RBI highlights macro risks

In line with consensus expectation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked both the repo and reverse repo rates by 25 basis points (bps) each. In doing so, following the pause in December, RBI flagged off renewed inflation concerns that had looked like subsiding for a brief while last year. Indeed, RBI is not concerned only about inflation but about a host of macroeconomic risks to the India story. These include the high current account deficit (CAD), its financing and the fiscal situation. It is this concern over how these risks could affect both the real and financial sectors that has likely persuaded RBI not to opt for a 50 bps hike.

Interest rate increase not round the corner: Bankers

Banks prepared to wait and watch, as the policy is in sync with market expectations. Terming the third quarter monetary policy review as judicious and in sync with expectations, bankers on Tuesday said although the scenario presented a case for a rise in interest rates, it might not just be round the corner.   “For a long time, there has been an upward bias in interest rates and we have seen that getting translated into actual rates increases, both on the deposit and the advances’ side. However, there is always a little lag between the transmission signal and the actual event,” said State Bank of India Chairman O P Bhatt. The asset liability committee (Alco) of the bank would meet shortly to discuss the issue, he said.  “Clearly, there is a bridge between deposit and credit growth and that’s the structural factor responsible for liquidity deficit...they (banks) must increase their deposits and restrain their credit. The credit and deposit growth has to be aligned,” RBI Governor D Subbarao said in the post-policy press meet. Union Bank Chairman and Managing Director M V Nair said though the key concern had been deposit mobilisation, attaining RBI’s projection of 18 per cent growth in deposits during the current financial year was possible. “Most banks have increased the deposit rates lately and the deposit growth has also moved up. Whether it will touch 18 per cent, I think it is possible. Otherwise, we may have to necessarily pass on the rise and increase the deposit rate which, in turn, may impact the base rate,” he said. Echoing Nair, Punjab National Bank’s Chairman and Managing Director K R Kamath added there was a need to balance credit and deposit growth in the coming quarters. “Inflation is a concern, interest rates have an upward bias. These are all indicative of things. There is a case for interest rate increase, both on the deposit and lending side, but when and how, the market will decide,” he added.

Dire need to improve govt expenditure quality

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday raised the red flag on the high fiscal deficit. Highlighting the adverse effect this would have on economic stability, Governor D Subbarao said the Centre needed to curtail borrowings and spend on creating real assets. In its third quarter review of the monetary policy, the central bank read the Riot Act to the government, expressing displeasure over the means it was using to bridge the gap between revenue and expenditure. It expressed its displeasure over the government’s dependence on raising funds through disinvestment in public sector companies and receipts through sale of spectrum to bridge the gap. The third quarter monetary policy review states: “Fiscal consolidation based on one-off receipts is not sustainable.” If the government decides not to pass on the increase in petroleum product prices to consumers and farmers, it will have to make adequate budgetary provisions to meet the gap. This will constrain its ability to reduce the fiscal deficit. On the other hand, if it passes on the price rise to consumers, then it might undermine fiscal management and make it impossible to tame inflation.  The government may succeed in raising receipts through tax buoyancy and one-off sources like spectrum sale, but the real measure of fiscal consolidation lies in improving the quality of expenditure. If the government is able to commit more resources in generating real assets through capital investments, it will help deal with some of the bottlenecks that contribute to supply-side inflationary pressures. In other words, if the government invests in improving agricultural productivity, then it may go a long way in taming prices.

RBI does a balancing act

Admitting that the central bank had flirted with the idea of raising rates by 50 basis points, RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao told reporters that it was in the end a “judgement call” to go in for the moderate rate hike.  He explained that while the RBI had increased rates seven times since March last year, there was some more monetary transmission that had still to be played out. Further, monetary policy is not that effective when it comes to inflation driven by supply-side factors as is evident at present.   The RBI also came out with a guidance beyond the current fiscal. It said the coming year would see domestic growth momentum stabilising though the GDP growth might decline as agriculture reverted to its trend. Inflation, it said, could also moderate from the first quarter of 2011-12.

Bhatt refuses to call special home loans as teasers

The largest lender of the country, State Bank of India has declared that its special home loan scheme cannot be considered as teaser loans as per the definition of the same declared by Reserve Bank of India. "Our special home loan schemes are not teaser loans. If you go about the definition of teaser loans, as provided by RBI in the recent circular, our loan does not fall in this category. Hence, we have not made any extra provisioning on this account," OP Bhatt, Chairman, SBI said. The apex bank had been concerned over these loans since quite some time. "It has been observed that many banks at the time of the initial loan appraisal do not take into account the repaying capacity of the borrower at normal lending rates," RBI said in its November policy. "For the time being, RBI has exempted us from this higher provisioning and hence we have not made any extra provisioning for home loans in the third quarter," Bhatt added.

RBI raises inflation estimate; Basu says high prices to stay

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today raised its projection for wholesale price index-based inflation to 7 per cent at the end of this financial year, from its earlier estimate of 5.5 per cent.  The Finance Ministry, in its mid-term analysis in December, had pegged the figure at 6per cent, but later revised it to 6.5 per cent.  This prompted Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu to say the government might have to live with high inflation for alittle longer than expected.  “The battle against inflation, which we were hoping would come to an end by March-April, will probably continue for some more months,” Basu said. If  RBI projections are true, inflation at the end of this financial year would be somewhat moderate than 10.22 per cent witnessed in March 2010. However, despite the high base effect, inflation is not coming down drastically. This clearly shows that prices rose significantly this year.

AIDED BY TECHNOLOGY, GOVT BANKS WIDEN OUTSOURCING

Call it a technology transformation. Where are the innumerable tellers, typists, peons and tea vendors that were so characteristic at a public sector bank (PSB)? Tellers have been replaced by ATMs, the work of peons are being done by computers and for other clerical jobs, including housekeeping and ATM management, there are outsourced employees or contractual workers.  The result is substantial reduction in growth of the work force. While banks have been growing at 20-25 per cent annually, fresh recruitment has been only four-five per cent.  The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, is planning to optimise the work force in about 80 branches, whereby the job of three clerical staffers could be done by one, and the excess workforce shifted to other centres like Liability Central Processing Centre (LCPC), according to a senior official.  LCPCs at SBI are centralised service centres which specialise in opening accounts, after initial processing at branches. With almost 30 million accounts being opened at SBI each year, several committees are studying if some non-core part of LCPC operations could be outsourced, said a senior official.  “If some part of the work like feeding of the data can be outsourced, the process of account opening will be much faster,” said the executive.  “Some of the activities like marketing and call centres are being outsourced by our bank. Some recovery is also being done through recovery agents, after training,” said S L Bansal, executive director, United Bank of India.   According to RBI guidelines, activities which form part of core management functions such as corporate planning, organisation, management and control and decision-making functions cannot be outsourced. So, activities such as marketing and support functions, lead generation and promotional activities and initial contact point verification activities are generally outsourced by banks. Also, document processing, marketing and research, data processing, backoffice support services and general administration-related activities are some of the other functions which banks are outsourcing.  “In the last 10 years, recruitment in the banking industry is not more than seven-eight per cent, mostly because of use of technology. We are outsourcing work like marketing and providing leads for opening an account, but all verification and know-your-customer work is being conducted by bank staff only,” said Ramnath Pradeep, chairman and managing director, Corporation Bank.  But several clerical jobs like cheque delivery to clearing houses, which used to be done inhouse, are being outsourced to courier companies. ATM maintenance, software development, data centre operations, network administration and maintenance of hardware are some other services being outsourced.  “In the last three years, we have almost doubled in size, but the need for fresh recruitment has been reduced by use of technology. For example, we have installed mechanised cash drop boxes in our banks, which gives photocopy receipts instantly,” said T.M.Bhasin, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Bank.

Giving employees more autonomy pays huge dividends

Workers who feel they are free to make choices at workplace and be accountable for them are happier and more productive, suggests a new book. The book, Human Autonomy in Cross-Cultural Context: Perspectives on the Psychology of Agency, Freedom, and Well-Being, co-authored by Marylene Gagne and Devasheesh Bhave from Concordia's John Molson School of Business, stated that there's no universal cross-cultural definition of autonomy. What people from one culture perceive as workplace freedom, those from another may view as simple disorganisation. "The perception of autonomy has very positive effects on workers. However, managers can't simply export North American methods of granting autonomy anywhere and expect them to work," said Gagne. No matter how autonomy is defined, when people feel they have latitude the results are impressive. Potential benefits include greater employee commitment, better performance, improved productivity and lower turnover. "Autonomy is especially likely to lead to better productivity when the work is complex or requires more creativity. In a very routine job, autonomy doesn't have much impact on productivity, but it can still increase satisfaction, which leads to other positive outcomes," said Gagne. Paradoxically, some employers are now actually reducing workers' autonomy by monitoring behaviour on workplace computers, or even on the phone or in the car. It's another reason why cartoons like Dilbert are so popular, says Gagne.

SBI to introduce green-channel banking soon

The State Bank of India is set to introduce green-channel banking to promote paperless work and reduce footfall of customers in the already over-burdened ATMs and branches.  SBI General Manager for network-I D Mozumdar said that apart from regular counters, a new counter was being opened in which customers could swipe their ATM cards and enter the pin code to receive cash from the person manning the counter. "In this way, there will be no requirement for paperwork and the process of money withdrawal will be fast," he said. 
Under the financial inclusion scheme of the Reserve Bank of India, SBI has been asked to take up responsibilities in 43 of the 156 "under-banked" blocks of the state, besides extending banking facilities to 408 villages having a population of over 2,000 people. Mozumdar said SBI would connect 200 villages by March this year through different banking techniques. "We do not require brick and mortar branches these days to extend banking facilities because technology has made the work easier and SBI is fortunate to have all the modern banking technology," he said.  All 200 villages where SBI is planning to launch services by March will be on technology platform that includes micro-ATM or mobile-based banking in which the customers having a mobile phone can access his or her account through the cellphone and bio-metric smart cards by which an user is identified on a hand-held machine through finger prints. Business correspondents appointed by bank will also disburse cash along with printed receipts and through kiosk-mode in which the bank provides a laptop with face-reading and voice-recognition software to enable transactions. 

Pension option: Banks face 12k cr liability

Banks are awaiting clarity on accounting for a liability of around Rs 12,000 crore due to nearly 2.75 lakh serving and retired employees opting for a second pension option.
Bankers said they had approached the Reserve Bank of India, seeking a longer duration to provide for the amount. Although banks have started providing for a higher pension bill, setting aside the fund to meet the liability that arises over the next few years in one shot would dent their balance sheets. Around 3.3 lakh public sector bank employees are estimated to be eligible to get pension post-superannuation as part of a second option being given to them. A second pension option was part of the wage settlement agreed upon by banks and unions, which had capped the average pay increase at 17.5%. Earlier, they could only get provident fund. Among the public sector lenders, only the SBI group had the provision of giving pension to all its employees before the wage settlement. As per the pact , bank managements will provide 70% of the deficit, while the remaining will have to be borne by the employee. The United Forum of Bank Unions, which negotiated the wage pact and pension with Indian Banks' Association, had said that employees had to pay 2.8 times of their Nov 2007 salary from the arrears of the wage settlement. Banks are in various stages of getting a firm idea on the number of employees as several of them had given time until December for employees to opt for the scheme. Bankers, however, expected over 90% of serving and retired employees to opt in favour of pension. Lenders had taken up the issue with RBI last year, which in turn is discussing it with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India that sets accounting standards. Under existing norms, at the end of their financial year in March, banks have to set aside funds to meet any actuarial shortfall. The deficit or surplus for pension is done through a technical exercise conducted by actuaries.

Govt should start spending this qtr: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said the government should start spending to ease the liquidity situation that has significantly tightened towards the end of 2010. "It is expected that the government would spend in order to meet its committed expenditure for the year during the ongoing quarter, which is the last quarter of the financial year," the apex bank said in its macroeconomic review released today. The liquidity conditions tightened significantly to the point of imposing constraints on growth in the terminal months of 2010, it said. As of December, the government surplus increased at Rs 1,44,437 crore compared to Rs 93,425 crore in November, 2010. With government cash surplus beginning to flow back into the system, the liquidity position would improve, it said. The policy noted that liquidity conditions remained tight during the third quarter of 2010-11, warranting liquidity easing measures by the RBI.  Recognising the need to firmly anchor inflationary expectations and contain inflation, the RBI has raised policy rates six times since March 2010, it said. The RBI injected large primary liquidity through repo and open market operations, which was reflected in the high growth of base money, it said. Besides, it reduced the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) requirement from 25 per cent to 24 per cent with effect from December 18, 2010. This was necessary to avoid the risk of liquidity stress adversely impacting the real economy, even though the overall anti-inflationary stance was sustained throughout, it added.

High current account deficit cannot be sustained: RBI

Cautioning that high current account deficit cannot be sustained in the long run, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said it would monitor closely the external sector as well as the global developments. India's current account deficit (CAD), representing the difference of inflows and outflows of foreign exchange barring capital movements, surged 72 per cent to $15.8 billion in the July-September quarter over $9.2 billion in the same period last year due to higher imports.  "...The external sector needs to be monitored closely. The economy is very well poised to absorb a higher current account deficit for a couple of years but this cannot remain a persisting trend," the RBI said in its macroeconomic review released today.  The RBI said that the widening of CAD is a result of factors like lower growth in services receipts reflecting uneven pace of global recovery; significant rise in imports relative to exports reflecting steep rise in international crude oil prices, moderation in FDI inflows reportedly because of environment sensitive policies, land acquisition issues and availability of quality infrastructure.

Taming Inflation a Predominant Objective: RBI

Indicating a hike in key policy rates tomorrow, the Reserve Bank of India has said containing inflation would be its top priority as rising prices could derail growth.
The RBI would announce its third quarter monetary policy tomorrow amid speculation that it may increase short-term lending (repo) and borrowing (reverse repo) rates ranging between 25-50 basis points. Even as the economy grew by 8.9 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal, inflation, which increased to 8.43 per cent in December, has remained an area of concern.
"While downside risks to growth have receded, upside risks to inflation have increased," the RBI said adding containing inflation will have to be the predominant objective of monetary policy in the near term. RBI, in its macroeconomic and monetary development report ahead of quarterly review of monetary policy, also warned that persistent high inflation could endanger the growth objective and also increases risks to inclusive growth. RBI, since March 2010, has increased the policy rates six times to anchor inflationary expectation and check rate of price rise. "Conventional wisdom says that there should be at least 25 basis point hike in interest rate," State Bank of India Chairman O P Bhatt had said last week. Despite moderating for two weeks, food inflation is still very high at 15.52 per cent on account of rising prices of essential items like vegetables, particularly onion and tomato, fruits, milk and eggs. A day before he met RBI Governor D Subbarao on January 20, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had expressed concern over food inflation saying, "some of the vegetable prices are still high." Though analysts are not sure whether any further tightening of interest rate can check the price rise, the central bank seems to have few options but hike rates. Endorsing the widespread view, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh had said RBI is expected to raise key short-term rates by 25-50 basis points. "The RBI may be looking at an increase (of short-term rates) at 25-50 basis points... But I personally feel that interest rates are already high and it will impact the growth of retail loans and housing." Industry chambers, including FICCI and CII, had expressed apprehensions that RBI tightening the monetary policy could hit the growth, especially considering that industrial growth plunged to an 18-month low of 2.7 per cent in November, 2010.

Private sector banks march ahead in credit growth

Private sector banks have recorded higher credit growth than their state-owned counterparts on a year-on-year basis. According to latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), private banks saw 28 per cent growth in bank credit at the end of December 31, while public sector banks recorded a rise of 24.1 per cent. During the same period last year, private banks had registered 8.4 per cent growth whereas public banks had seen 16.9 per cent increase in credit growth. Foreign banks witnessed an 19.8 per cent increase compared to a decline of eight per cent in the same period last year. Public sector lenders, however, accounted for around three-fourth of the incremental year-on-year credit off-take at the end of the third quarter. ICICI Bank, the largest private sector lender which was shrinking its balance sheet for the last few quarters, registered an increase in advances in the third quarter. The bank’s advances rose 15.3 per cent to Rs 2,06,692 crore on December 31, from Rs 179,269 crore on December 31, 2009. Most private sector banks which have declared third-quarter results have seen a substantial increase in loan offtake.

Economy to grow 8.7% in 2010-11, finds survey

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 8.7 per cent in the year, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s professional forecasters’ survey conducted in December. The previous survey showed a growth rate of 8.5 per cent. Improvement in exports, buoyant demand, a rise in volume of sales and new orders were factors that provided a boost to overall expectations. But persistently high rate of inflation can dent growth.  “The outlook for growth remains buoyant. The inflation persistence, led by stubbornly high food inflation, in double digits for close to two years, however, remains a major concern,” said RBI in its macroeconomic outlook, released a day before the third quarter review of the monetary and credit policy. On the brighter side, the survey results suggest manufacturers expect selling prices and profit margins to increase despite expectations of rising input costs, which reflect their pricing power. The survey says better agricultural production is expected on the back of satisfactory monsoon and reservoir levels. The survey revised growth estimate for the agricultural sector from 4.6 per cent to five per cent.

Rate hike to hamper industrial growth: Sharma

A day prior to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) third-quarter monetary policy review scheduled for tomorrow, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said any rise in interest rates would hinder industrial growth. "Inflation is definitely a cause of concern. But it cannot be curbed by increasing interest rates. Instead, for the development of industry and growth of the economy, there is a need to provide easy credit to the industrial sector," Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by the CII here today.   The RBI is widely expected to raise key short-term rates tomorrow to rein-in inflation.  There is a need to allow capital inflows and easy credit flow for the growth of economy, he said. "For a clear growth of the economy, there is a need for capacity addition. Foreign capital inflows and making credit easily available for the industrial sector by public sector banks will ensure robust industrial production," Sharma said. Cutting exports would only lead to cutting economic growth and not inflation. "This will result in job loss," he said.  On the government's policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, Sharma said, "We are actively considering allowing FDI in the retail sector. We have received inputs from stakeholders and investors and (now) have to formally finalise the issue."

RBI signals series of rate hikes to tackle inflation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today set the stage for a series of rate hikes to tackle inflation, which the central bank believes is likely to remain above the comfort zone in the near term. Though RBI expressed satisfaction on growth prospects, it said higher growth is expected to coexist with high inflation. “The inflation outlook, which is being conditioned by both demand-side and supply-side factors, suggests slow-paced moderation in inflation, with the possibility of rigidity at above the comfort level in the near term,” RBI said in its macroeconomic and monetary developments report today.   Inflation based on the wholesale price index was at 8.43 per cent in December. RBI, which has projected March-end inflation at 5.5 per cent, is expected to revise its projection upward.  The central bank said sectoral imbalances in several non-cereal food items may not be addressed by higher policy rates, but aggregate demand-side pressures on inflation would have to be contained in a forward-looking manner. “The anti-inflationary focus of the monetary policy would have to continue, recognising the limits of monetary policy in dealing with structural pressures on inflation, and the need for forward-looking response to demand-side pressures. Since a lower inflation regime is essential for sustainable high growth, containing inflation becomes the dominant policy objective in the current environment,” RBI said.

Arrangement with RBI in the Interest of All: J&K Govt

The Jammu & Kashmir government today defended the new cash management arrangement with the RBI -- which restricts J&K Bank from extending overdraft facility to Jammu & Kashmir directly -- saying it is in the overall interest and benefit of the state, people and the lender. "The new cash management agreement with RBI as a supplementary agreement, necessitated to check continued financial indiscipline. The new arrangement is a major structural reform measure which is in the overall interest and benefit of the government people and the J&K Bank," Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs A B Rahim Rather said while addressing a press conference in Civil Secretariat today. Jammu & Kashmir enjoyed a special provision under which it could receive overdraft facility directly from J&K Bank instead of the way and means advances from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Overdraft is a facility extended by banks to obtain funds in excess than balance available from time to time. Rather said the overdraft facility with J&K Bank was meant for meeting a temporary miss-match between revenue and expenditures for only a few days. But, he added, due to continued financial constraints, the overdraft facility had become a permanent structural liability deficit in the state finances.

SMEs low on priority of banks, says study

The small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is low on the agenda of the country’s banks as a study by ratings agency Crisil Ltd has found that the bulk of the expansion in these companies had to be funded by the promoters themselves. The report also dispels the notion that SMEs are over-leveraged. While credit facilities by banks to the SME sector rose continuously from Rs.127,000 crore in 2006-07 to Rs.369,866 crore in February 2010, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Crisil study, which looked at a sample of 2,000 SMEs between the financial years 2006-07 and 2008-09, presented a slightly unexpected picture.  It estimated that Indian banks funded on an average around 60% of the sector’s incremental working capital and long-term borrowing needs, representing a gap of Rs.50,000 crore of untapped opportunity.  This shortfall was funded, overwhelmingly, by the promoters’ own funds, apart from internal accrual, which was the next most oft-resorted avenue to financing. The third route was to lean on suppliers to extend short term—and often informal—credit agreements, the data revealed.

Foreign bankers hope RBI plan won't up tax burden

Although appreciative of the Reserve Bank of India's stance that foreign banks should operate in India as wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) rather than as a branch of the parent, foreign bankers are hoping the conversion would not mean too much of a tax liability. Moreover, the RBI's proposal that the WOS become a listed entity over time, resulting in a dilution of the parent bank's holding, has not gone down too well with the fraternity. A dilution of the parent bank's stake would mean it would have to give up total control and also some share of the profits. A local listing, foreign banks fear, would restrict their ability to capitalise on the parent bank's balance sheet.

Fin inclusion duty of the mainstream: Chakrabarty

Financial inclusion requires work by mainstream financial institutions, such as banks and cooperatives, said K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, here today. “It’s not institutions like micro finance institutions (MFIs) which will make financial inclusion possible in the country. Rather, it’s the mainstream institutions,” he said on the sidelines of a financial inclusion programme arranged by Corporation Bank in Mallaohalli village, 50 km north of Bangalore. Adding: “MFIs play a very important role as of now and they will continue to do so.” RBI has already told banks they must provide basic banking services in all villages with a population of 2,000 and more by March, 2012. It is also planning to cover villages with a population of less than 2,000 in an integrated manner over the next three to five years. “In the first phase, 72,000 villages will be covered. The remaining villages will be covered in the second phase of the programme,” he said. Chakrabarty stressed the need to use technology in reaching out to ruralites. “Even after 40 years of nationalisation of banks, banking facilities have not reached even 50 per cent of the population. Only by leveraging technology can we bridge this gap,” he said. “We should ensure that every person has a bank account, so that he can avail various financial services offered by the government and other agencies.”

'Financial inclusion imperative to reap demographic dividend' - RBI Deputy Governor Dr.K.C.Chakrabarty at IIM-L leadership summit Manfest 2011

Financial inclusion is imperative for India to reap the benefits of its demographic dividend, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty has said. “The challenge for the financial system is to become more efficient. Financial inclusion would mean efficiency of the the banking sector in allocations by reaching out to every individual.”  He said efficiency in the financial sector is in terms of both allocation and operation. While the former pertains to easy access to people, the latter is about harnessing technology rather than mere mechanisation to improve functioning. Chakrabarty was speaking today at ‘Arthashaastra’ —The finance leadership summit, as part of the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow’s (IIM-L’s) annual international business conclave, Manfest 2011. “The financial sector is surviving due to its regulator, which occasionally bails it out and neutralises competition,” he noted. He said 50 per cent of India’s population did not have bank account, 90 per cent had no access to credit or life insurance cover, 95 per cent had no general insurance, while 98 per cent had no participation in the capital market. “The financial sector has to improve upon its delivery mechanism, especially for the poor and launch innovative products for the agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprise sectors,” he said. Exhorting future managers, Chakrabarty underlined that today’s business models lack the ability to reach out to the poor. “I do not espouse subsiding the poor or charity, but we can support them with appropriate financial products, one which is also commercially viable and does not exploit them.” Quoting a report, Chakrabarty said by 2030, India would account for 10 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) with the latter been estimated at 308 trillion dollars Rs 14,075.60 lakh crore) up from 62 trillion dollars Rs 2,833.40 lakh crore) at present. “Two-third of the world’s GDP would be accounted for by the developing countries with India and China jointly accounting for 35 per cent by 2030,” he added. Other speakers at the conclave included Fullerton Securities president and CEO Pallav Sinha, Axis Asset Management CEO and Managing Director Rajiv Anand, Standard Chartered Bank fixed income currencies and commodities (South Asia)-Head Ananth Narayan and IIM-L finance professor Vipul. The speakers were unanimous that regulation in the financial sector would rather increase and be more stringent. “Know your customer’s business, risk management and fair treatment of customers, apart from financial inclusion would acquire centrestage for the financial sector in the future,” Chakrabarty observed. He suggested the country’s financial sector should first meet the aspirations of people, before venturing global or trying to integrate with global markets. “The focus of the domestic financial sector should be local with the blend of brick-and-mortar and technology approach, while catering the needs of the Indian diaspora,” he said. Commenting on black money in foreign banks, the RBI deputy governor said the money went to foreign shores, since the rate of returns in India were not attractive. “Tax evasion is not the only cause for black money transactions, as it is not easy to siphon-off black money,” he added.

Monetary policy cannot kill inflation, must not kill growth

The question of whether or not RBI should hike policy rates in its quarterly monetary policy review due on January 25 should have been answered rather forcefully by the inflation data for December.
After showing tentative signs of moderation in October and November, wholesale price inflation shot up close to 8.5 per cent on the back of a spike in vegetable prices led by onions and tomatoes.
Even if these prices were to cool off a tad, the prospect of a hike in diesel prices looms on the horizon. The chances of ending the current fiscal year at anywhere near the 5.5 per cent that RBI officially targets seem bleak indeed.  The question then is: should RBI stick to its measured approach and push the reverse repo and repo rates up by a quarter of a percentage point or go the whole hog and hike by half a percentage point? It might be tempting for the RBI governor to choose the latter and signal to the markets that he too packs a mean punch. However, by doing that he might just end up "over-compensating" for the other imbalances in the system that play an equally important role in keeping prices high - excessively loose fiscal policy and the woeful state of agriculture that years of neglect has bred. The result could be what economists term "hard landing" or a sharp slowdown in growth. Growth has incidentally started looking fragile again with the November industrial production index registering a growth of just 2.7 per cent. The RBI Governor has to keep the risk of pushing growth off a cliff in mind in deciding January's policy action. A quarter of a percentage point increase in rates should do the trick this time.

Government, RBI pact: a nail in Autonomy’s coffin?

A fresh agreement between the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the Reserve Bank of India on the role of the J&K Bank has put a spotlight on the National Conference’s Autonomy proposal,  which has been conceived as one of the solutions to the long-standing Kashmir dispute.
 With the RBI likely to take over the overdraft role of the J&K Bank from April 1, political analysts have begun to see the development as a ‘first dent’ in the NC’s autonomy proposal which naturally makes the financial autonomy of individual institutions a must.  Economists don’t rule out certain fears associated with the pact. “If the mismatch between the central flow of funds and the requirement of plan funds continues with a wide time gap, then the state government may get into financial crisis. And if the state government manages its finances efficiently in terms of expenditure compression measures and in terms of maximum internal resource mobilization or in terms of tapping IRM potential, then the state government has no problem. At least it has an advantage that it will come out of the JK Bank overdraft debt. In that process, the state will save on an average over Rs 250 crores which is a huge sum for meeting the other development expenditure which otherwise would go to the JK Bank as interest payment on overdraft borrowing,” said noted economist. According so observers, the pact will make more idle funds available to the J&K Bank in a market already flush with money. “That is likely to reduce profitability of the Bank which could lead to forcing the government in a few years to sell its shares making it like any other Bank that will have only the J&K name tag like Travancore or Hyderabad or Rajasthan. It will cease to be a government company which employs only the state subjects,” said the former official in the Finance Department. “Extra money will become available to markets outside J&K not where the deposits take place. Losing the tag of being official bankers to J&K government would adversely affect its prestige that had seen it grow as number one private bank in India. But according to experts in Banking, it will be a win-win situation for the Bank and the state government. “I think the agreement says that the JK Bank will continue to be the banker to the state government but under the overall supervision and monitoring of the Reserve Bank of India, as is the case with others banks across the country,” says the former J&K Bank Chairman, Muhammad Yousuf Khan.  He believes that it is not only the overdraft facility that makes the bank earn revenue. “If the bank would lend the overdraft amount, which it would give to the state government, to other institutions, it would earn more revenue,” Khan told Greater Kashmir.

Case for a national gold bank - T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Former Chief General Manager, RBI

India owns over 18,000 tonnes of above ground gold stocks worth around $800 billion, almost 11 per cent of the global stock, according to the World Gold Council (WGC) estimates. This is equivalent to nearly half an ounce of gold ownership per capita, a figure which is significantly below consumption in Western markets, representing scope for more growth, says a WGC research paper ‘India: Heart of Gold'. In 2009, total domestic gold demand reached $19 billion, or Rs 97,400 crore, which accounts for 15 per cent of the global market, according to the WGC. While Indian consumers continue to stock gold despite rising prices, when it comes to total gold reserves India ranks 11th in the world with 557.7 tonnes. Above ground gold stock is different from the total gold reserves. Over the past 10 years, the value of gold demand in India has increased at an average rate of 13 per cent a year, outpacing the country's real GDP, inflation and population growth by 6 per cent, 8 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively. The country at present has one of the highest savings rates in the world, estimated at around 30 per cent of total income, of which, 10 per cent is already invested in gold. In this backdrop, the setting up of a national gold bank (NGB) assumes importance. Such a bank, if set up, can gradually pave the way to have stock of surplus gold in the economy in one place. Over a period, the bank can have a say in controlling the volatility of gold prices in the domestic market, in particular, and can also act as a regulator of bullion market which is fast expanding, with international linkages. The bank can engage in the purchase and sale of the yellow metal and act as a trustee/pledgee for banks/institutions having gold surplus, and also keep gold for safe custody or raise funds against the precious metal to meet their liquidity constraints. As it is, the rate of deposit growth of commercial banks has been on the decline for the past few months and the investments in gold and real assets have been on the increase. Generally, Indians have a weakness for gold and the demand for gold is price insensitive. It is all the more so when the real rate of interest on deposits has been negative or insignificant compared to the rise in gold price. The banking system has been facing liquidity problem off and on and raising funds from the market poses a series of difficulties. Funds are becoming a major constraint to develop infrastructure. It is time for banks to find alternative sources of funds to continue to be vibrant in business and provide the well-needed support system for economic growth. One way to attract deposits is to encash the idle gold. In this context, the revival of the gold deposit scheme (introduced in 1999) has to be seriously considered. According to WGC, India's annual gold consumption is around 800 tonnes and gold reserves could be around 25,000-30,000 tonnes. The banks should be encouraged to accept gold as deposits and create fixed deposits linked to gold keeping very good margin. To start with, for instance, for pure gold worth Rs 50,000, the banks can create a fixed deposit for Rs 25,000 for a minimum period of three years and give an interest rate of, say 3 or 4 per cent a year. The banks can keep this gold as trustees. The investor earns interest on the idle gold while also securing his holdings under the custody of the bank. For the banks, they get gold as deposits and they should be in a position to raise funds against the security of gold. The borrowing power of the banks increases in the market and they will have required resources to expand credit portfolio. The banks should be given exemption from SLR for these deposits against the gold, as there is no additional liquidity created and the liabilities are fully backed by the gold they hold. However, the borrowings that these banks subsequently make against the gold can attract SLR and the advances they create can attract usual capital adequacy norms. The advantages of setting up a National Gold Bank are many. The bank can make bulk purchases from the open market including the international market and act as a store house of gold for banks and institutions. The banks and institutions holding gold can sell it to the National Gold Bank or raise funds by pledging it. This will bring down banks' borrowings from the RBI. The National Gold Bank can have a refinance arrangement with the Reserve Bank of India till such time it stabilises its operations. Money market operations can be better regulated and the black money component may gradually come down if the gold held in the country is brought under regulated market. Over a period, when the gold bank's operations get fully stabilised, the influence of gold in the market becomes predictable and circulation of hard cash and black money gets reduced, then framing of monetary policy and transmission of signals to financial markets by the Reserve Bank will prove to be easy. For the banks, such an arrangement provides opportunities to expand their business in terms of deposits, borrowings and loans. For the economy, benefits out of a gold bank are tremendous. The idle gold turns into cash to expand economic activities particularly the infrastructure and the gold and financial markets widen. It facilitates minimising generation of black money as the gold becomes a declared asset with the banks. Once a large quantum of gold comes under the custody of the gold bank, Government's fiscal policy and fiscal deficit can hope to have a totally different scenario than what is today. The image of the economy in the international market will improve. It will be a win-win situation for banks, investors, the economy, and the Government. (The author is former Chief General Manager, RBI. Views are personal.)

RBI pushes for manufacturing boost

Amid decelerating manufacturing growth, the Reserve Bank wants the government to come out with measures in the Budget to give a boost to the sector, which can employ surplus labour from agriculture. The suggestion was made by RBI Governor D Subbarao at a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), which met for the second time recently after its constitution last year, officials said. However, none of the regulators expressed reservations over the FSDC’s functioning. The body had seen criticism from RBI and Sebi initially over one of its proposed roles, to coordinate between financial sector regulators.

Chitale to replace Malegam as accounting standards body chief

The National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards (Nacas), the country's apex body in this regard, has been re-constituted. M M Chitale, veteran chartered accountant, will take charge as chairman in February from Y H Malegam. Indian accounting standards are in the process of being tweaked to converge with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Institute of Chartered Accountants India (ICAI) has formulated a ‘ converged-IFRS ’, a proposal that will merge the accounting standards to meet the IFRS stipulations and the timeline of their application to Nacas. The proposal now awaits Nacas’ nod. Under Malegam, the committee had advised the government to defer implementation of AS-11, an important tax regime, to 2011. This is the accounting standard on mark-to-market provisioning in corporate profit and loss accounts for foreign exchange-related gains and losses.  Chitale has been practising for 38 years and heads an independent CA firm, Mukund M Chitale & Co. He is on the board of many reputed companies, including Larsen & Toubro, Sriram Transport Finance and L&T General Insurance, as an independent director. Other key members who have joined Nacas with Chitale include P R Ravi Mohan (Reserve Bank of India), Usha Narayayan (executive director, Securities & Exchange Board of India), G Ramaswamy (ICAI) Anil Murarka (Institute of Company Secretaries of India), Brij Mohan Sharma (Institute of Costs and Works Accountants of India), Sarit Jafa (principal director, commercial audit, Comptroller and Auditor-General of India), Sunil Gupta (joint secretary, ministry of finance, nominee of the Central Board of Direct Taxes), Ashok Haldia (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India), S Santhanakrishnan (Confederation of Indian Industry), Renuka Kumar (joint secretary, ministry of corporate affairs) and a nominee from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. The new team, with Chitale, will hold office till January 31, 2012.

Discussion paper on foreign banks

The discussion paper on foreign banks should have been issued two years ago, but then the global financial crisis made foreign banks look more dangerous and less worth letting in. However, its significance becomes clearer if it is read together with another paper the RBI issued last August on entry of new private banks. It is seriously thinking of giving new licences.  It has done so only rarely; it licensed 10 banks after the 1991 reforms, and another two a decade later. After that it has been resolutely inactive for a decade. Why the sudden end of somnolence? It points to the poor outreach of banking in India; despite the fact that the RBI forced banks to work for the common man at least since the bank nationalization of 1969, a large proportion of the population has no access to banks. This has led a series of official committees, notably the Percy Mistry Committee and the Raghuram Rajan Committee, to admonish the RBI to allow more competition. It was pretty cold to the committees while they sat; even now it cannot bring itself to mention Percy Mistry. But the finance minister himself promised more competition in banking in his last budget speech. In case the RBI still continued to resist, he created the Financial Stability and Development Council, an overlord which would override even the RBI. Overcoming all obstacles, he actually created the council last month; its membership left no doubt that the finance ministry was going to be in charge. So the RBI could no longer put off acting on new bank licences; and if it allowed new banks, it could hardly ignore foreign banks queueing to set up business in India. Opening up of the financial sector is the one demand India has consistently faced in its international negotiations going back to the Uruguay round of two decades ago; every time it persistently stonewalled. All that it conceded in the Uruguay round was that it would allow a dozen new branches of foreign banks to be opened every year, in a country with close to 80,000 branches. But times have changed. India has become a superpower, albeit a junior one. The prime minister sups with the mightiest leaders of the world, and as leader of the country immune to a meltdown, advises them on how to run their countries. If they ask him to let their banks come to India and learn lessons from a stern schoolmaster called the RBI, he can hardly refuse. But the RBI has put its foot down: foreign banks must bring equity, set up subsidiaries, and not expect to raise capital in India. This may be a rearguard fighting a losing battle, but it will take as long as it can to lose.

What use rate hikes, when banks borrow at 9%+, govt at 8%?

The Reserve Bank of India is scheduled to hold its third-quarter review of the annual monetary policy for the current fiscal on Tuesday. But would it say anything new? Inflation has been above the central bank’s estimates for a while now and the market is expecting it to raise reverse repo and repo rates, which are at 5.5% and 6.5%, respectively. And the growth versus inflation debate continues at all fora. By now, you must have realised that while everyone talks about inflation, no one wants anything done about it. That’s because growth is dear to all — businessmen cannot make profits without growth, government cannot get votes without growth (even if it comes at the cost of worsening finances and high inflation) and market players cannot earn bonuses without growth. So, the unsaid diktat seems to be that inflation, even if it kills the economy, should not hurt growth — meaning, the RBI must make sure growth does not suffer at the hands of inflation. Now that’s beyond the scope of any policymaker and hence precedence will be given to support government borrowing, which is inflationary in nature because money borrowed is not spent on creating capacities but on fuelling temporary demand. The RBI is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points (bps) or even 50bps as it has to show it is doing something. Banks are borrowing in money markets at 9.5% levels, while the government’s cost of borrowing is around 8.10%. This won’t change with a hike in repo rates. Inflation will not come down with rate hikes, nor will it affect growth in any form. And after the policy, the usual suspects — the finance minister, the prime minister’s advisers, the finance secretary, marketmen and economists — will all have a point of view. That’s because economists have to forecast inflation, growth and other macro-economic variables. But how often are they right? If they were on the ball, they will be managing money, not forecasting. The soap opera continues.

RBI’s model will raise tax bill of foreign banks, feel experts

Tax liabilities of foreign banks will rise marginally if the Reserve Bank makes it mandatory for them to conduct their operations in the country through wholly- owned subsidiaries ( WOS) rather than a branch model, experts said. " Although the WOS model will provide greater control over the function of foreign banks in the country, the tax liability would rise slightly under the proposed structure," said Diljeet Titus, a senior partner in law firm Titus and Co. In the discussion paper, RBI had suggested that foreign banks should be incentivised to operate in India as wholly- owned subsidiaries, as against the current system that allows them to have a presence under a branch model. The central bank has invited comments from stakeholders on the concept paper till March 7.

Microfinance for Macro Change Emerging Challenges – Dr.Deepali Pant Joshi

The book combines the detailed painstaking research of a noted scholar with the practical experience of the policymaker it furnishes and extensive analysis of the remarkable traits that have ensured the success of microfinance. Microfinance for Macro Change. Dr.Deepali Pant Joshi, the author of the book under review is an executive of the Reserve Bank, a Fellow of Harvard University and is an authority on development economics. Poverty reduction has been the main plank of the Indian planning process for over six decades and access to finance by the poor and vulnerable group is undoubtedly an overriding factor. The aim of financial inclusion is to enlarge the role of the organised financial system to cover those segments with low incomes. Microfinance is a crucial motivator in this and acts as a tool in improving productivity of the poor. This will spring from the evolution of a market serving the requirements of the poor. Microfinance is the provision of a wide range of financial services, credit and insurance to low income households and their micro enterprises. The poor can create projects that generate income and lift themselves up by their bootstraps. The S H G- Bank linkage programme is a laudable initiative to deliver the financial services to the poor on a continuous basis. There has been a strident growth in this and today the number of SHGs finance is over 30 lakhs. This programme confers gains on banks through externalisation of part of the credit cycle. It ensures screening of borrowers, gauging credit requirements, appraisal as also enforcement of contracts. The volume under review is an authoritative treatise on microfinancing and surveys it at length, raises several questions and answers them with assurance. The first chapter furnishes a lucid background of how microfinance has become a paramount agent in poverty reduction. The next chapter deals with different delivery models assessing their success and drawbacks. Nabard sponsored SHG- bank linkage programme is dealt with in the next chapter. Chapter Four highlights the role of RRBs and DCBs in delivery of micro- credit to the poor. How microfinance has changed the life of women through " SEWA" with examples of foreign experience is the subject of the next chapter. Concrete examples from a number of developing countries how microfinance has strengthened the poor are provided in Chapter Six. The subsequent chapter reveals how the frontiers of conventional finance are being expanded. The concluding chapter tackles the challenges, issues and concerns. The book is an admirable and succinct analysis of the gamut of microfinance dealing with objectives, participants, roles and comparative advantages. The author has argued vehemently for expansion of the financial frontier to cover the remotest rural areas. This can be done by systematic mapping of financial services for the poor, improving knowledge industry, co-ordinating at national and international levels. The book has a bibliography and a number of tables detailing relevant parameters. Dr.Rangarajan, former Governor of RBI has contributed a Foreword and declares that the book is a useful addition to the literature on the subject. The book is useful for planners, bankers, students of economics and those dedicated to alleviating poverty.

Book review by P. P. RAMACHANDRAN

Beat inflation with bonds

With inflation galloping at 12 percent, fixed deposits (FDs) offering a meagre 7-8 percent returns do not meet the needs. Such fixed interest instruments tend to give negative real returns, and the worst affected are fixed income earners who have no indexation facilities. In view of this, a committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed the introduction of fully inflation (price movements) indexed bonds (IIB) for institutional investors with maturities of 10-12 years. This is intended to ensure inflation-linked returns to investors as both the principal amount and interest payments are indexed to inflation. The interest rate is usually lower than that of fixed rate bonds with comparable maturity. Though, as the principal amount grows, the payments increase with inflation. In India, a variant of indexed bonds, called the Capital Index Bond (CIB) 2002, was issued on December 29, 1997 wherein only principal repayments at the time of redemption were indexed to inflation. Based on the experience and feedback from market participants, a new version of IIB has been designed with both interest payments and principal repayments linked to Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities, and hence protected from inflation.

Over-regulation likely in financial sector: RBI Deputy Governor

The financial industry of the country is likely to see over-regulation in the coming years. In fact, regulation is the reason why the Indian financial sector is surviving, said K.C. Chaktabarty, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, who was in the town to participate in the financial leadership summit organised by the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow. The programme was part of the three-day annual management festival celebrated by the institute, called Manfest 2011. Chakrabarty, in his speech, said the financial market cannot be made totally free in an environment where there is lack of transparency and understanding about the sector is less among its consumers. Chakrabarty said 40 per cent population of the country is still without a bank account. “But by 2030, all Indians will have a bank account,” he said. K.C.Chakravarty, who was also one of the panelist spoke about financial inclusion and regulation. He quipped, "If you are an economist and have committed any sin, then in your next life, you would be a central bank governor of a developed country." Financial market, he said, will have to be subservient to real market in 2030. "Financial market is surviving in this market only because of regulators," he said, stressing that financial regulation will remain vital to the economy. "If there is one country that has the opportunity in the 21st century it is us. We must seize the opportunity," he said.

RBI’s takeover of J&K Bank’s overdraft role raises questions

A new wave of anxiety has suddenly engulfed Jammu & Kashmir. The news that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken over from J&K Bank some of the jobs the latter would do for this state is official now. To most Kashmiris, this step constitutes ‘nationalization’ of their most important institution. And the message that they see in this is not financial but significantly political.
On Friday, all speculations about this matter were put on rest when RBI came up with an official press release mentioning the signing of the agreement between J&K government and itself, making RBI take over from J&K Bank the role of providing overdraft facilities to J&K state. A big majority of J&K’s people see any such step a dilution of the state’s special status. They also see it as ‘nationalization’ of the state’s key institutions. And that is a grim message. A lot of state’s indigenous institutions have been ‘nationalized’ over the years. The problem is that such ‘nationalization’ creates greater centralization, challenging J&K’s quest for political autonomy even further. At the end of the day, Jammu & Kashmir’s case for restoration of political autonomy in practical terms is not about a political luxury, it is about need. Centralisation of powers is always bad for people’s welfare. In J&K’s case it is a recipe for long term instability and political chaos, rather than political reconciliation. This latest step has even the potential of putting spikes in the ongoing peace process being steered by the special interlocutors.  No matter the merits of ‘financial discipline’, steps like these will not help in bridging the trust deficit between Srinagar and New Delhi. These steps also raise serious questions over National Conference’s ability to safeguard the state’s special status, howsoever symbolic that might be.

Variety of factors behind price rise: Chidambaram

Attributing the price rise to a variety of factors including the international trends, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today said "it is difficult to explain" to the people the reasons for price hike. "Sometimes, price of certain commodities, such as sugarcane, goes up when their their procurement price is increased. Some commodities such as petrol reflect the international prices whereas the others are based on demand-supply gap, like onion," he said here. In his address at the release of the book 'Global Crisis, Recession and Uneven Recovery,' written by former Governor of Reserve Bank of India Dr Y V Reddy, Chidambaram, however, said the aforesaid issues could not be explained to the people. On recession and the global crisis, he said India had managed to see off the situation, thanks to the planning and steps taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Reddy, who was the RBI Governor during those times. He also said India's central bankers, including Dr Reddy, and previous RBI chiefs were persons of outstanding integrity. The book is a sequel to his 'India and the Global Financial Crisis: Managing Money and Finance,' and provides a policymaker's understanding of the progression and impact of the financial crisis and the lessons it offered, a release said.

RBI tightens Tier I, II bond issue norms

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said banks would not be allowed to issue Tier I or Tier II bonds with an option of offering higher coupon after some years, known as "step-up option". The change is in line with the new definition of regulatory capital under the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement on its website. Such instruments can be issued with only 'call option'...," the RBI said.

Workshop on Knowledge Discovery Tools and Techniques

BKC Knowledge Network, formed in 2007, provides a platform for Library & Knowledge professionals in the emerging business district to network and share resources wherever feasible. Members include RBI, MMRDA, IL&FS, Bank of Baroda, NABARD and ICICI Bank. With a successful session on ‘Open Indexing Initiative’ by Dr. Manjunath, Librarian, IGIDR in April 2010, the BKC Knowledge Network initiated its second event by organizing a one day workshop on “Knowledge Discovery Tools & Techniques” at Reserve Bank of India, Bandra-Kurla Complex. 

Subsidiary route for foreign banks: RBI

RBI made a categorical assertion that the advantages in wholly owned subsidiary far outweighs the downside risks vis-a-vis branches because branches are not separate legal entities in India. Whereas subsidiaries are concerned they are locally incorporated separate legal entity with its own capital base and board of directors. Till date no foreign bank has approached RBI for setting up a subsidiary probably due to lack of incentives, the apex bank said.  Hence, RBI added, there may be a need to incentivise that model. Also, from a financial stability perspective, RBI views there would be a need to mandate the subsidiary form of presence at the entry level.  Minimum capital requirements for the entry-level wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign banks may be in line with new private sector banks. It also dwelt on various factors for setting up foreing bank presence in the country such as ownership pattern and financial soundness and rating. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a discussion paper presented, on Friday, on its website said it prefers allowing foreign banks entry in the country through subsidiary route than the branch model, after taking lessons from the recent global financial crisis.

FM meets financial sector regulators ahead of budget

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday met India’s top economic regulators seeking inputs on the macro economy and developments in the financial sector as preparation for budget 2011-12 entered the final leg. Mukherjee’s meeting with members of the high-level Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC) came days ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) quarterly monetary policy review on January 25. This was the second meeting of the high-level FSDC within a month. The first meeting was held on December 31, 2010. “The RBI policy is scheduled on January 25. As a standard practice I have come to review the macroeconomic situation with the finance minister,” RBI Governor D.Subbarao told reporters after the meeting. The RBI has raised key policy rates six times so far this year as prices raced into high-double digits pummeled by a supply crunch of staple items. In November RBI had increased the repo and reverse repo rates each by 0.25 percentage points to 6.25% and 5.25%, respectively. A higher repo, the rate at RBI lends to lenders, raises the banks’ borrowing costs prompting them to raise interest rates for final home, auto and corporate borrowers. A higher reverse repo — the rate at which RBI absorbs excess cash — means it would suck cash from the system to stymie demand and cool prices. The issues discussed in the meeting include, functioning of FSDC, state of the Indian economy, economic recovery in advanced countries and implications for India. Besides, Subbarao and officials of the finance ministry, the meeting was attended by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairman C B Bhave, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chief J Hari Narayan and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority chairman Yogesh Agarwal.

Malegam panel fell short of expectations: AP

Andhra Pradesh government, whose controversial law to rein in micro-finance institutions had led to a serious crisis in the MFI sector, said the Reserve Bank of India appointed Malegam Committee fell short of expectations. In a letter addressed to the Reserve Bank, the AP government said the Malegam report failed to put in place an effective protection mechanism for the poor borrowers from being exploited. The AP government said the RBI panel did not attempt addressing the existing debt burden on the poor that had reached unserviceable levels at interest rates ranging from 28 to 60 per cent. Also, the suggestions of the state government for rescheduling or debt swapping of high cost debt was not heeded. The government said “no relief has been proposed by applying the interest rate cap for the outstanding loans” and the “recommendations do not cover the loans which are outstanding.” Further, the state government said the Malegam report did not make any concrete recommendations for improving credit flow from the banks directly to the poor using the self help group (SHG) mechanism that allows cheaper credit. The AP government was also of the view that self regulation didn’t work in any sector, more so where a profit motive was involved. Referring to the suggestion of RBI panel that asked the MFIs to comply with the regulations through code of conduct, the government said “the implementation mechanism proposed is very weak. Greater reliance is placed on the ability of MFI to regulate itself. Even now, such codes exist, which are never implemented.”

Sobti re-appointed Managing Director & CEO of IndusInd Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has conveyed its approval for the re-appointment of Romesh Sobti as Managing Director & CEO of IndusInd Bank for a further period of three years. This will be with effect from February 1, a press release issued here today stated. Sobti joined IndusInd Bank on February 1, 2008. In the past three years, the bank has seen a magnificent turnaround in profitability/productivity and the health of its loan-book. The bank is now well-capitalised and positioned for robust growth in the next 3-years, the release said.

RBI Planning To Boost ATM Security In India

ATM fraud in India is not a new crime. It has been in existence for long. Even techno legal solutions for the same have been provided in this regard by techno legal experts for long. However, ATM frauds were not taken seriously by Indian government in general and reserve bank of India (RBI) in particular. It is only recently that RBI took some pro active actions in this regard. RBI would soon ask banks to shift to chip-based ATM cards from the existing magnet strips ones and upgrade the currency vending machines. This was one of the original solutions provided by Praveen Dalal, a Supreme Court Lawyer and leading techno legal expert of India. According to Praveen Dalal ATM frauds cannot be tackled successfully till we use techno legal measures. The technological mechanisms like Designated time, Microchip technology, Biometric tokens, Enhanced security, ATM Monitoring, Customised softwares, Customer motivation, Alerts, etc can be used to minimise and prevent ATM frauds in India, suggests Dalal. In a welcome move, RBI has accepted some of the suggestions of Praveen Dalal, including using a chip-based ATM card. According to Dalal the banks should use cards containing a microchip that can make them harder to forge. RBI has also decided to adopt widespread changes in the existing IT system of the Indian banking industry to make banking services more safe and secure. The apex bank has also suggested setting up separate cell on bank fraud in police departments. It has also suggested that for debit or credit card transactions at the POS (point of sale) terminals, PIN-based authorisation should be put in place instead of the signature-based system. The non-PIN based POS terminal would be withdrawn in a phased manner.

RBI wants banks to beef info security

In a move to strengthen the information technology architecture of banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the institutions to form an policy approved by the board. The central bank has emphasised the need to create an exclusive board-level IT strategy committee, with two directors as members, where one would be an independent director. A working group, under the chairmanship of RBI executive director G Gopalakrishna, has recommended enhancing RBI guidelines relating to the governance of IT and information security measures to tackle cyber fraud, apart from enhancing independent assurance about the effectiveness of IT controls. “All members of the IT Strategy Committee would need to be technically competent, while at least one member would need to have substantial expertise in managing/guiding technology initiatives,” the committee said. The committee has been asked to review the plans at least once an year. In addition, banks will soon have a chief information officer (CIO), who would play a role in the executive decision making function. “The key role of the CIO would be to act as an owner of the IT function and enable alignment of business and technology,” said the central bank. The working group has also suggested an additional post of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) who will be responsible for making and implementing policies to protect information. “An official of GM/DGM/AGM level can be appointed as CISO, who will report directly to the head of the risk management function and should not have a direct reporting relationship with the CIO,” RBI said. A board-approved information security policy needs to be in place and reviewed at least annually. To prevent skimming of credit and debit cards, the working group recommended that RBI move to use chip-based cards in a phased manner. “Chip-based cards help prevent frauds using the details recorded on the magnetic-stripe of the card. Sparing one or two private sector banks, all other banks currently issue cards with a magnetic stripe on it,” RBI said.

Governance deficit, graft extremely serious issues: Azim Premji

Wipro chairman Azim Premji on Friday reiterated that governance deficit and corruption were extremely serious issues for the future of the nation.
"Enough is enough. The situation in the country is extremely serious for its future and it is important that people in leadership give constructive suggestions to the government to rectify the situation," Premji told. Referring to the open letter written Jan 17 by 14 eminent citizens, including himself, to national leaders on governance deficit and corruption, Premji said though there was a response from the government, he would like to maintain the sanctity of the dialogue than making it public.  In the open letter, the noted citizens expressed concern with the general deterioration in the overall value system of the nation. They were also alarmed at the widespread governance deficit almost in every sphere of national activity, covering government, business and institutions.  Besides Premji, other eminent citizens who were signatories to the letter were former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief Bimal Jalan, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, former Hindustan Lever chairman Ashok Ganguly and Godrej & Boyce chairman and managing director Jamshyd Godrej.

Special sop goes as RBI replaces J&K Bank as state's banker

Bringing the curtain down on a special dispensation available to Jammu and Kashmir, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has entered into an agreement with the state government to undertake its general banking business and act as the sole agent for investment. Following Friday`s agreement, effective April 1, Jammu & Kashmir Bank will not be permitted to provide overdraft to the state government. Unlike other states, the bank, which is majority-owned by the state, provided these services to the state government as part of a special arrangement for J&K. The other states, like the Centre, use RBI`s ways and means advances for overdrafts to meet cash flow mismatches. From April, J & K Bank will act as an agent of RBI to conduct the state government`s general banking business, the central bank said in a statement on Friday. It also said the agreement was signed on the basis of a recommendation from the state government.