.........A co-operative canteen, run by the RBI employees union, buys X-Mas cakes from Howrah in bulk to sell it amongst its employees. “With years the cake became so popular that street vendors also started buying it from the same bakery in Howrah and branded it as “RBI cake,” an RBI canteen staff told PTI. Sushanta Nath, president of the Reserve Bank Employees Association, said the cakes are very popular due to its taste and price...............
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.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Obituary
Shri.N.H.Natu passed away on December 22nd in Vile Parle,
Mumbai. He was a little over 80 and suffered from a cerebral haemorrhage. He worked in RBI for almost four decades. and was mostly in the General Side and retired as an Staff Officer in DBOD, Mumbai. He was an enthusiastic sportsman and excelled in Table-Tennis. Reading books and journals was his hobby and he was a regular visitor to the S.V.Phatak Library in Vile Parle. I met him in this Library only this Saturday 21st and he asked for the latest position of Updation and I gave him the customary answer--"No Progress". He leaves behind his wife and two daughters and a large circle of friends in the Bank. May his soul rest in peace.
- P.P.Ramachandran.
Restructuring a savings scheme
........An earlier attempt to protect savers by offering an instrument that pegged return above wholesale price index (WPI) inflation was not really for ordinary individuals. The new series, though offering inflation-beating returns, might still falter for a variety of reasons. Their complexity — a 10-year tenure, lock-in periods of one year for senior citizens and three years for others, compounding of interest every six months but paid only after the full tenure — might drive away many would-be investors. ........
RBI forms panel to improve data collection, eases investment rules
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formed a committee under Executive Director Deepak Mohanty to review the current system of data collection and the feasibility of data production within the apex bank to reduce the burden on reporting entities.This committee will recommend steps to deliver quality information to data users and reinforce the information system for monetary policymaking, the RBI said on Tuesday.............
Bank licence: RBI may miss Jan date
..... The Reserve Bank of India may miss the January deadline it has set to issue new bank license, Governor Raghuram Rajan told TV channel ETNow on Monday. “I did say that we will try and do it around time of (Deputy Governor) Mr Anand Sinha’s retirement, but I think it will take a little more time than that. But I am hopeful not much more,” Rajan said............
Shinjini Kumar: New bank licences - No more euphoria?
.........Desirable as it may sound on parameters of inclusion and safety, this model is untested as no bank in India has actually operated with the prescribed branch ratio from inception and almost no bank stands to the test of the rural urban ratio as of now. Some applicants may actually be able to come up with game-changing ideas for viable inclusive banking. Others may want to create their niche...........
No plans to change Federal Bank's ownership structure
.........."But since April this year, the rules changed and one has to apply to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). When this application was done, there arose some misunderstanding and news surfaced that we are seeking foreign investors. The whole thing was mistaken and there are no plans at all to alter our structure," ................
Axis Bank moves tribunal to recover debt from Gopinath
Within months of the State Bank of India initiating an aggressive stance to sell a sprawling residential property of G R Gopinath for non-payment of dues, another lender — Axis Bank — is escalating the process to recover close to Rs 265 crore from him. The bank, which has been in various stages of discussions with the Air Deccan founder over his grounded air logistics foray under ...........
HDFC Bank elevates Sukthankar as Dy MD
HDFC Bank, on Tuesday, promoted Paresh Sukthankar as the Deputy Managing Director. The decision was taken by the board of the bank, which met on Tuesday, the lender said in a BSE filing..........
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
VITALINFO is grateful to you all................................
Dear Tarambale, On reaching home, I just now
finished viewing the CD based Invitation for your son's forthcoming Wedding. My
advance wishes to Harshal and Vishaka. I am very happy that you have moved along
with the times - an e-based invitation, with visuals, of both
photos and video, with clarity both of audio and pictures - it is a new
and nice experience and thanks for providing such an experience. Could also
realise that it is not just you, your entire family, your wife and sons, and I
hope your incoming daughter-in-law as well are tech savvy or tech
friendly. My best wishes to you all, to
be experimenting with technology.
- R Gandhi, Executive Director
Dear Mangesh Tarambale, Thanks for the invitation sent thru your son. It is very novel.. I felt as if you both have come to our home and personally invited us. Our best wishes to your son and DIL for a happy married life. I
am one of your admirers for your immense contribution to the RBI community in
creating and developing a well appreciated purposeful VITALINFO. I am sure you
will be able to continue (you should continue) your efforts when you become
free after your son's wedding ceremony is over. It may be a few days or even
weeks, but we will await your coming back. We wish you well on your transfer
and also our best wishes to your son and would be daughter-in-law a very happy
married life.
- P.Aravind
Dear Mangesh ji, I am deeply touched by
your total commitment to whatever you do, which is obvious from this blog. One
would not find many of your ilk, who are apologetic in taking time off for such
important personal engagements! And at the same time, you have the onus of
relocation and settling in the new environ. I am confident that you will handle
both with your characteristic aplomb, and continue the vitalinfo more
effectively, and make it eternalinfo! You
have distinguished yourself by drawing encomiums from very highly placed people
like the Hon’ble Governor himself as also from most common readers from the RBI
fraternity and erstwhile RBI fraternity like me, at once. And here is wishing you all the very
best for the wonderful occasion on 28th December 2013 as
also a very happy, prosperous and successful New Year 2014!! Do also let us know
which department you are getting posted to.
- K R Nair, NABARD Regional
Office, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad
It has been a tremendous
exercise and efforts put by you since last 3 years to help others. We hope
Almighty will give you all strength and support to continue the VITALINFO.
Congrats for good news of your son's marriage. All the Best. Waiting for a
vital news of taking a fresh guard and start a new inning soon. Thanks for what
you have done.
- S R Kane, PS to ED
Dear Shri Tarambale Sb. I am indeed happy to learn that your son Harshal
is getting married soon. I wish Harshal all the best in his married
life. Best wishes to the would be in-laws too ( father and mother in-law).
Incidentally how is Ninad?. I am sure you would be occupying space in the
18th floor on your transfer Mumbai, I wish u all the success. You should be
congratulated for conceptualizing the VITALINFO. It has brought all the
RBItes and other bankers together with its updates. When we do not see
the VITALINFO of any day, we feel as if some important
activity of the day has been missed. Pl do not leave the great concept half-way
(Adhura na Chodo), I wish the VITALINFO a long and
memorable life.
- K R Padmanabha Rao, General Manager
(Retd.)
The popularity of
VITALINFO is catching up fast and it is my sincere advise to you to ensure its
continued circulation even if with a pause for a few days because of your
transfer and eventual interruptions. As I said earlier, Vital Info will become
a gold mine of information for history writers on money, finance and banking at
a later date. Even for that matter RBI itself would depend on this vital blog
for writing its' history as and when taken up in a few year's time. –
– Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan
Dear
Mangesh, I read your message today of your impending holidays and transfer to
Mumbai.
Regarding your sons marriage - I
heartily wush your son and his bride a happy married life all the best health
wealth and prosparity and career progression also Please convey my best to the
married couple.
2
Regarding your transfer - Yes transfers are inevitable in ones career Along
with transfers it brings lot of irritants Getting a flat in Mumbai is tough and
then getting settled is also equally difficult and then settling down in your
new desk and knowing the new Boss his temperament etc These are all the things
which are very tough and sometime and your patience etc I wish you all the best
in this endeavour.
3 Now about VITALINFO. You have brought this up during the last three years with great care like your own small child Now with all the difficulties i have mentioned in para 2 above it is very difficult to bring the Vitalinfo with such regularity which it is known for. I know Mumbai its a tough place and to publish Vitalinfo it requires huge patience and mental peace which it is very difficult to find in the short run.However I wish you all the best to get settled down in Mumbai early and try your best to publish the Vitalinfo as hitherto.
3 Now about VITALINFO. You have brought this up during the last three years with great care like your own small child Now with all the difficulties i have mentioned in para 2 above it is very difficult to bring the Vitalinfo with such regularity which it is known for. I know Mumbai its a tough place and to publish Vitalinfo it requires huge patience and mental peace which it is very difficult to find in the short run.However I wish you all the best to get settled down in Mumbai early and try your best to publish the Vitalinfo as hitherto.
4
I heartily wish you all the best and very happy new year and career progression
also besides health wealth and all prosperity.
- N D
Laxmikantha
Dear Taramble ji,
I am delighted to note
that your son is getting married on 28th. As you know, I am in USA these days.
I would have definitely accepted the invite and come to Pune if I was in Mumbai. Let me take this opportunity to wish the young
couple and your entire family all the very best in life. I also note that you are getting posted to
Mumbai and will be joining your duties early next month. I request you to
continue your work on the vitalinfo with the same zeal Nd take the blog to new
heights of glory.
- B K katyal, Ex Chief General Manager
Dear Mangesh, A great
service to all Bank employees (getting all that are happening in Banking world
in a comprehend form), VITALINFO, a brain child of Yours has come a long way
& may become a precedent in the years to come...My personal greetings to
You for all the trouble You are taking and best wishes for your untiring
efforts.
- Balasubramanian K
Mangesh ji, So kind of you for the
invitation. Our best wishes as I cannot make it. When the phone
notifies mail in the morning it is always your Vital Info! and my wife
says your cyber friend Mangesh ji!! Regards
- P V S Suryakumar
Dear
Mangesh ji, It is so nice of you to invite me to the sacred marriage function
of your son Harshal. Though it may not be possible for me to attend, our
blessings do reach out to him. May he and his wife have a blissful life
together which would always bring serene comfort and satisfaction to you and
your wife. Warm regards and best wishes for the ceremony,
- Prakash
Bakshi, Former Chairman, NABARD
Dear Mr. Tarambale, Our heartiest
congratulations on the occasion of your dear son's wedding. I am afraid it will
not be possible for us to attend the event, but please do convey our blessings
and best wishes to the newly weds for a Very Happy and Prosperous Married Life.
We also wish you and your family a delightful New Year. Warm regards,
- V
S Das, Former Executive Director
Thank you very much for
your colourful innovative Invitation. Do accept our greetings. Wish the couple
a happy, prosperous, wedded life.
- P.P.Ramachandran
Dear Mangesh - Thank you very much
for the kind invitation to your son's wedding. I wish the function
success. Please convey to the couple my blessings and best wishes for a long
and happy married life.
I am sorry I am not able to attend
the wedding or the reception. With best regards, Sincerely
- A.Seshan
Dear Mangesh, Congratulations!!!!!!!
warm and best wishes for your son (HARSHAL)’s marriage at Nagpur on 28th December 2013. I will try to come to
Pune for Reception on 29th Dec.
2013. Once again congrats to you and your family a happy marriage and Season’s
Greetings!!!!! With warm regards,
- P G Gehani & Family
Dear Mangesh, Hearty congratulations on the marriage of
your son Harshal. I extend the warmest of best wishes to the couple for a very
happy and prosperous life in every way. As regards your taking time off for the
marriage from VITALINFO, much as we are going to feel bereft, none will grudge
you the time you take off for your family occasion. We are indebted as you have
given us your time and effort so ungrudgingly and generously for our
edification. Thank you and I am sure you will find a way to make it only a
small pause!
- Kamala Rajan
Best wishes to the young couple and
the family. It was thoughtful of you to remember us.
warm regards,
- Dr.S.S.Tarapore,
Former Deputy Governor
Dear Mangesh, Thanks a million
for the invite for your son's wedding reception on 29th in Pune. Much that both
of us would have loved partaking, we are unable to do so as we will be out of
town. All the same we wish Harshal and his wife all the best in their married
life and we pray it be healthy, happy and prosperous as ever with plenty of
troubles but always little ones. Please convey our good wishes to the young
couple and oblige.
- Shobha & Kishore Savkur.
This is the first time I
saw an invitation -a Video invitation . My wife also saw. Fine. God
bless.
– R.G.Nakhate
No one or no Editor shall disregard
his or her duties towards his or her family. Shri Mangesh Tarambale, I
hope, would not say," good bye" to VITALINFO. Shri Tarambale has
handled, nourished VITALINFO single handed for the last three years. Indeed an
Herculean task. Shri Tarambale is 55 / 56 years of age and therefore, I and a
few others in my friend circle, want him ' proclaim' his wish,' If I had my
life to live again....I would Re-serve VITALINFO' not right from this young
age, he would 'proclaim' his wish fifteen years after his retirement at sixty,
when he turns 75. Please do not 'Quit'. A thousand get all important
information related to and happenings in and around RBI intelligently culled
out from many sources from India and outside India. Shri Tarambale has also
extended, thrown open a wide canvas, a platform to all retired and serving
employees of RBI to express his or her views on subjects of interest to all. It
may be or may it be a L o n g pause but no, not a beginning, say it, quit. An humble suggestion or request to give a try: Shri Tarambale may
select, pick up a few of his colleagues who would like to share/ shoulder his
burden sincerely, efficiently to bring out the daily (excluding Sundays and
holidays) Edition of VITALINFO uninterruptedly.
- R.G.Nakhate
Many many thanks for your kind
invitation .Let us hasten to wish Chi.Harshal and his would be wife a long, happy,
prosperous and healthy married life. We also wish and pray that God almighty
showers everything best in life in abundance to all the members of your family.
Our greetings and best wishes also also on the eve of the New Year.
- C.S.R.Nair
and family
Dear Mangesh, Thank you for inviting
us on the happy occasion of your son's wedding. Indeed, true to your style, the
Invitation Card is so nicely worded. You have also leveraged technology by sending
us online engagement photos, map etc. Our hearty Congratulations and
best wishes to Ninad for a happy wedding.
- K C Shashidhar, CGM, NABARD, Mumbai
Dear Mangesh Tarambale, My name is
G.Sridhar, seen you in E.C.D during the year 1974 - 1980,didn't know
you at a closer circle,had mentioned about your current activities to some of
my old colleagues.Thanks for extending the marriage invitation of your
son. Please convey our good wishes to the young couple. With
regards to all at home
- G.Sridhar
Dear Mangesh Tarambale, Many thanks for extending
the marriage invitation of your son. Please convey our best wishes
to the young couple. As we have come to Thiruvananthapuram last month,
we may not be able to make it to Nagpur or Pune now. Our blessings and best
wishes are with the young couple. With warm regards
- M G Warrier
Dear Mangesh Rao, Thanks for the
invite. We are right now abroad and regretfully can not make it to the marriage
or reception. Please be good enough to accept our best wishes to the young
couple for a very happy married life. To you and your wife, our
congratulations. With regards,
- Vasudevan
My dear Mangesh,
My heartiest congratulations on successful
completion of three years of your writing the Blog VITALINFO. You have been
devoting time and energy with a lot of dedication as a Mission. We have been
getting first-hand news more faster than the Print/other Electronic Media only
through VITALINFO. I hope you will continue to write the Blog VITALINFO with
the same zeal and interest even after your posting to a department in Mumbai. I
am sure there wont be a long pause but you will return to the Mission soon
after you are relieved of your commitments. I would also like to convey my heartiest
congratulations to you, as your beloved son is getting married. This is a very
beautiful moment in your personal life. Convey my best wishes and blessings to
Harshal and Vishakha on their marriage. I wish the young marrying couple a very
happy life ahead and pray that God's choicest blessing be showered on them. I am thankful to you for your warm E-invitation
with your personal "Mangesh" touch. Such a brilliant idea of sending
the invite in a very different way, could only be conceptulised by a
person of your calibre. Hats off to you, Mangesh. Great work. Wedding - cum -
Reception card is beautifully drafted and crafted by you in participation with
Ninad. With warm regards
- R K Gujar
Dear Mangesh, Thank you very much for the
invitation for the wedding of your son. The notice is rather short and I have
prior commitments in Chennai. Otherwise, I would have been present for the
happy occasion as you know I have a number of friends in Pune and love visiting
Pune. Please convey my best wishes to your son and daughter in law for a
long,happy and prosperous married life.Regards,
- A.Chandramouliswaran,
Former Executive Director
Dear Mangesh, Many thanks for your kind invitation
to attend the reception in Pune on the 29 Dec. on the
occasion of Harshal’s wedding. Much as I would have liked to attend the
function and participate in the family’s joy, I have to deny myself the
opportunity to do so because of some other family engagement on that day.
Kindly therefore excuse me and permit me to convey through this mail my wife’s
and my Best Wishes to the bride and the groom for A Long, Happy and Fruitful
Married life. The news of your being relieved this monthend
on transfer to Mumbai was unwelcome or rather saddening. Many of R
B I Colleagues will be concerned about the future of VITALINFO. Who is going
to replace you? Over the years, we had established good rapport and personal
relations. I shall certainly miss you. BTW, your e-invitation was great; I have
seen such a live invitation for the first time. Love and Best Wishes
-P B Kulkarni, Former Executive Director
Dear Mangesh, Thank you for the invite it is quite a
novel one. Best wishes
- Sandip Ghose
Dear Mangesh Tarambale, Many thanks
for your invite. I wish we could attend the function. Nevertheless, please
accept our best wishes and convey our blessings to the couple. Regards
- R.K.Sharma
Wishing the event a grand success and
your family to multiply with divine grace. Visit me in Chennai.
– P S S Narayanan, Chennai
Dear Mangesh, Thanks for the wonderful invitation! My heartfelt
congratulations to Harshal and Vishaka! I wish the newly married
couple all success and prosperity in every step of
their virtuous life! Regards,
- Janaki Ravindran
Respected Mangesh Sir, Thanks for the invitation for your son’s wedding.
May God give the young couple the best of the earth and lead with most happiest
moments throughtout their long life.
- S. I. QUADRI, AM, RBI, BANGALORE
Dear Mangesh, Thank you for the wedding invitation in connection with
the proposed Wedding of your son, Chi. Harshal with Sow. Vishaka. I
extend warm wishes to the bride and the groom on the occasion and please convey
to them my hearty congratulations. I pray to the Almighty to shower His
Blessings on the young couple as they embark on the journey of marital bliss. Profound
Regards,
- S. Srinivasan, Cochin
Dear Sir, Thank you very much for your kind invitation of
the marriage of your son. We pray unto Almighty to shower his divine blessings
for their wonderful married life. With regards
- R. Raghavan
Thanks for the kind invitation to
attend the marriage ceremony of your son Chiranjeevi Harshal on the 28th
December 2013. I request you to convey to your son my best wishes for
Happy Married Life full of contentmnet and happiness. My sincere
blessings to the young couple.
- L.V.subramaniam, Former General
Secretary
All india Confederation of Bank Officers Organisations
(AICOBOO)
Editor Labour Herald (daily on the
internet)
Monday, December 23, 2013
Banks: ‘ SCRIPTing’ the way forward - DR. N. A. MUJUMDAR
.....The promotion of financial inclusion involves much more than merely providing access to banks. It has many dimensions. These have been admirably explained in a recent lecture by the RBI’s Deepali Pant, on ‘ Financial Inclusion: Journey So Far and Road Ahead” ( November 2013). These include Financial Literacy and Financial Education, Robust Institutional Mechanism, and use of Technology. Banks have adopted a structured and planned approach to financial inclusion, through the preparation of Financial Inclusion Plans ( FIPs). The first plan, covering 2010- 2013, has shown remarkable progress. Banking outlets increased to 2,68,000 by March 2013. Of these, nearly 2,21,000 are Business Correspondents............
‘Bankers should focus on human resources’
.....“The present day banker has to comprehend and cope with the growing customer base, changing profile and expectations, lest they (customers) move to some other bank. Redesigning branches and transforming the bank will not suffice. “The culture should also change with customer expectations,”...........
Race hots up
With Anand Sinha’s extended tenure as Deputy Governor set to end next month, the competition is hotting up for the post. While RBI Executive Directors G. Gopalakrishna, B. Mahapatra, G. Padmanabhan, R. Gandhi and P. Vijaya Bhaskar are the internal candidates in the race, it is understood that some bureaucrats are also vying for the position. Traditionally, out of the four deputy governors, two have been from the RBI while the other two are outsiders — with commercial banking and economics background. IAS officers who became Deputy Governor include D. R. Mehta and Y. V. Reddy.
Hindu
VITALINFO : Long pause or beginning of an end?
On
November 28, 2010, I came across the news “Ex - DG V.Leeladhar chosen for
National Banking Award” and thought to share it with others. This led to
conceptualising the VITALINFO blog (http://mangeshtarambale.blogspot.in/) with the very purpose to provide a platform for wider dissemination of
updated information related to and happening of events in and around RBI.
With only 4 info items uploaded on the first day, VITALINFO completed 3
years of its existence on 28th November 2013. I have been doing it single
handedly and the blog is published well before 7.30 a.m
daily.
During
this journey, it received all the appreciation from the Top Management, RBItes,
EX-RBItes, Re-Tyred colleagues, eminent persons like Dr. D.Subbarao, Dr. S.S.Tarapore, Smt Shyamala
Gopinath, Smt Usha Thorat, Dr. Subir Gokarn, Shri Anand Sinha, H.R.Khan, Shri
G.Padmanathan, Dr.Smt Deepali Pant Joshi, Shri P.B.Kulkarni, Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan, Dr.
A.Vasudevan, Shri A. Chandramouliswaran, V.S.Das, V.K.Sharma, A.N.Seshan,
M.G.Warrier, Yerram Raju, Kamala Rajan et al. The list has become endless. Now apart from
officers, even Class III staff members of the RBI have become regular reader of
the site. "Making the RBI a knowledge institution" was on top
of the agenda of the then Governor Dr. D.Subbarao during his tenure. My little
efforts towards that have now started reaping fruits. In an e-mail communication,
Dr. D.Subbarao commented on VITALINFO as under:-
Dear
Mangesh,
Many
thanks for your mail. I am deeply touched. Yes, I access VITALINFO much more
regularly than I did when I was in the RBI. It's one sure and simple way
of keeping in touch with the world of RBI; it feeds my curiosity and satisfies
my nostalgia. I remain impressed by your comprehensive and prompt coverage of
all the news that matters to RBI and am amazed by how you do this every day
without fail. Your motivation, enthusiasm and sense of service should be a role
model for all aspiring professionals. I do hope VITALINFO will continue to
maintain high standards of quality and integrity and become an increasingly
important platform for dissemination of news and views in the RBI fraterniy. My
best wishes for its continued success.
Best
regards,
Subba
I
am also quite inspired with the views of Dr.Raghuram Rajan as under:-
“The
Reserve Bank is a great institution with a tradition of integrity,
independence, and professionalism… key to all this is communication, and I want
to underscore communication…”
Down memory lane, I have become nostalgic today to look back as its time to pause for a little while. My son Harshal is getting married on 28th December 2013 and I will be too busy in my family commitments. As also I am under orders of transfer and will be relieved on 31st December to report to Mumbai. It may take time to settle down to return to mission VITALINFO. I am not quite sure, this time its a long pause or the beginning of an end........................................................
Finance to MSME is need of the hour: Rani Durve
Ujjain: To provide financial support to Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurship ( MSME) has become the need of the hour, said Reserve Bank of India Deputy General Manager Rani Durve here on Saturday. Durve was speaking at a workshop as chief guest organised under ZDH/ SEQUAL Partnership programme under the joint aegis of MP Small Scale Industries Organisations, Bhopal and Central India Chamber of Commerce & Industries, at Hotel Mittal Avenue........
Read - FPJ
Read - FPJ
Obituary
Shri.P.Jambukeswaran passed away on December 21st in Borivili, Mumbai. He was 75 years old. He was ailing for over six months. Jambu, as he was called, joined RBI in the Economic Department in 1960 and retired in 1982. He had a long spell in the Credit Planning Cell and was at the time of retirement in the National Housing Bank. He was a genial, gregarious person, hugely popular. He was an exemplary worker and an asset to his bosses.. He leaves behind his wife and son and a large circle of friends and admirers from the RBI family.
- P.P.Ramachandran
A course correction?
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to hold the policy rates in its mid-quarter policy review last Wednesday is being called “falling behind the inflation all over again” and a “falling out” of Governor Raghuram Rajan and Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. It is being said that the RBI’s inflation fight is all set to “lose credibility”.........
Inflation may ease to 6.5 pc in December: Rangarajan
......Going forward, Mr. Rangarajan said, the declining trend in inflation will continue and WPI may ease to 6.5 per cent by March-end. Quoting an econometric study, the former RBI governor said, “The threshold inflation level is around six per cent, but there is a need to look slightly lower as the level is much higher than what many other countries in the world... advanced countries treat as the acceptable level of inflation.”.......
Yearender: Sting operations, bad loans hit all from SBI to Yes Bank
From the largest lender SBI to the youngest Yes Bank, the nation's banks were fined for violating regulatory norms after sting operations exposed chinks in their armour. The year 2013 saw the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) nudge banks to not only improve customer services and reduce bad loans but also look at plugging loopholes in the regulatory system ahead of the entry of new banks.......
The markets hate a surprise
.......He quickly acted on his first promise and cut short-term interest rates. The markets rejoiced. In his second policy review though, he refrained from raising repo rates. The markets were thrilled, again, because they fully expected a rate hike. Rajan’s unfortunate predecessor D. Subbarao was an inflation hawk too. But he regularly received brickbats from bankers, investors and India Inc for not reducing interest rates to ‘stimulate’ growth. Rajan has raised interest rates twice already, while being heartily applauded. Conjuring up surprises for the market once in a while is good, but it is dangerous to overdo it......
RBI springs a surprise
..........The RBI’s inaction, in the context of the Governor’s consistently tough talk on inflation, somehow underlines the apex bank’s credibility. A rate hike has only been postponed not abandoned. Food prices may indeed come down temporarily but the long-term prognosis is not bright. The RBI has admitted that the policy decision has been a close one. There is merit in waiting for more data to reduce uncertainty. But there are obvious risks to that approach. The RBI may be perceived to be going soft on inflation. In a stunning coincidence, another risk materialised..........
Norms blunt Cos Act’s a-woman-a-board rule
.......Women spearheading the country's top investment banks are restricted from taking external board memberships because of internal policies on conflict of interest while those leading mighty commercial banks can't occupy board seats of other companies as the Reserve Bank of India rules prohibits executives from taking outside board directorships..........
RBI extends deadline for banks to shift to new messaging standards
......The objective of introducing ISO 20022 standard message format for payment system is to bring about standardisation in the messaging formats for various payment systems in the country and to conform to international standard, the apex bank said. Under RTGS, beneficiary branches receive funds in real time as soon as they are transferred by the remitting bank...........
Banks can’t upgrade a/c unilaterally
.....“The
consent of a customer is absolutely necessary before converting an
account into a premium account with higher balance requirement. If the
customer has not provided consent for the upgrade, the bank will have to
refund any charges imposed for not maintaining minimum balance,”.................
RBI's Clean Note Policy won't affect customers
......This was part of the central bank’s ‘Clean Note Policy’ under which all soiled and scribbled currency notes, once submitted to the RBI, are not reissued for circulation. The RBI destroys such notes by shredding or briquetting and issues fresh ones into the system through banks. “Nowhere have we said that banks should not accept notes on which something is written or scribbled,” a spokesperson of the RBI told dna. “The purpose was to discourage the practice of writing or scribbling on the body of notes in banks so as to achieve the objectives of the Clean Note Policy,” the official added...........
The Ben Bernanke punch bowl
.........The reaction of the policy authorities has also been very different. For example, the Reserve Bank of India went ahead with its monetary policy on 18 December despite the fact that an important US Fed meeting was due a few hours later. This is in sharp contrast to the events of September when the Indian central bank decided to postpone its policy announcement by a few days to see what the US Fed first did. Raghuram Rajan also gambled by not raising interest rates in December while he did so twice in the previous months to fight inflation as well as to protect the rupee..........
Can the RBI stem wilful defaults in banking?
.........The
RBI has proposed that the names of these auditors be made available to
ICAI, MCA and CAG, apart from the RBI and lenders. It’s not clear if
this will serve any useful purpose. The central bank also mentions
advocates, who wrongly certify assets and securities as having a clear
title, and valuers who may be overvaluing a security or an asset. It has
asked for their names to be reported to the IBA so that banks know
before using their services. There is no real protection for the banker
from unscrupulous support services which are used by wilful defaulters..........
'PIN'ned, customers now prefer cash purchases
In a surprise development, debit card holders in small towns seem to have returned to cash payments at retail outlets instead of swiping their cards as they are wary of punching the ATM pin number in full public glare. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it mandatory for cardholders to punch the Personal Identification Number (PIN) at retail outlets from December 1. Although the decision has been taken to provide additional layer of security to cardholders from cyber fraudsters, lack of awareness and apprehensions reportedly made cardholders wary of accepting the new rule............
India Post plans national ATM network
.....The plan is to issue ATM cards to all savings deposit holders at India Post. As on 31 March, the department was managing Rs.6.05 trillion of deposits, nearly half the deposit base of government-owned SBI, the country’s largest commercial bank, and double that of the largest private sector lender ICICI Bank. Of this, about Rs.2 trillion is under the savings scheme in 280 million accounts..........
Deploy guards, set up CCTV cameras before Jan 30: Cops to banks
...After a meeting with RBI officials, police and government officers earlier this month, the minister of state for home affairs Satej Patil had said that all banks have been asked to install properly functioning CCTVs covering the area inside and outside their ATM centres by January 30, 2014............
RBI has no legal right to ban use of bitcoin: Na Vijayshankar
.......When Bitcoin is represented as a "currency" the public may mistake it for a "legal tender" (a medium of payment recognized by a government, which in India, means notes issued by RBI). Since Bitcoin is not legal tender and does not have the backing of any authority it would be misleading to call it currency. A person selling Bitcoins under this perception may be accused of committing fraud.............
Bitcoins: Currency catch-up
...........If the Internet and money had a child together, it would be the bitcoin, say users. Since the bitcoin was invented in 2009, it has caught on globally as a virtual currency and has had many such currencies following in its wake. But unlike money, there are only 21 million bitcoins that can ever be generated. And, like gold, its users love to hoard them............
Are we there yet?
.............Raghuram Rajan has played a dead bat in the latest RBI move. There is a lot of uncertainty and it is not at all clear that another turn of the interest rate screw will bring inflation down. There are rumours of a bear market in food grains and prices are supposed to be coming down. There is already an onion glut (Is the government buying and building up stocks for the next upturn in the prices?). But the ........
The beginning of taper
....... GDP growth has rebounded in the second quarter to 4.8 per cent, though the growth impulse continues to be weak. Foreign currency reserves have also been augmented through a series of measures initiated by the RBI. While these explain the equanimity in the markets, the fact is that the clouds have not lifted entirely yet. As the tapering process gathers steam over the next few months, there is bound to be both a pull-out of.......
Looking beyond the taper
.......Rajan also did his bit by taking steps to protect the currency against speculative attack as did the government in curbing gold imports and bringing the Current Account Deficit (CAD) under control. With the CAD moderating, there is a general sigh of relief among a large section of analysts who had espoused the theory that, but for gold, CAD is not a problem for India. I would, however, beg to differ here. CAD will continue to haunt India till multiple structural issues are sorted out. Falling gold imports did help, but...........
Broking route to sell insurance may prove tough for public sector banks
......Under the present system of distribution of insurance products through bank branches (bancassurance), banks act as corporate agents and sell the policies of only one life insurer, one non-life insurer and a standalone health insurer. While the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and the Reserve Bank of India have cleared the decks by issuing guidelines on insurance broking norms, banks have not shown any interest so far in taking up broking.....
Andhra Bank opens e-banking zone in Vizag
.....The zone enables a customer to complete 70 per cent of banking transactions without being limited by the banking hours or waiting in the queue at counters. With routine transactions being taken care of in the e-banking zone, the bank employees would be able to pay greater personal attention to customers.......
ICICI stress on quality in inclusion drive
............The financial inclusion strategy, formulated by managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar, comes after the private bank achieved huge growth in this area over the past three years. The lender has opened 1.65 crore zero balance basic saving accounts, the most by any private bank in the country and the second-highest in the industry. It has reached out to over 15,000 villages through its branches and business correspondents, an increase of over 20 times in the past three years. During the same period, the bank has opened about 400 branches in unbanked villages........
Seeking to end economic distress
..........While there can be no disagreement with early detection of stressed assets and higher provisioning norms the RBI suggested, where the proposed guidelines fail is in not taking a holistic approach to the issue of asset quality. The emphasis on provisioning is more than welcome. Indian banks have a non-performing assets (NPA) coverage that is the worst in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the worst globally.........
Keep an eye on the Bank Nifty
.............The central bank should have access to December food price data while we are still dealing with official November inflation index data. A comparison of November and (current) December food prices should help RBI decode the sense of direction. So, perhaps it is less of a gamble than it seems at first sight. Food inflation has been one of the most intractable issues for policy makers over three years...........
Dabhol: govt moves RBI to bail out lenders
.......“At a recent meeting chaired by finance secretary Arvind Mayaram it was directed that the department of financial services (DFS) will take up the matter for relaxation of asset classification norms to RGPPL with RBI, with a request for extended forbearance till March 31 2014 as a one-time exception, considering the circumstances and the exposure of PSUs, including PSU banks,............
Banking Sector Stares at a Not Too Happy New Year
........With odds stacked against it, the banking industry is pinning its hopes
on RBI’s guidelines based on the recently released discussion paper
‘Revitalising Distress Assets in the Economy’, which is expected to
limit creation of bad loans. But the challenge of mobilising
deposits will only get bigger. The only way to resolve this problem is
to pay higher rate of interest or increase presence. But...........
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