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.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Subir Gokarn paid the price for disagreeing with the government: CLSA
RBI cites law to stonewall RTI info
As cases of denial of information under the Right to Information Act pile up, the Reserve Bank of India approached various courts as many as nine times against the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) orders directing it to provide information. Seven of these cases are now pending in the Delhi High Court while two are in the Bombay High Court. Not only has the RBI preferred litigation against providing information, the central bank earlier this year also refused to give information on expenses it has incurred on such litigation against CIC orders. Besides these nine cases, there are three others cases in which the RBI sought to become a petitioner to block information against the CIC’s decisions. In these cases, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and ICICI Bank are currently petitioners. The RBI wants to defend them by becoming a petitioner too...........
How Ernakulam officials ensured every single adult there opened a bank account
.......The thought morphed into resolve. And Kerala's local bank officials set the ball rolling. "With Ernakulam we have made a beginning. The RBI's goal is to do this in the entire country," says C.V. Geroge, General Manager at RBI's Kochi office. As many as 45 banks from public, private and cooperative sectors have spread their presence in the district with 850 branches and about 1,000 ATMs. In fact, just two banks - State Bank of Travancore and Federal Bank - account for close to 200 branches. The regional heads of all banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions met frequently, exchanged notes and went about the task in a concerted manner..........
Ombudsman scheme to be reviewed
..........“With a view to examine the Scheme in its entirety, an internal working group has been constituted in RBI under the Chairmanship of Suma Varma, Chief General Manager, Customer Service Department, RBI,” said the Annual Report of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2011-12. The group will include two banking ombudsmen, representatives from regulatory wings of RBI, Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) and Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI). The working group will identify grounds of complaints that have become redundant and add new grounds reflecting aspirations of customers. It would also examine the possibility of extending the scheme to cooperative banks and review the grounds of appeal under the BOS...............
Ashwini Ponappa to move back to Bangalore
Shuttler Ashwini Ponappa is all set to move back to Bangalore, a place which the Olympian feels is more conducive for training and playing badminton than Hyderabad where she is living at the moment. "I am shifting my base to Bangalore as my father, who is a RBI official, is moving back to the city. I am more comfortable playing and training in Bangalore than Hyderabad due to the very good facilities available.............
My View on "Once a 'green horn', D Subbarao aims to demystify RBI in 2013"
This assessment of the role of the central bank and an appraisal of sorts of himself and his colleagues makes the case for longer tenures for incumbents at the top of institutions like RBI stronger. GOI should sit back and think whether it was necessary to ease out Subir Gokarn in just two years. Perhaps the error of judgment could be made up by planning in advance and ensuring at least a further two year term for Dr Subbarao who has by now understood the role of RBI and can execute a mission consistent with his vision briefly brought out in this New Year message to his colleagues. RBI and Indian Economy deserve a more mature treatment from GOI in 2013 !
- M G Warrier
Reforms implementation, the key
.......The Reserve Bank (RBI) has given a direction to banks that anyone with an Aadhaar Card will have a ‘no-frills’ account. The central bank had introduced ‘no-frills’ accounts in 2005 to provide basic banking facilities to the poor and promote financial inclusion. The accounts could be maintained without or with very low minimum balance. In fact, the RBI has asked commercial banks to convert the existing ’no-frills’ accounts into ‘Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts’. While there will be no limit on the number of deposits that can be made in a month, Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account holders will be allowed a maximum of four withdrawals in a month, including through ATMs. Critics argue that access to bank branches may be a problem. Owing to administrative cost it may not be profitable for banks to open bank branches in every village. As a way out, it is now mooted to have a banking correspondent in every village. .........
An overdraft for a ‘special case’
......As the Chairman of PNB was to retire on July 31, 1975, the RBI recommended for that post O.P. Gupta, Deputy General Manager of PNB. This was approved by Finance Minister C. Subramaniam and Home Minister K. Brahmananda Reddy. When the papers were sent to the Prime Minister as the third member of the appointments committee, she mentioned that Tuli’s name should also be considered for the post. Tuli was then Chairman of New Bank of India, in the private sector. However, the recommendation of the Finance Minister was redrafted and Tuli became Chairman and Managing Director of PNB on August 1, 1975. When the Shah Commission asked C. Subramaniam why O.P. Gupta was not appointed as recommended by the RBI, he said he had not known Tuli earlier, and that PNB was much bigger than New Bank of India. Asked whether the Prime Minister had suggested that Tuli be appointed, Subramaniam replied: ‘Yes.’.....
Banks want incentive for tax-saving deposits
..some banks requested that they be allowed to issue tax-free bonds, as has been allowed to other entities, because banks have good distribution network and can finance infrastructure projects.............
Piggyback selling
........... “Do you own a credit card?”. If the customer says yes, hoping to shake them off, they will then hard-sell their card, suggesting you use it because it has more benefits. The real benefit is for the company: Gaining a customer who already owns a card makes it easier for the company to secure the details required for fulfiling know-your-customer norms as mandated by the banking regulator.
Waiting for the RBI?
.........But there could be another factor at work here: expectations that banks may soon lower interest rates. Finance Minister P Chidambaram has made innumerable statements that the government has done its bit to rein in its fiscal deficit andcurb inflation, and therefore it’s time for the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates. All of this has strengthened the expectations of an interest rate cut when the next review of monetary policy takes place later this month......
SBI favours 2 % interest on current a/ c deposits
....." Reserve Bank should allow some interest... something like two per cent to be paid on current accounts... that will encourage more people to put ( money in banks) instead of keeping the money in cash.............
Cut lock-in period for tax saving deposits to 3yrs: Bankers
Bankers demanded that lock-in period for tax saving deposits be brought down to three years from five years to channelise more funds into the banking sector. In a pre-budget consultation with Finance Minister P Chidambaram, bankers also sought permission to issue tax-free bonds like other financial institutions for raising funds and augmenting business.........
'RBI to look at macro situation before deciding on rate cut'
Weeks ahead of its third quarter review of monetary policy, RBI today said it will look at current macroeconomic situation besides inflation before taking a call on reducing interest rates. "Definitely today the policy rate is 8 per cent. Inflation should come not come down to 3 per cent to review the rate but that is depending on the macro economic situation," RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty said..........
Basel-III: RBI mulls liquidity buffer from SLR portfolio
“We already have quite a bit of liquidity ratio requirement (banks in India)... The basic requirement of basic liquidity that has come is that it should be usable under stress. If we look at our SLR, it’s supposed to be maintained continuously,"..............
Final norms on new bank licences soon, says RBI
......Sinha said the central bank would look into the concerns raised by NBFCs. He, however, added nothing could be assured and advised NBFCs “to live with it”. He said there was no question of treating NBFCs on a par with banks, as banks had more stringent regulatory norms...............
Far reaching changes in powers of the banking regulator
........ The increase in number of banks would lead to more competition and better pricing for the retail customer both for deposit as well as credit products as the newer banks innovate to garner market share. Overall the Bill provides an enabling environment for the regulator and the development and growth of the banking sector.
Hike minimum investment limit for bank licence to Rs 1,000 crore: Assocham
............."Considering the heavy investment needed for technology up gradation for the future purposes, there can be a stipulation suggesting that minimum capital requirement shall be hiked to Rs 1,000 crore from Rs 500 crore within five years of starting the bank. This can help to ensure only serious and resourceful entities are eligible to apply," it said in a statement. ....................
RBI may allow partial SLR conversion to meet Basel-III
T
he Reserve Bank today hinted at allowing part of the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) holdings of banks to be treated as liquid assets under the Basel-III guidelines, which will come into effect next fiscal. "We already have quite a bit of liquidity ratio requirement.... If you look at our SLR, it is supposed to be maintained continuously. "Therefore, question arises whether we add some more liquidity on top of SLR, which will be definitely not good for our banks. So, we are looking at carving out SLR so that a part of it can become usable," RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of an event.........
RBI proposal may boost gold loan companies' growth: ICRA
The proposal by the Reserve Bank to increase the loan to value (LTV) ratio to 75 per cent from the present 60 per cent is likely to help gold loan companies increase their business volume at a reasonable rate, says a report by rating agency ICRA.............
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NBFC body asks RBI for same benefits as banks
Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), in a discussion with Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday, have asked the RBI to put them on par with banks on areas such as risk weights as per the asset class, tax relief on provisions made for NPAs and permission to raise ECBs..............
Banking Ombudsman Report of 2011-12 shows customers getting the short shrift
...... since banking ombudsman is authorized to cover only specific areas of customer complaint, it will be in the interest of the customer to check whether thecomplaint to be raised by him falls under banking ombudsman’s jurisdiction. What is heartening to note is that The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to set up a working group to review the banking ombudsman scheme.
Will Cheque-bounce Law Lose its Sting?
..........Thanks to a law that was born a decade after Dickens died and then amended a century later, Indian banks slap a curt notice, threatening criminal proceedings, to force a borrower to pay up once a 'post-dated cheque' - a product of the retail loan boom - bounces. The law makes no difference between crafty borrowers trying to dupe banks and those who have missed their loan EMIs for having lost jobs. But with lakhs of cheque-bouncing cases clogging the courts, the law ministry is trying to figure out whether it makes sense to tweak the law and refer these default disputes for arbitration. It's an idea that has rattled banks............
RBI asked to give all details about NBFCs operating in Karnataka
Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court Monday directed the RBI to furnish within six weeks all details of Non Banking Finance Companies operating in the state and the names and number of private finance companies offering secured and unsecured loans............
RBI dispels NBFCs’ fears of closure
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday dispelled fears of the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) sector that the proposed recommendations of the Usha Thorat committee to maintain an asset size of Rs.25 crore will lead to the closure of small and mid size NBFCs in the country........
Read - Hindustan Times
RBI cancels registration of two NBFCs
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank Monday said it has cancelled registration of two non-banking financial companies -- Emcorp Finance Ltd and Care Credit and Investments Company Pvt Ltd. "Following cancellation of the registration certificate the companies cannot transact the business of a non-banking financial institution," the RBI said...........
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