banking system

RBI has increased cash reserve ratio by 75 bps to 5.75 Percent , the hike would happen in two stages, the first stage of hike of 50 bps will be effective from February 13 and the next 25 bps from February 27. RBI has not touched the the reverse repo rate which is at 3.25 percent and repo rate which is at 4.75 percent. CRR hike would suck out Rs 36,000 crore liquidity from the system. Full Article

Interest rates may remain soft even if the central bank were to withdraw its accommodating stance and tighten monetary policy, which will be reviewed on Friday. The good news for home loan borrowers is that retail loans are the only form of credit showing some decent growth and bankers are unlikely to jeopardise this demand by raising rates. Corporates, who in any case have not been big borrowers, may also not see an increase in rates as banks have said they are unlikely.. Full Article

It has been observed that the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) are not following a uniform practice in reckoning their liability in respect of arrangements with correspondent banks (mainly sponsor banks) for remittance facilities. Under the arrangements, there is a transfer of funds by accepting bank to its correspondent bank and it is an obligation of the correspondent bank to honour the instruments. Full Article

Mergers on individual banks will not be forced, and no time frame has been set for the consolidation process in the banking system, financial services secretary R Gopalan said today. Merger of state-run banks should be done with a view to bring in good synergies, on mutual interests of the concerned entities, and government will not compel the consolidation process on individual banks, he said said at a Bancon conference here. Full Article

The 1988 Basel Capital Accord (“Basel I”) has been implemented as the capital adequacy standard for banks and has been adopted by more than 100 countries successfully. The fundamental objectives of the Accord were to strengthen the soundness and stability of the international banking system. Basel I, has been adopted by the leading industrialised nations as well as the emerging economies, including most in Asia. Full Article

At present, the provisioning requirements for NPAs range between 10 per cent and 100 per cent of the outstanding amount, depending on the age of the NPAs and the security available. Banks can also make additional specific provisions subject to a consistent policy based on riskiness of their credit portfolios, because the rates of provisioning stipulated for NPAs are the regulatory minimum. It has been observed that there is a wide heterogeneity and variance in the level .. Full Article

The commerce and industry ministry will review the growth of the country's export sector by the middle of this month to assess the need for extending further stimulus for the exporting community, particularly, the labour-intensive sectors. The country's exports have been declining ever since the fall of Lehman Brothers and the onset of the global economic downturn in September last year. Full Article

The country’s most powerful regulators, SEBI and RBI, may soon be left with fewer responsibilities if the government has its way. The finance ministry is thinking of taking away the regulators’ mandate to develop markets so that their regulatory concerns and caution on new products and markets do not come in the way of developing new instruments and markets. Full Article