RBI wants curb on rupee forecast by bankers

.........Whether by communicating or by curtailing communication, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is taking all unconventional steps to arrest the fall in the rupee. In its latest move, RBI has told treasury officials of banks to not give rupee forecasts against the dollar - particularly to the media, analysts and in their reports. It affects market sentiments to a larger extent, particularly in a situation when rupee trading is volatile, it says.................

Read | Business Standard

Easy Money’s Over

...The tightening of dollar inflows is a major inflexion point which signals the end of the world of easy money. Global financial markets which poured in cheap dollars to buy up assets in developing countries, hoping to tap demographic dividends and gain from the shift in global growth, will lose the muscle to continue such flows...........

Read - ET

Now, Rahul Bajaj seeks RBI help to check Rupee volatility

..........Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Bajaj said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should help avoid Rupee volatility. Otherwise,  depreciation would result in all foreign exchange reserves disappearing. “This can be helped ultimately by increasing exports and decreasing imports,” he said. Questioning if there is a ‘right value’ for the Rupee vis-a-vis the (USA) dollar, Bajaj said, “ The ultimate sense is to be a real strong country.”...............

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Govt set to review gold curbs

NEW DELHI: The recent measures to tighten gold imports have ended up creating a severe supply crunch for traders , prompting ministries to review the norms. Industry sources told TOI that gems and jewellery exporters are feeling the pinch as some banks have virtually stopped imports, while others supply with a lag. Besides, the import curbs have prompted banks through which shipments have to be routed to raise service charges, adding to the burden.............

Read -TOI

Karnataka Bank shareholders agree to raising more capital via QIP

.......The resolution had stated that the aggregate amount to be raised through the QIP shall not exceed Rs 500 crore. Referring to the recent decision of Reserve Bank of India to issue new licences for banking in India, one of the shareholders wanted to know how it would affect Karnataka Bank. In his reply Ananthakrishna said that the bank would take all steps to improve its competitive edge. “Our staff members will respond to the competition and work for growth,” he said.................

Read - HBL

Going back on gold import curbs now will be detrimental

..............So probably something is cooking. But one thing is for sure. If the government is going back on at least some of its steps, it will definitely push up the imports again and will be detrimental to the economy now. This is because things have only worsened over the last few months in the economy, with fast outflow of foreign capital weakening the rupee to record lows...............

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Chit fund scam: Sri Chakra Gold Farms' managing director arrested

..........City police commissioner B Shivadhar Reddy told journalists that the company promised high returns on many daily investment schemes and has collected Rs 15 crore from around 32,000 investors and even started a fixed deposit scheme against the norms of the Reserve Bank of India. The company started Sri Chakra Schools, a supermarket and a shopping mall to convince investors about the firm's 'growth'............

Read - TOI

Ponzi menace: Govt considering new law to plug regulatory gaps

........"Right now, it’s possible to design your company in such a manner and carry on your business in a way that you do not classify as an NBFC, a chit fund, or any other regulated entity," Chidambaram said in an interview. "These are regulatory gaps and what we are trying to do is to reduce these gaps to maximum possible extent, so that everyone falls either under the RBI, or SEBI, or the Registrar of Chits or under the state government, etc," he said............

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CIBIL may now scrutinize your phone bill payment too

.............As per Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines, CIBIL can only share data with banks and not with individuals. On being asked if defaults on telephone bill payment could jeopardize the chances of an applicant receiving a housing loan or any other credit services, Chandorkar says: “This is part of data collection. How banks use such information depends on their credit policy. We collect and provide data; we do not issue any guidelines to banks about an individual’s creditworthiness.”...........

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How to file I-T returns

........If you think you don't need to file the tax return because your only source of income is salary and the entire tax has been deducted at source, that is not the case. A tax return is a generally accepted proof of tax compliance for various purposes such as bank account opening, passport renewal, applying for loans, etc. Besides, if you have assets abroad, you will need to file a return. While the penalty for not filing income tax is only Rs 5,000, the failure to do so will result in your being shown as a 'defaulter' in government records, ...............

Read | Business Standard

DBS to expand branch network 7 fold to build SME & HNI customer business

.............Development Bank of Singapore has 12 branches and has sought RBI's permission to open four more, in step with the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement between India and Singapore, which allows a maximum of 16 branches of Singapore based banks. It may open 80 branches in a decade. "Our hope is that this wholly owned subsidiary comes true. We will look to open 70-80 branches over the next decade that we can use to build our SME and high networth individual customer business," said Gupta...........

Read - ET

Taxpayers to get unique number for complaints

..."Whether the taxpayer files his rectification application by ordinary post, by hand or online, the receipt counter of the department will generate a special and unique acknowledgement number for the taxpayer by which he or she will be assured of solving the grievance within a stipulated time. The taxpayer can quote this number in any further communication with the department,".........

Read | Business Standard

Ambition sans innocence

........Whichever side of the debate one is on, there is no denying that the minimum that is needed for cash transfer is a system in place which can deliver the cash. The acknowledged fact is that there are hardly any banking services available to the poor. In illustration, this is what Dr Deepali Pant Joshi, Executive Director, RBI said in a talk delivered on 4 May 2013: “Under the roadmap for providing banking outlets in villages with population above 2000, banking outlets have been opened in hitherto 74199 unbanked villages comprising 2493 branches, 69374 Business Correspondents (BCs) and 2332 through other modes like ATMs, mobile van, etc.” And: “As per the roadmap drawn about 4,84,000 villages with population less than 2,000 have been allotted to various banks. Provision of banking services are to be made in the next three years.”.................

Read - The Statesman

Welcome Women’s Bank, as Another Bank

......Now, gender is not a good basis for licensing a bank. So, should we have one more bank that will “mostly”, not solely, lend to women and employ “predominantly” women? The simple answer is we need more banks. Yet another bank makes eminent sense, as many people do not have access to formal credit. The RBI should allow more banks and also innovative forms of banking. The government has done well to delink the licence for the state-owned women’s bank from new private bank licences to be given by the RBI. However, the need is to ensure that the upcoming bank to be called Bhartiya Mahila Bank, works on sound commercial principles........... 

Read - ET Editorial

RBI campaign to create awareness on foreign exchange regulations

.......there has been a good response to the RBI programmes on financial literacy from all sections of the public, especially students. A.O Basheer, RBI General Manager (Mumbai), said the perils of financial illiteracy are too high to be ignored and therefore the public, the students in particular, should avail themselves of the outreach programmes of the RBI and learn to guard themselves...........

Read - HBL

Foreign exchange expo

Reserve Bank of India unfurls its two-day exhibition on ‘Foreign Exchange for You’ at KRC Auditorium at GITAM University from Friday. Regional Director of RBI, Hyderabad A.S. Rao and a group of senior officials will be interacting with the visitors on foreign exchange transactions and help spread the awareness on its facilities available to residents and non-residents, rules involved in foreign direct investment in India and external commercial borrowings. The expo is open till Saturday between 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

The Hindu

RBI Chief offers worship to Lord Venkateswara

............After an overnight stay on the hills, Subbarao and Urmila paid their obeisance to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara this morning and left the hills,................

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Watch the video............

Experian launches three new products

.......The theme for this year’s event was “The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition and Productivity” and featured experienced and distinguished leaders from different industries, who shared their experiences on how they have leveraged data, insight and analytics in their respective organisations. The guest of honour at the conclave was Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India...........

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'Allow banks to have pacts with up to five insurers'

.....There are other regulatory hurdles, too. RBI had said that banks assuming the role of insurance brokers could lead to a conflict of interests where the bank is also the promoter of an insurance company. “Further, some provisions of the exposure draft, if implemented, may expose the banks to reputational risks,” RBI had said in an earlier Financial Stability Report......

Read | Business Standard

Make Aadhar common id for banks: RBI

........“Let us have only one ID, that is Aadhaar, which will be much more convenient to people and easier to identify,” said KC Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, RBI. “The use of Aadhaar will help in rooting out many cases from identity frauds (due) to unauthorised documentations,”..........

Read - HT