Below is the edited transcript of his interview to CNBC-TV18............
Read...........
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.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
RBI to pack in additional stringent steps for banks
Below is the edited transcript of his interview to CNBC-TV18............
Read...........
3 pvt banks to insist on minimum balance every month
The top three private sector banks have tightened their minimum savings bank deposit balance norm. Against the normal practice of maintaining minimum average quarterly balance, these banks want customers to maintain minimum balance on a monthly basis. What this means is that customers will have to keep higher balances. The move to get customers to maintain minimum balance on a monthly basis follows the Reserve Bank of India deregulating the savings bank deposit rate in October 2011. The RBI has not stipulated any minimum balance to be maintained in savings accounts to any bank. The RBI guidelines only state that accountholders should get from their banks a month's notice on any change in the minimum balance norm........
Slowdown in growth likely to continue
The worst of the economic slowdown could still be ahead of us, according to a new RBI working paper. The paper ‘‘Evidence of Interest Rate Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission in India'', has suggested that an increase in policy interest rates is associated with a fall in real GDP growth rate. The maximum decline in GDP growth occurs with a lag of two quarters with the overall impact continuing through six-eight quarters ahead...............
Textile, finance ministries to meet next week
The textile and finance ministries are expected to meet next week to discuss restructuring of loans for the textile sector, according to sources. Representatives of the Reserve Bank of India may also attend the meeting. The textile industry, ..............
Read.........
Read.........
My View on 'The paradox of forex reserves'
It is a fact that our Forex Reserves Management has not been getting the attention it deserved, as it depended on borrowed expertise and RBI’s own priorities hovered more around internal debt management and monetary policy concerns. It is comforting to see that RBI governor is focusing on the components of forex reserves and their vulnerabilities. As the returns on forex investments were not encouraging, there has been some complacency in augmenting the reserves position, resulting in the reserves stagnating around $300 billion for quite sometime now. On the part of GOI/RBI, it was a late decision in the last quarter of 2009 to increase the gold component in the country’s forex reserves by about 200 tonnes, by a purchase from the International Monetary Fund. In the context of improving the country's image as one with a decent net-worth, it is important to manage the domestic gold-holdings outside the forex portfolio also and make them visible and available as part of nation’s resources. Let us no forget the 1991 episode when solid gold had to be carried abroad for pledging and borrowing. Such shameful experiences can be avoided in future, if a part of domestic stock of the estimated 18,000 tonnes of gold is made tradeable and part of the ‘stock’ of standard gold.
- M.G.Warrier
India's forex reserves drop by $1.80 billion
....Foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves kitty, fell by $1.74 billion to $256.11 billion during the week ended May 18, according to the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical supplement. The RBI did not provide any reasons for the change in foreign currency assets...........
Rupee fall: Reserve Bank of India can do little to help
.....More than the magnitude of the rupee's depreciation, it is the speed of the decline that is troubling RBI. The recent slide has not caught the central bank unawares . Last year, when the greenback gained, the exchange rate reached 54.305 rupees to the dollar on December 15, 2011. This was an all-time low for the rupee, which had hit a year's low of 43.855 on July 27 - a 23.83 per cent drop in 91 trading days..........
Does the Indian economy have a 1991 crisis feel?
...Last month, in a panel discussion (attended by the prime minister, Manmohan Singh who was the finance minister in '91), RBI governor D Subbarao pointed to macro numbers which were approaching '91 levels. "That is quite a disturbing picture," he said (as quoted by Reuters). "Nevertheless, I would still argue that in 1991 an implosion was imminent, in 2012, an implosion is not." ....................
Rupee may Rebound to 52-levels in 6 months: Barclays Capital
.......Barclays Capital said the RBI may eventually opt to float dollar denominated bonds through public sector banks (like State Bank of India) for non-resident Indian (NRI) investors. If well designed and executed, we think, such a scheme could trigger $12-15 billion of inflows in a relatively short amount of time, the report added. While we expect the RBI to cut repo rate by a further 50-75 basis points by March 2013, we think it is likely to maintain a more neutral bias in the next one or two policy meetings after the larger-than-expected 50 basis points cut in April.
Bank trade unions threaten to go on 2-day stir in July
.....GD Nadaf, Convenor of United Forum for Bank Unions (UFBU) said the central government offices and RBI were working five days a week and asked why banking industry cannot be brought on the same pattern. “An avoidable expenditure towards fuel, water, energy are incurred for half a day work on Saturday. Instead, one-hour working hour may be increased for five days in a week,” ...............
This summer, reap the benefits of travel cards
...........Pre-paid travel/forex cards score over the other options. When you load your card locally, you lock into the exchange rate prevalent on the day you buy the card. With the US dollar being a widely accepted currency across the world, at no time does this proposition make more sense than now. Swiping your credit card when the rupee is depreciating will make you shell out more for every dollar..............
Samajwadi Party toes Mamata line on UPA support
.....He has asked Mukherjee to direct RBI governor D. Subbarao to get NABARD release the amount. The UP chief minister has also written to the RBI governor in this regard and has marked a copy to agriculture minister Sharad Pawar as well.....
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Hacking attempt on RBI website
......"We found the IP address and blocked it and got the website on its feet again," the spokesperson said, adding there was no loss of information or defacing as the hackers could not get into the site. The RBI brass, including Governor D Subbarao and all the Deputy Governors, were in Mussorie, Uttarakhand, on Thursday for the board meeting when the hacking attempt was reported. Further details like the exact time period when the hacking happened and the geographical location where the attack has been traced to, are unclear........
Reserve Bank of India prohibits 25 co-operative banks from accepting fresh deposits
The Reserve Bank of India has issued certain directions to 25 District Central Co-Operative Banks in UP prohibiting them from accepting fresh deposits in order to protect the interest of the existing as well as future depositors of the bank. According to Deputy General Manager of the RBI H.K.Soni the directions have been issued to district central cooperative banks at Aligarh, Allahabad, Azamgarh, Bahraich, Ballia, Barabanki, Basti, Deoria, Faizabad, Farrukhabad (Fatehgarh), Fatehpur, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Hardoi, Jaunpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mau, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Siddharthnagar, Sitapur, Sultanpur, Unnao and Varanasi.
TOI
Bank unions threaten two- day stir in July
Chennai Trade unions of banks demanded regulated working hours and a five- day week for officers and threatened to go on a two- day strike in July, in support of their charter of demands. G D Nadaf, Convenor of United Forum for Bank Unions ( UFBU) said central government offices and RBI were working five days a week and asked why banking industry cannot be brought on the same pattern. Nadaf said some of the residual issues of the 9th Bipartite settlement like compassionate appointment scheme, improvement to staff loans, corrections to second option on pension scheme were still pending with the IBA/ government. " Instead, one- hour working hour may be increased for five days in a week," he said ahead of the three- day meet of All India State Bank Officers' Federation.
FPJ
New Rs. 5 coins to commemorate 150th year of CAG
The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put in circulation new coins of Rs. 5 denomination to commemorate 150th year of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The coin will bear the logo of CAG along with year "1860-2010" on the bottom of the logo............
Changes in draft Microfinance Institutions Bill shocks the microfinance sector
....."This is an upward revision of microfinance that doesn't seem to be in alignment with reality," said Yeshwant Thorat, former chairman of National Board for Agriculture and Rural Development. "I'm not sure whether this is consistent with equity and social justice," Thorat added...................
Why the MFI Bill is flawed
....Banks lend to MFIs at about 10 per cent instead of directly giving loans to the SHGs. The MFIs in turn lend at high rates ranging from 24 to 60 per cent to the poor. In addition to banks, the micro-finance sector gets support from apex agencies such as Rashtriya Mahila Kosh and Nabard in several other ways. Also, as the Malegam Committee (a subcommittee of the Central Board of Directors of the RBI) found, banks were holding securitised paper issued by non-banking financial companies (dealing with microfinance) worth Rs 4,200 crore. Banks and financial institutions had also invested in the equities of such companies. The Committee found that over three-fourths of finance obtained by .....
Basel III- not a matter of if but when
............And similarly, the Reserve Bank of India has told domestic banks they must start reporting on aspects of Basel III liquidity strength measures from as early as June this year, ahead of the reporting timetable laid out by the Basel Committee. Furthermore, it has stipulated that banks go above and beyond Basel III requirements and provide a statement outlining their bond spread movements compared to their share price in a bid to better monitor early signs of systemic risk.........
Rakesh Mohan condemns 'metro mania' amongst urban transport policy makers and planners
Metro projects should be restricted to cities with over 5 million population and all urban transport costs should be borne by cities through user charges and fiscal imports, said Rakesh Mohan, Chairman of the National Transport Development Policy Committee today...................
Read...........
Read...........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)