KYC norms can knowingly or unknowingly help tax-evaders open dummy accounts to manage their black money," said an I-T official. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has in the last eight months slapped Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh fine on more than 50 co-operative banks in Gujarat for flouting such norms. There are over 1,700 big and small co-operative banks in the country. Gujarat is among the top five with 280 banks, the majority of which are located in rural areas. The main complaint against co-operative banks is that they allow multiple accounts of a single person or company and hide higher value transactions. RBI had in 2002 made it mandatory for banks to share monthly details of all accounts where cash transaction of more than Rs 10 lakh has taken place with the Financial Intelligence Unit, India. But on several occasions, state co-operative banks have fallen short of complying with the RBI guidelines. "More than 75% of the total banks RBI has penalized in the country in the last one year are from Gujarat. Most of these banks are in rural centers and don't have a trained and aware staff. Several banks have started training their staff and are conducting workshops so that they don't fall on the other side of law due to ignorance," said a co-operative bank director.

TOI

‘Islamic banking has emerged a viable source of financing'

...The importance of Islamic finance has been realised by some big corporates in India. To take an example, Reliance launched Sharia-compliant portfolio management scheme and so has many others. The Reserve Bank is considering starting Islamic NBFCs (non-banking financial companies). In the mutual fund industry, too, a few but big mutual funds have launched Sharia-compliant scheme.......

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Banks to go on strike if Govt introduces Amendment Bill on new licences

Mumbai : The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) plans to go on a flash strike if the Government introduces the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill in Parliament. UFBU is opposed to the Bill, which will also pave the way for issue of new bank licences to corporates by the RBI, as it would help in easier merger of banks, unrestricted voting rights to enable takeover of private banks by corporates and foreign investors. The Bill also proposes a 10-fold increase in the voting rights of private shareholders in nationalised banks.  “Instead of strengthening public sector banks by pumping in capital, the Government is letting in corporates in the banking space in the name of financial inclusion. This will be detrimental to the health of the financial sector,” said Mr Vishwas Utagi, Secretary, All India Bank Employees Association. About 10 lakh bank employees and officers working in all public sector banks, old generation private sector banks, and co-operative banks will go on an all-India flash strike under the aegis of UFBU if the Government introduces the Bill in the current session of Parliament, he added.  The current Parliament session is on up to September 8, 2011. UFBU is the apex body of nine trade unions operating in the banking industry. The Unions are also opposed to the Planning Commission's Draft Approach Paper for the Twelfth Plan. The Paper has suggested reduction of Government's capital in public sector banks to less than 51 per cent.

HBL

Barclays Wealth appoints Asha Mathen as Director, PCG

Barclays Wealth, the wealth management division of Barclays PLC, has appointed Asha Mathen as Director, Private Client Group, Chennai. In this role, Mathen oversees and manages the team of private bankers covering Tamil Nadu, and assumes overall responsibility for the development and bottom line of this key market. She reports to Vishal Jain, Managing Director, based in Mumbai. Mathen has over 22 years of experience in the financial services industry. She started her career at the Reserve Bank of India and moved to ICICI Bank where she headed the Chennai region overseeing 42 branches. In 2005, she joined Deutsche Bank to start its Chennai retail banking division, and went on to head the South and East regions for the Bank. In 2008, she moved to the Private Wealth Management division of Deutsche Bank.

http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Barclays-Wealth-appoints-Asha-Mathen-as-Director-PCG/5232241168

We are Indians, we love cash: A tale of 2010-11

The economic turbulence and inflationary scenario of 2008-2011 has made Indian households risk-averse. According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual report for 2010-11, Indian households are dumping equity, and investing more in government-backed savings schemes (public provident funds and post office savings schemes), and hoarding cash. In 2010-11, Indian households’ financial savings grew by a small 5.3 percent to Rs 10,43,977 crore – just about Rs 52,400 crore more than the previous year. And yet, most of the increase went into hoarding cash, which grew 44 percent to Rs 1,39,344 crore, Rs 42,400 crore in absolute terms. Clearly, Indians seem to like the feel of hard cash to investing in shares or risky assets. Most of their incremental investments went into super-safe avenues. After cash, investments in life insurance funds and deposits with banks and non-banking companies came next in terms of increase. Among the six major heads of financial savings – currency, deposits, shares and debentures, claims on government, life insurance funds and provident and pension funds – claims on government have grown the most by 58.5 percent to Rs 67,954 crore, driven by a huge jump in small savings schemes. Small savings like post office deposit schemes, public provident funds, National Savings Certificates and Kisan Vikas Patras took up the lion’s share of savings, while government securities attracted less than 1 percent under the “claims on government’ head. Investments in ‘shares and debentures’ and ‘provident and pension funds’ however took a beating, as households wound down their investments in mutual funds (with a negative figure possibly reflecting a lack of fresh investments when old ones matured). Investments in direct equities fell. The total liquidation of investments in the shares and debentures category was to the tune of Rs 4,636 crore. Investments in provident and pension funds also declined by almost 17 percent to Rs 95,159 crore. By the looks of it, the trend for risk-aversion among households continues in 2011-12 as well, with retail investors staying out of equities, and deposits continuing to show healthy growth.

Firstpost

Public cautioned against bogus cash awards SMS

The Crime Investigation Department of the Police has advised the people not to believe and respond to bogus SMSs sent by unknown persons promising cash transfer. The Additional Director General of Police (law and order) and spokesperson S.A. Huda in a press release here on Tuesday said that in the recent past many SMSs are being received by the public stating that recipients of the message will get 10 lakh pounds and they are asked to part with details of account number, address for further information. The messages are very tempting and the public innocently send their details to the sender and get cheated. They are also remitting certain amounts as demanded by the sender. Sometimes, they were using the names of RBI, Coca-Cola and other organisations. Mr. Huda said this was all bogus propaganda and nothing but cheating the innocent people.

HBL

Rajya Sabha passes SBI Bill amidst din

Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill which seeks to transfer powers to the central government from the Reserve Bank with regard to SBI subsidiary State Bank of Hyderabad with an amendment moved by a BJP member. The transfer of powers to the Centre has been necessitated after the ownership of the SBI was transfered from the RBI to the government. The Bill was passed amid din even as the debate on it remained inconclusive. The upper house saw repeated adjournments after noon following protests by BJP over appointment of Lokayukta by the governor in Gujarat. The government agreed to an amendment by Piyush Goyal (BJP), who detected a technical flaw in the Bill. He had pointed out that the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks Laws) Amendment Bill, 2009, which was before the House, was not the same that was sent to the Standing Committee. As soon as the House reassembled, the BJP members continued their protest trooping into the well. Even as they were shouting slogans against Gujarat governor, minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena moved the Bill for consideration of the House. Before PJ Kurien, who was in the chair, adjourned the House for the day, he asked for a voice vote and approved the Bill.

HT

Foreign banks pause branch expansion

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appears to have gone slow in offering new branch licences to foreign banks which have greater presence in the country. The top seven lenders, which account for over 70 per cent of foreign bank branches in India, have not added a single branch to their existing network in the current year.

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Sahara to pay depositors 4 years before RBI deadline

Sahara India Financial Corp. Ltd, India’s largest residuary non-banking company, has decided to wind up deposits and pay all its customers by December, about four years before a deadline set by the central bank. The company, which made the announcement in a public notice published as an advertisement in leading newspapers on Tuesday, didn’t give any reason for the move. An email sent to Abhijit Sarkar, head (corporate communications) at Sahara India Pariwar​, did not elicit any response. Analysts said this could be a precursor to Sahara seeking a banking licence so that it starts with a clean slate. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday released a draft proposal to allow industrial houses and non-banking financial companies to set up banks. Sahara India Financial, a so-called para-banking company, is part of the Sahara group, which is involved in a range of businesses, including entertainment, media and real estate. The group publishes a Hindi-language newspaper that competes in some markets with Hindustan, published by Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd, a unit of HT Media Ltd, which also publishes Mint. In 2008, the banking regulator asked Sahara India Financial not to accept fresh deposits and wind up the Rs.20,000 crore of public deposits it had in seven years. It also banned the company from accepting fresh deposits maturing beyond June 2011. RBI had directed Sahara India Financial to repay the deposits as and when they mature and bring down the aggregate liability to depositors to zero on or before 30 June 2015, after it found irregularities in the functioning of the company. As per the order, by 30 June of this year, the firm should not have had a deposit liability of more than Rs.9,000 crore. Sahara India Financial’s advance payment notice said the company accepted Rs.73,000 crore of deposits till June 2011, but didn’t say anything about outstanding deposits. The company will have no liability following the payment, it said.

Mint

‘Next rate hike could trigger SME defaults'

Small and medium enterprises (SME) find themselves at the end of the tether as the interest-rate cycle takes its toll, exposing them to the risk of default. Mr Amitabh Chaturvedi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dhanlaxmi Bank, sees a likely trigger in the next round of interest-rate hike, if and when that occurs. “Another 50 bps (basis points) in hike may just about see us through, but beyond that defaults will definitely begin to happen,” Mr Chaturvedi told Business Line.  The Reserve Bank of India's priority to hold the price line would imply a 25 to 50 bps hike in its policy-making meeting due next month.

HBL

GDP slows, will RBI?

....What is more worrisome is the continued slowdown in gross fixed capital formation, which fell to 28.4% of the GDP, the lowest level since 2004-05. Read together with the RBI numbers on the slowdown in the financial investments of households, the prospects on the savings and investment front suggest a recovery will take a while. .....

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The missing solution

...What the recent inflation experience suggests is that while the earlier regime of intervention and regulation is criticised for generating a high-cost (and, therefore, a high price) economy, the processes of liberalisation and deregulation are the ones that are creating a high inflation economy......

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'Raising capital for the bank would not be a challenge' - Vijay Mahajan, Chairman, BASIX

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) quest for financial inclusion through new banking licences has caught the imagination of social entrepreneur Vijay Mahajan. A day after RBI released the draft guidelines on new bank licences.......

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Banking on circumspection

While encouraging new entrants to participate in the sector, the norms aim to prevent private entrants from using banks as ‘private pools' of capital. Quietly yet self-assuredly, the Reserve Bank of India has released its draft guidelines on new bank licences for the private sector after a gap of more than a decade. The guidelines offer a vital clue to the RBI's world-view on the subject: in a word, selectivity. As the RBI warns: “Banking being a highly leveraged business, licences shall be issued on a very selective basis to those who conform” to the norms but “it may not be possible for the Reserve Bank to issue licences to all the applicants meeting the eligibility criteria…” This is confusing; an eligible applicant is entitled to go ahead unless the RBI explains at the outset why it is “not possible” to let the candidate through the gate. The criteria are severe and represent the concern to safeguard the banking sector from the slings and arrows of private enterprise and foreign majority holding. Only firms with “diversified ownership”, a successful track record of 10 years, owned and controlled by resident Indians, less than 10 per cent exposure to real estate, construction or capital market activities, and able to cough up Rs 500 crore will be permitted to apply through a Non-Operative Holding Company (NOHC) that, for the first five years, will have to hold at least 40 per cent of the paid-up capital; aggregate non-resident ownership in that period will not be allowed to exceed 49 per cent. Bowing to the mantra of financial inclusion, the RBI insists that one in every four branches will have to be set up in rural and semi-urban areas. The guidelines insist, unlike the earlier rules, that new entrants list within two years and that half the directors be independent; this may not necessarily keep promoters' biases at bay but, then, the RBI tries to ring-fence the new entity, especially where “promoter groups” have 40 per cent or more assets or income from non-financial business. In this case, the guidelines insist on aggregate exposure of not more than 20 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of the bank to any entity “in the promoter group, their business associates, major suppliers and customers”; and all “exposures will have to be approved by the Board and all credit facilities to these entities should have a minimum tangible security cover of 150 per cent”. Last week, Dr Subbarao sounded the tone when he warned of the need to prevent private entrants from using banks as “private pools” of capital. The draft guidelines aim to do just that while giving new entrants enough leeway to participate in an industry bristling with business opportunity.

HBL

Banking on licences

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it clear that it would like to ensure only the “fit and proper” make the grade when it comes to securing licences to set up private banks. The onerous criteria laid down by the central bank do not explicitly bar firms with an interest in other lines of business activity, outside of real estate and capital market, from securing licences. But to do so these firms have to meet more stringent norms than insisted on ever before. The draft also explicitly refers to the need to prevent “self-dealing” by promoters. Given the mood in the country today, it is just as well that RBI has laid down such tough eligibility criteria. Finally, as in the past, the central bank has said a high-level group will process the applications after due diligence by various regulatory authorities as well as enforcement and investigation agencies. The initial minimum capital requirement of Rs 500 crore is well below the widely expected Rs 1,000 crore and, understandably, above the Rs 200 crore that was specified in 2001 when the last round of issuing licences to private banks was opened, given the new global prudential environment. While Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tried to adorn his budgetary initiative of issuing fresh banking licences in the garb of “inclusive growth” by citing the “need to extend the geographic coverage of banks and improve access to banking”, the draft guidelines fix a more modest obligation to open at least 25 per cent of new branches in unbanked rural centres. This should take some sweat off the brow of potential applicants. They can continue to rely on the more lucrative urban and semi-urban areas for most of their business. The second reason cited by Mr Mukherjee was the “need to ensure that the banking system grows in size and sophistication to meet the needs of a modern economy”. The financial crisis that hit the world after Lehman Brothers collapsed resulted partly from banks having become too sophisticated for anybody’s good. The RBI guidelines refer to this when they say, “post-crisis, there are concerted moves even internationally to separate banking from proprietary trading”. Currently, there is a feeling that banks should concentrate on their primary task, meet the credit needs of businesses, small and big, and individuals and not get into sophisticated products like complex derivatives. Not only have large companies bypassed banks through disintermediation for some time now, currently the sharp difference between domestic and international lending rates has raised the incentive for those who can bypass banks to borrow abroad. The real gap in banking services in India is inadequate coverage of small and medium businesses, those who are too poor, and those in places too remote to have a bank account. It is not clear how this gap will be addressed by having some more banks of the kind that already exist in plenty. On the other hand, the fact that final guidelines will now take more time to be issued and, more importantly, the fact that applications will only be invited after the Banking Regulation Act has been suitably amended to account for the specified guidelines suggest that RBI is not in a hurry to open doors for new private banks. Such caution is well advised.

BS

Banking on RBI

...Beyond this, however, is a leap of faith and a lot depends on how RBI ups its supervisory game—as RBI said in the discussion paper, it is very difficult to detect rotation of funds by corporate houses on a 24x7 basis......

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Keep banks and industry separate

...It’s good to see the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) assert itself. It seemed, for a while, that the central bank was giving the finance ministry’s views way too much weightage but the draft guidelines for new banking licences are evidence that RBI is not about to do what it does not believe in. If the discussion paper on new bank licences, put out in August last year, showed how diffident the central bank was about allowing large industrial houses into the banking space, the draft guidelines reaffirm that it remains so............

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Make the new banks go rural

One of the stated policy objectives of allowing industrial houses to set up banks is to enhance financial inclusion. Therefore, the grant of a licence should be subject to a commitment to set up more rural branches.....

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Meeting new bank licensing norms tough for most MFIs

Barring a few top players, banking is likely to be a distant dream for most microfinance institutions in the country. This is because the draft norms on foreign shareholding, minimum capital requirement and diversified ownership structure would prevent micro-lenders from entering the banking space. Spandana Sphoorty Financial, a Hyderabad-based microfinance institution promoted by Padmaja Reddy, had earlier expressed interest in setting up a micro-bank. While Reddy said the company was still reviewing the guidelines, she added meeting the minimum capital requirements would be difficult for cash-strapped Spandana Sphoorty. “We are reviewing the guidelines. No decision has been taken yet. We are not ruling it out. But raising Rs 500-crore capital in the current environment looks challenging because our own capital base has been depleted by the crisis in the microfinance sector,” Reddy told Business Standard. RBI has mandated the minimum capital requirement for new banks at Rs 500 crore. Spandana Sphoorty's local rival, Trident Microfin, has already shelved its plans to open a bank. “Raising capital for the bank will not be possible because of the 49 per cent cap on foreign shareholding. Given what has happened in the microfinance sector in India, fund raising would be extremely difficult locally,” said Trident's chief executive, Kishore Kumar Puli. Industry analysts said micro-lenders like Kolkata-based Bandhan and Chennai-based Madura Micro Finance were unlikely to secure licences despite relatively better financial positions, as they don't have a track record of over 10 years. However, for large players like SKS Microfinance and Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance, the draft guidelines have opened doors of opportunity in the banking space. SKS, the only listed microfinance institution in India, already conforms to most of the norms proposed in the draft guidelines. “The thrust of the draft guidelines of new bank licensing is on financial inclusion, which we welcome. We are reviewing the guidelines. The strategic decision on whether to apply for a banking licence would be taken by the board. We are not ruling it out,” said Chief Financial Officer S Dilli Raj. SKS’ net worth is estimated at Rs 1,563 crore. The firm has 95 per cent of its branches in rural and under-banked areas, against RBI's proposal of having 25 per cent of the new bank branches in these regions. About 50 per cent of the company's board comprises independent directors, and this is in accordance with the proposed guidelines. Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance, promoted by social entrepreneur Vijay Mahajan, has also firmed up plans to apply for a new banking licence. Analysts said while microfinance institutions claim they have relevant experience in financial inclusion programmes, the recent crisis in the sector would make RBI cautious in offering banking licences to microfinance firms. “RBI will be very selective in offering new licences. Microfinance institutions may not be at the top of RBI’s list,” said an analyst with a domestic brokerage, on the condition of anonymity.

BS

India Inc gears up for bank licence battle

Indian corporate houses, eager to enter the banking sector, are gearing up to battle for the few licences that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to issue. Analysts and industry players expect the RBI to issue two to five new licences, meaning most of the more than 10 corporate groups that have expressed interest in setting up a bank may be disappointed. India has not issued a new banking licence since 2004 and has said it will only issue a few new licenses. The RBI is looking to expand access to banking services in a country where more than half of families are outside the formal financial sector.

"Going by the history, I don't think the RBI will issue more than four or at most five licences this time. There will be a lot of filtering, it's going to be stringent," Pradeep Agarwal, analyst with Emkay Broking, said. Corporate groups including the Tata group and billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital, which both operate non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), are among those interested in seeking banking licences in a country where lending is growing at about 20 percent a year. Religare Enterprises, Bajaj Finserv, Aditya Birla group and Mahindra Finance, among others, are also keen to enter the segment.

Religare, controlled by billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, said on Tuesday it has set up an advisory panel that would help it apply for a licence and is also open to partnership with global lenders.  The Reserve Bank of India's draft guidelines limit foreign shareholdings in start-up banks to 49 percent for the first five years and allow no single foreign owner to hold more than 5 percent. New licence-holders would also be required to list their banks on the stock market within two years. "They only want serious players who seriously view this business and understand the economics of it over a long period of time," Religare Chief Executive Sachindra Nath told Reuters. The RBI in its draft guidelines issued on Monday said that it will consider granting licences to private firms with successful track records of at least 10 years and with low exposure to the real estate, construction and broking businesses.

"From a long-term perspective one can grow through banks. Your customer base in a bank is much more diversified, you can sell much more products to your customers, and obviously your funding is easier," said Sam Ghosh, chief executive officer of Reliance Capital. He said Reliance Capital meets the RBI guidelines and will need to set up a non-operating holding company to seek a licence. Many firms planning to apply for banking licences already operate non-banking  finance companies, which provide mostly small loans to consumers and businesses.

Reuters

RBI lists 'necessary' terms for new bank licences

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken the next step towards delivering on the assurance contained in its January 2001 guidelines that it would consider licensing more banks three years later, after a review of the working of private sector banks. The new draft guidelines released on Monday take into account both the experience of banks licensed under the 1993 and 2001 guidelines and the feedback to its August 2010 Discussion Paper and are a vast improvement over the earlier guidelines. Thus, the minimum capital requirement has been raised to 500 crore (as against 200 crore earlier) and the capital adequacy ratio increased to 12% (9% for existing banks).  New banks will have to ensure that 25% of their branches are located in rural areas. Foreign shareholding has been capped at 49% for the first five years, as against 74% at present. While the entry of corporates has not been banned, per se, a number of safeguards have been incorporated.  Importantly, the Bank has incorporated certain vital caveats that were missing in the earlier guidelines. Key among these is the amendment to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to remove the restriction on voting rights while concurrently empowering the RBI to approve acquisition of shares and/or voting rights of 5% or more in a bank to persons who are 'fit and proper'; empowering the RBI to supersede the bank's board of directors to protect depositors' interest; and facilitating consolidated supervision. Insistence that the new bank be set up only through a wholly owned non-operative holding company is an additional safeguard that was missing earlier. This will ring-fence the bank (and depositors' money) from problems in related entities. Compulsory listing within two years of licensing will ensure diversified shareholding, reducing the scope for promoter-groups to indulge in questionable lending. The most important, of course, is the warning that 'it may not be possible for the RBI to issue licences to all applicants meeting eligibility criteria'. To use the jargon of economists, these are necessary, but not sufficient conditions to get a bank licence. The decision on that will rest, rightly, with an RBI-appointed expert committee.

ET

NBFCs soar on hopes of getting banking licence

Investors lapped up NBFC stocks in Monday's strong market, although the broking community remained divided on the Reserve Bank of India's draft guidelines on new banking licenses because of restrictions imposed on it in getting a licence.

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Asset financing NBFCs unhappy with RBI’s risk weightage norms

The RBI working group’s recommendations on the NBFC sector has failed to acknowledge the consistency shown by asset financing NBFCs in lowering credit losses and maintaining healthy retail portfolio, feel companies in the business........

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MF industry not over-regulated

A regulator’s prime responsibility is to come up with guidelines that will ensure an orderly development of the market and that risks associated with the industry do not become systemic risks. The journey of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) with regard to the regulation of the Indian financial markets started in 1996, with a basic regulatory framework. Most industry players had to interpret and apply the regulations according to the situation. Since 1996, with the introduction of various capital market products like derivatives, swaps, etc, regulations have had to keep pace with these developments. The growth of the financial services industry has attracted retail investors in greater numbers, many of whom invest their life savings in the markets or are saving for their future, retirement, etc. Financial markets are dynamic and it is difficult for anyone to predict the outcome. Hence the need for greater investor awareness and information. In addition, financial literacy among investors about mutual funds is quite low. The regulator has rightly built safeguards, ensuring greater transparency and disclosures from industry players, so that the investor has enough awareness to make an informed decision. The primary objective of regulation is to encourage greater retail participation in the capital markets, and channelise household savings via mutual funds. Several regulatory measures have been consistently introduced to protect the interests of the small investor. Implementation of Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Rules, Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT), Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Distributor (KYD)were some of the key regulations that SEBI has implemented. Part of the problem in the 2008 financial crisis was also due to the fact that hedge funds were not regulated. I do not believe mutual fund industry is over-regulated. It is a very young industry, with tremendous potential for growth. As the markets mature, so will the participants and regulations. Over time, this will stabilise and balance out. In a growing economy and market, regulations move like a pendulum and at times it may seem that Sebi is trying to ‘micro-manage’ the industry. However, it is doing a commendable job in ensuring that regulations keep pace with the dynamic financial markets. What is required is constructive dialogue between industry stakeholders and the regulator, so that there is ease of implementation of regulations.

BS

NBFCs can breathe easy

RBI’s silence on new branch opening, lending rate caps and cash transactions is a big positive. Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) can rejoice, as the Usha Thorat committee report has taken the middle path and chosen not to impose stringent regulations on the sector. The report has few negatives for the sector as a whole, such as enhanced capital adequacy, tighter norms for non-performing loan accrual, higher provisioning requirements, maintenance of minimum liquidity and accounting convergence with that of banks. While some of these would result in lowering the sector’s ability to navigate, the downside is broadly restricted, believe most analysts. Interestingly, the central bank has refrained from taking an aggressive stance on plugging regulatory arbitrage between banks and NBFCs in terms of reserve requirements, branch opening, end-use/KYC norms, cash transactions, bank lending limitations and lending rate caps (as was expected for gold loan companies). Instead the RBI has chosen a middle path of calibrated use of measures, to lower the regulatory arbitrage between banks and NBFCs. However, for gold loan players like Manappuram Finance, analysts think the negatives are largely immaterial, though the requirement of accounting convergence with reference to revenue recognition, NPA accrual and provisioning can be open to interpretation, which remains a key risk.

CURRENT SCENARIO
NBFCs	NPLrecognition norm	General Provisioning
Shriram Transport	180 days for on-book AUMs and 90 days for off-book AUMs	0.25%
Mahindra Finance	5 months	0.25%
Manappuram Fin	18 months	0.25%
Kotak Mahindra Prime	180 days	0.25%
Shriram City Union Fin	180 days	0.25%
Power Finance	18 months	NIL
REC	18 months	NIL
IDFC	180 days	70-80 bps

So, how will life change for this sector? From here on, NBFCs will have to realign non-performing loans (NPL) provisioning with banks. For this, they will be given time. Currently, NBFCs follow either 180 days or six quarters of non-repayment of loan, as against the 90 days followed by banks. This will increase delinquencies for NBFCs, but will not impact the actual credit loss, says Edelweiss Capital. Analysts say managements are expected to accelerate their collection/recovery procedure. Also, NBFCs will now have to increase standard provisioning from 25 basis points to 40 basis points. So, if an NBFC has a loan book of Rs 1,000 crore, it will need to have a standard provision of Rs 40 crore, as against Rs 25 crore. Also, government-owned NBFCs like Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Finance Corporation will come under the ambit of this regulation. Analysts say every 10 basis points change in credit cost will impact their profit before tax by two-three per cent.

BS

Fake notes on the rise in India, says RBI

Fake notes are steadily making their presence felt in the Indian monetary system, thanks to the rise in currency circulation. The number of fake notes in India grew by 9% to 435,607 in 2010-11 from 401,476 in 2009-10, according to data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). During the same period, total banknotes in circulation grew by 14% to 64,577 million from 56,549. "Counterfeit banknotes detected during the year were higher in magnitude on account of heightened awareness amongst banks and increased use of note sorting machines," the RBI noted in its annual report. Around 90% of the counterfeit notes identified were detected at bank branches, reflecting the increased use of note sorting machines. By April end, there were around 4,000 such machines installed. According to industry watchers, to avoid counterfeits, notes should have strong security features so that it becomes difficult to copy them. "Indian notes do not have enough security features compared to those in developed economies," said Sunil Udupa, CEO, AGS Transact Technologies. AGS has so far installed over 10,000 ATMs for banks across the country. "We also need to increase the number of fake notes detecting machines in India significantly," said Udupa. "Banks are continuously increasing the number of note sorting machines in branches, which will arrest the rise in circulation of fake notes," said an official of a public sector bank. "The general public should also be aware while using high value notes."

HT

RBI fines coop bank in Halol

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has penalised Shri Janata Sahakari Bank Limited, Halol in Panchmahal district in Gujarat with a monetary fine of Rs 1 lakh for failing to meet RBI guidelines with regard to Anti Money Laundering (AML) guidelines. The apex bank stated, "The bank has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs one lakh on Shri Janata Sahakari Bank Limited, Halol, district Panchmahal,”"After considering the facts of the case and the bank's reply as also personal submissions in the matter, the RBI concluded that the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of the penalty," the statement said.

BS

Chambers ask RBI to refrain from further rate hikes

NEW DELHI: Concerned over slowing economic growth, India Inc on Tuesday urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to refrain from further hike in key policy rates at its monetary policy review next month. "CII would urge the RBI to refrain from hiking interest rates in the forthcoming policy, taking note of the weakness in the economy," The Confederation of Indian Industry Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said. Indicating slowdown, GDP growth rate for the April-June period slipped to 7.7 per cent, the lowest level in six quarters. The Indian economy grew by 8.8 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago.  During the quarter ended June 30, 2011, growth in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for 16 per cent of GDP, dipped to 7.2 per cent from 10.6 per cent in the corresponding period of 2010-11.  The mining and quarrying sector grew by just 1.8 per cent during the quarter under review, as against 7.4 per cent growth in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.  In its analysis of the GDP number, industry chamber FICCI said going forward industry growth rates are unlikely to be better and overall growth for the fiscal might be below 8 per cent.  "If the current trends are any indication, FICCI estimates that the GDP growth in the current fiscal may be in the lower band of 7.5-8 per cent with some significant downside risks," FICCI said.  Industry players argue that high interest rates regime is affecting output by way of project delays on account of slowing investments. The RBI has already hiked policy rates 11 times since March 2010 by a cumulative 325 basis points to control inflation.  Industry chamber Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said the GDP figures show that the government's monetary policy has started yielding results with inflation and demand showing signs of compression.

ET

Reducing leverage of NBFCs operating with public funds is the aim: Usha Thorat

A holiday in Turkey is the wrong time to interrupt anyone on official matters. Still, when the Reserve Bank of India released the report of its working group on the NBFC sector this morning, one had no choice but call Ms Usha Thorat, Chairperson of the group for her insights. Ms Thorat, a former Deputy Governor of the RBI, is currently Director, Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL). Ms Thorat was just about to take a cruise down the picturesque Bosphorus strait in Istanbul that divides Asia and Europe, but graciously gave a few minutes to explain the approach of her panel and what they tried to achieve in their report. Despite the noise (one could hear some announcements on a loudspeaker in the background), she readily answered a number of questions and was able to recall the highlights and intricate details of the report from memory. Asked about this, she said with a laugh, “We have been steeped in this for the last eight months.”

 She was at pains to emphasise that her panel has tried to address both regulatory as well as the industry's concerns. Ms Thorat allayed misgivings expressed by a section of the NBFC industry, which wondered whether the proposed ‘regulations' would do them in. She said, this was clearly not the intention. She said NBFCs had played an important role in the economy, especially in improving last mile connectivity. Asked if the higher norms on capital adequacy (Tier-1 capital to be 12 per cent in three years) were not too stringent, she said the aim was to reduce leverage that an NBFC enjoyed today with public funds.  Currently, an NBFC can borrow up to 12 times its own funds. This would come down to about eight times when the proposals come into force. Asked if NBFCs would not find it difficult to meet this requirement if their profit-generating capacity was also hampered, she said that their return on equity (RoE) and return on assets (RoA) were quite high and this was attracting a lot of capital into those sectors. While conceding that there may be a temporary difficulty for NBFCs in terms of costs of funds, the former Deputy Governor of the RBI pointed out that the regulations proposed were over a three-year timeframe and expressed confidence that they would be able to find the resources. Ms Thorat said that the attempt of her panel was to minimise scope for regulatory arbitrage and plug the gaps that were currently there. She pointed out that in the case of lending for margin financing, stock brokers have to abide by SEBI guidelines, while banks have to abide by RBI guidelines. But for NBFCs there are no regulations. Further, she said, “We have addressed certain important issues such as ‘concentration risk' and ‘funding risk'. There are many NBFCs which are basically single product companies — whether it is truck financing or gold loans or equipment financing — and these face concentration risks. “And there are NBFCs which are into capital markets business or real estate business which lend long-term on the basis of short-term borrowings. We have addressed the concentration risk issue by prescribing higher capital adequacy norms and funding risks by bringing in asset liability management (ALM) guidelines.” Elaborating, she said that the working group had recommended a liquidity ratio for NBFCs to act as a buffer in the event of any kind of stress up to a period of 30 days — in the first instance.  So, all NBFCs, both deposit taking and non-deposit taking, should hold cash or government securities equal to the gap between their total inflows and outflows up to the 30-day period. Beyond that period, there would be time to arrange appropriate resources or liquidate necessary assets in the event of a crunch, she said.

HBL