RBI Retirees - A Hapless Lot - P.P.Ramachandran

My View on Is there any hope for Relief for RBI Retiree's? - Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan

Please refer to the strong indictment of RBI Governor and  Government of India by Dr. T.V.Gopalakrishnan. I had sent two appeals to Governor Duvvuri Subbarao on  30-3--2012  and 20--2--2013 where I  had brought out vividly the pitiable condition of Retirees. I had pointed out in my first letter that " Retirees are perishing like "Flies in a Forest Fire" I gave a list of Fifty retirees who had died recently (by that date) . My second letter  provided another list of 100 Departed Retirees.  A fresh list beyond  February 2013 will yield another 100 names. I am too much consumed by anguish to prepare this new list of Departees.  All of them and the rest of the surviving retirees have given their "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat" for this august institution. The lists include several who have rendered outstanding service to  RBI  and were treated with great honour and considerable respect during their service. But the years they have spent in retirement has been one of precipitous decline into despair. Sans doubt the utterly dissatisfied souls of these 250 persons are hovering over the Corridors of Power in  RBI. The Government of India has taken good care of its retirees and treated R B I retirees with contempt and disdain. Secretary after succeeding Secretary has contributed confusion and delay to the upholding of our right. With a Governor like Dr. Raghuram Rajan--a person of international repute--it would be a mere act of will by him to solve problems of Retirees and allow them to spend happily their last few days on this desolate planet. They are fast dwindling race ! 

- P.P.Ramachandran

Bank unions meet FM, press for early wage revision

............Jaitley assured representatives of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) Financial Services Secretary R S Sandhu would look into the matter and the settlement process expedited, union leaders said. General secretaries of nine employee unions under the UFBU were present at the meeting,........

Read | Business Standard

RBI to work on July 1 during annual closing of accounts

.........."On a review and in order to facilitate the settlement of market transactions as also to aid the transactions of the general public, the Reserve Bank of India has decided that it will remain open even for public transactions on July 1, 2014,"..............

Read - Business Today

Financial inclusion in mind, RBI turns to UID

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Unique Identity (UID) project, or Aadhaar, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is testing a mobile-based payments system linked to this platform. Remittances through this platform skip the traditional banking channel and ..............

Read | Business Standard

'Locking the stable when the horse has bolted'

My View on "Fix Aadhaar, don’t junk it": 

There is some merit in fearing that Aadhaar enrollment of citizens and non-citizens has enabled the non-citizens to become citizens in a dubious manner. This is a serious issue and the UPA govt / UIDAI should have addressed it before implementing the programme. Mr Nilenkani has failed to address this issue and he was only keen on announcing numbers of cards issued and getting the credit for the speedy implementation of the programme. It is the sad reflection of the educated like Mr Nilenkani and the UPA govt in not envisaging this problem and even after knowing about it their failure to address it. It is not clear how many of those 63 crore enrolled are non-citizens. Now, attempting to rectify it is like 'locking the stable when the horse has already bolted'. It is virtually impossible to track the non-citizens from among the Aadhaar card holders. Until this issue is resolved, Aadhaar card programme should not be continued lest it would endanger the security of our country. 

- S.Santhanam

WKH financial awareness camp

.........Addressing the gathering, AGM, RBI Shillong, C. Sangpu Vaiphei said that the main objective of the camp was to create awareness on financial and banking related matters so as to achieve 100% financial inclusion in the village within a short span of time. He also emphasized the benefit of having Basic Saving Bank Deposit Account,...........

Read - The Shillong Times

RBI to tighten prudential norms for 'important' banks

...............Based on their systemic importance scores, banks will be plotted into different buckets and D-SIBs will be required to have an additional common equity Tier 1 capital requirement ranging from 0.20 per cent to 0.80 per cent of the risk-weighted assets. “D-SIBs will also be subjected to differentiated supervisory requirements and higher intensity of supervision based on the risks that they pose to the financial system. The names of the banks classified as D-SIBs will be disclosed in August every year starting from 2015,”.........

Read - FE

Regular workshops for banks, FIs needed on credit appraisal processes: RBI

.........The abovementioned directive is part of the recommendations of the Committee to Recommend Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information Companies (CICs). The RBI has now asked banks/financial institutions/ CICs to implement 11 of the recommendations. The RBI said banks/FIs should include in their credit appraisal processes/ loan policies, suitable provisions for obtaining CIRs from one or more CICs so that the credit decisions are based on information available in the system..........

Read - HBL

Rajan seen succeeding as bad loans of banks fall from eight-year high

Bad loans in India are falling from an eight-year high in an early sign of success for central bank governor Raghuram Rajan’s push to strengthen the nation’s financial system. Non-performing debt as a proportion of total advances fell to 4% as of March 31 from 4.2% in September, which was the highest since 2005-2006, the Reserve Bank of India said in a report..........

Read - DNA

Waiver - its deviation from normal practice

My View on "Farm loan waiver: Telangana, AP struggle for resou...": 

The posture of the RBI on loans is well anticipated. Even agreeing to rescheduling should be considered a deviation from the normal practice. Agricultural loans become overdue only when the loans remain unpaid continuously for two successive crop seasons. The Banks have not put out in public domain nor did the State governments of AP and Telangana as to how many borrowers would have not repaid two successive crop loans or two installments continuously on the agricultural term loans that became coincidental to the crop loan dues. As on 30th September 2014, the NPAs in Agricultural segment of the then combined AP was just Rs.3800 crores!! 

- Dr.Yerram Raju

Stringent guidelines for wilful defaulters on the cards

............The move to revisit wilful defaults comes at a time when non-performing assets (NPAs) in the banking system have seen a steep rise. According to RBI data, as of March 31 this year, gross NPAs in the banking system accounted for four per cent of gross advances, while net NPAs accounted for 2.2 per cent. Earlier, ...........

Read | Business Standard

Banks should give monthly data about wilful defaulters: RBI

...............According to the new regulations, banks will have to furnish data on wilful defaulters of Rs 25 lakh and above for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, and of Rs 1 crore and above for the half year ended December 31, 2014, to credit information firms, and not to RBI.............

Read | Business Standard

Sanjeev Kumar Gupta takes over as new ED at Axis Bank

.........Currently, Gupta is the President & CFO of the bank. In his new role Gupta will be involved in the bank's overall strategy and will also be responsible for the key corporate functions, the bank said............

Read | Business Standard

Fewer women have relationship with banks: Usha Ananthasubramanian

.........She also spoke about the distinction between Bharatiya Mahila Bank and other public sector banks in India. Though the bank invited deposits from all genders and was open to doing business in all strata of the society, it addressed unique needs of women by providing a variety of products oriented towards helping women entrepreneurs and working women.............

Read - HBL

Bharatiya Mahila Bank inks pact with GCCI to encourage women entrepreneurs

......As per the terms of MoU, BMB and GCCI-BWW would jointly conduct training workshops for GCCI-BWW members on the procedure for availing financial assistance. BMB will set up a simplified application process for loans of less than Rs 5 lakh by the GCCI-BWW members..............

Read - HBL

Madhu Kapur challenges YES bank AGM resolutions

............Madhu Kapur, the second-largest shareholder of YES Bank, filed an amended suit in the high court here on Friday, challenging the resolutions passed at YES Bank's annual general meeting (AGM) on June 14. Kapur has challenged the appointment of directors and the reappointment of Rana Kapoor as managing director and chief executive......

Read | Business Standard

Credit card spends & limits record an uptick

........Industry experts explain that though the number of credit card base is not increasing at a faster than expected rates the spend per card have been definitely increasing at a very rapid space. However, banks seem unfazed by this, as the idea now seems to be on increasing the spend per card than just increasing the number of cards, explain industry experts.............

Read | Business Standard

Stable Government Brightens Economic Recovery Prospect: RBI

......"Going forward, with the formation of a stable government, the prospects of recovery appear bright," the RBI said in the report. "However, supply side constraints need to be addressed to complement the Reserve Bank's efforts to contain inflation expectations." Those constraints largely refer to bottlenecks in food supplies..............

Read..........

Both Srikrishna, Guv are Wrong - P K BISWAS

This refers to `Why Rajan is Wrong' (ET, Jun 26). Historically, society has always shackled innovation and change through legislation. B N Srikrishna should realise that universal medicine by way of legislation does not cure all ailments. Legislative restrictions directly or indirectly curb the need to innovate and, consequently , deprive society of fresh thoughts and approaches like a river being deprived of supply of fresh water. On his part, Raghuram Rajan should realise that autonomy does not grant licence to act as one likes, and any action is always subject to scrutiny . Deeds must be evaluated in terms of motives and achievements, and actions should not be washed away in the name of independent thinking. The balance between the two approaches decides the success or failure of an institution.  
- P K BISWAS Former Executive Director , RBI Mumbai
ET

Views can change with positions

My View on "Why Rajan is Wrong?": 

In a fast changing world, it is futile to scare people by quoting the positions they might have taken in a different context in the previous decade. This applies to economists and politicians too. One should go by the spirit of the following observation made by Dr Rajan in his June 17 speech:

"More broadly, the FSLRC seems to have a somewhat idealistic view of the benefits of reorganization. It seems to believe that once activities are combined in an organization, synergies can be fully exploited while if they exist in separate organizations, synergies will not be exploited. I too shared such a view, but I now believe it is too extreme. Silos within a large bureaucratic regulator may prevent synergies from being exploited, while frequent inter-regulatory meetings can allow regulators to capture many of available synergies between their activities. Indeed, one particularly useful proposal by the FSLRC is to put the Financial Sector Development Council on a firmer footing. It is a good venue for inter-regulatory cooperation, and its benefits are further augmented by personal interactions." 

- M.G.Warrier

Beyond Rights and Wrongs

Raghuram Rajan, in his June 17 speech, had focused only on RBI, but `Why Rajan is Wrong' has used Sebi experiences and sanctity of “rule of law“ to conclude that he is wrong. The statement, “We reject Rajan's claim that the regulator must continue to have discretionary powers and should not be answerable,“ doesn't go well with Rajan's observation, “Am I arguing that no checks and balances are needed? Certainly not! But there are already checks and balances in place, including re view by con stitutional courts like high courts through writ petitions. Senior officers of the regulator are appointed, and can be removed, by the government. The FSLRC recommends an annual report to Parliament, as well as regular discussions with parliamentarians. These are good suggestions, which would add to oversight.“ The FSLRC report had dissenting notes from members K J Udeshi, P J Nayak and Y H Malegam. In effect, other than the chairman and the member-secretary , only two members had gone with the FSLRC report in its entirety . 
- M G WARRIER Mumbai

ET

Is there any hope for Relief for RBI Retiree's? - Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan

.....RBI has the money and  the authority to grant the updation but it prefers to remain silent  and dance to the tune of the MoF for reasons unknown to the retirees but  perhaps well known only to  the top management. After the departure of Dr Jalan, two Governors have come and gone and they had very diplomatically side tracked the issue ..........

Read.......

Financial inclusion seminar on Jun 27

..........The workshop will revolve around participative panel discussions on the various aspects of the importance and need of Financial Inclusion, challenges and way forward, followed by a one-to-one interaction between bankers and various stakeholders. Through this release ICC welcomes delegates for participation. Dr. Jayanta Madhab, Ex- Economic & Financial Adviser to Chief Minister, Govt. of Assam will address as the Chief Guest while  Guest of Honour Shri. MTM Guite, AGM-Financial Literacy Cell, RBI will speak on Reserve Bank of India regulations. Special Address on Financial Inclusion in North East – Perspective of NABARD will be delivered by Mr. A.P. Sandilya, Chief General Manager, NABARD,...............

Read - Assam Times

Financial Literacy in Rural Banking

...........The conception of financial literacy, as reflected in the Reserve Bank of India's Financial Literacy Guide, is packed with stereotypes of the poor as ignorant and in need of moral lessons on savings, consumption and credit. Financial literacy has to be positioned within a broader conceptual view of the financial system, so as to become a tool to raise critical consciousness and equip people to respond to the challenges posed by the financial sector. Further, financial literacy material must evolve from below, such that lives of the common people are organically a part of it. This paper also hints that........................

Read...........

Spl Teams Rush to AP to Nab Ex-RBI Staff's Killer

CHENNAI: The city police, probing the murder of an ex-RBI staff, on Wednesday rushed a team to Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh based on specific input about the killers’ location. Meharunisha (55) was found dead by her husband Ali Mohammed Sayeed around 2.15 pm on Tuesday on the II floor of their residence. The ground and first floors of the house in Triplicane were being used to run a printing press business.............

Read - The New Indian Express

Hike tax exemption on bank deposit interest to Rs 25K: AIBEA

Bank employees body AIBEA has demanded an increase in the exemption of tax on interest earned on bank deposits to Rs 25,000 from Rs 10,000 at present from the government in its maiden Budget next month. The limit of Rs 10,000 was fixed about a decade ago and hence needs to be revised, because bank deposits are the only source of income for senior citizens and retired employees, All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam told PTI......

Read - HBL

Allahabad Bank plans to hire 1,100 people this fiscal

..While 600-odd recruitments would be made at the officer level; the remaining 500 would be clerical staff, Rakesh Sethi, Chairman and Managing Director, Allahabad Bank, said........

Read - HBL

IBPS recruitment poses language hurdle to banks

........Appointment of people who speak languages other than Kannada to Karnataka, has created a road block in communication between farmers and bank officials. Earlier, the selection of bank employees who interacted with the agricultural community was done through campus interviews. Now, they are selected through the IBPS examinations held all over the country. This issue was highlighted at ......

Read | Business Standard

SBI's Budget wishlist: Target job creation, MSMEs, infra

........If you look at the agriculture side also, if you look at the reports that have come from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and otherwise, in agriculture we have been told in India the problem is fragmented land holding. Now, that is not really something that we should take as a given because if you consider China, they too have fragmented land holding then how is it that their productivity is from 6 to 190 percent more?...........

Read.......

Relief for Customers In Credit Card Fraud

........Bank customers have often disputed transactions shown on their credit card bills and declined to pay. This has resulted in banks levying late-payment penalty. The new rule is announced by the Banking Cdes and Standard Board of India (BCSBI) that works to protect customer rights. It makes banks responsible to find evidence that the customer had authorised and was responsible for the disputed transactions.........

Read - ET

World Bank, IMF and USOTA to assisit India to set up non legislative financial bodies

...........The government has decided to rope in international bodies for seeking assistance for the establishment of three different entities - Public Debt office, Resolution Corporation and Financial Data Management Centre.  These are three among the four task forces to be set up as envisaged under the recommendation of the Financial SectorLegislative Reforms Commission.  The ministry of finance is in process of signing an agreement with .........

Read | Business Standard

Farm loan waiver: Telangana, AP struggle for resources

.............According to government sources, the RBI is willing to consider the reschedulement of agri loans only if the government agrees to arrange for the repayment within one year. The expert panel constituted by the AP government met RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday to ask for rescheduling. However, no clear assurance came from the RBI even though one of the panel members, when contacted, said the regulator was in principle agreeable to the reschedulement............

Read | Business Standard

RBI concerned at loan insurance, wants lending by cos in segment monitored

..............RBI said the lending activity of insurance companies, mainly life insurance ones, while not very large in comparison to total banking sector lending, is nevertheless significant. The amount was Rs 88,870 crore as at end-March, less than five per cent of the assets under management of insurance companies. A significant portion of these are secured against the surrender values of life insurance policies. “While the risk management framework and exposure limits (single issuer, group, and industry) are in place for insurance companies, there is a need to plug the possibility of any regulatory arbitrage by closely aligning the practices and regulations applicable to lending by insurance companies with those by banks,” said RBI in its report...........

Read | Business Standard

NBFCs outside regulatory ambit may pose risk to financial system

...........A Shadow Banking Implementation Group carried out a preliminary study of such institutions and recommended that they be brought under some regulation. It found that there was a high degree of heterogeneity in business models and risk profiles across various non-banking financial entities in the organised as well as the unorganised (informal) sectors. It also identified “exempted” provident funds, unregulated chit funds, co-operative and credit societies and primary agricultural credit societies as groups of institutions that need a greater degree of oversight. “The study stresses on the need .......

Read - HBL

RBI advice on bank cash course

...............In his foreword, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said the financial system remained stable, though public sector banks faced some major challenges, mainly in terms of asset quality and liquidity. Macro stress tests show that the system level capital to risk-weighted assets ratio of banks remains well above the regulatory minimum even under adverse macroeconomic conditions, said the report............

Read - The Telegraph

RBI sees better days ahead for economy

................The overall tone of the report reflected optimism generated by the thumping majority scored by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently-concluded general elections. "Going forward, with the formation of a stable government, the prospects of recovery appear bright," the RBI said. The central bank drew comfort from reduction in both fiscal and current account deficits and moderation of consumer price index (CPI) -based inflation..................

Read | Business Standard

RBI: Policy coordination needed to reduce global spillover effects

................In the Report, the RBI said that in the absence of global policy coordination, cooperation and global safety nets, EMDEs may have to resort to less than optimal policy options such as strong macro-prudential measures including capital controls and reserve accumulation. “With their enormous clout, countries whose currencies serve as reserve assets can induce negative externalities on EMDEs through changes in their monetary policies,” it said.............

Read - HBL

CS emphasizes need to regulate NBFCs, protect investor

........The meeting convened by Reserve Bank of India was attended by Principal Secretary Home, Suresh Kumar, Regional Director RBI, K K Saraf, Secretary Law, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, IGP, Arun Chowdhary, IGP CID, Dr B. Srinivas, General Manager, RBI, Jammu A.K Mattu, Chief Financial Consultant, Ravi Mangotra and representatives from SEBI, NHB, ICAI, and Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs and other senior officers. Chief Secretary while receiving brief on the status of registered Non-Banking Financial Companies in the State emphasized the need for regulation of this sector and priority to protect the interests of the depositors. He called for greater coordination between the Reserve Bank and the other regulatory..........

Read - Greater Kashmir

SLR may be cut further

............."As the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) requirement increases progressively, RBI may consider it desirable to further reduce the pre-emption of banks' resources through the stipulation of SLR in gradual steps, along with a commensurate decline in the held-to-maturity (HTM) dispensation," ........

Read | Business Standard

Arrangement between banks, asset reconstruction firms needs a relook

.................The RBI noted that as most of the securitisation activity is taking place predominantly with the issuance of security receipts (SRs) rather than cash, there is a concern that banks may tend to use this option to evergreen their balance sheets. SRs may not carry the stigma of NPAs (their value mainly being derived from the collateral and not based on the record of recovery), although the risk of loss of income on the asset still remains, in effect, with the originator (the bank). The central bank said under the current framework, the ‘real’ incremental value addition of ARCs in the process of ‘reconstruction’ of assets,............

Read - HBL

Invisible receipts at $232.77 billion in FY14

The country's earnings from invisible receipts, including earnings from export of services like travel, health, etc, stood at USD 232.77 billion in 2013-14, the Reserve Bank of India said Thursday.........

Read...........

Time banks tapped capital market for funds

............According to certain rough estimates, Indian banks’ additional capital requirements will be to the tune of ₹4.95 lakh crore over the period of phasing in of the Basel III capital requirements. In its 9th Financial Stability Report, the RBI said the Indian banking system needs to pay urgent and greater attention to the Basel regulations, especially those relating to subjecting banks to market discipline. Swifter progress towards a more robust emphasis on market discipline will result in better pay-offs not only for the Indian banking sector but also for the overall financial system, .............

Read - HBL

Nabard hopes for budget largesse to give long-term loans

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) wants the government to announce a Rs.5,000 crore fund in the annual budget on 10 July so that it can facilitate long-term loans to farmers to build drip-irrigation facilities and buy tractors, assets that will boost farm output and stem a sharp decline in capital investment in the sector. The aim is to provide long-term loans at attractive interest rates to farmers for long-term asset creation in agriculture, said Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, chairman of Nabard, a development bank set up by the government to ensure credit flow to agriculture and promote rural development............

Read - Mint

Fix Aadhaar, don’t junk it

...........It is important to remember Aadhaar is not just a number, it is an enabler. Thanks to RBI and NPCI, electronic payments infrastructure has expanded and India has platforms now that support real time online authentication and transactions which connect to even banking correspondent agents across rural areas. Linking the Aadhaar authentication platform to the benefits transfer programmes of the government has already yielded good results. A recent randomised control trial of the ...........

Read - FE

Microfinance sector to rebound: CRISIL

....According to CRISIL, the sector will grow at a compounded annual rate of 35% , to reach Rs450 billion by end-March 2016 “supported by stronger building blocks”. In order to to sustain the current pace of growth, micro finance instituitons (MFIs) will have to raise equity; but that will require them to “address challenges associated with low promoter shareholdings and a near-term decline in profitability”, said CRISIL......

Read - Moneylife

Why Rajan is Wrong?

...........Even Rajan in his 2009 report, A Hundred Small Steps, says, “Regulatory actions should be subject to appeal to the financial sector appellate tribunal.“ In the absence of an independent and expert judicial review, the RBI's performance will remain discretionary or arbitrary , and this does not serve any public purpose. Countries that achieved high institutional quality have done so by using an effective judicial system to keep the executive and legislature under check. Change of Heart With regard to the regulatory architecture, Rajan's report of 2009 emphasises the need to reduce the number of regulators and for defining the jurisdiction of regulators in functional terms. He says............

Read - ET

One regulator too many?

..........At another place, points out Rajan, the FSLRC suggests a strengthened Financial Sector Development Council as a venue for inter-regulatory functioning. Would not this serve to conserve and strengthen the synergies that the FSLRC at other places thinks a spanking new behemoth, the UFA, would? The arguments that Rajan puts forth raises another crucial question: Unless an existing system is shown to have broken or turned dysfunctional is it necessary to replace it? The FSLRC does not sound convincing in its implicit view, that extant institutions are inefficient and need to be re-organised to prevent systemic risks and market failures. What matters is not whether a country has a single or multiple regulators. Both structural arrangements failed to prevent the financial crisis of ......

Read - HBL

BALANCED RESPONSE

The article “One regulator too many?” by Ashoak Upadhyay (June 25) is a balanced analysis of Raghuram Rajan’s observations on positions taken by the FSLRC. Initially, the media had sensationalised the views expressed by the governor who had said the FSLRC had wandered beyond its brief by trying to superimpose a tribunal on the RBI and that he was not comfortable with reinventing regulatory architecture in the banking sector. Those who are still in doubt may visit www.rbi.org.in and read the governor's speech once again. 

- MG Warrier

HBL

Make capital out of Capital Market - Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan

..........It is the best opportune moment for the new government to come out with some innovative ideas and facilities to enhance, convert and divert the household savings into investments in capital market. The investments in shares through IPOs have turned out to be a very bad experience for retailers during the last decade because of high and greedy pricing of the issues and they have burnt their fingers forcing them to go out of the market and seeking greener pastures elsewhere. Persisting high inflation has added .........

Read...........

Does India Really Need a Women-centric Bank?

........... The four key elements of empowerment according to the World Bank are access to information, inclusion and participation, accountability, and local organizational capacity. While economic factors do certainly play a role in improving a women's financial position, the context within which empowerment occurs is also important for understanding whether a particular intervention has been effective. When it comes to financial transactions, strong patriarchal norms may reduce the role of women to a mere conduit for accessing loans and banking services, rather than effecting any real change in the prevailing social structure. A woman's "emancipation" may remain contingent..........

Read........

IndusInd Bank unveils its third Currency Chest at Guindy, Chennai

IndusInd Bank has unveiled its third Currency Chest at Guindy, Chennai. Mr. K. Neethiragavan, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India inaugurated the Currency Chest in the presence of Mr. Paul Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, IndusInd Bank Ltd and other senior officials of the Bank...........

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Tired with blind game...............

My View on "Thrust of trust by (re)tirees - R.Sridharan": 

"Many knocks at the doors of justice have gone futile but we hope the day is not going to be far away when one knock will be heard by the policy makers and the doors of justice will open shortly."

...Doors of justice are wide open. People are 'acting' blind...Passing the buck and shifting the blame...It is in this context, I said, and I repeat, history will find it hard to pardon the 'individuals' responsible... 

- M.G.Warrier

Ex-RBI Woman Staffer Found Killed in Triplicane Residence

CHENNAI: In a shocking incident, a 55-year-old woman, a former RBI staff, was found dead with mouth being gagged and another piece of cloth around the neck at her bedroom in Triplicane, here on Tuesday afternoon. About 60 sovereigns of gold jewellery, some of them worn by the deceased, and `3 lakh cash were reportedly stolen from her second floor residence on Devaraj Mudali Street. The CCTV grab from the building, which also ................

Read - The New Indian Express

Security guards observe fast

Security guards posted at automated teller machines, banks, commercial and private establishments observed fast here on Tuesday urging the State Government to give solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of security guards who were recently killed while discharging duties and also demanded better social security to them...........

Read - The Hindu

Twenty Years Ago Today - Widen operations, private banks told

Competition improves productivity and efficiency in most areas, and that was one reason why it was decided to allow new banks in the private sector, said Dr. C. Rangarajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “An efficient financial sector is a pre-requisite for economic growth,” he pointed out and also urged the new private sector banks, though opting to go with fewer branches, to ensure that their impact was felt over a wide area.

HBL

Government to set credit guarantee fund to boost low cost homes

...........The finance ministry is discussing with RBI the contours of the fund that will be set up under the ambit of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), a finance ministry official said. "We are looking to amend the DICGC Act.

Read - ET

School Uniforms, Mobiles in New CPI, Food Weightage Cut

School uniforms, pyjamas, kurtas, skirts, mobile phones ­ these are set to be among 50 new items in India's revised Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the government seeks to put together a measure of retail inflation that better reflects changing consumption patterns. One of the effects of this could be a lowering of the inflation number because of the lesser importance given to food items in a revised price gauge. The Consumer Price Index is a critical determinant of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy ..................

Read - ET

Interest on claims in DEAF only from date of a/c transfer: RBI

...................."The interest payable, if any, from the Fund on a claim shall accrue only from the date on which the balance in an account was transferred to the Fund till the date of payment to the customer/depositor," RBI said in a clarification today. Further, RBI said that interest, if any, would be payable only on interest bearing deposits. And no interest shall be payable in cases of amounts refunded from the Fund where no interest was payable by the bank to its customer..........

Read | Business Standard

RBI NBFC norms will enhance financial inclusion: Shriram

.............NBFCs always have played a role in the niche segment where banks have not reached. So the banks have to accept or change the credit policies as per the niche customer’s requirement. So we need to see that how it will go on and then only we will be able to make a comment.

Read...........

Cyber crime acquires a new angle

...........So far, the crime has been mostly related to e-mail abuse and online job and lottery fraud. But, a recent crime committed by three employees of an outsourcing company associated with a major private bank had given it a new dimension. The accused were charged with duping a person by promising him to get back the amount he had lost in a discontinued life insurance policy with the private bank. They allegedly convinced the person to remit..........

Read - The Hindu

Some relief for credit card customers

If your credit card payment is delayed, now you will get some more time to pay it before the bank charges the late payment fee. The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to relax the rules with regard to late payment fees. But this will only provide some relief since you still have to pay the interest rate which can work out to quite a bit............

Read | Business Standard

ICICI Bank launches co-branded card with Delhi Metro

............Explaining features of the card, he said, the unique auto top-up facility on the card automatically recharges the amount on the transit chip when the balance drops below a certain specified threshold limit. The auto top-up is triggered at the start of the customer's journey when the transit chip makes contact with the Delhi Metro servers at the entry gate,..........

Read | Business Standard

IDFC will offer quality banking at low cost, says CEO Limaye

.............The infrastructure finance company is following a multi-pronged strategy including setting up an experienced leadership team and building a flexible technological architecture to keep up with rapidly evolving technology. Being one of only two companies to receive in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a bank, Limaye feels that the firm is in a “sweet spot” because there won’t be much competition in hiring..................

Read - Mint

YES BANK's prepaid card wins award

......YES BANK won these recognitions for introducing innovative Payment programs that present effective and convenient solutions to its valued customers. These are “ Best Co- Brand Program”, “ Best Commercial Card Program” and “ Best Prepaid Card Program”............

Read - FPJ

Bank of Baroda to set up Baroda Bhawan at cost of Rs 75 crore

..........BoB's chairman and managing director S S Mundra, who is tipped to become new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), laid foundation stone of Baroda Bhawan at the Gulistan bungalow premises on Tuesday. The new nine-storey headquarters of BoB will come up on 1,24,000 square feet land. Gulistan Bungalow, the heritage building, will however stand tall.............

Read - TOI

Dena Bank targets Rs 500 cr SME lending in UP

..........The Bank has planned to establish specialised NRI Branches, Retail Processing Hubs and SME Processing Centre across India for faster transactions and loan approvals. “We are focussing on small advances to the agricultural and SME segments for increasing our lending portfolio and credit ratio,” ...........

Read | Business Standard

Banks Find a Way to Trace Out Loan Defaulters On the Run

...........“Now, credit bureaus can identify a chronic defaulter even if he changes his location,“ said a senior private-sector banker. “If the defaulter uses the same name and identity proof like his PAN number, the system will identify the fraudster.“ Credit Information Bureau (India) has a tool called CIBIL Locate Plus, which “offers timely, comprehensive and most updated contact details of the customers to the credit grantors,“....... 

Read - ET

Farmers, Fishers and Bankers............

My View on ‘Naming Vijay Mallya a wilful defaulter tough’

"If a banker wants to enforce its right to recover the dues from a defaulter, he/she would give his/her own interpretation of the definition of 'wilful defaulter' and if not interested to do so, he will go to the any length to interpret it  otherwise also. It is the second option the banker has chosen to interpret when it comes to Mr Mallaya of KFA. The world knows the KFA has stripped its assets (air craft seats were removed, air crafts were grounded and made unworthy of flying, inflated the share prices and got the bank loans converted as equities at a much higher price (about Rs.65 or so per share), offered lower than required collaterals (i think IDBI bank's part of loan was under collateralised) etc. 

Farmers committed suicides and no banker came forward to defend any farmer. Now when it comes to Mr Mallya, the whole banking fraternity is joining hands to take up his cause. At this rate, it may not be far off that the loan to KFA will be written off in the immediate future and bankers will give suitable explanations also. A forest has been destroyed in writing about the KFA affairs and the way bankers were handling its account. Even as per RBI guidelines on wilful defaulters, KFA is a wilful defaulter under (a) which reads as follows: "Default in repayment obligations by the unit to the lender even when it has the capacity to honour the said obligations." The KFA had sufficient resources during the initial years of its operations and even then none of the banks took measures to recover their dues. Instead they proceeded to convert the loans into equities. Instead of converting the loans into equities, bankers should have directed KFA to sell their shares in the market and repay their loans. Instead they resorted to conversion of loans into equities. It is now languishing at Rs 3 a share. Why did not they not insist on repayment of loan when KFA's  resources were available with it.

But, RBI has been silent on it.RBI should conduct special investigation and see if there were any connivance/ collusion between KFA and the bank officials, examine thoroughly the banks' board decisions on continuously extending loans to KFA despite its failure to repay its dues."

- S.Santhanam

Tougher law likely to tackle wilful loan defaulters

To tackle the menace of wilful defaulters, the Reserve Bank of India is believed to be drafting a legislation which, if enacted by Parliament, could make it easier for banks to recover loans. Currently, banks have two main channels — Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act and Debt Recovery Tribunals — for recovering loans. However, .............

Read - HBL

Naidu takes cyclone route to ease loan waiver burden

.....According to sources, RBI officials expressed concern that crop loan waiver might dampen the credit culture but assured to look into the AP government's plea to reschedule the farm loans on a merit basis. "RBI has virtually agreed to issue instructions to banks in the state to allow rescheduling of farm loans in more than 581 mandals," claimed a senior official in the AP government.  But there is a factor that can go against AP. Normally, a mandal should be declared as drought-hit or cyclone-hit within 90 days of the same crop season. Naidu, however, declared 581 of the 655 mandals in AP as either drought or cyclone hit only last week. Now, he has urged the RBI to consider the delayed declaration as valid on the grounds that united AP was pre-occupied with bifurcation and elections...

Read - TOI

'Treating deposits under RIDF as part of priority sector lending may affect new securitisation issuances'

..................Securitization market was primarily driven by direct assignments or direct sale of loans till FY12. But, after the introduction of new RBI Guidelines in FY13 which stipulated that no credit enhancement may be provided for direct assignment transactions, the market started moving towards special purpose vehicles or SPV/ Pass Through certificates or PTC route as investors were more comfortable................ 

Read - ET

IFMR launches debt fund for MFIs

...................The fund will subscribe to the debentures of microfinance institutions, providing them medium-term debt. Registered under the alternative investment fund II category specified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the fund will be looking at an investment period of five-six years. “Microfinance institutions have access to short-term funds from banks and slightly longer-term private equity. We, however, aim to provide medium-term debt to the institutions, which is not readily available................

Read more at: Mint

I-T department asked to redress taxpayers grievances fast

..........“Pending grievances shall be reviewed and authorities concerned reminded for redressal on weekly basis and special focus shall be on grievances pending for more than one year and every effort shall be made to redress such grievances on priority basis,” ..........

Read - Moneylife

A good piece worth reading - Dr. A Vasudevan

My view on RBI under Rajan can show regulators the way - SUCHETA DALAL

This is a good piece worth reading by every banker and surely by RBI officers in active service. I have one small suggestion to make. There could be implementation committees in each bank and in RBI and these committees could meet once a week in their own organizations providing inputs to either ED or DG in charge of operations about the implementation problems and successes and also suggest areas of inter-organizational coordination. I am not sure whether Ms Dalal would like to reflect over this idea (which in fact is in operation in the Central Bank of Nigeria) and if possible give some orientation to it to suit Indian circumstances.