Banking Union answer to EU debt woes? Experts discuss

Major banks from the big countries that have not received any recapitalization will be treated quite gently by the ECB

Professor Charles Goodhart former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee and Shayamla Gopinath, former Deputy Governor of the RBI share their views on how long will it take to form a banking union and whether European governments will willingly give up their authority over their domestic banks............

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Does the alarming increase in corporate debt restructuring signal a financial crisis for India?

....The incentive for banks to be optimistic is understandable. Apply default rates to the total amount of corporate debt included in the CDR referrals, and gross NPAs of the banking system (currently 2.9 per cent) may go up by about Rs 70,000 crore. That would take the gross NPA ratio to total assets of the banking system to almost 8 per cent. Provisioning requirements and the impact on bank balance sheets could well blow a big hole in them.

Not everybody agrees, however. “Our banking system’s NPA ratios are much better than those in several developed economies,” says Deepak Singhal, Chief General Manager at the RBI’s Department of Banking Operations and Development. But he admits the new Basel III requirements could put a lot of stress on banks’ capital needs. “It could come from the government, capital markets and internal accruals, or a combination of all three.”...........

 

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Let's farm along with nature, not against it

...........Scientist M S Swaminathan in his report "the MS Swaminathan Task Force Report on agricultural biotechnology" highlights that areas of biodiversity like the Western Ghats should be protected from GM crops. Unfortunately, the government has turned a blind eye to these recommendations and decided to introduce GM crops in India forcefully, by pushing through the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, which proposes a single window clearance system manned mainly by biotechnologists to approve of GM crops...................

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Where is the watchdog?

With the Indian rupee falling down at an all time low and there is no guarantee that it will not fall further. As a watchdog, the RBI should act fast to arrest this dangerous downward slide....................

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बैंकों से सालभर में मिले डेढ़ लाख के नकली नोट

रायपुर ! राजधानी के विभिन्न बैंकों से पुलिस को डेढ़ लाख रुपए के नकली नोट मिले हैं, जिसे अज्ञात आरोपी द्वारा जमा किया गया था। इन नोटों को आरबीआई परीक्षण के लिए भेजा गया था, जहां नोटों के नकली होने की पुष्टि हो गई है।...............

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Islamic banking proposal being considered

....."We told the RBI officials that even European and Western countries have introduced the system. They are providing a level playing field. A few banks like HSBC and Citibank have started Islamic banking cells in Gulf countries. India should not be left behind,".......

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To Readjust The Bar

It’s a legal wrangle over legal practice. The Supreme Court interim order last week, on a petition filed by the Bar Council of India, on the contentious subject of allowing foreign law firms into the country, has rung in the final round of a battle that has raged for the past 18 years. The apex court adjudged that ‘practice of law’ involved both litigation and ‘desk work’ and instructed the Reserve Bank of India not to issue any clearance to any foreign law firm, laying the ground rules for a hearing later this year...........

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Airlines stressing out bank assets

......Banks have burnt their fingers by lending to this sector, which is under immense pressure due to rising fuel costs, mismanagement and predatory pricing. According to the Financial Stability Report released recently by the RBI, 10 banks (predominantly public sector banks) accounted for around 86 per cent of the credit to the airline sector......

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Breaking the Indian gold bug

A senior policy maker has suggested that the authorities are now looking at the cause rather than symptoms of the growing problem

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Subbarao opens two more fronts in battle with finmin

Reserve Bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao does not lack for issues to take the finance ministry head on............

...........But, clearly, he is preparing to use the remaining 14 months left in his tenure (which ends in September 2013) to highlight all the areas where he thinks the government is messing up.

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Need to evolve strong farm loan recovery mechanism, says Andhra Bank CMD

....Mr G. Gopalakrishna, Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India, asked Nabard to study the feasibility of evolving a two-tier system as against the three-tier system in order to improve credit flows......

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Information on financial products for citizens

........A.S.Rao, Regional Director, RBI, Hyderabad, said that the State Bank group has opened branches in all 12 lead districts out of 23 districts in AP. He explained the objectives of FLCCs and steps initiated for the implementation of financial inclusion plans and advised urban and metro customers to avail free advisory or counseling services from FLCC ..................

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Cooperative banks: Nabard’s pettiness exposed

..........Nabard, primarily conceived to act as a catalyst for rural development, celebrated its 30th Foundation day in Mumbai on Thursday without any participation from the cooperative banks. It invited almost all the commercial banks but chose to sideline the cooperative banks that happen to be one of its main subjects. Only exception was the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank but it chose not to send any representative. Interestingly, the speakers including the Governor of Reserve Bank of India dwelt mostly on the subject of cooperatives exposing Nabard’s pettiness in the matter.............

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Faking RBI

....This kind of payment notification and that too from a regulator like RBI is unbelievable for a commoner like me. Without participating in any kind of lottery, you are informed about being winner of a huge amount running in crores of rupees! This is a big puzzle. So many questions crop up. Am I the lone recipient of this kind of payment notification, that too from the RBI? I don’t think so, because I have read about kinds of cyber frauds and it’s one among them. Normally, people after receiving such fund transfer notifications respond instantly by sending fund transfer fee, courier charges etc and then subject themselves to an unending wait for receiving the original ‘winning’ amount......

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RBI may raise new banks' minimum capital need to Rs 10bn

The Reserve Bank of India may increase the minimum capital requirement for new banks to Rs 10 billion from the currently proposed Rs 5 billion, said a senior official with direct knowledge of the development.............

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Will the dream team deliver?

........Whatever its past errors might have been, today, the RBI is right in insisting that a clear and substantial cut in the fiscal deficit must accompany the lowering of interest rates. If interest rates are lowered first and investment revives, it may not only blunt the willingness of the Congress to undertake fiscal reform, but trigger demands by the radicals for a fresh spending spree on “inclusive development” that Manmohan may not be able to prevent..................

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Govt should not control banks from outside: RBI

......“The government ownership mechanism, which is not through the boards but outside the boards is not good governance. One thing for the government could be to show exemplary behaviour of corporate governance and exercise their ownership rights through the board. I think that would be good for all the financial institutions, including Nabard,” the RBI governor said in response to a question from the audience at the 30th foundation day function of Nabard in Mumbai...................

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RBI chief launch NABARD initiatives

Rural customers find dealing with banks vexatious: RBI

There is a growing vexation among low-value customers not just in the agriculture sector but also in the context of financial inclusion when it comes to dealing with formal lending institutions, said the Reserve Bank of India Governor, Dr D. Subbarao..........

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RBI rationalizes online funds transfer charges

Funds Transfer Amount (in Rs)	Charges (in Rs)
Upto 10,000	Not more than 2.5
10,001- one lakh	5
1 2 lakh	15
Above 2 lakh	25

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