Along with Subir Gokarn's appointment as the fourth deputy governor, the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday reshuffled some of the key portfolios of its deputy governors and executive directors.
This is because of a government order that RBI has no power to update pension of its employees. This has been a bone of contention between the government and the central bank for the past one year.
The Reserve Bank of India's proposed guidelines on bank executives' compensation will be extended beyond just CEOs to all senior executives in private and foreign banks, especially those involved in treasury functions.
Typically, those from the IIMs, Xavier Labour Relations Institute and Indian School of Business joined at Scale III, but graduates from other B-schools were recruited in scale II.
Low cost of funds and low credit growth have meant unprecedented levels of capital adequacy ratios (CARs) for banks.
The government is set to increase its stake in Bank of Baroda (BoB), Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Dena Bank.
Customers will be offered five free third-party withdrawals per month.
The move is aimed at improving margins.
A list of things you should watch out for in your credit card document
In addition, bankers also told Business Standard that they did not expect the central bank to hike policy rates or the cash reserve ratio in the third quarter review scheduled for October 27 as inflation was not rising fast though inflationary expectations were there.
With the demand for credit expected to shoot up, private banks are bolstering core capital. Seven of them are in the process of raising a cumulative Rs 10,500 crore in equity to fund expansion, which, in some cases like Axis Bank's, includes entry into mutual fund, private equity and wealth management businesses.
Wachovia's global operations were taken over by Wells Fargo last year and the two banks are in the process of integrating their operations.
Punjab & Sind Bank plans to offer 5% each to top institutions
The only thing that's clear is the October 15 deadline for the end of free third-party ATM use.
To implement the cap, banks will need to make various technological changes in the machines and that will take quite some time.
Having cleaned up their credit card portfolios and sensing a change in the economic environment, issuers such as SBI Cards, Standard Chartered and HSBC are seeing an increase in their credit card base at a marginal pace.
The government and financial sector regulators have prevailed on Insurance Australia Group (IAG) to route its investment in a general insurance venture with State Bank of India through Singapore, instead of the original proposal to bring the money through a Mauritian subsidiary.
The free run at automated teller machines might end soon, with banks petitioning the Reserve Bank of India to put curbs on cash withdrawals at third-party ATMs. Representatives from the Indian Banks Association, who met central bank officials late last month to make a case, said RBI had accepted most of their suggestions and these are likely to come into effect soon.
Income from distribution of third-party products such as insurance policies and mutual fund schemes is already under pressure because of the unfavourable economic climate.
According to the Reserve bank of India data, year-on-year growth for credit card outstandings, or the total balance due to issuers on credit card spends by customers, has plummeted to 1.4 per cent as on May 22, 2009.