.....“Now that the certificate of registration has been received from RBI, this new venture will soon commence operations and start entering into MoUs with banks and housing finance companies,” R. V. Verma, Chairman and Managing Director of National Housing Bank, told........
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.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Auditors in the dock?
.............Currently, audit of companies involves reporting on whether any fraud is noticed or reported during the year. In the audit of banks, the auditor should report to the Reserve Bank of India anything found susceptible to fraud, acts of excess power, or foulplay in any transaction. Under the new Companies Bill, the auditor has significant onerous responsibility............
Current account deficit takes centre stage on Dalal Stret
........“While RBI may cut rates faster than expected, the transmission of rate cuts will be slower than in earlier cycles. The credit-deposit ratio at 78 per cent is the highest it has been over past 15 years. Even adjusting for the lower SLR, this shows that ability of the banks to cut rates is lower than in earlier cycles,”......
Panel rejects RBI proposal to limit FII investment in sec market
........."The suggestion made by the RBI of limiting FII investments to secondary market was discussed. It was felt that considering the stage of capital market, it would not be prudent to place any restriction of this kind as of now,".....
HDFC bank contravened RBI instructions: Consumer panel
......."Therefore, we come to the conclusion that the bank failed to intimate the complainant about change in AQB.which is certainly deficiency of service and in contravention of the instructions issued by RBI. It straightaway deducted amounts of Rs 723 and Rs 89 from account of the complainant...,"
RBI may cut repo rate by 25 bps: Economists
.....“Right now, the conditions should enable RBI to cut repo rate. We expect a cut of 25 basis points (or 0.25 per cent) in its policy in May and may be by another 25 bps in the next review,” .....
Chidambaram hopes for rate cut to propel growth
..."Government would welcome lower interest rates," Palaniappan Chidambaram, 67, said in an interview in Washington on Saturday, where he is attending meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. "But how low can interest rates go is a function of a number of other factors, especially inflation, and that's a call the governor has to take."........
Shun the Cypriot connection
When looking at the major economic crisis in the Republic of Cyprus involving the exposure of Cypriot banks to the Greek debt crisis, one is reminded of the Ahmedabad-based Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank (MMCB), which was closed down by the Reserve Bank of India in June 2012 when the outstanding loans were Rs 1,100 crore, of which Rs 800 crore pertained to a shares scam............
A reprieve for the Indian economy
......Nevertheless, lower oil and commodity prices will lower inflation; and if it’s correct that people have been buying gold as a hedge against inflation, then lower inflation should also lead to lower investment demand for gold. That, in turn, could lead to an increase in financial savings, a process that should also be helped by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) issue of inflation-indexed bonds. Does this mean the economy is out of the woods? Not really............
Risk-reward looks good now
.......We believe there is a modest monetary easing cycle ahead, given limited room for the Reserve Bank of India. Despite the weakness in macro data points near-term, over the mid-to-long term, equities should get support from secular earnings growth; our bottom-up forecasts suggest mid-teens growth for the Nifty in FY14/15. We think current assumptions are conservative (excluding consumption) and are not building in any meaningful economic recovery, and hence these might not be difficult to attain...........
‘Rural demand driving growth in light commercial vehicles segment’
......Besides discussing the challenges facing his non-banking finance company (NBFC), Revankar observed that the cause of financial inclusion will be well served if the banking regulator allows more banks, NBFCs and credit societies to come up. Further, the regulator would do well to relax the curbs imposed on NBFCs. Excerpts from the interview............
Money-laundering probe: IRDA report likely in a week
Hyderabad, April 21: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is likely to complete investigation into the alleged money-laundering transactions of insurers within a week. “Our inspections teams have been deputed to some insurance companies and the process is on. We may have a report ready within a week on the issue,” T. S. Vijayan, Chairman, IRDA, told newspersons on the sidelines of a seminar held here.............
Read - HBL
Kerala Financial Corp brings NPA down drastically
.......This is a story of a silent but amazing transformation at the State Financial Corporation, says K. Manmathan Nair, veteran development banker. Nair has had stints at senior levels with Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) and the RBI, apart from at KFC as its managing director. The 90s saw KFC in bad shape, struggling to fulfill its mandate, even as it failed to keep pace with the changes in the post-liberalisation regime,...........
Fixed Income is the flavour of the day
........The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by a minimum of 25 bps in its 3 May 2013 annual policy and is also likely to cut rates throughout this fiscal as the economy struggles to stay afloat. RBI rate cuts is highly positive for bond yields, which are likely to trend down throughout this fiscal. In a falling bond yield environment the best investments are in bonds and as a result of expected fall in interest rates, more and more investors are flocking to fixed income securities directly and indirectly............
NBFCs, more than banks, are at risk of default on gold loans
............Having said that, RBI must take care to keep the banking system safe and sound. The trouble with Indian banking system is that a crisis may unfold even when there is no reason for one, due to lack of transparency in the reporting structure, followed by various banks. Rumor mills are rife about how badly the bottomline of one bank or the other has been hit by falling gold prices. RBI must ask both public and private sector banks to declare their exposure and track record on gold loans, while announcing their quarterly results.
Saradha CMD siphoned off crores from 37 accounts
....The Sudipto (not Sudipta) Sen named in the gazette is son of Late Bhudu Sen of the Sanchayani Savings and Investments (India) Pvt Ltd. Police are examining records to find out whether the Saradha Group CMD Sudipta Sen is the same Sudipto Sen of the investment company registered as a residuary non-banking company under the Reserve Bank of India. According to the 39th report of the Petitions Committee submitted in Lok Sabha in January 2004, the company had collected Rs 800 crore from 50,000 small depositors.............
Sebi, RBI and ED to join forces against investment frauds
Amid a countrywide proliferation of fraud investment schemes, markets watchdog Sebi is joining forces with other agencies, including RBI, SFIO, Enforcement Directorate and state police departments, to tackle the menace. A large number of fraudulent schemes have come to the fore in recent months, wherein gullible investors are promised huge returns of up to 100 per cent in a year or two through 'bizarre and innovative' methods, a senior official said............
Trinamool has nothing to do with deposit-raising companies: Mukul Roy
........ If the State government taken timely action against such companies, many people could have been saved from ruination, he said. Asked about chit funds, CPI parliamentarian Gurudas Dasgupta said the Reserve Bank of India’s Governor had told him that such companies are under the purview of the State government.
Agents bear brunt of Saradha collapse
..........Banerjee cut his teeth in door-to-door deposit collection in the early 1980s as an agent of Peerless General Finance and Investment Co. Ltd—a residuary non-banking company, which pioneered in collecting small savings. Though it didn’t ever default on repayments, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forced Peerless to stop taking deposits in 2005-2006. This spawned the growth of unregulated deposit-taking companies in West Bengal and other eastern Indian states. Exploiting the strength of Peerless’s impeccable repayment track record, its redundant field agents helped found new firms that went after people’s savings, mostly in rural areas...........
Blame game on chit onus
.......Addressing the press on Sunday, Dasgupta argued that the government could also have appealed to the high court to seize and auction the properties of chit fund companies that had taken investors for a ride, or written to the RBI and SEBI to act against them..............
Joint attack on fraud plans
....Sebi on its own lacks full-fledged powers to act against all kinds of “money-pooling” frauds, although a proposal to strengthen its arsenal is awaiting the government’s clearance. In the meantime, the regulator has decided to take a collaborative approach to bring to book perpetrators of these investment frauds, by seeking help from other regulatory and enforcement agencies. Sebi is tying up with other regulators and agencies depending on the needs and nature of the case, the official said, while adding that these entities include banking regulator RBI, SFIO, insurance watchdog IRDA, the Enforcement Directorate and the Economic Offence Wings and other police departments in various states.............
Court takes on ‘deposit’ firms
......The letter stated that according to the KMSS’s estimate, in the past few years, these companies had “illegally” collected around Rs 5,000 crore from investors in Assam. None of these, however, had the mandatory permission from any competent authority, be it Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) or Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), to accept public deposits, it had alleged. The development assumes significance as it comes at a time when Saradha Group is facing the ire of depositors in Bengal and Bengal police are on the lookout for Sen, who has gone missing...........
1 registered chit fund, reveals RTI query
...........In response to some of the other questions, the officer in charge of EOI cell mentioned that chit funds in the state were controlled under Chit Fund Act 1982 and Registrar of Chit who is also the agriculture income tax commissioner was the controlling officer for all types of conventional chit. With regards to the action taken against any chit fund companies or owners, the reply stated that no information was available with the cell. with the cell in this regard it mentioned that EOI is the only cell concerned to take action. The Registrar of Companies and the Reserve bank of India by their respective acts can also take action, the letter further stated.............
Saturday, April 20, 2013
In a Sign of Times, Your Signature is Losing its Stamp
..........The
courier boy doesn’t bother verifying it, nor does the retailer while
accepting the debit/credit card receipt. Even the banks seem less
enthusiastic — the net cast wider for customers in rural areas can
manage with thumb impressions, and the middle class is happy with
netbanking. The truth is, in a world increasingly turning around
passwords and Personal Identification Numbers (PIN), manual signatures
are finding fewer takers..........
.......Indian currency notes also carry what seems to be a contradiction: two signatures from one person, since the signature of the RBI Governor appears in both Roman and Devnagari. This is as per the Official Languages Act, which mandates that since our notes are bilingual, the signatures are too, but it leaves open the question of what the protocol will be if a governor has a signature in neither script. Would the other script be Roman or Devnagari? Or would the governor have to sign in these scripts, but not use his regular one?...............
Read - ET
Should RBI Lend its Gold?
.......Already, half of the RBI’s gold is lying in the vaults of Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements. Bank of England also supplies some of the players from whom Indian banks buy. So, it would mostly be a matter of shifting gold from one shelf to another within the same vault. If the RBI wants to sell off its gold (god forbid!), it can give banks time to call in their loans. The impact on the nation’s current account deficit of replacing foreign suppliers with the RBI could be electric........
Gold has made my wife trust me!
One thing positive has emerged from gold’s fall from grace. My wife has now begun to trust me. Wondering? It is something that happens in every home. Try to drive sense in your better-half, it can be only in vain.......
Gold makes the vanishing act
.....The price drop, which has triggered an interest in purchasing gold from the retail market has frustrated a good number of customers as retail traders face short supply from wholesalers........
Banks should use biometric device, UID database to verify account holders identity
...True, banks
are only complying with the RBI's diktat to periodically update
customer identification data: once in five years for low-risk category
customers and not less than once in two years for high- and medium-risk
category customers. Ordinary citizens are hamstrung. There is
no reason why a salaried employee whose tax is deducted at source should
provide her identity proof afresh............
ATMs spew torn, soiled notes
Ludhiana, April 19 : Easy cash is in a big trouble. If ATMs spewing counterfeit money across the country weren’t enough, damaged currency notes have made their way to ATMs in the industrial city. And what is worse, banks refuse to accept torn notes dispensed by machines installed by them as transaction slips don’t provide any proof of their ATM dispensing the same. Customers complain of getting torn, mutilated, burnt, cut and pasted notes from ATMs. Avtar Singh, a city resident, had withdrawn cash from an ATM. When he was counting the notes, he was shocked to see a torn note with a tape on it. His woes did not end here. When he contacted an official of the bank concerned, he refused to change the note saying there was no proof that the note was dispensed to him by their ATM. He said it was a serious matter and the RBI should take strict action against banks circulating damaged notes. The damaged notes should be replaced by the bank concerned, he said. “Recently, when I withdrew money from an ATM, I noticed that two notes were torn and one was fixed with a tape. When I approached the bank, officials there expressed their helplessness in replacing the notes,” said Gagan, a teacher.
Enquiries revealed that despite specific instructions from the RBI, some banks, due to outsourcing and shortage of manpower, are not ensuring that all notes issued by them are authentic. They resort to random tests on cash sorting machines. A senior official from a private bank said: “Since a person has no proof that the specific note was withdrawn from our ATM, we are unable to replace it. The bank replaces soiled and tear notes by cutting a specific amount and customers can get their notes replaced.”
Banks and funny money
It is a familiar story. Whenever we are confronted by a fresh crisis, we cannot help some recycling of vocabulary on banks, regulators and politicians. So, let me keep it simple. Banks accept deposits from customers. The domestic economy cannot absorb it. So they put the money in Greek bonds. Thanks to the sovereign crisis, Greek bonds suffer a huge haircut. So, banks lose a lot of money. They go under and given their bloated size, drag down their country. This, in simple terms, is what happened in Cyprus..........
Clubbing allowances with basic pay for PF deduction on cards
......"On the issue of clubbing of wages, even the employers' representatives supported the view that all such allowances which are regularly and uniformly paid to workers should form part of basic pay for PF deductions,"...........
Poor response to settlement scheme
....... "The principal amount of loans is Rs 350 crore and accumulated interest is Rs 1,600 crore. Despite our initiative, no defaulter has responded positively to the appeal to join the OTS and to make the payments. The bank has good deposits, but due to low recovery of outstanding loans, the ratio of erosion of deposit is 30%. Unless we bring it down to 20%, there is no hope of the bank coming back on track."..........
Pensioners’ hope for better service
........Many of the pensioners expressed such grouses at a ‘town hall’ meet organised by the Karnataka Banking Ombudsman in Mangalore recently. The delay in crediting pension amount to the accounts also irked them. One of the pensioners said that most branches in the city credit the pension amount by 30th of the month. However, some branches took five more days to credit the amount....................
Suggestions by FSLRC not to come in way of FCRA Bill
Recommendations of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) to merge all financial market regulators in to one entity will not come in the way of clearing amendments in the Forward Contract Regulations Act amendment (FCRA) Bill.......
Why Goldman thinks general elections will help India grow by 6.4
.....Crisil had cast doubts whether the government will be able to achieve its stated objective of reigning-in fiscal deficit at 4.8 percent. Among other reasons cited include the expected lowering of interest rates by the RBI besides a drive on the policy front to expedite projects. “Ongoing policy reforms to de-bottleneck infrastructure and other investments, particularly, the Cabinet Committee on Investments can help,” the Goldman Sachs report said. Additionally other factors like the improvement in the global economic climate will also act as a “tailwind,” Goldman said.......
Banks told to submit financial inclusion plan for next three years
Banks have been asked to finalise their next three-year Financial Inclusion Plan for the 2013-16 period, according to Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India. Broadly, the plan includes self-set targets for opening rural brick and mortar branches, employing Business Correspondents , covering unbanked villages through branches, Business Correspondents and other modes; and opening no-frills accounts to cater to the financially excluded segments............
22-year-old's cybersecurity firm protects CID, RBI site
.............The episode would be a turning point for the teenager who realised he could use his skills to protect not harm. Twenty two-year-old Modi now runs his own cybersecurity company, Lucideus Tech, that has a marquee client list that includes the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Criminal Investigation Department, Reserve Bank of India, IBM and various central and state investigative and intelligence agencies...........
THE CARD GAME
With plastic money gaining popularity among Indian masses, banks are stepping up efforts to increase credit card spends. Many banks have introduced reward programmes to persuade cardholders to use credit cards for booking tickets, paying bills or shopping online..............
‘Reorient outlook on customer service’
MANGALORE, APRIL 19:
Bankers should reorient their outlook on customer service, according to K.C. Chakrabarty, RBI Deputy Governor. He said this while addressing the members of the Bankers’ Club of Mangalore here. Quoting Chakrabarty, a press release said here that customers are now becoming more and more vulnerable to inappropriate pricing. The possible solution to insulate customers from vulnerabilities is by ensuring that the banks treat their customers fairly............
Banks will be fined Rs 1 crore for violating a single norm
............The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will now be able slap a penalty of Rs 1 crore on banks for breaching a single norm. If a bank breaches more than one norm, the amount fined will be multiple of Rs 1 crore. Earlier, for single violating the fine was Rs 5 lakh. The new norm comes into effect after Section 46 of the Banking Regulation Act was amended in the last winter session.....................
Goldman Sachs’ five reasons for gradual pickup in India’s GDP growth
.........Even though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has gradually been reducing rates, there is considerable skepticism in the market about its impact on investment demand. According to Goldman's analysis on the relationship of interest rates and investment demand, a 1 per cent decline in short-end rates (3-month CD) leads to a 2.7 per cent increase in Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF). The impact happens with a lag of four quarters..........
Federal Bank in Rupay League
.............Federal Bank is the first private sector bank and the 10th bank in the country to launch Rupay Card, a press release said. Rupay is the card scheme launched by the National Payment Corporation of India to offer a domestic, open loop, multilateral system ......
Foreign firms set to cash in on demand for new format cheque scanners
...........A scanner that can scan a lot of 150 cheques will cost around Rs 1.50 lakh. A leading nationalised bank plans to buy around 500 such scanners for its branches in the South, said an official of the bank, who did not want to be named. “It is going to cost a huge amount for us. We need to rely only on global companies, as the demand for such scanners has just started for an Indian company to set up its manufacturing here,” he said. The Reserve Bank of India had asked banks to replace the existing bank cheques to CTS. This means, the collecting bank (presenting bank) sends the encrypted data and captured images of signed cheques to the central processing location (clearing house) for onward transmission to the paying bank (destination or drawee bank)...........
Chits wriggle past watchdogs
..............None of these companies is registered as chit funds with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in Bengal, they added. The RoC registration is mandatory to start a company. At least three government regulators come into play when a company or institution tries to raise money from the public — the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda)................
Soon, PIL in HC seeking ban on chit fund operators
.........The officials also referred to the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes Act enacted by Parliament in 1978 that prohibits chit fund operations. "What happened to this law? What is RBI doing?'' the official questioned.
Nabard seeks standardisation in bank documents
......... "Raigad district central cooperative bank has introduced standardised forms for keeping records of loans, pending payments from farmers, loan sanctioned under various schemes, interest to be charged on it among others. Such standardisation will make documentation simpler as all branches of the banks in the state are being computerised and will be connected to the national financial switch, a requirement for direct cash transfer.".............
Interest subvention scheme expanded
......Some good news is likely to come the way of exporters on their cost of credit. A technical group, constituted by the Reserve Bank of India, is likely to take a call by this month-end on new measures for reducing the cost of export credit (in foreign currency), Sharma indicated. This group comprises senior officials from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Revenue Department and the RBI.............
PFRDA tightens investment norms for private pension fund managers
Tightening its norms for the private sector, in the National Pension System (NPS), the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has barred fresh investments in equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from the corpus. It has also asked these fund managers to restrict their single-industry exposure to 15 per cent of NPS investments under all schemes...........
Friday, April 19, 2013
This is no way to manage public debt - S.S.Tarapore
 |
| ................It would be hara kiri to hastily set up an independent PDMA, say, by an ordinance, without a significant and enduring reduction of the fiscal deficit. The PDMA should be set up only when the government is able to undertake its borrowing without statutory prescriptions, as there could be a constant blame-game between the RBI and the PDMA................. |
Read - HBL
'Banking connectivity surges with BC model'
A journey through the Golden Quadrilateral to India’s heart
When this couple decided to pack their bags and set off on a long road trip, friends and relatives alike tried to dissuade them from undertaking the arduous journey across the country. Today, Ajit Lakshmiratan, a retired Reserve Bank of India officer, and his wife, Ramola Lakshmiratan, are thrilled to have stuck to their instincts to go ahead with the journey — covering the Golden Quadrilateral............
Quantitative capital controls more effective in short term:RBI
........"Our experience has been that while quantity controls are more effective in the short-term, they can also be distorting, inefficient and inequitable,"............
Moody Institution
Subbarao has a point when he says IMF did a poor job of predicting the crisis or in offering solutions
.......The biggest blow to the IMF’s credibility, of course, came from its research head Olivier Blanchard releasing a detailed working paper in January saying the IMF had got the ‘fiscal multipliers’—the impact of reducing fiscal deficits on economic growth—horribly wrong. The research paper said the under-estimation during the early part of the European crisis may have been three times...........
RBI views forex market intervention as real danger
........According to Subbarao, the lower your reserves dip, the more vulnerable you become. “And the vulnerability can become quite serious if your reserves go below the level markets perceive as necessary to regain market access,” he said.........
RBI looking at banking regulations, not black money: Takru
.....We are not talking here about black money because neither the RBI nor the ministry is the competent authority perhaps to decide whether money is black or white. Money has no colour; as far as we are concerned, money is money. Now, what the Reserve Bank of India is looking at is the banking regulations and how the banks have behaved and how the individuals who are working in the banks have behaved when it comes to following processes..............
Cobrapost fallout: RBI extends investigation to 34 banks
.....“RBI has questioned how non-sales staffs, involved on operational matters like a person who is in the teller counter, can have a target. Lure of achieving target leads to not doing the basic duty,” said a senior banker. RBI is likely to issue norms banning sales incentives to operational staff of the banks. Similarly, target on selling gold coins by operational staff will also be abolished. However, violation of anti money-laundering norms has not been found. “Money laundering has a criminal connotation. It was not found in the initial investigation that bank employees are indulging in such activities,” said banking industry sources.......
RBI to come up with new model to curb tax evasion
The Reserve Bank Of India has decided to come up with a new model to curb tax evasion, post Cobrapost revelations, reports Siddharth Zarabi of CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. On Wednesday, reacting to RBI’s probe report on Cobrapost sting, banking secretary Rajiv Takru had noted that audit report pointed towards some severe Know Your Customer (KYC) violations and there were evidence to suggest that the banks were advising clients to evade taxes.................
RBI money-laundering probe shows cooperative banks as the key facilitator of shady deals
...........The reason cooperative banks have repeatedly been at the centre of scams is the shady system of dual regulation, under which both Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RoCS) and the RBI are supposed to be regulating them. RoCS officials say that the RBI does not look closely at these banks, while the RBI says it waits for government recommendations to act as the State's Cooperatives Department has its auditors on the boards of the banks. The primary reason for this poor scrutiny is that most cooperative banks are set up and controlled by powerful politicians................
Alert: Banks ask for resubmission of KYC documents
.......Here’s a sample of the email sent by a private sector bank:
This is with reference to the RBI Guidelines for Re-submission of KYC documents for your ABC Bank Account. We request you to kindly submit the following documents at your home branch or any of your nearby ABC branch..............
My View on "Who will step into Subba Rao's shoes?"
We are familiar with Raghuram Rajan, the chief economic advisor to Finance Minister P Chidambaram , his exposure to international economic problems, his academic credentials and track record which makes him eminently suitable to be GOV.What is the track record of Arvind Mayaram, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA). All his life stayed in Rajasthan working in districts, administrative divisions etc.For a short tenure he came to MoF.How does he compare himself with GOVs of Central Banks of advanced countries.Put under the lens his expertise in Monetary Policy, Risk Management,Bank Supervisory expertise, role in implementing Basel Committee recommendations on the website and let the experts choose the next GOV. Why can't any RBI Dy GOV can become a GOV who has deep Central Banking expertise?Why only IAS types? What genetical complex RBI community is having?
- Sitendra Kumar
Recent developments which saw easing out of a Deputy Governor (Subir Gokarn) for no fault of his and compulsions to retain another Deputy Governor for another year calls for a review of the selection and placement procedure at that level. Perhaps the pool from which selection is made and the age profile (raising the upper age limit by 3 to 5 years from the present ‘normal’ at 62 years) need a review. In the circumstances, it would be most appropriate to extend the tenure of Governor Dr Subbarao who is to retire within months, initially by another year at this juncture. This would be a pragmatic political approach also, if one weighs the uncertainties in the horizon. Formulating and implementing succession plans for top government/public sector jobs with professionalism and efficiency in a graceful manner is imperative for allowing the institutions to function with reasonable functional autonomy within the legislative mandates.
- M.G.Warrier
Rajan will be good for the country, Mayaram for the government. In view of the general elections government would like to have someone at the helm of RBI who would play ball with it in vote bank politics. If it is Mayaram, expect a series of rate cuts and lower cash reserve ratios from September, irrespective of the economic situation. From the point of view of the RBI staff, Mayaram's appointment would ensure the continuation of two Deputy Governors' positions for them. If, however, Rajan becomes Governor one of the two DGs' posts will go to an IAS officer at the earliest opportunity. Since the middle of the 1980s the formula for the appointment of four Deputy Governors is: economist -1; commercial banker -1; IAS officer -1; and RBI promotee -1. When the Governor's post goes to an IAS officer, the quota for the service is released for being filled up by an RBI officer.
- A.Seshan
My View on "Govt banks may switch from gross salary to CTC for pay hike"
Like New Pension Scheme which has dismantled an existing social security system which was available to a small section of government and public sector employees without providing an acceptable transparent substitute, here again, it looks, GOI is planning to stealthily destabilise the wage structure in banking sector.
There is no denying that ‘Cost to Company’(CTC) is an aspect that should be transparently packaged in any wage policy. But asking one category of employers (public sector banks) with whom GOI has a master-servant relationship to come out with ‘views’ on the concept makes one suspect the motives.
Public sector, if backed with a level playing field as compared to the private sector, right from the Board Room to the junior-most functionary, will function much more efficiently than many of the private sector organisations in India, which, by and large, concentrate on the creamy layer of industrial and financial sector activities. Let us not forget that the civil services, executives and staff of public/private sector undertakings have to supplement the skills of the increasing number of political masters who were not as fortunate to get trained or groomed. The nation is immensely dependent on them for carrying out the development agenda on hand.
There is a governance and ethical issue hovering around the remuneration structure across government, public and private sectors and the unorganized sector in India. Time for a National Commission on Remuneration Practices has come. The Commission should go into the adequacy of wages, minimum and maximum remuneration across sectors, their relationship to lifestyle needs of employees and paying capacity of employers and the need to factor in social security needs like healthcare and old age needs in wages.
- M.G.Warrier
RBI wins above 40 yrs men’s team championship
JAMMU, Apr 18: : Reserve Bank of India wins men’s team championship of above 40 yrs beating Punjab 3-2 in the 20th J&K Bank National Veteran Table Tennis championship-2013 being played at Sher-E Kashmir Indoor Sports Complex in Srinagar..........
Mangelal Sharma gets his Rs 7 lakh back
..........Yesterday, there was another knock on 79-year old Mangelal Sharma’s door. Once again,the visitors were IndusInd Bank officials from his branch. But this time, it was not to mis-sell. The bankers came—at 11.30 in the night—bearing a demand draft of Rs7 lakh covering the amount he was persuaded to withdraw from his fixed deposit and invest in DWS’s mutual fund scheme with a 10-year lock in period.........
Gold plunge: Is RBI a gainer or loser
.“The value of RBI’s gold reserves—557.75 tonnes—declined from $34.08 billion (around Rs.1.84 trillion today) in September 2011, when the international gold price peaked at $1,900.23 per ounce (28.35 gram), to $24.17 billion early this week, when the yellow metal tumbled to its 26-month low of $1,347.95 per ounce.” However, with prices falling, central banks actually have an opportunity to buy into the yellow metal because holding the metal is part of a long-term strategy for diversifying currency reserves.........
RBI's gold reserves take a beating
Fall in gold price will likely result in a $1.37-billion dip in value of gold reserves with RBI................
Saving economies from economists
.......Economics has become an intellectual casino and does not deserve to be characterised as a ‘science’. A ‘science’ tests theories and experiments to accurately predict outcomes. Think physics, chemistry. Economics hardly qualifies, having got things wrong more often than not. And with disastrous consequences for all........
Crackdown on 'cheat' schemes
....According to financial experts, these firms had adopted some innovative techniques to raise money to bypass RBI and Sebi, like raising money through private placement of debentures and taking deposits against land. They offered very high returns - 20-30% - drawing lakhs of rural and semi-urban people...........
Keep your money safe: Avoid Chain-money schemes
.......The fact is that dubious financial schemes are proliferating so much that the SEBI chairman recently suggested a separate regulator for them. Understand the basics of how to keep your money safe, it is the first step to smart investment, returns come next!...............
Indian banks' overseas workforce expands
At a time when foreign banks operating in India are reducing their employee count here, Indian banks have increased their overseas workforce. The number of employees working abroad with Indian banks rose 6.1% in financial year 2011-12, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) survey on international trade in banking services. The employee count in foreign banks operating in India, however, decreased 2.9% during the financial year..........
Ibibo Group company PayU India launches online payment service PayuPaisa
Online payments company PayU India intends to make buying and selling over the internet more convenient with PayUPaisa, an e-commerce portal that allows sellers to create free websites to market their products without any physical paper work. Sellers have to submit details of their PAN card, bank account and products to be sold to get started..............
Govt tries to breathe life into SEZs
.......There was a promise of more to come with the Reserve Bank of India reviewing the dollar-credit window for exporters...........
RBI nod for sale of CSB shares to Yusuffali
Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB), on Thursday, said it had got the Reserve Bank of India’s permission to sell 4.99 per cent of its stake to Dubai-based Kerala businessman Yusuffali MA, who runs retail chain Lulu Centre in the Emirates..............
NRIs can get car loans in India, but conditions apply
..........As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), repayment can be done only through remittance received from outside India through normal banking channels or through non-resident external/ordinary accounts or out of income earned from a rented property in India. RBI has also allowed resident Indians to repay loans on behalf of their close NRI relatives............
ICICI Bank to up unsecured lending, says exec director
ICICI Bank will increase its portfolio of unsecured lending, including personal loans and credit cards, with a cautious approach, Rajiv Sabhrawal, the executive director of ICICI Bank said........
‘Customers prefer human contact in banking’
.............Speaking on human touch in banking, Krishnaswamy said the brick and mortar banking kept the bank and its customers connected on a daily basis. He said the concept of ‘know your customer’ was a reality here, and it was not based on documents...........
Rupee Bank impasse: Appointment of Pune based officer sought
....The depositors have demanded that the OSD should operate from Pune, as it will help fast-track the screening of almost 3,000 pending applications of depositors seeking emergency withdrawals. They also met Cooperative Minister Harshavardhan Patil in Mumbai on Tuesday and expressed concerns over the delay in withdrawals due to applications being routed to RBI headquarters in Mumbai instead of processing them in Pune. However, the depositors have hailed the role of the RBI-appointed administrator in spearheading the bad loan recovery drive............
Banks making good progress on farm loan waiver scheme
..........The CAG report, tabled in Parliament last month said loans taken by farmers for non—agricultural purposes and others which did not comply with the eligibility norms got benefited from the scheme and blamed bank officials for the mess. Following the disclosure, the Reserve Bank had swung into action and asked banks to rectify the administrative and accounting lapses by verifying each and every account. It had also thrusted the responsibility to do so individually on the heads of the banks..................
Foreign banks made Rs 9400 crore through fee income in 2011-12, says RBI
MUMBAI: Foreign bank branches operating in India generated a fee income of Rs. 9400 crore where as Indian bank branches over seas made a fee income of only Rs.6800 crore in 2011-12, according to a survey released by the Reserve Bank of India...........
HSBC says ready to follow RBI norms
....."We will move whichever way the RBI requires us to do," HSBC India Country Head Naina Lal Kidwai told PTI on the sidelines of an event here, when asked if the bank will be fine with going the subsidiary way. The comments come in the wake of recent reports that RBI had firmed up its mind on the way forward for foreign banks and would be insisting on them to operate as subsidiaries..............
ICICI Bank to grow personal loans, credit card business
......Risk of delinquencies since the 2008 economic meltdown has made the bank shrink its unsecured lending portfolio. As per Reserve Bank of India data, credit cards issued by ICICI reduced to 2.84 million in January 2013, from 2.86 million during the same period last year. It stood at 3.19 million as on June 2011........
Federal Bank launches Rupay debit card
.....Since the Rupay Transaction processing will happen domestically, it would lead to lower transaction cost for Federal Bank compared to international schemes, the Kerala-based bank said in a statement........
HDFC Bank reaches new milestone
HDFC Bank, the second largest private sector bank has reached a milestone of 200 branches in Andhra Pradesh. The latest one has been set up in Vemulawada, a pilgrim town in Karimnagar district. The bank will focus on opening more branches in the rural parts of Andhra Pradesh..................
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Who will step into Subbarao's shoes?
Designing an optimal RBI…........
Read..........
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