............The RBI was at a loss when the rupee fell to record lows when the FIIs pulled out of the market after the US Fed hinted that it may unwind its accommodative policy sooner than expected. Clearly, Rajan does not want to commit this mistake, especially at a time when the US Fed has started tapering and also hinted at interest rate increases. So the RBI is now buying dollars to spruce up its reserves. But apart from this, there is one more reason...........
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, March 31, 2014
A sensible intervention
.......But, clearly, the Indian economy, while satisfying the first two criteria, is somewhat fragile on the third. Given that the RBI has apparently hardened its commitment to controlling inflation, it should hardly be expected to throw caution to the wind and risk aggravating the situation again. If it does, in fact, put a premium on.............
Capital challenge
................Former governor D. Subbarao had said in September 2012 that Indian banks would need Rs.5 trillion of new capital to meet global norms. Analysts had pointed out at the time that the government would need to put upRs.90,000 crore in the coming years to maintain its holding in public sector banks. The numbers will be far more...................
Neglected for decades
My View on "Paying RBI governor his due"
Thank you FE for giving space for airing an issue which has been neglected for decades. Some individuals including the previous RBI Governor Dr Subbarao had raised this issue in public and received 'feeble' support from some commentators including economists. If public sector organisations and statutory bodies have to make meaningful contribution to the Indian Growth Story they need to be strengthened by putting in place competent people at the helm-in boards and top level- and a thorough overhaul of HR is overdue at all levels. Market-related remuneration is an integral component of HR Management.
- M G Warrier (Camp: Wynad, Kerala)
RBI: Looking beyond the shock
.........RBI is creating incentives for the sale of stressed assets. However, what has not being adequately recognized is that there isn’t a developed market for stressed assets. Second, the fact of growth global secondary markets, falling asset prices and constrained liquidity will result in banks looking to trade distressed ............
Kadamakkudy panchayat gets its first bank, ATM
..........The declaration as a totally banked district was made by the RBI Governor on the basis of surveys and an intensive campaign undertaken by various banks under the district lead bank scheme. The tag ‘fully banked’ tag is given to those districts with a minimum of 90 per cent of the people having accounts with any bank, according to officials of the lead bank..........
Group Rights are as Important as Individual Rights: Nalsar VC
..........In fact, the collective rights are basic pre-conditions for according individual rights, Nalsar University of Law vice-chancellor Prof Faizan Mustafa has observed. He was delivering CD Deshmukh memorial lecture on ‘Minority rights under Indian Constitution: A trilogy of judicial errors’ here on Saturday. CD Deshmukh was the first Indian governor of the Reserve Bank of India and was known for his deft handling of division of assets and liabilities between India and Pakistan during Partition in 1947.........
Next-Gen Reforms to place Banks on a Sound Footing
...............Parallelly, the RBI is setting up a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits for disseminating credit data — including stress category of the borrower — on all large borrowers to lenders so that recalcitrant borrowers are not able to fleece banks. This signals the dawn of next-gen reforms. With PE firms and large NBFCs — with foreign investors riding on them — coming in as new players and RBI mandating that banks sell even.............
Read - ET
Credit cards back in vogue on payment flexibility
.......“Due to the larger global economy impact, there was a phase where issuers were exercising caution on expansion plans but in the last few months, consumerism has made a comeback. There has been an increase in spends across categories............
Pre-paid card issuers need minimum Rs 5 crore to operate in India
The Reserve Bank of India has raised the minimum capital requirement for pre-paid card issuers five times to Rs 5 crore and told them to maintain a minimum networth of Rs 1 crore.......
Friday, March 28, 2014
Paying RBI governor his due
........RBI should be fully autonomous in terms of pay scales so that there is commensurate reward to the staff as well as incentive for individuals to find the job attractive. Currently, given that the pay could be at 3-5 times in the private sector, it is certainly not attractive in monetary terms, though could be fulfilling otherwise. The institution does provide compensations in terms of generous housing, loans, education allowances, etc, but it does not provide a secure future beyond the public pension schemes. For a governor who has a tenure, unless there is a backup income from the past or in the future, the only motivation could be to steer the ship with limited attention to compensation.............
Core CPI rigidity an important issue: Gokarn
I think the broad thrust of exchange rate policy has not changed for sometime - that is if there is a perception that inflows are robust, are permanent then there would be less inclination to intervene to support - in a sense - to keep the rupee at the levels it is right now. But if there is a perception that this is a short-term windfall kind of a movement then there might be some inclination to shore up reserves in anticipation of the fact that this flow might reverse. So bottomline is................
Strengthening and revitalising rural cooperative credit delivery system - Deepali Pant Joshi
Speech by Dr Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India, at the National Meet of CEOs of State Cooperative Banks, Mumbai, 21 March 2014
.........The Committee on Financial Sector Assessment set up by the Government of India in September 2006, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Rakesh Mohan, looked into the financial health of all the banks including the cooperative banks and made recommendations for improvement of financial health and systems for attaining and maintaining financial stability. A major recommendation of the Committee was to prohibit unlicensed banks from functioning beyond March 2012..................
Change in Mindset is the Key for Financial Inclusion - Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan
.........The bank officials right from top to bottom can do a lot to improve the living conditions of masses and have the satisfaction of serving them in letter and spirit and providing the support system to give a big boost to the economic growth provided they get fully absorbed and involve themselves with commitment in the discharge of their responsibilities. The mandate for this.............
Love for banks, but not bankers
..............Aptly I quote RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, “Our distaste for the banker must not be allowed to destroy the bank.” He wrote this in his column “Love the bank, hate the banker”.
Free health check up for retired MAFS members attached to Bangalore office
The R B I Bengaluru office is arranging for a free Health Check up from Marsh India (their initiative) - "ONLY FOR RETIRED MAFS MEMBERS ATTACHED TO BANGALORE OFFICE". Those retired staff who wish to avail of the above health check-up may get in touch with
Shri Jagadish K | Sr.Relationship Manager
Marsh India Insurance Brokers Private Ltd. | RMZ Millennia 4th Floor, Tower-C Land Wing, Murphy Road Ulsoor, Bangalore 560008
+91 80 41857814 | Fax +91 80 41857801 / 02 | Mobile +91 9739108883 | Email ID: jagadish.k@marsh.com<mailto:ja
As reported by Franklin Randolph frankmisquith@gmail.com
RBI may go for a smaller than 25 bps rate hike: SBI Report
.............However, since RBI has surprised the markets in past few policies, there is a possibility of rates going either side, but with a larger probability of a rate hike, the report said............
Read - ET...........
BJP reiterates stand on new bank licences
.............“We have said earlier and still maintain that it is an issue for the next government. We will closely scrutinise any move by RBI in this direction if it were to happen prior to formation of the 16th Lok Sabha,” ..........
RBI sought EC's nod on bank licence as matter of caution: Rajan
.........."I think (it) is to make sure that any such announcements are not tinged by uncertainty. That's why it is important to ask the Election Commission whether this meets with the code of conduct. "Think of it as caution, you might call the caution excessive but it's important to follow process,".................
RBI extends Basel III deadline to 31 March 2019
...............“Of late, industry-wide concerns have been expressed about the potential stresses on the asset quality and consequential impact on the performance/profitability of the banks. This may necessitate some lead time for banks to raise capital within the internationally agreed timeline for full implementation of the Basel III capital regulations,”..................
Can RBI’s policies alone tackle rising NPAs deftly?
...The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) along with the other regulators, has constantly been trying several policy reforms to deal with the rising NPAs with not much impact. Looking at the current market scenario and various steps taken by RBI, it would be interesting to see, how bad loans can be minimised...........
Should RBI target inflation?
The issue on whether the Reserve Bank of India should target a particular level of inflation in its monetary policy has many disagreeing, including some prominent names. Doing so was one of the key recommendations of the Urjit Patel committee report. It also suggested adopting..............
India needs more disinflationary medicine
..............To understand what RBI may do, one has to look back at the past two monetary policy appraisals in December and January and look at the factors that prompted a pause and a hike in these two instances respectively...................
How to Solve India’s Bad Debt Problem
........Back home, the government and the RBI should facilitate the formation of Namco, with banks as its major and initial shareholders with an equity base of around . 6,000 crore. Namco’s goal should be to resolve the NPA problem. Its main activities will include NPA acquisition, aggregation and resolution, including the sale of businesses, or assets, or management change. Then comes the rehabilitation, recapitalisation and refinancing. It will also be..............
Read - ET
Srei gets RBI nod for 9,000 white label ATMs
.........Srei said it would leverage its over 27,000 IT-enabled Common Service Centres (CSCs) which were already in operation by village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) through Sahaj e-Village Limited. ............
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Getting out of cash- what can banks do?
The mobile is of course just a channel, and adoption of this new way of making payments or even checking your account balance is easy, but only once people have learnt to trust and use the app. While trust will spread by word-of-mouth of satisfied customers, we still don't see massive ad campaigns on using the phone as a quick and easy way to do basic transactions. RBI tells us that 80 banks have been allowed to give mobile banking services, of which 64 have started, but not many banks have ad campaigns out...........
A BANKER YOU JUST COULD NOT IGNORE
Reserve Bank of India deputy governor KC Chakrabarty, who will quit in April, evoked love and hate in equal measure. He often took on the might of the establishment, but will be remembered for making banking more customer-friendly. He also passionately believed in financial inclusion, writes Sangita Mehta........
Read - TOI
Obiturary
Smt Sunanda Deole, wife of Shri Ratnakar Deole, Ex-CGM, Premises Department passed away early morning on 26th March 2014 in Singapore after a brief Illness. May her Soul rest in peace.
Shri Deole can be contacted on ratnakar_deole@hotmail.com
Monday, January 6, 2014
Choosing what works best for us - DR. N. A. MUJUMDAR
......Depending on the structure and needs of the economy, the country’s banking system should be dynamic and competitive, to cater to the diverse needs of the economy. It may be recalled that the doctrine of ‘ too big to fail’ banks dominated the American financial scenario at one point of time. Banks were encouraged to grow to unwieldy sizes. The global financial crisis of 2008 exploded the myth. Giants like Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers and the AIG, fell like a pack of cards. Have we learnt any lessons from this crisis? Apparently not..........
Nationality details of RBI governor cannot be given: Cab Secy
.........The reply was sent to activist Subhash Agrawal in response to his RTI application seeking to know whether Rajan has American nationality at present or at some time earlier along with relevant details. He also sought complete information on nationality of Rajan from his birth till date mentioning dates of change of his nationality and whether rules permit a person with nationality other than Indian to become RBI Governor.........
RBI Deputy Guv Sinha may Stay On as OSD to Help with New Bank Licences
.........However, since Sinha will be appointed as consultant to RBI after his current term ends, the government can go ahead with appointment of a new deputy governor to replace him. The appointments committee had last week interviewed RBI’s Executive Directors and potential candidates – G Gopalakrishna, R Gandhi, P Vijaya Bhaskar, Deepak Mohanti and B Mahapatra..............
Read - ET
RBI’s strange ways
.....These are neither attractive nor acceptable to the middle class and lower middle class, which include retired persons and pensioners, as they involve cumbersome procedures, offer unattractive rate of return, do not................
VITALINFO - Past perfect, future????
I got relieved from CAB on January 3, 2014 for being transferred to Mumbai. A warm farewell was given by CAB staff.
New Year resolutions never made
Following are the New Year resolutions never made by commercial bankers, regulators and other finance professionals in 2014:....
Is It Complete Breakdown of Co-ordination between IBA and UFBU or Match Fixing Between Two ?
....Thus, we can conclude that there is complete breakdown of co-ordination between IBA and UFBU and the strike, which is likely to be held on 20th and 21st January, will not have any impact on IBA and bankers are likely to merely lose their wages for two days as UFBU's main agenda is to meet the demands of Left Parties i.e. oppose the bank reforms. As in the past, Unions will continue to make fool of their cadre and without much results to their credit and keep IBA land GoI is good humour................
Bank employees to go on 2-day strike from January 20: UFBU
........UFBU national convener M V Murali on Sunday said the Centre and the Indian Banks Association have failed to settle the 14-month long pending demand of 32 per cent wage revision for about a million strong staff in the banking sector. He also urged the government to immediately halt the ongoing reforms in the banking sector, as it would pave way for the entry of a large number of foreign banks..............
WHAT IS THE LIKELY DEARNESS ALLOWANCE INCREASE?
........The exact increase for DA cannot be given at this stage as GOI has yet to announce the CPI for the month of December 2013. However, based on the CPI already announced for the month of October 2013 and November, 2013, we are doing this guess work. The CPI announced and projected so far are as follows:-..............
Desirable for RBI itself to make an internal assessment
My View on "4 Factors That Will Decide Raghuram Rajan's Report...":
The draft Indian Financial Code written by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission(FSLRC) which defined the objectives of the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) asunder, practically ignored the evolution of RBI and the present Indian context of financial sector regulatory environment:
(a) formulate and implement monetary policy; and
(b) carry on other activities of a central bank, including –
(i) to issue currency of India;
(ii) to transact certain business of the Central Government and the State
Government, as contained in section 348 and section 349 respec- 10
tively; and
(iii) to act as banker to banking service providers.
The FSLRC would have perceived things differently, if it had recalled the preamble of the RBI Act, 1934 which read asunder:
“…And whereas in the present disorganization of the monetary systems of the world it is not possible to determine what will be suitable as a permanent basis for the Indian monetary system;
But whereas it is expedient to make temporary provision on the basis of the existing monetary system, and to leave the question of the monetary standard best suited to India to be considered when the international monetary position has become sufficiently clear and stable to make it possible to frame permanent measures;
It is hereby enacted as follows: -”
Beyond some cut and paste, because of changes in the institutional structure in the financial sector or external policy compulsions, the RBI Act has not yet been subjected to the comprehensive review, envisaged in its preamble. Still, it may not be administratively expedient or even desirable to dismantle or truncate RBI as proposed by FSLRC now. Efforts should be made to improve the existing structure and mandate.
As legislative procedure and government action in the present scenario would be slow, it would be desirable for RBI itself to make an internal assessment of its responsibilities in regard to monetary policy vis a vis various other additional responsibilities such as developmental role, institution-building and management of public debt thrust on it by history.
- M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram
My View on "IBA Protests RBI’s Diktat on Policy Sales":
Fools tread in where angels fear to tread as the saying goes. Banks are struggling to train their system driven staff in banking domain. Now they should train their staff in insurance products too and get into broking business. It is time that the Finance Ministry that makes furious sounds gets off the hook of banking as recommended by Narasimham Committee - 1 and allow them to do their banking business with responsibility and accountability.
- Yerram Raju
RBI - Too slow to help consumers
.....So how does the new BCSBI code help, especially since it is non-mandatory? This is where the Office of the Banking Ombudsman comes in. A violation of the BCSBI code is a cause for you to complain to the banking ombudsman, governed by rules set by the RBI that are amended from time to time. The banking ombudsman scheme suffered from many limitations. Its ambit did not include internet banking frauds or mis-selling of third-party products - areas in which the customer is most vulnerable and the bank has complete protection from virtually any kind of complaint. The banking ombudsman cannot even decide on complaints involving more than Rs 10 lakh. These - and other - limitations make the scheme a limited forum for customer issues, even as ...........
New channel to reach the doorstep of customers
..........The RBI feels mobile banking has the potential to be one of the key tools for achieving financial inclusion in the country. But low levels of awareness and acceptance and factors such as inability of banks to “seed the mobile number with the account number,” handset compatibility issues, absence of collaboration and revenue-sharing models between banks and mobile network operators, are affecting the growth of this channel.........
RBI norms for foreign banks are a 'valuable step': USIBC
........“By clarifying that a one-size-fits-all model will not be employed, RBI has once again proven its long-standing reputation of being a measured, highly respected institution which takes into consideration all stakeholders including consumers,” USIBC President Ron Somers told...........
Mounting Non Performing Assets - Who's footing the bill? - M.G.Warrier
..........Promising the regulator’s help, ‘with every means at central bank’s disposal’, the governor reminded bankers of their duty to help those with genuine difficulty, while being firm with those who are trying to milk the system. As regards the approach of regulators towards failure on part of the borrowers in repaying loans on due dates, there has been consistency all through. In 1989, the Agricultural Credit Review Committee (ACRC) had made the following observation on ‘overdues’......
Banks seek leeway from RBI
.........According to bankers, their views has been conveyed to RBI through the Indian Banks' Association (IBA). "This move will bring all bankers together at an early stage for the formation of a joint lenders' forum. We will also conduct workshops to take the idea forward. This will ensure smooth implementation of the initiative," said IBA Chief Executive Mohan Tanksale...............
Fake notes eat into trade margins
.......With rising instances of FICNs surfacing at many places, many are bearing the loss themselves with neither the police nor the bankers announcing any standard operative procedures to help them. Recently, the FICN menace hit the consumers of Cell One subscribers, who went to pay their bills at its customer service centre on SP Road in Secunderabad. The centre staff refused to accept currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination unless the customers agreed to fill in a form giving their details and the numbers of the notes............
Indian digital currency company suspends launch, awaits RBI guidelines
......The Reserve Bank of India had earlier issued a statement in which it had "cautioned the users, holders and traders of Virtual Currencies (VCs), including Bitcoins, about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to". Daki has written to the RBI twice, once before the raids and once after, but has not received a response. "We are not going to launch Laxmi Coin unless clear guidelines from RBI (which) are published. Coming to the raid, we see it as very constructive development in multiple ways. First, it shows that digital currency has received much awaited attention from RBI. Today or tomorrow RBI has to add more clarity on the digital currency framework and allowed mode of operation. Second, it's good that RBI is alert enough and .........
Make CPI-linked bonds lot more customer-friendly
............There are very many manifestations of this approach. There is practically no one to lobby for depositors with banks. At the time of credit policy statements of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), there is always a clamour for lower interest rates on loans but seldom if ever for higher deposit rates. In fact, banks cannot increase deposit rates and simultaneously keep their loan rates low. A fair deal for deposit-holders is not on anyone’s agenda even though in that category are some of the most vulnerable sections such as pensioners..........
IT-enabled services from Vijaya Bank
.......Some of the facilities provided are: the customer can maintain the passbook details of multiple accounts, make personal notes on each passbook entries, maintain personal accounts and tag transactions of passbook to it, record transactions occurring outside the bank in these personal accounts, a mini version of bank’s website with links to main site and inbox facility to receive important messages from the bank with links to get details from bank’s website.
Other facilities..........
FedBook replaces traditional passbook
..........FedBook is the electronic version of a traditional bank pass book, a first-of- its-kind product ever launched by a bank for its customers. FedBook can be carried in one’s mobile or tablet. It helps customers view all transactions in their bank accounts. The application is user-friendly, secure and enables real-time access to transactions on a 24x7 basis, which liberates users from the restrictions of business-hours and bank holidays.......
Saturday, January 4, 2014
IIM-B prof wants ATMs at temples, post offices
........... If Dr. Charan Singh, who heads the RBI chair in the campus has his way, you will soon find ATM installations at temples, post offices, and petrol pumps. The reason? These are all locations highly frequented by people with provisions for better security..................
4 Factors That Will Decide Raghuram Rajan's Report Card in 2014
There are four elements of the report card that we would write in December 2014. How much has year-on-year CPI inflation declined? Did the exchange rate hijack monetary policy? Has the bond-currency-derivatives nexus started thriving, with liquidity and market efficiency? Has substantial implementation of the Indian Financial Code taken place?
RBI's Mohanty reviews policy through crisis years
India's central bank joined its counterparts around the world in using unconventional monetary policy to tackle the financial crisis, and the effects of Fed taper
Deepak Mohanty, Executive Director at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gave a speech last week outlining the measures taken by the Indian central bank both to tackle the global financial crisis and then to deal with the prospect of Fed tapering last year. The Reserve Bank, he said, "like most other central banks, took a number of conventional and unconventional measures to limit the adverse impact of the contagion on the Indian financial markets and the economy". The measures, Mohanty pointed out, were "supported by fiscal stimulus packages" funded by government borrowing. These measures, he said, caused growth to bounce back quickly but inflation also picked up, so "the policy focus shifted to exit from accommodative monetary policy in a calibrated manner starting in October 2009. To begin with all special liquidity measures were withdrawn, which was followed by hikes in policy rate. As the real policy rate turned positive it started to have an impact on inflation". As economic conditions appeared to be stabilising, volatility in the financial market returned following the announcement in May 2013 of the Fed's intention of likely tapering of QE. "This prompted the Reserve Bank to resort to somewhat unconventional monetary policy measures," he said, including imposing restrictions on gold imports and liberalising the rules for banks borrowing overseas.
Will Urjit Patel committee overhaul monetary policy framework?
........The key question is whether the committee will emphasise on ending the discretionary monetary policy framework – in which multiple instruments are used to address a specific issue -- to a rule based framework that gives lesser headroom for maneuvering. While it may not be possible to shift..........
Benchmark panel seeks tweak in RBI Act
........ “The benchmark calculation may be based on observable transactions, wherever available, as the first layer of input subject to appropriate threshold criteria. The executable bids and offers, wherever available, subject to appropriate threshold and polled submissions, may be used as second and third layer of inputs respectively, in terms of hierarchy of inputs,” ............
RBI’s inflation index bonds deadline extended to 31st March
RBI’s inflation indexed bonds will be available till 31st March. The earlierdeadline was 31st December. Is the extension due to poor response?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for its Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities-Cumulative (IINSS-C) securities subscription to 31 March 2014 from 31st December. The issuance can be closed earlier than 31st March with a prior notice............
Shiv Kala fraud: RBI, NHB tightlipped
.........When contacted, the chairman and managing director of NHB, R V Verma, refused to comment. RBI, too, has maintained a studied silence over the issue. Despite repeated emails from HT Estates to the RBI asking for information on any disciplinary action taken against the bank officials involved, the apex bank, apart from acknowledging receipt of mails, did not respond to the queries. .............
Early warning system to help SBI zero in on stressed loans
..........The system will be capable of generating event-based SMS/e-mail alerts on, among other things, a delay of 45 days or more in submission of stock statements; delay of 90 days or more in submission of credit monitoring or financial statements; actual sales/operating profits falling short of projections accepted for loan sanction by 40 per cent or more.........
International roaming for debit, credit cards soon?
.............The Mumbai police have written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), urging it to make it mandatory for a person to make a formal request to the bank before using credit or debit cards overseas, just like it's done for mobile phone connections. At present, Mumbai tops the list of most online frauds and cyber crimes than any other state in India. .........
Trade unions demand 9% return on PF deposits
......Apart from the interest rate, the Trustees in the first such meeting this fiscal, are also expected to take up a host of proposals including a revamped investment pattern for the EPF. The new pattern, which is based on the finance ministry’s investment pattern for pension and provident fund trusts, 2008, envisages raising the cap on investments in PSU and private sector corporate bonds to 55 per cent but has refrained from investing in equities...........
Indian Overseas Bank launches IOB-Connect card
Targetting young individuals, public sector Indian Overseas Bank today launched 'Connect Card', a new ATM cum Debit card in association with VISA that can be used for e-commerce across five lakh merchant outlets............
Bitcoins: missing the real revolution
..........There are two aspects to bitcoins: one as the digital currency that uses complex mathematical functions to be acquired, moved around and secured; the other as the transaction verification system. The former is the honey that attracts the bees, the occupant of mainstream imagination; the latter is the hive of the future, the real revolution...............
Cashew exporters’ meet
....C.V George, General Manager (Foreign Exchange Department), RBI, Kochi, said commercial banks should guide exporters in the procedural matters apart from rendering good customer service and providing adequate credit to increase export opportunities...........
Friday, January 3, 2014
Anticipating a framework
...............RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's initial brief to the committee was that it should take such recommendations into account in designing the framework. A second and persistent criticism of the RBI's approach has been its use of the wholesale price index (WPI) as the benchmark for inflation, when virtually all other central banks use .........
2014 may not see interest rate reversal
.......... The divergence between core WPI and core CPI has increased so much that I do not think there will be any drastic action in interest rates. But if RBI wants to see the transmission to happen, then it will have to control liquidity. There may be CRR increase of 50 basis points this year to tighten the liquidity so that transmission will happen. RBI may go for........
The Missing Piece in Bancassurance
...True,
there is a vacuum in most banks following large-scale retirements, and
there are daunting issues of training many new recruits on banking
aspects. It is, therefore, unrealistic to expect the frontline staff to
become experts at suggesting insurance solutions for multiple insurers
in the near future. While our extensive banking network should aid
greater insurance penetration, this cannot be achieved by compelling all
PSBs to become insurance brokers overnight. It has to be a............
Read - ET
Reserve Bank plans to test-market plastic currency this year
You may be carrying plastic money in your wallet till now in the form of credit and debit cards but soon you will also have a `10 plastic note by your side. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is mulling over the introduction of plastic currency to resolve the issue of wear and tear of paper notes. Plastic notes will increase the life of a note. RBI is planning a pilot project of `10 notes and will print such notes worth `100 crore. It has completed the process of issuing tenders for this purpose. In an exclusive chat with Zee Business, RBI deputy governor, K C Chakrabarthy (pictured)said, “We are starting on trial with one ........
Fears over scribbled notes despite RBI clarification
.......... The RBI has clarified it has not issued any such instruction,” said the RBI, in a notification on New Year ’s Eve. However, many people complained that shopkeepers have stopped accepting notes with scribbles, stating that they were now out of circulation owing to an RBI directive. Kanchan Bisht, a Delhi resident, said: “While paying my electricity bill, the official refused to accept a scribbled note and said such notes are no more valid. Then I was told that the RBI has issued some instructions in this regard.”..........
Ease in getting student loan
.........The committee, headed Damodar Acharya, Director on RBI’s Central Board has asked the banks to create awareness among students and their parents regarding education loan by organizing several camps and guide them about loan recovery and sanction process. Further the committee recommended that..........
More points to pension this year
.....“A few years back, NPS wasn’t very popular. In fact, if you look at the number of subscribers you would still find it small. But this year (2013), we have seen the popularity surging. People are realizing the need to invest for retirement and are increasingly becoming aware of NPS’ benefits. From here on, we should see more people lining up for NPS,” ............
BCSBI’s code of banks’ commitment to MSMEs is a mere lip service
.............. This is not the only issue. Getting a loan application acknowledged is also a gigantic task. Looking at the issues faced by MSMEs inborrowing money from banks, one really wonders as to why this happens, when there is a code of banks’ commitment to micro and small enterprises. These codes are set by Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI). Let us look at some of these codes to see how seriously these codes are followed by the banks:..........
National Payments Corporation of India convenes banks' meet on ATM charges
........Most public sector banks are against a hike in charges. This is because on a net basis they end up paying for their customers using ATMs of other banks. Such banks are referred to as net issuers as the cards they have issued exceed the number of ATMs required to service them.........
Banks free to charge 'reasonable ATM fees': RBI
: Amid growing clamour from banks to charge customers for transactions at ATMs to make them economically viable, RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty today said the regulator will have no objections if the lenders charge "reasonable fee" for such services. "If banks charge a reasonable fee on ATM transactions then the RBI will have no objections," Chakrabarty, in charge of banking services at RBI, told reporters on the sidelines of an event here this evening...........
Taxmen train eyes on Bitcoin community
.........The ‘visits’ by I-T department come a few days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided India’s biggest Bitcoin trading platform and a week after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued an advisory that warned the public of the risks involved with virtual currencies. A team of close to 15 tax officials `visited’ Tumkur-based Coin Monk Ventures, a Bitcoin mining start-up that creates the digital currency, on Wednesday.........
Do you have good banking habits? A checklist!
Banks are the safe haven for parking one’s money and debit cards are a boon to avoid carrying bulky purses and wallets while also ensuring increased saving. However, banks have strict regulations which have been put in place to protect their own interest as well as those of the customer. If the customer breaks any of the regulations they are levied a penalty which can be an expensive affair and eat into the profit you earn in the form of interest when you maintain a balance in the savings bank account. We discuss here the bad money practices that might invite additional bank fees.........
Why FinMin wants public sector lenders to rush into selling insurance
...........Why is the finance ministry asking banks to open broking shops? Bankers said, one of the reasons might be the non-performing asset (NPA) norms. In the draft guidelines, one of the eligibility criteria is that, the net non-performing assets of a bank should be less than three per cent for the previous financial year...........
IBA Protests RBI’s Diktat on Policy Sales
....Indeed,
chief executives of many PSU banks had expressed reservation over the
finance ministry ruling during a meeting in Mumbai last week. Also, IBA,
in a letter to the finance ministry, pointed out that since many banks
have exclusive tie-ups with insurance companies, it would be difficult
for banks to follow this mandate..........
SBI, AXIS, ICICI and UCO Bank are charging for IMPS transactions
.....The RBI policy of forbearance (allowing bankers to decide charges themselves) with regard to service charges leads to the frequent hikes in banking service charges. Banks are charging money for almost every small transaction or service they offer........
An Indian women's commission wants to restrict gold at weddings
...........the Kerala State Women's Commission is proposing a law that would restrict the amount of gold that can be used in a wedding – limiting what a bride and groom can each wear. C Rosakutty of the Commission said the measure "may reduce the affinity to wear the gold." The Reserve Bank of India sees gold as a major contributor to the country's current account deficit and has been implementing a series of measures aimed at reducing imports...............
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