...........“We are likely to get a capital infusion of Rs 2,200 crore from the government of India in September which will raise our core capital adequacy ratio from the present 7.57 per cent to over 8 per cent as required by the Reserve bank of India,” Narendra Singh, chairman and managing director of Bank of Maharashtra, said. However, it’s overall CAR under Basel II norms as of end June was 11.83 per cent, he said..................
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, August 5, 2013
Canara Bank considering takeover of Amanath bank
............Asked whether the bank, which has been slapped with a moratorium by the Reserve Bank of India against allowing withdrawals of more than Rs. 1,000 by depositors, would not become a burden, Mr. Dubey said, “Of course, we are aware of the moratorium by the Central bank, but we will also consider other factors, including how many (loan) accounts are secured, before we take a decision on the matter.” He said he was aware the cooperative bank was saddled with “some NPAs”........
What deterred new banking aspirants?
...............Though the licensing tranches started nearly 25 years after bank nationalisation in 1969, one in 11 applicants and one in 50 got RBI banking approvals in 1993 and 2003 respectively. Ten entities were granted approval in 1993, while in 2003, that was whittled down to just two applicants. But this time, the ratio may improve, as the base number is low at just 26 and the government may be keen to enlarge the banking network owing to its financial inclusion commitments.....................
‘We have to grow our business beyond infrastructure’
...............IDFC is one of the several players that have applied to the Reserve Bank of India for a banking licence. “It is a nice, interesting irony and coincidence that my outside-IDFC activities are helping a great deal in fashioning what I believe to be a very differentiated and promising business model for a new bank,” Lall said, during a recent interaction here..............
Move to settle YES Bank case out of court
Kapurs and Kapoors - the families of YES Bank's promoters, the late Ashok Kapur and Rana Kapoor, respectively - might not wait for the courts to solve the dispute over membership on the bank's board. A move is understood to have been initiated for an out-of-court settlement. According to people familiar with the development, a meeting between the families was held on Saturday to discuss whether the case could be settled outside court. Another meeting was scheduled on Sunday evening,..................
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Growth-inflation balance is not that straightforward: Subbarao
 |
| ...........“I get asked why must we first try to lower inflation and then strive to achieve growth. Or, why we cannot tolerate higher inflation in order to get higher growth. The trade-off is not as straightforward as that,” ................. |
New centre for information security opens
........The centre was formally launched by RBI Governor D. Subbarao at the annual technology awards presentation ceremony organised by the institute here on Friday. The CIAM would function as a “one-stop” resource centre for all information assurance and management technology, tools, literature and experts for the Indian banking and financial sector, Sambamurthy, Director, IDRBT, said............
SBI wins IDRBT Banking Technology Awards-2013
State Bank of India won three IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards 2013 for “Electronic Payment Systems”, “Best use of technology for Financial Inclusion”, and “Customer Management & Business Intelligence” in the large bank category, at a function held at IDRBT, Hyderabad, on 2nd August 2013. The awards were received by the Chairman of the Bank Pratip Choudhury, from the governor of RBI, Dr D. Subbarao. Anand Sinha, Dy. Governor of RBI, was also present in the function.....................
Read...........
Read...........
RBI to come out with more measures to rein in NPA: Subbarao
....."It is true that NPA in public sector banks is higher because their decision variables are different and therefore NPAs are higher than private sector banks," he said. "In the Reserve Bank, we are concerned about it. It is a growing concern. Even on last Tuesday, when we met at the bank, we spoke about this,"............
Curbs on futures market will go only after Re stabilises: Subbarao
..............“In Reserve Bank’s view, undue volatility of the exchange rate is harmful for growth and stability, and such volatility should be curbed,” Subbarao said. On innovation and regulation, he said financial markets were different compared to other markets and, hence, required a different approach. “Financial markets are reflexive, in the sense that our beliefs about what may happen often influence what does happen. Common sense does not hold. The more financial insurance is written, the more likely that the insured event will occur because people who benefit from the contingency can make it happen,” Subbarao said............
Every effort will be made to finance current account deficit
................The ministry makes the point that the RBI figures of 2013 must be compared with the RBI figures of 2008. This point is well taken, though one would expect the RBI and Finance Ministry to give out the same figure in the future, to avoid confusion. The ministry also admits that some foreign debt related indicators do reflect vulnerability. The larger theme of the article is not denied.
Bank licences for companies will make sector competitive: RBI
......In a bid to ally concerns over issuing new bank licences to companies, RBI Governor D Subbarao today said corporates will bring in large amounts of capital and make the sector more competitive. "The main reason we have allowed corporates is to leverage their proven entrepreneurial talent and management expertise," Subbarao said at a function organised by the Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology..........
Comrade GOVI is no more...............
Shri P.GOVINDARAJAN (61
YEARS), Retd. Typist, RBI, Chennai (affectionately
called by his friends as GOVI) passed away around 8.30 a.m. on 2.8.2013. He
served RBIEA, Chennai as Asst. Secretary. He was ever smiling and ever helping
nature. In his death we have lost a very good friend, colleague and a
comrade. We pray for his soul to be rest in peace and convey our deep
sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members. The funeral
and last respects will take place on Saturday or Sunday depending
upon the arrival of his daughter from abroad. Address: F-3, Teju Tenaments, Plot No.
17-A, Fifth Main Road, BHEL Nagar,
Medawakkam, Chennai - 600 100. Phone
contact: 9500044310
- Balasubramanian K
Reserve Bank quiz to be conducted in Kochi
.............Schools interested in participating may contact nodal officers in Reserve Bank Of India before August 15. Shyni Sunil (0484 2400076) email : shynisunil@rbi.org.in or V Dhanya (0484 2401303) email: vdhanya@rbi.org.in )
SBI gets first woman MD
The Centre has appointed Arundhati Bhattacharya as a Managing Director of State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest commercial bank. She is the first woman Managing Director of SBI and is also tipped to be the Chairperson of the bank when incumbent Chairman, Pratip Chaudhuri, retires in end-September................RBI Governor resigns
The RBI Governor, Dr. D.Subba Rao, resigned today, saying that he cannot preside over the bifurcation of Andhra Bank. Due for retirement next month, his announcement caused ripples in the Financial circles. The Finance Minister stepped in to control the damage. While confirming the resignation, he assured the nation and particularly the customers of Andhra Bank and other investors, that there is no cause for worry. He said that his officials have worked out the details and action plan. The erstwhile Andhra Bank will be split into two separate entities—Telengana Bank and Seemandhra Bank. The capital, assets and liabilities will be split in the ratio 10:13 or 17:25 between them..............
Next RBI Governor - Why not insider?
After the announcement of the FM that he is on the lookout for a successor to Dr. Subba Rao several views have been expressed on the issue of a successor. An omission however has been as to why the successor should not be picked up from RBI itself. In the judiciary,in the defence forces, why even in the Govt. the man for the top position is chosen from within.Why should an exception be made in the case of RBI? The RBI has a talent pool from which the top man can be picked up Two DGs have been all along with RBI and therefore complete central bankers. One DG has not only RBI experience but valuable experience as a commercial banker and is a Ph.D. and other DG also a Ph.D although a new entrant to RBI has rich experience of work in financial institutions abroad.Should we not establish a convention that some one who is part and parcel of RBI should only aspire for the top job?
- K.N.S.Unni
Poll: Is Subbarao the 'worst performing' RBI Governor?
D Subbarao, who completes his five-year term as RBI Governor on September 5, was recently criticised by Arvind Panagariya, professor at Columbia University and a noted economist, on the ground that the central bank did not build foreign exchange reserves when the rupee was appreciating in 2009-10. Business Standard takes a look at the performance of RBI Governors since 1990...................
The Great Bank of Bengal
..............A Sentimental Journey describes a stroll on the Mall during which he and his cousins passed by Janki Das & Company, Lloyds Bank, Telegraph Office and Imperial Bank. Nevile takes us further on the Mall until we reach the splendid building of the General Post Office. Across the road, Nevile explains, stands the wonderful red-bricked building of the Reserve Bank of India. The mention of Imperial Bank and Reserve Bank as two distinct buildings on the Mall suggests that the Imperial Bank, after the creation of the Reserve Bank, moved to an adjacent building in the same vicinity, while the Reserve Bank operated from the erstwhile Bengal Bank Building..............
M S University clears way for Rs 2.50L recovery from deputy registrar
........The university had formed the committee after the embarrassment that it faced last year when the country's apex bank dragged the state university to Ahmedabad court by filing a civil suit demanding recovery of Rs 97,63,000 for not appointing a RBI Chair professor at the Department of Banking and Insurance at the Faculty of Commerce even as it had received Rs 50 lakh as corpus fund in 2002. The committee, which had professor Ranjan Aiyer as convener, submitted its report stating that no concrete efforts were made by those in-charge of the cell to get in touch with RBI..............
Read - TOI
Finance ministry plans to buy beaten-down shares of public sector banks
............"Banking stocks are at an all-time low. Our holding will increase if we directly infuse capital through preferential allotment of shares. Banks can explore other routes when conditions are conducive and the government will also get better return on its stake dilution," the official explained. Already some banks like Bank of Maharashtra have indicated to the finance ministry that they are not in a position to go ahead with their fund-raising plans through the qualified institutional placement route..............
No voting rights for foreign investors in Tamilnad Mercantile Bank: Court
.........The court, in its order dated July 29, 2013, said that since the Reserve Bank of India refused to acknowledge the holding of shares by the overseas investors, the banking company should be directed not to give effect to the transfer of shares. And, in case the transfer has been registered, the transferee shall not be entitled to voting rights, according to Chapter II amendment of Section 12B (3)...............
Tirupur exporters lash out at RBI
.........“It is ridiculous that the RBI is trying to suck out excess liquidity in the system by keeping the repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility unchanged at 7.25 per cent instead of looking at the actual problems that lead to liquidity and inflation,”................
Will RBI's rupee-revival policy work?
..........While a lot of views have been expressed over the recent liquidity tightening, RBI’s steps in the last few weeks have to be seen in the perspective of the recent developments in the foreign exchange market. The currency has been a major challenge for the central bank in the recent months. While the rupee has been in a depreciating trend since the global crisis of 2008, the volatility in the exchange rate has increased in the recent months...............
ATM malfunction at Hotel Pinewood
I write this so that ATM/Debit card holders are kept informed of the wrong doings by some banks. I was presented a bill for dining at Hotel Pinewood on 15th July, 2013. I paid vide ICICI Debit card and soon after I received a message on my mobile that the amount has been deducted from my account. The same message was repeated 3 times. After a minute or two the waiter came back returning the card saying it was not working and showing error in the Hotel’s Swipe machine. On investigation it was found that the receptionist had swiped the card 3 times which means payment of the same bill three times as it was showing error. On checking with AXIS Bank, since the swipe machine was that of AXIS, it was found that no amount had been credited to the Hotel Pinewood account. Ultimately I had to pay cash the next day. The Hotel employees say that this is a common feature with the swipe machine. I have since taken up the matter with both ICICI and AXIS bank authorities but the matter lies unresolved till today. The moot question is where has the money gone. Who will pay and who is responsible for such glitches ? This is very frightening as we read all the time about scamming, hacking, fraudulent activities in ATM booths, ATM card cloning etc. Even the Ombudsman RBI is quiet on this issue. Customers should be very careful of internet transactions.
- Nesfied B Sangma
Income-Tax dept expects 3 crore tax returns to be e-filed this year
File, smile and go. This is what taxpayers would be chanting this year while filing their returns, the income tax department claims. But with electronic filing having become mandatory for assessees having net taxable above Rs 5 lakh from this year, the pressure on the tax department to keep the system capable of handling the pressure has become enormous. According to an income tax official the department expects around three crore e-returns this year. Of these as on July 29, more than 82 lakh e-returns have been filed a 40 per cent rise compared to the same period last year, the official said. Six lakh returns were filed on Tuesday................
Bank of Maharashtra posts profit of 266.33 crore in Q1
.............The
bank’s chairman Narendra Singh said the bank is in the process of
reorganizing its business to prepare for the challenges of the new
customer dynamics. Among the initiatives,
the bank is planning to roll out doorstep cash collection and
withdrawal facility, acceptance of stamp fee and related government
payments and wealth management services to its high net worth clients...................
A misnomer called food security
CHILD STUNTING and wasting, and mortality, is more likely to be due to infections and illnesses due to unsanitary conditions that result in inadequate absorption of nutrients, than due to undernutrition. These in turn may be linked to inadequate maternal health, insufficient access to health services, safe water and toilet facilities..........
Friday, August 2, 2013
RBI Governor to launch CIAM on Aug 2
Hyderabad, Jul 31 : Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao will launch the Centre for Information Assurance and Management (CIAM), a pilot project on cloud computing, at the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology here on August 2. Dr Subbarao will also release the cloud security framework and present the prestigious IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards for the Year 2012 - 13 on the occasion, IDRBT said in a statement..........
Duvvuri Subbarao responds to P Chidambaram, says inflation hurts poor
...."You can't bring it down without some sacrifice in growth... Inflation is a very regressive tax. It hurts poor people more than relatively better off people. The voice of hundreds of millions of poor people is not heard through the media,"................RBI likely to bring urban banks under Ombudsman's ambit
A proposal has been mooted to bring in co-operative urban banks under the purview of Banking Ombudsman in view of their key role in banking activity in many states. The proposal had been mooted by an internal committee of RBI and a final decision would be taken after eliciting views of the state governments, A Madasamy, Banking Ombudsman for Kerala and Lakshadweep, told reporters here today. Madasamy said though there was a strong opinion in favour of the proposal state governments' views were important in the matter since co-operatives come under them....................
Read | Business Standard
Number of bank fraud cases down but amount involved zooms 324%
.........According to Dr K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), during the past few years, banking and financial service industry was most commonly victimized by fraud, which arose with sweeping changes in scope and magnitude of banking transactions, the emergence of hybrid financial products, increasing trend of overseas transactions, and dynamics of real-time fund movement and transformation. He was speaking at the National Conference on Financial Frauds organized by ASSOCHAM in New Delhi last week..............
HDFC Bank on rural Fin literacy drive in Goa
...........HDFC Bank will use the Financial Literacy Guide, provided by the RBI as the standard curriculum while conducting these camps. This material is currently available in Hindi and English. HDFC Bank has gone a step further in Goa and is the first bank to translate the guide into Konkani, which is the local language. This has been done in consultation with the RBI and will greatly increase the impact and efficacy of these camps in Goa. The Financial Literacy Guide is a comprehensive document that contains a note for trainers, guidelines for banks on how to conduct the camps, and financial literacy material. It also contains as well as a Financial Diary to track expenditure and a set of 16 posters. The purpose of this guide is to...............
Bus operators introduce plastic tokens flouting RBI norms
............."We know it is illegal and a violation of RBI guidelines, but we have no option. We approached the RBI several times to supply us with token in denominations of Rs 5, Rs 2 and Re 1 but we received no response. This forced us to resort to the illegal use plastic token,”..................
Demonstrations in front of Central Office Building on 8th August
Forum shall be holding massive silent demonstrations on the issues of pension updation and opening of pension option on..........
Read............
Read............
Cash fraud in the name of NABARD in W Midnapore
While the dust of the Saradha storm is yet to settle, a fresh bid to defraud gullible depositors is in the works in West Midnapore. In a clear throwback to the chit fund menace, which drew scores to park their hard-earned deposits in sham schemes, a gang of fraudsters have been going around several villages of the district, making collections in the name of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD),...................
Next RBI Governor - Succession planning desirable
It is surprising that GOI even at this late hour does not think of pragmatic succession plans for filing top positions like that of RBI Governor. Reserve Bank of India is one statutory body in the country which has been able to withstand the pangs of succession issues at the top for more than 7 decades of its existence, thanks to the maturity shown by those in charge of governance in Delhi. Recent developments brings to the fore the need to recall this and get a reassurance that whims and fancies of individuals destined to take decisions will not change this image. In 2011, the timely decision by Centre to give a two-year extension to RBI Governor Dr Subbarao stood apart as a decisive vote for stability at the Central Bank. This ensured continuity of policy perspective at a time when it was needed most and strengthened the RBI to pursue the right course it was following in different areas of its responsibility. A change of guard at that time would have resulted in slowing down of the processes of change in areas like fighting inflation, forex reserves management, financial inclusion and outreach and transparency in policy prescriptions where Dr Subbarao has made perceptible progress. 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.
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
Next RBI Governor - Due diligence in selection required
It is not only the question of RBI GUV being from outside the political ambit which troubles the politicians, but the vested interest of bureaucracy as well. Remember when Montek Singh was appointed Finance Secretary, there were loud protests from the IAS as they considered this post to be their prerogative. Dr Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister cooly gave the reply "Find me a person from IAS who is as intelligent as Montek Singh, I will appoint him". The IAS lobby had no reply.The media wrote that Dr Manmohan Singh backed Montek Singh to the hilt which was published on the first page of the news papers. The sole claim of IAS to be RBI GUV is that IAS man will be able to coordinate with various ministries on economic matters and system will run smoothly. Initially, Dr Subbarao was subservient to MoF and kept fiscal policy aspects predominantly in mind, but after one and a half year, he became a confirmed monetarist. As Fin Secretary, his view was that public debt matters should be in Government domain, he did not find anything wrong with subsidies, 5% Fiscal Deficit, 4-5% Current Account Deficit, micro management of banks (Shri Mittal was Secretary Financial Services with Subbarao as Finance Secretary), conservative FDI/FII policy etc; but became more open and assertive as RBI GUV i.e. what was right as Fin Secretary appeared to be wrong as RBI GUV.The central idea is anybody who comes from IAS struggles a lot to be independent, much energy is wasted squabbles with MoF, he faces resistance and in the process becomes reactive. As IAS, he is supposed to be subservient to the political masters but as RBI GUV one is supposed to have spine. Therefore a perfect due diligence is required for selection of GUV. Invite
all from Academia, Indians in world class institutions, bureaucrats,
Chief Executives of private/public sector/DGs of RBI etc and let the
best man be selected.
- Sitendra Kumar
Not the next RBI Governor
............ Chidambaram made it clear current Governor D Subbarao was not in the race as he wanted to "move on". Asked about the names of other likely candidate, Chidambaram joked, "I can tell you (Namo Narain) Meena, (Jesudasu) Seelam and I are not eligible.".............
Read | Business Standard
Who should be the next RBI Governor? Vote !
................After Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram made it clear that Subbarao is not keen on an extension, the search intensified to fill the post of India’s most competent banker.................
High CPI due to cyclical, distributional problems: Subbarao
.......Talking on the subject 'Dilemmas in Central Banking', Subbarao said treading the growth-inflation balance, managing the impossible trinity and communication whether when, what and how are the three major dilemmas of the Banking Regulator. On the key dilemma, which is growth-inflation balance, Subbarao said, the three objectives of the Monetary policy are to contain inflation, stimulate growth and to ensure financial stability. In our context, the RBI tries to get the right balance............
Reserve Bank too erred in forex scam
............But the RBI in its affidavit to the Supreme Court in FIMMDA appeal had pleaded that this CBI suggestion should not be accepted. “This was strange since RBI’s own circulars have prescribed that such frauds should be referred to the CBI”, said a seasoned chartered accountant of Coimbatore.....................
PCBs to be stripped of banking powers
............The circular has been issued on the basis of the recommendations of the Prakash Bakshi committee constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to streamline the functioning of credit cooperatives. The circular says the PCBs will function as business correspondents of the district and State cooperative banks. The share capital mobilised by them by way of share-linked capital of the loans will get transferred to the books of the district and State Cooperative banks. They will function as independent entities out of their own fund and earn income or service charges for rendering the services listed out by NABARD........
Plan panel objects to govt funds for Post Banks
........Officials said the Commission is of the view that the Rs 500 crore needed as initial paid up capital for launching Post Banks might not be feasible at the moment because of overall tight fiscal conditions. "Though in-principle the Commission does support the proposal, but current weak financial condition is acting as a hindrance," a senior official said..................
Stable exchange rate is important to attract investments: Subbarao
................Though some say the RBI has failed in taming the inflation but managed to pull down growth, the reality is that the headline inflation, measured by the wholesale price index, came down from double-digit levels to around 5 per cent. But consumer price inflation is still ruling high, which is mainly due to certain distributional issues. “I do not agree with the contention that RBI is obsessed with inflationary pressure. We have to keep in mind inflation, financial stability, and, at the same time, growth. We are concerned about all the three,” he said. But, in the current context, containing inflation is the prime agenda for the bank,..............
SBI chief, Pratip Chaudhuri, blames government for rising NPAs
Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman of the country's largest lender State Bank of India, blamed the government's tardiness in clearing projects and supply of coal - or the lack of it - as the reasons behind rising sticky loans in the banking sector. Speaking at a closed-door meeting between bank chiefs and senior Reserve Bank of India officials, Chaudhuri stoutly defended the banks, arguing they alone cannot be blamed for the spike in bad loans, which have hurt their balance sheets...............
A tale of two economies
............This collection of essays comes at a time when the roles of India and China in the global economic order and the state of their domestic economies are being widely debated. These essays will provide significant pointers to policymakers, governments and academics alike about the various dimensions of economic reforms, industrialisation and inclusive development in India and China. This collection is a timely intervention as it questions several conventional assumptions in policy circles in India about the paradigm of development that is best suited for the country................
Avoid borrowed resources from international markets
Raising funds from overseas may be easier but at what cost? Can the economy bear such losses? The cost will certainly outweigh the benefits. Instead, the FM would do well to raise domestic savings and improve the investment climate to attract inflows................
Read...........
Read...........
A sense of purpose
After RBI Governor D Subbarao contributed to the falling rupee on Tuesday by saying he thought this was the wrong time for a sovereign bond and that India didn’t need to go to the IMF for a line of credit, finance minister P Chidambaram did well to say the government has plans to get PSUs to raise funds abroad as well as to target NRIs and various sovereign wealth funds (SWF) to bolster India’s forex reserves................
NRI bonds fraught with legal challenges, says SBI chief
To bolster India's foreign exchange reserves and curb the sharp slide in the rupee, issuing long-term bonds to non-resident Indians in international currency is being considered. However, State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri says this is an option fraught with legal and regulatory challenges......................
Why Chidu’s quasi-sovereign bond issue is a stupid idea
........A case in point is the issue of whether the country should issue a sovereign bond abroad to shore up foreign exchange reserves. In the alternative, given the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) opposition to the idea, the finance minister said, we could consider a quasi-sovereign bond issue (or issues) by state entities such as banks or cash-rich public sector companies. “All options are on the table”.............
Here's how Telangana bifurcation impacted RBI bond auction
The proposed bifurcation of Telangana from the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) impacted the auction pricing of the latter's development loans at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday. Investors got a higher premium on the cut-off yield at 9.84 percent for tenure of ten years............
RBI's monetary activism may take a toll on equities too
.......The outlook has turned bearish as there are few places to hide at the moment. Defensives are back in focus as staples and technology continue to report double digit growth, even as others are reporting muted performance. Financials have been downgraded by most analysts as they believe “monetary activism” will hinder the sector's growth and profitability. What’s worse is that few in the market believe that RBI will roll back its tightening measures in a calibrated way...............
Shielding the Rupee from Alien Threats
......Clearly,
given the level of the Indian economy’s global engagement, it is futile
for India’s central bank to try and manipulate the exchange rate in any
particular direction. What it can and should try to do is to allow the
market to price in as much information as possible, so that ...............
Display cash non-availability at ATM before transaction: RBI
....."The message regarding non-availability of cash in ATMs should be displayed before the transaction is initiated by the customer," the RBI said in a notification. Such notices may be displayed on the screen or in some other way. Banks should also highlight the ATM ID within the premises so that customers can quote it while making complaints or suggestions, according to the notification. The RBI said despite a number of instructions to banks to enhance customer service and handling of complaints, certain operational issues continue to persist. ...........
ING Vysya Bank launches premium debit card
....."The ING MasterCard Premium Debit cards with their superior benefits and innovative reward points system are a wonderful example of this commitment. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with ING and to many other such innovative products in the future." The card will be available in three variants -- Titanium, My World and World Exclusive -- and customers can choose the look and feel of the card from a selection of 50 images covering segments like sports, entertainment, lifestyle the company said............
Kotak Mahindra Bank to open 100 new branches in FY 2014
......."Expanding branch network is expected to boost premium banking business. There is untapped potential for premium banking business in smaller cities," ...........
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Inauguration of Lead District Managers' office
........The office of lead District Managers’ was inaugurated by Dr Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India in presence of V R Iyer, Chairperson and Managing Director of Bank of India on July 31. The function was held at Zonal Office of Bank of India at Fort, Mumbai for inauguration of LDM’s office of Mumbai city and via video conferencing for the Mumbai suburb district in presence of senior functionaries of RBI, NABARD, BOI and the District Collector...........
Read...........
Can’t afford to take it easy - A.Seshan
As the Reserve Bank of India generated shock and awe in the financial system with its policy measures only a few days ago for tightening liquidity, there was a general expectation that its July 30 review would be a non-event with no dramatic announcements. It was proved correct. The bank should be thanked for not upsetting the apple cart with further measures, even as the results of the earlier ones are panning out. The exchange rate has so far seen up and down movements within a narrow range normally expected of the markets..............
Financial inclusion not charity: RBI
.....“Banks must not approach financial inclusion as a charity but a viable business model,” Chakrabarty said. “Our regulations are one of the most flexible to support financial inclusion,” Chakrabarty said at the Mint conference, Architecture of Financial Inclusion: The Indian Model, in Mumbai on Wednesday..........
Forex reserves adequate: Patel
......“Our reserves are adequate and 6.5-7 month of import cover is good. Short-term debt has increased but the short-term debt has been comfortably rolled over and refinanced over the last three years despite the high current account deficit (CAD),” said Urjit Patel, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a post-monetary policy conference call with analysts and researchers...............
Why selection of RBI governor should be more transparent
A crisis is an opportunity. Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram have a unique opportunity to reform the RBI
...............Unfortunately, Chidambaram has constituted no such committee to suggest names of candidates to succeed Subbarao. At the very least, the Finance Ministry should have advertised the position, in India and abroad. While it would be expecting too much for any Indian Government to consider foreign nationals for the RBI job (the UK recently appointed a Canadian as Governor of the Bank of England), it makes complete sense to solicit the candidature of Indian nationals from the worlds of academia or private sector (banking, investment banking) or international organizations (World Bank, IMF). That would only bring diversity and richness to a shortlist which would otherwise consist solely of economists serving in the Government system......................
The curse that bedevils RBI governors
Finance minister P. Chidambaram has indicated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon have a new Governor. He could become the latest victim of an old curse of trials by fire. Three out of the past five governors have had to deal with immense economic stress within a few months of taking the job............
Has Subbarao been pushed out of the next RBI Governor race?
It’s not very often that you hear the finance minister discuss the appointment of the RBI Governor openly and in media interviews. After all, unlike many other autonomous arms of the government, the central bank is one of the most prestigious institutions of the country and great respect is accorded not only to the Governor as an individual but also to the post. So it was quite surprising to find an otherwise disciplined P Chidambaram virtually ruling out any extension to the present RBI Governor D Subbarao in an interview to Economic Times. ..............
Govt is searching for new RBI Governor: Chidambaram
The government has started search for a new Reserve Bank governor as the incumbent, D Subbarao, who battled inflation through tight money policy during his tenure, is set to exit in five weeks. 'The Governor met me about 6 or 7 weeks ago... He (Subbarao) said that he would like to move on and he would not like to be considered for another extension. 'So I accepted that... That is where the conversation ended. We are now in a search cum selection mode of the new Governor,' Finance Minister P Chidambaram said at a press conference..........
After Subbarao, who will be the next RBI Governor
........Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in consultation with Mr Chidambaram will finally pick the next RBI boss. Before, Wednesday's statement from Mr Chidambaram, there was a strong buzz that Dr Subbarao may be offered another extension given that elections are less than a year away and the government would have been comfortable with a man who's been at the helm of affairs for a long time rather than have someone new altogether. Currently, the RBI top job is not really the most enviable assignment to take on with the country's widening current account deficit and a hostile rupee..................
DA Increase for Bankers from August to October 2013
Now CPI for all the three months has been announced for relevant months and the same is as follows:-............
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Deadline to file income tax returns extended to August 5
The last date to file income tax returns has been extended to August 5 by the government from July 31. This has been done due to the number of It returns being filed electronically. As per the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), there has been an unprecedented surge in number of returns being e-filed...........
Saraswat Bank - Rupee Bank merger gets in principle approval
Pune: Saraswat Bank is understood to have received in principle approval from the State Co-operative Department to merge with the ailing Rupee Co-operative Bank. This was confirmed by one of the administrators of the Rupee Co-operative Bank, who did not wish to be identified. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be providing a statutory package of Rs 320 crore to support the merger............
Push to replace old-format cheques
RBI’s efforts to introduce cheques with uniform security features have not yet fructified as a large number of customers are still using old-format cheques. RBI, which in December 2011 said banks should migrate to the cheque truncation system by September 2012, has extended the deadline four times. The new deadline is December 2013. Customers should come to the banks and get their old format cheques replaced, said Shubhalaxmi Panse, CMD, Allahabad Bank.............
Banks looking at voice biometrics for security
........ “A
voiceprint is a hashed string of numbers and characters that represent
how specific an individual’s voice rates on a host of characteristics
being measured. As such, a compromised
voiceprint has no value to a hacker. It cannot be used to authenticate a
system, nor can it be used to reverse engineer someone’s voice,”..............
Read - TOI
Participation of Senior Officers in Agitation Programme of NBOA
.........Incidentally, we have also come to know that our referral organization RBI too has never issued such an instruction and the officers associations at RBI have not been put under any such unconstitutional restraint. Similarly no such Circulars have ever been issued at other apex organizations like IDBI/SIDBI...............
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Bottling it up
..........When the senior officials walked into the press room a little ahead of the Governor and his deputies, staff were still placing name plates and bottles of mineral water on the table. As a standard practice, the label on the mineral water bottles were also removed, causing a senior official to ...................
Sooner the better for RBI to unwind grip on liquidity
..............The RBI governor has indicated that there would be a calibrated relaxation of its July measures once the rupee stabilizes or at least till volatility is contained. There is a good chance of that once FII investment returns, something that will happen with the continuation of quantitative easing by the U.S. Fed. But the rupee is weak and should not be propped up by ad hoc measures. The sooner the RBI unwinds its tight grip on liquidity, the better it would be for the rupee to find a stable level and for growth to pick up.
Bad loans and the death of the base rate
....The ecosystem too has done a bad job of eliminating the misconception that base rates have to dance only to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy rate tune; instead, they depend on overall costs of doing business for the bank. Those of us with longer memories will recollect the furore caused by high bank lending rates when inflation dipped sharply to low single digits after the Asian crisis (remember oil at $10?) and after the tech meltdown (January-May 2002 inflation was 1-2%). Real rates (rates minus inflation) were an outrageous 10-15%. However, banks were helpless and the regulator too grudgingly acknowledged that with the mountain of bad loans that banks were sitting on, lowering rates meaningfully was a tough task...........
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