The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday decided to keep policy rate unchanged for third time in a row as it maintains heightened vigil on inflation. The rate increase cycle was paused in April after six consecutive rate hikes aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022.
'In plain simple English, these practices amount to a looting of our country's future by some in the business community, in cahoots with some lenders,' says RBI Governor Dr Urjit R Patel.
Nationalisation has served its purpose. It's time to move ahead, keeping majority ownership of the government in a few banks to serve the people, argues Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Overseas investors, as well as other key stakeholders, such as brokers, custodians, and clearing corporations, are yet to iron out critical issues, even as the shift towards a shorter trade settlement cycle approaches new phases. Several industry players said foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are still facing impediments over the trade confirmation timelines, foreign exchange (forex) bookings, and pre-funding requirements. This could potentially act as a roadblock when it comes to moving entirely to the new T+1 settlement cycle from next year.
PNB has rich experience in the integration of commercial banks.
The accused were allegedly complicit in causing losses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore to MSCB between 2007 and 2011.
About 281 cases have been taken up for investigation by the Directorate of Enforcement regarding suspected violations of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms all over the country during April 2019 to March this year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Necessary action as per provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) has been taken, which includes issuance of show cause notices, adjudication and imposition of penalty, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. In these cases, following the due process of adjudication, penalties of more than Rs 2,600 crore have been imposed under the FEMA, he said, adding the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has done compounding of contraventions of FDI related FEMA provisions in total of 1,421 cases across the country during the last three years.
She also said there was no independent application of mind by the Reserve Bank of India and only its opinion was sought, which cannot be said to be a recommendation.
If indeed the gate opens for big industrial houses, the RBI needs to be smarter than them and demonstrate it through action, not reaction, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'One way of doing this could be offering credit guarantee to the banks, say 10 per cent, for fresh loans given to micro, small and medium enterprises,' observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The annual earnings of a non-executive chairman of a PSB is capped at Rs 10 lakh, inclusive of fees for attending board meetings. This is way below the compensation of the chairman of any private bank, reveals Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Reserve Bank on Monday asked all banks and financial institutions to assess the impact on their balance sheet, asset quality, liquidity, among others, in the wake of the potential threat arising out of the spread of coronavirus disease in India. Several confirmed cases have also been detected in India, which highlight the need of a co-ordinated strategy for handling the emerging situations to protect the resilience of the Indian financial system, RBI said in a notification addressed to banks, urban cooperative banks, NBFCs, payment and small finance banks.
Uncertainty is emerging as the only certainty, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das as he emphasised on continued policy support at the December MPC meet during which members expressed concerns over spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, as per the minutes of the rate-setting panel released on Wednesday. After three days of deliberations, the six members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on December 8 unanimously voted for status quo on policy rates for the ninth consecutive time. At the meeting, the RBI Governor said risks stalking the global economy have amplified with rapid spread of the virus mutations, including the Omicron variant, leading to countries scrambling for restrictions.
The government has exhausted only 39 per cent of its fiscal deficit target in the first half of FY24.
Vegetable rates may ease from September, led by tomato prices, which have started showing signs of correction on the back of increased supply, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday. "Looking ahead, the spike in vegetable prices in July is starting to see a correction, led by tomato prices. "New arrivals of tomatoes in mandis are already softening the prices, coupled with proactive supply management in the case of onions.
It further pointed out that the twin balance sheet problem -- at the end of banks and corporate -- more attractive interest rates for borrowers in the bond market and from non-banking financial institutions are other reasons for slow bank credit growth.
The Bombay high court on Thursday said the judiciary and agencies like the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate should act independently, and asked 'what heavens are going to fall' if an interim protection from coercive action is granted for a few days to Nationalist Congress Party leader Eknath Khadse in an alleged land grab case of 2016.
The government must set up a Bank Investment Company to shrink its role in PSBs, if we are serious about tackling the two persistent issues - lax corporate governance practices and discretionary decision-making, says Shyamal Majumdar.
The RBI said it has come to its notice that some Indian banks have committed certain lapses while buying or selling real estate and taking or letting out property on lease or rentals in some places in foreign countries, it said in a notification on Thursday.
The panel suggests the government be authorised to raise the thresholds, which trigger applicability of Corporate Social Responsibility provisions.
On the controversial AFSPA, the home minister said, "We will also think of revoking AFSPA."
While they have restructured loans, there is still question mark over the success of such a work-out
Bangladesh is in turmoil, which is not good news for India, which shares a porous 4000 km border with it. There is a danger of fundamentalism growing there, and India has to move in to reset its ties with the new dispensation before China and Pakistan make capital out of it, alerts Ramesh Menon.
Banks cannot shirk their responsibility in cases of frauds.
Any revision in loan rates would be visible next month.
Pilot was there at the right place at the right time to take home the Bill.
Fraud-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank on Tuesday invited expression of interest (EoI) from potential investors for investment or equity participation in the bank for its reconstruction. Subsequent to commencement of the normal day-to-day operations, it will be open for the investors to convert the bank into a small finance bank by making an application to the RBI, the lender said.
Let all the stakeholders, especially the government, remember that if the Make in India lion needs to roar and rise again, it won't happen unless India Inc rises too, points out Shekaar Subramanian.
The Reserve Bank of India has postponed the meeting of its interest rate setting Monetary Policy Committee by a day to August 3 due to administrative exigencies. The RBI said the decision of the MPC will be known on August 5 as against the earlier schedule of August 4. "Due to administrative exigencies, it has been decided to reschedule the MPC meeting from August 2-4, 2022 to August 3-5, 2022," RBI said in a statement on Thursday.
The NDA government had kept 65.27 tonnes of gold with the Bank of England, violating the RBI Act, says Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy.
'The global situation is not very good.'
Isn't it time to review the 'fit and proper' criteria for banking licence, particularly with reference to individuals applying for it, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay?
India may adopt norms similar to the US Federal Reserve model, which regulates conglomerate-led banks in the country.
The Reserve Bank has restricted American Express Banking Corp and Diners Club International Ltd from on-boarding new domestic customers onto their card networks from May 1 for violating data storage norms. The order will not impact the existing customers of these two entities, the central bank said in a statement on Friday.
Misfiring Indian bowlers in focus as India seek series-levelling win over SA in third T20I
There will be different ways of returning the money, depending on the profile of the depositors and the amount, predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'What is critical today in India is confidence of depositors.' 'If you have these kinds of problems spreading like this, the confidence level of a lot of people in the system gets shaken.'
The plea, filed by Delhi-based Bejon Kumar Misra, said the Centre and RBI should be directed to ensure complete insulation and insurance of the hard-earned deposited money of people in various co-operative banks, including nationalised banks, by enacting an appropriate measure of 100 per cent insurance coverage towards the deposited amount.
'She delivers on promises, especially on security issues which is a core concern for India.'