Banks allowed to run ads on ATM screens

...The notification reads: In exercise of the powers conferred by the Banking Regulation Act, the Central Government hereby specifies “display of financial products conforming to the regulatory framework as provided by the RBI, SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA, on the Automated Teller Machines” as a form of business in which it is lawful for a banking company to engage. Banks can bring down the cost per transaction by generating some revenue through advertisements, say bankers.......

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Banking: The urban bias

.....Despite all talks of inclusive banking of the last decade, figures available from the Reserve Bank of India suggest the opposite trend. Banking continues to be the prerogative of urban and semi-urban elite. ........

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More rejection than redressal

............The 15 banking ombudsmen in the country spend more time rejecting consumer complaints than redressing them. If you look at the annual reports of the Ombudsman Scheme in the last three years brought out by the Reserve Bank of India, you will find that 60-70 per cent of the complaints is rejected by the Ombudsmen. And this percentage is on the increase..................

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Financial exclusion is bad for banks too

....Financial inclusion is good business for banks especially if farmers use their increasingly sophisticated services and products to transact their farm produce. That is why deputy governors of the RBI have variously announced the importance of FI in the RBI's agenda for banks. As part of its platinum jubilee celebration two years ago, the Deputy Governor, Mr K.C. Chakrabarty, spoke on various occasions on television, to print media, about the RBI's three-year plan for including the excluded, for bringing banks to every Indian. Another Deputy Governor, the now retired Ms Usha Thorat, talked of using High Technology for the purpose; financial inclusion became the new currency for banks and New Delhi to trade their policymaking craft in. But all those bent on standing on the right side of FI missed the irony that more than four decades after bank nationalisation, India's formal banking system excluded far more segments than it included. Banking in India despite the pious political rhetoric was still an exclusive domain for the few......

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Usha Thorat address Indian Bank

ET

RBI likely to stop cash against pledged gold

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appears to be moving toward stopping gold loan companies from handing out cash as loans against pledged gold. RBI had earlier put a cap on the extent of loans that can be given against the value of pledged gold. These firms have been giving loans, sometimes worth several lakh, in cash instead of handing cheques or crediting the money to the borrower’s bank account. RBI wants to curb this practice, say analysts tracking public sector banks............

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Pre-mature capital account convertibility can harm economy: RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D Subbarao has said that India will 'gradually' move towards capital account convertibility only after preconditions like fiscal consolidation are met........

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Those who stick to their dharma…

....So it is with the RBI. The Governor and his team of managers at the top know too well that they are waging a hopeless fight against inflation when they are confronted with a Government that goes about the task of governance in such a manner that renders any monetary policy initiative of the RBI, to contain inflation, utterly ineffective. .......

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Playing it safe

"...if making monetary policy is like driving a car, then the car is one that has an unreliable speedometer, a foggy windshield, and a tendency to respond unpredictably and with a delay to the accelerator or the brake,"...................

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Subbarao's dilemma

....Duvvuri Subbarao's shoes are something that not many may want to be in right now. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor is under tremendous pressure from the government to start the interest rate reduction cycle from Tuesday's policy announcement. Equal pressure, if not more, is being built up by monetary policy hawks who aver that circumstances are still not right to reverse direction on rates....

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Monetary policy dilemma : What is in store?

.......It is clear that RBI is in a catch 22 situation whether to control inflation expectations or stimulate growth. Many analysts are expecting rates to be cut in order to spur growth. However some analysts are of the opinion that the time is not ripe for a rate cut. Given this background, it would be interesting to watch the steps that RBI would take...................

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RBI's cup of many woes

Politics, said that economist-turned-astute-politician Dr Manmohan Singh, is 'the art of the possible'. Politics, yes! But central banking? On the eve of his penultimate annual monetary policy statement, as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D Subbarao wrestles with the choices before him, chances are he too is veering round to the same view as his Prime Minister. Central banking, like politics, is increasingly becoming the art of the possible..........

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All eyes on Subbarao on interest rate move

HT

Meaningful upside is ruled out

...... At this stage, it is difficult to assume that even if RBI would cut the repo and reverse repo rates, interest rates in the economy would come down meaningfully, given the heavy government borrowing programme. There is certainly going to be a crowding-out effect and this would not let corporates cut their interest cost in a meaningful manner. The government has not taken any initiatives for cost reduction. The only change is the shift of focus towards revenue maximisation. However, in a slow global and domestic growth environment, taxing corporates and individuals would not give the desired results........

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See rate cut on Tuesday, but what can RBI do thereafter?

Rarely has an RBI policy been so keenly awaited by markets, the economy and citizens. For three years inflation seemed never to fall, and for the past three quarters growth appears never to rise. What are the options before the RBI, what will be the impact of its actions given the climbing current account deficit, an entrenched fiscal deficit and an unstable and slowing world economy where central bankers stand ready to flood more cash?............

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All eyes on apex bank rate signal

........“Though the hopes may be rightly placed for a cut in policy rates, entrenched liquidity deficit will make such a rate cut meaningless and may not be transmitted into the system meaningfully,’’.............

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A rate cut can wait

.... The growth-versus-inflation conundrum is likely to haunt RBI governor for sometime at least. It will be interesting to see how steadfastly he will defend his conviction.......

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Signs of RBI rate cut, cheaper home loans

.... D Subbarao, who took charge immediately after the global financial crisis in 2008 has been famous for what he describes as the `baby steps' approach. After an initial monetary stimulus following the crisis, Subbarao sought to fight inflation raising interest rates slowly and consistently by 25 basis points in every review. In December, he announced that the phase of increasing rates was over and any future move will be towards reducing interest rates.......

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Long-distance marriage not a reason for divorce: HC

MUMBAI: If a spouse is on a posting, it cannot be termed desertion and cited as a ground for divorce, the Bombay high court ruled on Friday. A division bench of judges P B Majmudar and Anoop Mohta was hearing an appeal by an income tax officer Satish Mane against a family court order rejecting his divorce plea. Satish (38) married Seema (35) on May 9, 2001, as per Buddhist rites. On June 1 that year, she left for Ahmedabad to resume duty at the Reserve Bank of India, where she was an officer……..

………On Friday, the HC bench observed that just because Seema was posted in Ahmedabad, it could not be a reason for Satish to get a divorce citing desertion. "How can it be desertion? This is an eye-opener. Employers should consider whether ladies (sic) should be transferred," said Justice Majmudar.

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Debating Manmohan's reforms legacy

............. Subbarao directly addressed fears that under Singh, India had come full circle. 2012 was not 1991, he said, although “the twin deficits are here once again”. Short-term debt was high, too; but the structure of the economy had changed fundamentally, and the financial system, he insisted, could absorb shocks. In addition, there are other reasons for optimism: the services sector dominates today, and its performance is a source of resilience; not all of the fiscal deficit is structural; and forex reserves are much larger. Subbarao also addressed external-sector liberalisation, which he viewed as the most far-reaching of Singh’s reforms.........

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