The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to provide by Friday details of loans waived off by banks or allowed one-time settlements above Rs 10 crore by them, following a Supreme Court direction to this effect last month. Such information, collected by RBI on the basis of annual financial inspections, is to be furnished in a sealed cover as the central bank is reluctant to put it in the public domain.........
The very purpose of VITALINFO is to provide a platform for wider dissemination of updated information related to and happening of events in and around RBI.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Bank credit up 16.36%, deposits increase 13.2%
As of February 8, bank credit had increased 16.36 per cent year-on-year. For this financial year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had estimated it to grow 16 per cent. According to RBI data, advances by commercial banks rose Rs 7,17,180 crore year-on-year to Rs 50,99,909 crore. Bankers said by March-end, growth might stand at about 16 per cent or lower, owing to the tepid demand for loans.........
Banks step up efforts to prevent credit card frauds
......American Express is introducing a new solution, ‘ezeClick’, for its customers in India to ensure their card data is not shared with merchants while making online transactions. Currently, an individual has to share information such as card number, expiry date and card verification value during online credit card transactions...........
Virtual cards can keep you safe from credit card frauds
.......Virtual cards are issued by a few banks and individuals can get more than one card at a time. These can be obtained by registering with the bank that has issued you a credit card. You need to do a one-time registration after which you will get a 16-digit number along with a CVV2 number (this is different from the CVV number mentioned at the back of your credit card). This is the number that you would need to key in when doing an online transaction............
Improve Currency Mgmt Ops: Finmin to Banks
....."We have asked banks to undertake a review of the bin occupancy in each
of their currency chests and put in place an effective management
information system for cash management," said a finance ministry
official, who did not wish to be named. The committee has suggested that
bin occupancy in rural areas should be limited to 40% of the VHL. Bankers feel that RBI should issue consolidated guidelines over
currency management operations that should cover security issues and
provide incentives to efficient banks. "Security is a big issue for us. Besides, the rates of incentives were also fixed long ago and have not
been revised," said a senior official with SBI, the country's biggest
lender. The committee also recommended that the Reserve Bank of India
should initiate discussions with the states for providing a dedicated
force for guarding banks' currency chests..........
Allowing corporates to run banks risky, says former advisor to Government
.......Dr. Virmani’s comments assume significance in the light of the comments from officials of the Reserve Bank expressing their apprehensions about the move, which follows amendments to the Banking Regulation Act in the last session of Parliament. The actual rules under the legislation, determining which entities will be allowed a banking license have not been issued. Significantly, countries such as the United States and South Korea do not allow industrial houses to establish banks. In other countries, such as Australia, U.K. and Canada also enforce restrictions on the extent of foreign ownership and set limits on voting rights. Even the IMF had warned in January that the benefits from allowing such ownership were outweighed by risks..........
Strike hits banking operations
...........All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Vekatachalam claimed clearing operations, electronic fund transfers, forex transactions and money market operations were completely disrupted across the country. Bank unions are pressing for early wage revision of employees, which they said is due from November 2012. They are also opposing banking sector reforms and any plan for merger of banks..............
Unions say strike successful, around 40 lakh cheques worth Rs 25,000 crore remain unprocessed
....."As per reports reaching us from various states, the strike has been observed very successfully in all banks across the country. Employees and officers from all banks including Reserve Bank of India (RBI), State Bank of India (SBI) and other public sector banks, old generation private banks, foreign banks, regional rural banks, and Cooperative banks participated in the strike.” He said, “About 40 lakh cheques worth about Rs25,000 crore could not be processed today in various clearing houses of National Payment Corporation, RBI and SBI. Clearing operations were totally affected in all the district and town centres also.”.....
RBI tightens norms for import of precious, semi-precious stone
........"It is clarified that Suppliers' and Buyers' Credit (trade credit) including the usance period of Letters of Credit opened for import of precious stones and semi-precious stones should not exceed 90 days from the date of shipment,"...........
Merger Woes
This
refers to ‘IDBI’s Worst may be Over, But…’ (ET, Feb 20). There is a
reference to the merger of United Western Bank (UWB) with IDBI Bank. The
fact is UWB was practically gifted away by the RBI to IDBI. There were
better offers from other financial entities, but the RBI, for unknown
reasons, favoured IDBI. The valuation method employed by the RBI is
still not known after over six years of the merger. Ironically, IDBI had
115 branches when it took over UWB, which then had 230 branches! The
smaller customers in the area of operation of the UWB feel alienated
after the merger as there has been a change in the culture of the bank
that now seems to favour richer customers.
- SHAILESH KOKANE (ET)
- SHAILESH KOKANE (ET)
Bankrupt rhetoric of inclusion
.....When central bankers, following the C. Rangarajan committee set up soon after the 2006 Budget speech, talk, and they do so ceaselessly, of financial inclusion, it seems as if they have in mind a section of the population from another planet, a people forgotten by the mainstream economy in its rush towards self-fulfilment: Exclusion and inclusion are viewed as binary, mutually opposing modes of existence. Banks, we are told, have to replace the usurer both in the rural and urban areas, the landless and the construction migrant worker have to be financially included as a first step towards social inclusion: Informal mechanisms have to be replaced by formal ones.........
District consumer forum orders HSBC Bank to pay Rs 25,000 for deficiency in service
.....“We hold opposite party (HSBC Bank) deficient in service in not informing CIBIL of settlement of all outstanding dues of complainant...,” the bench presided by CK Chaturvedi said. It directed the bank to issue a no-dues certificate to Delhi-resident Vinay Chola and to reconsider a fresh card for him. The forum also awarded him compensation of Rs25,000 towards litigation charges and harassment caused to him........
Responding to the global currency war
....Even if it is assumed that India will keep borrowing easy by liberalising the capital account to fund the current account and push currency to higher levels, the idea is being increasingly questioned. As per the former Deputy Governor, RBI S. S. Tarapore, with our inflation rates persistently above that in major industrial countries, the present dollar-rupee rate should be close to Rs 70. Recently, another foreign exchange expert commented that the rupee should be at least Rs. 60. While this debate can go on, considering the present global macroeconomic scenario and the fact that India is a major importer of oil, we cannot afford either huge appreciation or depreciation from the present level........
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Effectiveness of interest rates limited when fiscal position stressed
‘Foreign exchange has emerged as a critical resource’
......Savithri V. Ramani, Senior Officer from the Reserve Bank of India, Chennai, detailed various activities of the Foreign Exchange Department of RBI. With Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which was effected from June 1, 2000, the objective of RBI had shifted from conservation of foreign exchange to facilitating external trade and payment and promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India. “RBI has brought in structural changes in exchange control administration and framed certain transparent regulations for dealing with various types of foreign exchange transactions. Foreign exchange has emerged as a critical resource with a direct relationship to economic performance at a time when the share of the external sector in the national output has soared significantly. The integration of the world economy over the past two to three decades has been dramatic and the real gainers from globalisation are the developing countries that have been able to seize the opportunities to participate in the process,” she added........
Portable ATMs gain popularity among banks
......Private sector banks have started introducing mobile ATMs that are migrating from one religious fair to another throughout the year. HDFC Bank, the second largest private lender in the country, has sent its mobile ATM to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad this year. It is estimated over 100 million people will attend this year's Maha Kumbh Mela, which began last month........
Worn-out currency can be deposited at a bank
......Well, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations say that under special circumstances, the central bank may exchange such notes. And it has mandated every bank to have designated branches to provide the facility of exchanging such notes. So you can visit these branches and get such currency notes exchanged or deposited but there are few conditions you need to keep in mind.............
A growth budget all the way
.......Even RBI is very puzzled as to why India’s inflation rate, historically moderate and lower than most emerging economies, is among the highest in the world since 2010. In a recent public address, RBI’s Executive Director and a reputed monetary economist, Deepak Mohanty, described the current phase of growth collapse and elevated inflation as a big puzzle. He said in 62 years since 1951, India’s WPI inflation rate was 6.7%. “This was not a very high rate considering many developed and developing countries experienced very high inflation in their modern development history. World inflation averaged around 17% in the 1980s and 1990s.”.........
India pushes for expanded banking links with China
....Ambassador to China S. Jaishankar said India had now become the largest market for project exports from China, with over $ 55 billion worth of projects – from infrastructure to power – under execution. “In this background, expanded banking relations between India and China is very important,” he said. “The Reserve Bank of India and the China Banking Regulatory Commission have already reached agreement to expedite processing of licenses... It is only when our banks are more connected that we can be said to have achieved the full spectrum relationship that is natural to neighbours.”..........
Grant Industry Status to Business Correspondents: FINO PayTech Ltd
......According to RBI, "Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring access to appropriate financial products and services needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low-income groups at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent manner by mainstream institutional players." According to FINO PayTech, BCs as an alternate channel have to be given its own place under the sun. The scale that the BC industry has achieved thus far is of paramount significance and impact both at macro and micro level economics of the rural poor & those at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP).......
Microlenders may move Supreme Court
....“Notwithstanding this recognition of RBI’s primacy as the regulator of NBFC-MFIs by the court, the court has allowed the dual regulation situation to exist in the state,” he said. NBFCs are non-banking finance companies. “One can only hope that the state govt will take constructive note of the signal given by the high court and either repeal the state law or make it applicable only to MFIs which are not under the regulatory umbrella of the RBI,” Prasad said. “We are actively considering moving to the Supreme Court to get redressal.”.........
RBI employees to participate in strike
.....A statement issued by All India Reserve Bank Employees Association and All India Reserve Bank Workers Federation here said that its employees would support the strike and the Central Bank would remain closed.
Nabard staff to join strike
All India Nabard Employees’ Association (AINBEA) will join the two-day strike called by the central trade unions. This was decided at its ninth annual conference held in Hyderabad............
My View on "Two-day trade unions strike to hit life, banking"
For
a change, I would like to do some back of the envelope, reverse
accounting, keeping in mind the estimated loss of 15,000 to 20,000
crore, if the two-day strike really happens. (i) The loss to the
employees joining government and public sector services pursuant to
introduction of New Pension System (ii) The recurring loss to the
workforce in India due to faulty working out of and non-implementation
of minimum wages (iii) The loss to the Indian consumer due to irrational
and one-sided pricing policies (iv) The loss suffered by Indian
citizens availing transport services from airlines, Railways and other
public transport systems (Railways, sometimes, do not even care to
identify the individuals who die while traveling, story of delayed and
denied compensations too is agonizing). Just to remind that GDP is an
aggregation of efforts made by millions of people and occasionally,
those in charge should remember the roots.
- M G WARRIER
- M G WARRIER
Change of Guard, Change of Culture
As
long as DK Mittal was the Secretary, Financial Services, many chairmen
were critical of Mittal because they found him to be hands-on. Now,
after Mittal left, his replacement Rajiv Takru is seen to have a
different approach. In a recent meeting the new Secretary, Financial
Services, Takru made it clear that he will not entertain any banker
below the CMD rank, a wide departure from Mittal’s way of functioning.
Mittal never hesitated to interact with officers who were involved with
the task assigned even if the officer was a DGM rank.
ET
ET
Top jobs at banks, regulators set to fall vacant
.................Come
September, and the Reserve Bank of India too would be in for a change
with D Subbarao, who like Hari Narayan is an IAS officer of the Andhra
Pradesh cadre, due to complete his extended two-year term. It is early
to gauge who will replace Subbarao but it is unlikely that a bureaucrat
will move into the governor’s office on the 18th floor on Mumbai’s Mint
Road..........
Read - TOI
FinMin to appoint 9 new CMDs for PSU banks, 10 shortlisted
.......There was a six-member interview board, which took interviews for CMDs' posts. They were Rajiv Takru, secretary - department of financial services; Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor - RBI, Jagdish Capoor, former Deputy Governor - RBI (1997-2001) and a few other experts including two directors from Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta and IIM- Kozhikode. To step into CMD's shoes, an executive director has to have minimum of two years of service life...........
SBI STAFF DON’T MIND OVERTIME
The
staff at state-run companies don’t have much of a reputation for
performing to their full potential even during normal work hours.But SBI
has managed to work overtime on Monday due to a holiday on Tuesday and a
worker strike on Wednesday and Thursday. The staff had worked extra
hours a day in advance to compensate customers for the strike. Insiders
credit chairman Pratip Chaudhuri who has promised rewards if this
practice is observed. SBI was the only state-owned bank to keep its
domestic branches open for two additional hours — earning the goodwill
of its customers.
ET
ET
HDFC Bank replacing merchant terminals due to 'skimming' fraud
Country's largest credit card issuer HDFC Bank has started replacing some points of sale machines at merchant establishments following card 'skimming' frauds, a top official has said. "We are replacing machines at some merchants," the bank's head for credit card and merchant acquiring, Parag Rao told reporters here last evening. Rao said cases of 'skimming' have been witnessed in the country of late, wherein the card data is copied illegally in an otherwise legitimate transaction, only to be used fraudulently later................
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
RBI Governor: Room for monetary easing limited
 |
" There is pressure on the government to consolidate fiscally. There is pressure on the central bank to bring about an environment of price stability, and for the government to understand that we need fiscal consolidation, price stability for long- term growth,"
|
RBI must scrap the no-cheque idea
........Unfortunately, various departments of RBI seem to operate in distinct silos which neither talk to each other or to their stakeholders. The customer services department, like Dr Chakrabarty, has a callous disregard for urban consumers. But different departments framing policy and regulation that directly affects customers don’t seem to be talking to the customer services department either. Here are two examples.........
...... The very premise that we will move to a ‘less cash’ society by forcing depositors to adopt electronic payments is ridiculous. The failure to get 120 million newly-minted customers in un-banked areas to use their bank accounts even once has not taught RBI any lesson on the futility of coercive action.........
Value of currency note has not kept pace with inflation: RBI study
The empirical study on modelling currency demand said the average value of a currency note (for denominations of Rs 10 and above) increased nearly eight-fold while there was a 18-fold rise in the price level............
Read - HBL
'Bank losses due to NPAs push up interest rate for borrowers'
...."RBI needs to address such anomalies in the interest of justice and fair play," Alva said at an award ceremony for SHGs organised tonight by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) here. In her address, she also highlighted the issue of recovery of loans by microfinance companies using "unethical" methods and said such practices should be abolished. "Microfinance companies exploiting helpless poor women with exorbitant interest on their loans and resorting to unethical and even violent methods for recovery.........
Reserve Bank of India - Pension Regulations and Other Details
.......They will notice that RBI which is a regulator for banks have much more liberal Pension policies than banks. IBA has been too fussy on even small issues and vehemently oppose any demand by bankers for liberalising the pension regulations so that bankers are on par with Central Government employees and / or RBI employees..........
As banks cut rates, NBFCs offer higher returns
With falling interest rates, this might be your last chance to lock your savings in deposit-taking non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), an option that’s currently been giving higher rates of return than banks’ domestic term deposits. The rates offered by NBFCs on one-year fixed deposits are 75-175 basis points higher than those top banks offer on their domestic fixed deposits.............
A Budget for banks
......While it’s convenient to blame the Reserve Bank of India’s aggressive monetary tightening for the slowdown in credit demand, a recent analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that higher real interest rates only account for about a quarter of the investment slowdown. Besides, the spurt in inflation that prompted the central bank to raise interest rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011 was occasioned by the government’s pathological refusal to do anything about the expansion of its own spending, which is estimated to have more than doubled in six years.......
Finance ministry, RBI spar over public sector banks holding company
NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry have clashed over the proposed financial holding company for public sector banks, a move that could further delay its creation and upset the government's plan to capitalise public sector banks. The finance ministry has shot down the RBI's proposal to cap the leverage available to the holding company on a par with the holding companies formed to float private banks under the proposed rules for new bank licences...........
Aspirants to get a year to set up banks: Sinha
After receiving in-principle approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banking aspirants would get a year to set up banks, RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinha said today. He added the central bank would issue the much awaited final guidelines on new bank licences “soon”—“much before” the end of the financial year.......
Banking licence norms before March-end: RBI
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank is likely to come out with the final guidelines for new bank licences much before the end of the fiscal."We are in the process of issuing the licence guidelines. We should issue them soon. The consultation process with the finance ministry is over; everything is settled now, and we will be issuing the guidelines. (It will be) much before the end of this financial year," Deputy Governor Anand Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of an event here on Monday............
Net non-performing assets of banks go up
....." These figures show the herculean task the banking sector in India is facing even as the industry and regulators are putting in place various measures to control further increase in NPAs Our data shows that during the Oct-Dec 2012 quarter, net NPAs of these banks rose by 8.7% or Rs 7,400 crore. We believe net NPAs of these listed banks will cross the Rs 1 lakh crore mark as on March 31, 2013. However, it is likely that ........
Banks want to close year with a special LAF
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may again have to open a special repo window under its liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) on the last working day of the financial year, to ease the year-end pressure on banks. Lenders are looking at a liquidity deficit of around Rs2 lakh crore at March-end..............
Two-day trade unions strike to hit life, banking
......... the closure of banks for two consecutive days could pose innumerable problems for customers. While some of the impact of the strike might be blunted by the availability of automated teller machines and internet banking, a large percentage of people with no access to these facilities would be affected............
Misplaced faith in interest rate cuts
.........The question that arises now is simple: can the lowering of interest rates give a fillip to investments? Then, is the decline in inflationary pressure real? The efficacy of the monetary policy depends on clarity on these two questions. Looking at the policy statement, one can clearly see the recent rate cut is more of a hesitant action instead of being based on economic fundamentals. (Time and again, RBI has tried to substantiate its policy based on forecasts instead of trends, something that may not completely substantiate such cuts.) The rate cut only partially supports the actions taken on the fiscal side and in helping the growth recovery process........
We aren’t giving up hope on rate cut: SBI chief
.........We understand that the RBI has its own responsibility and so on. But we believe that the best way to go about it is to augment supply and lower interest rates..........
Poverty and Trade union
......Reserve Bank pensioners demand to update the pension for the last two decades has been kept pending for no valid reason and many are finding it difficult to make both ends meet in these days of ever soaring prices all around.Those who preach should be role models and what they speak should be convincing and acceptable..........
HDFC Bank manager spikes 'magic pen' scam
Using a 'magic pen' and lighter, Rahul Jain planned to earn a comfortable living, pay off his debt and even treat his girl friend. Arrested today, this 26-year-old revealed a unique modus operandi, which came to light when an Assistant Manager at HDFC Bank became suspicious of a cheque. According to police, Jain first saw the magic pen which has erasable ink being sold at Nehru Place market and decided to use it to alter contents of cheques.......
Canara Bank to launch new version of gold loan
Public sector Canara Bank will launch a new version of gold loan that would be as easy as getting a jewel loan from any pawn broker or private finance firms, a top official of the bank has said. “ Terms of gold loan will be highly relaxed and customer friendly than any private firms offering the gold loan to the people," Rajiv Kishore Dubey, CMD of the bank said.........
T S Vijayan likely to be next insurance regulator
...........Though the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had cleared Vijayan's name for the post last month, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has yet to approve. Finance ministry officials said the appointment notification would be issued once this was done.............
Finance ministry and I were like husband and wife: Hari Narayan
J Hari Narayan was at his humorous best in his final public appearance as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) chairman. The man who has had a fair share of tiffs with the finance ministry and the industry during his five-year term that ends on Wednesday was generous with everybody, including the media, at a function here on Monday.............
Monday, February 18, 2013
Monetary easing: Household savings take a hit - DR. N. A. MUJUMDAR
Read - FPJ
Core inflation may not be true indicator: Subbarao
.......The absence of supply-side response, which has resulted in lasting change in the prices of commodities, has given a “larger momentum” to wholesale-price inflation than core inflation, he added. “In the Reserve Bank, we need to be mindful of these factors in interpreting the movements in headline and core inflation,” he said, speaking at the statistics day conference in RBI’s Mint Road headquarters in Mumbai. RBI has been projecting core inflation as the primary indicator to decide its policy course, rather than wholesale price inflation............
Biting the bullet on letting India Inc into banking
......Final rules, expected soon, have been delayed over disagreement between the government and the central bank on whether the traditionally more financially volatile sectors of property and brokerages should be allowed to apply for licences, which the RBI opposes. Opponents of the new measures worry the reform, driven by the finance ministry, could backfire if risky loans from one branch of a company to another go bad and trigger a broader crisis. “It will be like one person is cooking and the same person is eating it,” said one critic, V K Sharma, chief executive of LIC Housing Finance..............
Combat CAD by making exchange rate flexible: Bimal Jalan
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| The issues that we are facing today are systemic and political in nature because ultimately, in a vibrant democracy like ours, the policy making must be with the political system....... |
Derivatiff
Licences for cronyism
..........The context in which these debates occur is a financial sector in which the non-banking sector (or “shadow banking”) has grown enormously and regulatory complexity has increased manifold. In banking itself, however, public sector banks continue to play a dominant role, while the regulator (the RBI) continues to have a latent conflict of interest — the regulator periodically presses banks to help the government in meeting its borrowing requirements and exercises considerable caution when banks lend to politically connected firms. The biggest concern over granting large industrial houses bank licences is the risk of conflicts of interest and ...............
FEIL recognises Dr.Sandip feel..........
Chief General Manager - HR,
Reserve Bank Of India,
Mumbai.
Dear Sir,
Dear Sir,
Your work in the
field of HR has added significant value to RBI. Your name was strongly
recommended by the Managing Committee of FEIL for being the recipient of an
award by Forum for Emotional Intelligence Learning (FEIL) towards outstanding
contribution of leadership development. After due deliberations in the
select management committee of FEIL we are pleased to inform you that it shall
be our privilege to recognize you and your work on leadership development.
Forum for Emotional Intelligence Learning (FEIL), a non-profit pioneered by
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), is committed to building
quality leadership in India. Eminent academicians and outstanding
professionals created this forum with a singular purpose of helping Indian
organizations achieve this objective. In our journey, in the last
several years, we have noted that successful organizations and institutions
derive their strength and enthusiasm from the visionary leadership of their
senior executives. They inspire, coach and mentor their people selflessly.
We feel that recognition of this talented pool is one of the significant
methodologies of ensuring replication of these practices. We believe
leadership seeds leadership competencies. Extensive work by FEIL has
often led us to the discovery of remarkable people. Your remarkable work
brackets you with the very best in the industry. It is a matter of
immense pride for FEIL in conjunction with HPCL, to recognize your excellent
work.
Yours Truly,
S K Dutt,
Hon.General
Secretary,
Forum For Emotional
Intelligence Learning
Women of Vision
A book that profiles nine success stories of women from diverse backgrounds, their personal journeys in building the empires that they have, also reads like a short history of India’s economic and social growth. It holds a mirror to our society, how it has changed in the last couple of decades, and what it has taken for women to reach where they have. Women of Vision: Nine Business Leaders in Conversation With Alam Srinivas is a collection of freewheeling chats with women............
The Paradox of Fiscal Tightening
RBI
Governor D Subbarao has been quoted as saying that there is not much
scope for either fiscal or monetary expansion. Analytical pieces and
editorials in newspapers have echoed the same sentiment with respect to
fiscal expansion, but have been more ambivalent about monetary easing.
This assumes that an increase in fiscal deficit and a loosening of
monetary policy will be expansionary. The analysis that leads to the
formulation of this choice in this manner is flawed for India.........
Corporation Bank conducts roadshow
Corporation Bank on Friday organised a roadshow to market its new savings account variants — ‘Corp Super’ and ‘Corp Signature’ — in Mangalore. A press release said here that the bank launched a door-to-door campaign for the newly launched savings account variants..............
MFIs will be relevant for 10-15 years as our banking system is inefficient: Chakrabarty
‘Rate cap will go if microfinance firms shed priority sector tag’
KOLKATA, FEB 16:
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor K. C. Chakrabarty said on Saturday that microfinance institutions (MFIs) should scale up their operations only after understanding their limitations. “MFIs should develop local expertise and scale up locally. They should not scale up nationally, else they will collapse like SKS Microfinance,” Chakrabarty said at a conference on corporate governance in microfinance, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.............
Inflation eases, but threat persists
.......................Moreover, many leading policy makers in India, notably among them C. Rangarajan, have discussed the implications for the poor and have strongly advocated ‘inflation control’ as an effective anti-poverty policy. The recent slowdown in inflation is encouraging but the time may not be ripe to press the growth accelerator. Surely, the RBI without any pressure from North Block and the industry lobby will do a better job.
Reserve Bank of India sees inflation risks, limited room to ease policy
........"At this moment there is room for monetary easing, but that room is limited ans we have to make a careful judgement on how to use that limited room," Subbarao said on the fringes of a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers. India's high fiscal and current account deficits, in addition to inflation risks, are deterrents for further monetary easing, which is seen necessary to support sagging GDP growth.........
RBI has a positive approach towards Islamic banking: Minister
The Reserve Bank of India has taken a positive approach to the suggestion of an alternative banking system for Muslims, subject to certain laws being amended first, K. Rahman Khan, Minister for Minority Affairs, said here recently. “I have written to the RBI Governor, invoking Section 25 of the Constitution, saying that it was the duty of the State to facilitate every citizen to practice and follow his/her religion,.........
Banks are duty bound to stop flow of fake notes
....... In other words, the banks are duty bound to ensure that no counterfeit note comes out of an ATM. Yet, you find banks violating this directive and the consumer suffers because invariably banks refuse to take responsibility for their negligence, in clear violation of the RBI directive. In fact, they refuse to accept that the fake note came out of their ATMs and express their ‘inability’ to replace the fake with a genuine note.........
Bank unions to join general strike
.....The call for a countrywide strike has been given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), comprising nine national level unions including the AIBEA, the NCBE, the BEFI, the NBEF, the NOBW and the AIBOC. Even though bank managements have decided to stock adequate cash in ATMs, normal banking operations are likely to be affected. A number of banks have already informed customers of the fallout of the proposed strike.....
Post Libor scam: Financial markets to move away from 'polled' to 'traded' rates, may fix Mibor
......The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and commercial banks have arrived at some consensus to gradually move away from 'polled' rates that may be prone to manipulation, to 'traded' rates in calculating the daily benchmarks in the currency and money markets. "At a meeting with the Reserve Bank a week ago, banks were told to give their views. The general preference was that the two most liquid benchmarks,Mibor and RBI reference rates, should be based on dealt rates," said the treasurer of a large bank. "The regulator is favourably inclined towards the change... it will happen over time.".......
'Rate cut likely in March if budget addresses fiscal issues'
The RBI is likely to cut interest rate in its next policy meet on March 19 provided government delivers a "credible budget" addressing fiscal consolidation and continues with the reform push, an HSBC report says. "The RBI is likely to take some comfort from the decline in WPI inflation. In turn, this has increased the odds of another rate cut in March, if Delhi continues to deliver its bit," HSBC said in a research note.............
$1-bn India Venture Opportunities Fund remains non-starter
.....Bankers said the fund had received just about Rs 500 crore. Of this, Rs 340 crore has been invested. This includes Rs 140 crore investment in subordinated debt of companies. The fund faces the challenge of asset-liability mismatch and reservations from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about using depositors’ money for risk capital (investments in equity), said an executive with a public sector bank.......
How credit card frauds take place
.....So, does this mean you should stop using your card? No. Come July, cards with an embedded chip and a compulsory pin (like that used for ATM transactions) will be made mandatory in India. This would make your credit card transactions more secure. Till then, here are a few things to keep in mind........
Bank charges you may not know about
.........It’s a laundry list which you will be better off reading and knowing about, saving you the surprise of unexpected costs. But in the meanwhile, here’s a heads-up on some of the more unusual bank charges on regular bank accounts.........................
Sebi seeks greater powers
Market regulator Sebi has sought major overhaul of the securities laws, including greater authority to nail manipulators by way of powers to conduct ‘’search and seizure’’ operations and to demand information from any person in relation to its probes. It has also proposed the recovery of monetary penalties through income-tax arrears mechanism, setting up of special courts to deal with criminal prosecution for violation of securities laws and recognition of Sebi’s counsels as public prosecutors..........
Banks will Hire over 56,000 Jobs in 6 Mths
Public
sector banks, from State Bank of India to Allahabad Bank, will hire as
many as 56,500 people in the next six months in the highest ever
recruitment by the industry in more than a decade as business grows and
the threat of new banks looms with the Reserve Bank of India planning to
issue new licences soon. The recruitments by more than a dozen banks
will be 30% higher than last year’s numbers as hopes of business cycle
turning for the better grow, bankers said............
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