Showing posts with label OMO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OMO. Show all posts

Tuesday, 9 February 2021

Fiscal Deficit and Its Indirect Monetisation by Reserve Bank of India - vrk100 - 09Feb2021

Fiscal Deficit and Its Indirect Monetisation by Reserve Bank of India

Indirect monetisation of fiscal deficit by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been heavy since 2008-09, with OMO (open market operations) purchases by RBI peaking at 63 per cent of net market borrowing in 2018-19 (not to speak of scheduled commercial banks' support to Government of India via mandatory SLR or statutory liquidity ratio)--leading to crowding out of the private sector.
 
Rising fiscal deficit has become a thorny issue for India since 2008-09, with OMO purchases supporting Government to an extent of 40 per cent of net market borrowings. In the past 13 years, only in 2014-15 and 2017-18, there were net OMO sales by RBI. The details of RBI's OMO purchases are provided in the table given below (click on it for expanded view):

 

 


With open market operations, RBI purchases and sells government securities and treasury bills. It is one of the main instruments of sterilisation used by the RBI. OMO sales entail the permanent absorption of the liquidity. Through OMO purchases, RBI injects liquidity into the banking system. RBI conducts open market operations regularly.

 Open Market Operations (OMO) by RBI are supposed to be two ways. Committee after committee have spoken against outright monetisation of fiscal deficit via OMO purchases--eroding RBI's credibility in discretionary liquidity management.

Practically, Government of India's fiscal deficits are financed by RBI's one-sided OMO buying (see image) & support from commercial banks through mandatory SLR (statutory liquidity ratio). On top of that, banks hold excess SLR securities leading to market distortions. 

With the introduction of FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) Act in 2004, RBI cannot participate in the primary issuance of government bonds. But RBI is still resorting to government debt financing through outright OMO purchases in the secondary market.

No other major central bank uses OMO (one-sided) as blatantly as RBI in yield curve management, though OMOs are not to be used for that. Bond prices are the building blocks of asset pricing--with such distortions how can market players be sure of pricing of other assets? 

RBI uses OMO to bring down long term yields by resorting to buying of government bonds, which is practically yield curve management, also known as yield curve control (YCC). Lower bond yields help governments in borrowing money from markets at cheaper rates.

With automatic monetisation via large OMO purchases, Reserve Bank of India has been printing money leading to debasement of money (lowering the purchasing power of currency).

In financial markets, government bond (called G-Secs in India for short) yields are the starting point for pricing of other assets. For example, corporate bonds are priced as a spread over G-Sec yields. G-Sec yields are also used for pricing equities and others.

With this indirect monetisation of fiscal deficits, RBI loses its credibility in conducting monetary policy objectively--reflecting poorly on central bank independence.

Side note: In financial market operations,  open market operations are termed as open mouth operations.

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Please check my comments posted below >

Related articles:

Primer on Market Stabilisation Scheme and Liquidity Management 02Dec2016




What is Marginal Standing Facility 20Jul2013

References:

My tweet  thread dated 08Feb2021 on the above topic can be accessed at: weblink

Yield curve control (YCC): St Louis Fed blog dated 11Aug2020

Jan2014 Urjit Patel Report on Monetary Policy Framework (MPF)

04Mar2013 Fiscal-Monetary Co-ordination in India : An Assessment

Disclosure:  I've vested interest in Indian stocks. It's safe to assume I've interest in the stocks discussed, if any.

Disclaimer: The analysis and opinion provided here are only for information purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should consult their own financial advisers before making any investments. The author is a CFA Charterholder with a vested interest in financial markets. He blogs at:

https://ramakrishnavadlamudi.blogspot.com/

https://www.scribd.com/vrk100

Twitter @vrk100    

 

Friday, 2 December 2016

Primer on Market Stabilisation Scheme and Liquidity Management-VRK100-02Dec2016




Primer on Market Stabilisation Scheme 

and Liquidity Management



After a gap of six to seven years, MSS has become a buzzword in the financial space once again. Government of India today, based on the recommendation of the  Reserve Bank of India, raised the MSS ceiling for financial year 2016-17 to Rs 600,000 crore from Rs 30,000 crore fixed earlier. The steep increase in MSS ceiling is necessary as banks have been receiving large amount of deposits following the currency ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes with effect from November 9th.

So what is MSS? Simply put, MSS is an acronym for market stabilisation scheme. MSS is used by country's central bank RBI as a monetary policy instrument for liquidity absorption and/or injection. RBI already uses other tools like LAF Repo, Reverse Repo and CRR. Why doesn't RBI use these tools instead of MSS? What is the impact of MSS on fiscal deficit?  I will try to answer them in this write-up.

1. What is MSS?

The Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) in an innovative sterilisation tool  introduced by the RBI in 2004. It basically deals with the liquidity impact of surging capital flows, such as foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio flows (FPI).

The MSS is an instrument for active liquidity and monetary management, in addition to other tools such as LAF repo rate, reverse repo rate and bank rate. It has enabled RBI to conduct exchange and monetary management operations in a flexible and stable manner.

2. Why did the Government increase the MSS ceiling steeply and suddenly?

The Government of India today raised the MSS ceiling to Rs 600,000 crore for the financial year 2016-17 from Rs 30,000 crore fixed earlier. The steep raise was expected for the past one or two weeks following the flood of money into bank deposits due to the currency ban on 8 November 2016.

This MSS instrument was used by RBI between 2004 and 2010 to first absorb liquidity of FII (now FPI) inflows into Indian securities and later inject liquidity into the financial system post the global financial crisis (GFC) that started in 2008. After the Lehman Brothers crisis, RBI started unwinding/de-sequestering of the MSS securities and released liquidity into the banking system, without expanding its balance sheet. The MSS outstanding balance has remained zero since 28 July 2010 till yesterday.

3. Will the Government use MSS money absorbed by RBI?

Issue of MSS bills/bonds by RBI leads to accretion of government deposits with the RBI, but they remain sterilised in the sense the government cannot use these MSS funds for its expenditure purposes. Amount raised under MSS will be kept in MSS cash account, which is separate from the normal cash account of the Central Government maintained with the RBI. Basically, RBI impounds these MSS funds.


4. What is the impact of issue of MSS securities on country's fiscal deficit?

The Market Stabilisation Scheme is backed by a corresponding equivalent amount of cash balances with the RBI. Amounts raised from MSS bills/bonds will not enter the Consolidated Fund of the Central Government.

As the funds raised under MSS would remain hoarded by the RBI in its books, there is no impact on the fiscal deficit of the Centre.

After MSS unwinding/de-sequestering, the money will be transferred from MSS cash account to the normal cash account of the Government. With the unwinding of MSS bills/bonds, the government will be able to use the money for its expenditure.

Interest due on MSS securities will be paid by the Central Government--to this extent MSS will impact the fiscal deficit of the government.

5. What type of instruments are issued under MSS?

Under the MSS, RBI issues dated securities and Treasury bills by way of auctions--either multiple price auction or uniform price auction up to a limit mutually agreed upon between the Government and RBI. They are marketable government securities eligible for statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), repo and LAF.

Today, the RBI issued 28-day cash management bills (CMBs) worth Rs 20,000 crore under the MSS, after raising the MSS ceiling for FY 2016-17 to Rs 600,000 crore.

6. What is the difference between LAF and MSS?

The Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) is basically used for day-to-day liquidity management, while the MSS is used for semi-durable and durable mismatches.

The LAF is used for short-term liquidity purposes, whereas the MSS is used for funds of medium or long term nature. For greater transparency and stability in the financial markets, the RBI releases an indicative quarterly schedule for issuance of Treasury bills and dated securities.

7. Who will invest in MSS bills/bonds?

The participants in the auction of MSS bills/bonds are commercial banks, cooperative banks, financial institutions such as insurance companies, primary dealers, etc.

8. What other types of policy tools are used by RBI in its liquidity management?

LAF: The Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) introduced in June 2000 is the primary tool used by the RBI for liquidity absorption (reverse repo) and injection (repo) for day-to-day purposes. It is generally used for temporary purposes, not for liquidity of enduring nature. The LAF enables the RBI to modulate short-term liquidity ensuring overnight call money rates move in the LAF corridor (between repo and reverse repo rates). The LAF repo rate has emerged as the policy signalling rate.

OMO: With open market operations, RBI purchases and sells government securities. It is the main instrument of sterilisation used by the RBI. OMO sales entail the permanent absorption of the liquidity.

Centre's surplus balance with RBI: The Central Government's surplus balance kept with the RBI also work as an instrument of sterilisation. As the RBI Act does not permit RBI to pay interest on such balances, these balances are invested in government securities held with the RBI. 

CRR: Cash reserve ratio (CRR) is considered a blunt instrument for impounding liquidity of the banking system. Currently, CRR is kept at 4%. On 26 November 2016, RBI imposed an incremental CRR of 100% on increase in bank balances between 16 September 2016 and 11 November 2016. This additional CRR is a temporary step to manage excess liquidity arising from currency ban.

MSF: Marginal standing facility was introduced by the RBI in 2011. The MSF is an additional window provided by RBI to banks, so that the latter can borrow overnight funds from the RBI against their excess SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) holdings. MSF scheme is similar to the LAF-Repo scheme. The difference between MSF and LAF-Repo is that under MSF, banks will have to pay higher rate of interest to RBI for their borrowings as compared to LAF-Repo.

In addition to the above (MSS, LAF, OMO, Centre's surplus balance, CRR and MSF), RBI also uses SLR and bank rate as monetary policy tools.

Earlier, RBI used policy tools such as, prescribing deposit and lending rates of commercial banks, selective credit control (SCC) over sensitive commodities and sector-specific standing facilities. But over the years, it had stopped using them.

9. Who will bear these costs of sterilisation?

a) In case of cash reserve ratio (CRR) and incremental CRR, banks bear the costs as RBI doesn't pay any interest on such CRR balances.

b) Government of India bears the cost of interest in the case of MSS.

c) In case of LAF window, RBI bears the costs.

So the costs are shared among all the three players. Of course, the costs borne by RBI will reflect in its balance sheet by way of lower transfer of surplus to the government.

References:







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Additional Information:

What are the indicators of liquidity in the Indian financial system?

a) Outstanding balances under LAF (repo and reverse repo) on a specific date
b) Outstanding balances under MSS on a specific date
c) Central government's surplus with the RBI on a specific date

Related articles:





Disclosure:  The author has a vested interest in the financial markets.

Disclaimer: The author is a CFA Charterholder (USA) and an investment professional. The views are personal. His views should not be construed as investment advice. Before making any investments, you are advised to consult your registered financial advisor. The author will in no way responsible for the decisions taken by readers.




Thursday, 31 December 2009

FINANCIAL MARKETS DEVELOPMENTS from APRIL 2009 to SEPT. 2009-VRK10-25102009

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DEVELOPMENTS IN FINANCIAL MARKETS BETWEEN APRIL AND SEPTEMBER 2009. This article chronicles several important developments that have occurred in the financial markets the world over during this six-month period with particular reference to India. For example, several policy initiatives have been taken by Reserve Bank of India during the reference period. All these have been codified and brought under a single document for the benefit of general readers and experts. This is an easy reference guide to students of financial markets. To aid them, the developments have been detailed month-wise. Please have a look at them:

APRIL 2009

• Government of India, at a meeting with the IBA, has implored Public Sector Banks to see if they could further pare their lending rates to give a boost to the sagging economy. However, the GOI official said that PSBs were not being directed to bring down their lending rates.

• The European Central Bank (ECB) has on April 2nd cut its lending rate by 25 bp to 1.25 per cent. This is the sixth time ECB has lowered its key rate since October 2008, when it stood at 4.25 per cent.

• US unemployment rate has increased to 8.5 per cent in March 2009, the highest level since 1983

• Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) is being withdrawn w.e.f. April 1, 2009, as promised by the then Finance Minister, P.Chidambaram, while presenting the budget for 2008-09. BCTT was introduced in 2005

• RBI Governor has said that banks were not responding to monetary policy signals by refusing to cut lending rates. He admitted that monetary policy transmission was weak in India.

• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had on March 31, 2009, amended its earlier rule, issued in 2006, to allow corporates the flexibility of taking the losses arising from exchange rate differences to the balance sheet and adjust them against the depreciable capital asset for whose acquisition the borrowings were made in foreign currency. India Inc was keen on this relaxation as the rupee had fallen against the US dollar in recent months and many of their hedging strategies went awry. However, this relaxation of AS-11 (Accounting Standard 11) is applicable only for corporates registered under the Companies Act; but not for non-corporate entities as per clarification from ICAI.

• (Amendment to RBI circular dated 25.3.09) RBI on 9.4.09 decided to defer the implementation of para (iv) of the circular dated March 25, 2009 ibid to the year 2009-10. Accordingly, banks will have the choice between either deducting their existing floating provisions from Gross NPAs to arrive at net NPAs or reckoning it as part of Tier II capital subject to the overall ceiling of 1.25% of total Risk Weighted Assets. It may be noted that this choice is limited to the financial year 2008-09 only. (RBI, vide its circular dated 25.3.09 advised banks as follows: Floating Provisions cannot be netted from gross NPAs to arrive at net NPAs, but could be reckoned as part of Tier II capital subject to the overall ceiling of 1.25% of total Risk Weighted Assets.)

• Monetization of fiscal deficit is not on RBI’s agenda for now, according to RBI Governor D.Subbarao. However, he said a view would be taken on monetization of fiscal deficit at an appropriate time.

• Banks borrow money from CBLO market (CCIL platform) at sub-one per cent level and lend it to RBI at 3.5 per cent using Reserve Repo route under LAF, making decent returns from arbitrage

• The Reserve Bank of India has, on April 16, 2009, issued ‘in-principle-approval’ to four companies to set up credit information companies (CICs). These are: (i) Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd., (ii) Equifax Credit Information Services Pvt. Ltd, (iii) Experian Credit Information Company of India Pvt. Ltd, and (iv) Highmark Credit Information Services Pvt. Ltd.

• RBI, in its Annual Policy 2009-10 released on 21.04.09, lowered LAF-Repo and LAF-Reverse Repo rates by 25 bp each to 4.75% and 3.25% respectively, while keeping the CRR and Bank Rate intact.

• The Indian Government would buy bonds worth USD 10 billion as its contribution towards increasing the capital base of IMF by USD 500 billion announced at the G-20 meeting in London early this month. India’s share in close to 2% in the Fund and as such it is contributing 2% of the new capital base to the IMF.

• Banks permitted to issue Guarantees beyond Ten Years: In view of the changing scenario in the banking industry where banks extend long term loans for periods longer than 10 years for various projects, the Reserve Bank has now permitted banks to issue guarantees for periods beyond 10 years.

MAY 2009

• India’s merchandise exports declined 33 per cent in March 2009 to touch USD 11.52 billion, the lower performance in three months of fourth quarter of financial year 2008-09. This is the sixth month in a row that exports registered a decline. For the full year 2008-09, merchandise export grew at only 3.4 per cent in dollar terms to touch USD 168.70 billion. This is the first time in a decade that merchandise exports recorded a single-digit growth.

• The current problem with the US is that US citizens have increased their savings in times of a an economic crisis. This is further aggravating the slowing US economy.

• The European Central Bank has cut its main interest rate by 25 bp to one per cent which is a record low since the ECB’s inception in 1998

• CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau of India Limited) and Transunion launched a score for personal loans. The score will help in predicting the likelihood of delinquencies by personal loan borrowers over a period of 12 months.

• The Central Government has lifeted its two-year ban on wheat futures in the commodity exchanges. However, the ban on futures of rice, urad dal and tur dal continues.

• Bharti Airtel’s subscriber base has touched 10 crore in 14 years of its existence. The company has a 25 per cent market share in India. The base surged from 2.50 crore in 2006 to 10 crore at present.

• The RBI Governor D.Subbarao has said that banks must pass on the cost benefits from technology-based products and services to customers. He said he was surprised to note that transfer of funds from ne branch of a bank to another which are both under Core Banking Solutions entailed a service charge for the customer.

• Monday, the 18th of May 2009, was a historic day for Indian stock markets. For the first time, the benchmark indices, BSE-Sensex and S&P CNX Nifty 50 had hit upper circuit, not once but twice during market hours on that day. At 9.55 am, the indices hit the first upper circuit of 15 per cent and the trading was suspended. Upon reopening of trade at 11.55 am, the indices hit the second upper circuit of 20 per cent and the trading was suspended for the day.

• RBI Governor had on May 22nd said: “Large borrowings by the government run against the low interest rate environment that RBI is trying to maintain to spur investment demand. However, with every percentage point increase in the fiscal deficit, maintaining adequate liquidity in the system becomes that much more difficult. During the first half of 2009-10, planned OMO purchases and unwinding of MSS will add primary liquidity that will be equivalent to 300-basis point reduction in CRR.”

• Oil subsidies to Oil Marketing Companies (IOC, HPCL, BPCL, etc) stood at Rs 1.03 lakh crore or almost two per cent of country’s GPD in 2008-09

• Forward Markets Commission (the commodities regulator in India) had on May 26th banned futures trading in sugar till December 31, 2009

• According to RBI’s report on the currency and finance, public sector banks in India require a capital of Rs 3.70 lakh crore for expansion in the next five years

• Guidelines for Issuance and Operation of Pre-paid Payment Instruments: The Reserve Bank has on April 27, 2009, notified the guidelines for the issuance and operation of pre-paid payment instruments in India. All persons currently operating payment systems involved in the issuance of pre-paid payment instruments and those proposing to operate such systems would have to seek authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India.

• Interest on Savings Bank Account on Daily Basis: In view of the present satisfactory level of computerisation in commercial bank branches, the Reserve Bank has proposed that from April 1, 2010, scheduled commercial banks would calculate payment of interest on savings bank accounts on a daily product basis.

JUNE 2009

• India’s exports shrank by 33.2 per cent in April 2009 (USD 10.74 billion), while imports (USD 16.08 billion) registered a fall of 36.6 per cent

• EXIT STRATEGY: Central Banks around the world, it seems, have been looking for an “Exit Strategy” – that refers to the process of withdrawal of massive fiscal and monetary stimulus packages that governments and central banks were forced to inject into their flagging economies. If inflation resurfaces, central banks will be hard pressed to withdraw liquidity from the system.

• SSI units are exempted from paying excise duties up to an annual turnover of Rs 1.50 crore

• Car giant General Motors (GM) has filed for bankruptcy protection, marking the biggest failure of an industrial company in US history. The widely expected move comes after GM had seen its losses widen following a steep fall in sales in recent years. General Motor’s move into bankruptcy protection is backed by the US government, which is expected to take a 60% stake in the company.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has said that mutual funds can now invest in Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs). IDRs are similar to the more well-known American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or the Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), which allow foreign companies to raise money via the Indian capital markets and for Indian investors to buy into shares of foreign companies.

• BRIC SUMMIT: The world's newest economic grouping has ended its first major summit by calling for a more diversified international monetary system. But the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China stopped short of criticising the world's dominant currency, the US dollar. The group also repeated calls for greater representation at major institutions, such as the World Bank.

• From the SEBI press release of June 18, 2009:

Transparency in payment of commission to Mutual Fund distributors:

There shall be no entry load for the schemes, existing or new, of a Mutual Fund. The upfront commission to distributors shall be paid by the investor to the distributor directly.

• National Stock Exchange’s S&P CNX Nifty50 index had moved to ‘free float’ market capitalization method effective June 26th. Free float means only those shares that are available for trading readily in the market. Obviously, free float ignores the stake of promoters’ stake while evaluating a company’s free float market capitalization.

• Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India in the rank of a cabinet minister

• For the first time in nearly two years India’s current account recorded a surplus in the March 2009 quarter; with the surplus being USD 4.7 billion

• RBI was in the habit of using multiple-price method while issuing/auctioning Government Securities until March 2009. From April 2009 onwards, RBI has been using uniform price method and discontinuing mentioning the weighted average prices of G-Secs. Under the multiple-price method, successful bidders are expected to pay the actual price at which the bids were made. This implied that the weighted yields could be far lower than actual cut-off yields at the auction. In the uniform price method, all the successful bidders are expected to pay the price equivalent to the cut-off yields, irrespective of the bids made. Incidentally, even the Federal Reserve of New York follows the uniform price method at the treasury auctions.

• Entry Load ban by SEBI on Mutual Funds effective August 1, 2009. There shall be no entry load for all mutual fund schemes effect from August 1, 2009.

• Policy for opening Off-Site ATMs relaxed: Scheduled commercial banks can now install off-site automated teller machines (ATMs) at centres/places identified by them, without taking the Reserve Bank’s prior permission. This general permission is, however, subject to any direction that the Reserve Bank may issue, including for closure/shifting of any such off-site ATMs. Banks should report full details of the off-site ATMs installed by them to RBI.

JULY 2009

• Economic Survey released on July 2nd predicted a growth of 7 per cent for India’s GDP during 2009-10. The survey pitched for big-bang economic reformes.

• General Motors (GM) says it has emerged from bankruptcy protection after creating a "new GM" made up of the carmaker's best assets. The leaner GM will own four key brands including Cadillac and will be 60.8% owned by the US government. Canada, which provided $9.1bn in loans, will have an 11.7% stake. A United Auto Workers union retiree healthcare trust fund will hold 17.5%.

• After Mutual Funds, it is the turn of ULIPs (Unit Linked Insurance Plans) to face the music from the regulatory body. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has issued a circular stating that the charges on ULIPs will be capped at 3% from October 1, 2009. The difference between the gross and the net yield to investors should not exceed 3% incase of insurance contracts less than and equal to 10 years, of which fund management charges shall not exceed 1.50%. For contracts more than 10 years the difference should not exceed 2.25%, of which the fund management charges shall not exceed 1.25%.

• IRDA, the insurance regulator in India, has granted an in-principle approval to SBI to start a non-life insurance company, jointly with IAG of Australia

• OP Bhatt, SBI chairman, has said that interest rates may go up by 25 to 100 basis points after October 2009 spurred by credit demand, higher government borrowing and a possible liquidity crunch

• Chinese economy clocked a GDP growth of 7.9 per cent during second quarter (April-June 2009), up from 6.1 per cent achieved during the first quarter

• The total gross market borrowings for the year 2009-10 will be Rs 4.51 lakh crore. Net of repayments of Rs 53,000 crore, the government’s net borrowings will be Rs 3.98 lakh crore. If the tax collections are below the targets, all these statistics and calculations would go haywire and fiscal deficit may shoot up beyond the targeted 6.8 per cent (which itself does not food, oil and fertilizer subsidies) of GDP for 2009-10.

• The government hiked the retail price of petrol by Rs 4 per litre and diesel by Rs 2 a litre while keeping prices of LPG and Kerosene intact

• India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) raised Rs 10,000 crore for refinancing banks for infrastructure lending. Now, the company says it is ready to lend this money to banks in the next six to seven months, said its chairman SS Kohli.

• The current limit for FII investment in government securities is USD 6.5 billion while for corporate debit, it is USD 15 billion

• RBI has permitted FIIs and NRIs to invest in IDRs (Indian Depository Receipts) subject to FEMA. With a view to facilitating eligible companies resident outside India to issue Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) through a domestic depository and permitting persons resident in India and outside India to purchase, possess, transfer and redeem IDRs, RBI has decided to operationalise the IDR Rules, notified by the Government of India, as amended from time to time, with immediate effect. Accordingly, eligible companies resident outside India may issue IDRs through a domestic depository. Automatic fungibility of IDRs is not permitted. IDRs shall not be redeemable into underlying equity shares before the expiry of a one year period from the date of issue of the IDRs.

• The National Investment Fund (NIF) has a corpus of Rs 1,815 crore. NIF is managed by three PSUs – UTI AMC, SBI Funds Management and LIC Mutual Fund

• RBI Press Release: In accordance with the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS), the ceiling for the outstandings under the MSS for the fiscal year 2009-10 has been fixed at Rs.50,000 crore. The threshold at which this ceiling will be reviewed is when the outstandings reach Rs.35,000 crore.

• Service tax is now applicable to 106 services. The rate of service tax is 10 per cent plus 3 per cent education cess making it a total of 10.30 per cent. This is effective from February 24th, 2009. In general, the liability to collect services tax and remit the same to the government lies with the service provider. However, in the following cases, the liability is with the service recipient: 1. insurance auxiliary services provided by insurance agents to life and general insurance companies; 2. mutual fund distribution services provided by a distributor to the mutual fund AMC; 3. sponsorship service provided to a body corporate located in India and others.

• Cash Withdrawal at Point-of-Sale: As a further step towards enhancing customer convenience in using plastic money, the Reserve Bank has now permitted cash withdrawals at point-of-sale (POS) terminals. To start with, this facility would be available for all debit cards issued in India, up to Rs.1000 per day. This facility would, however, be subject to the conditions as indicated below:

1. The facility is available only against debit cards issued in India.

2. The maximum amount that can be withdrawn at POS terminals is fixed at Rs.1000 per day.

3. The facility may be made available at any merchant establishment designated by a bank after due diligence is carried out.

4. The facility is available irrespective of whether the card holder makes a purchase or not.

• First Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2009-10: Dr D. Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, in a meeting with chief executives of major commercial banks presented the First Quarter Review of the Monetary Policy Statement for 2009-10 on July 28, 2009. The highlights are :

Projections:

• GDP growth for 2009-10 placed at 6.0 per cent with an upward bias.

• WPI inflation projected at around 5.0 per cent by end-March 2010.

• Money supply (M3) growth for 2009-10 placed at 18 per cent.

• Aggregate deposits of commercial banks projected to grow by 19 per cent.

• Growth in adjusted non-food credit placed at 20 per cent.

Monetary Measures:

* Bank Rate kept unchanged at 6.0 per cent.

* Repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) retained at 4.75 per cent.

* Reverse repo rate under the LAF retained at 3.25 per cent.

AUGUST 2009

• SEBI has asked mutual funds to charge all classes of investors the same exit load. This would mean that mutual funds cannot charge differential exit loads for retail and institutional investments.

• India and South Korea signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. This is the second economic agreement for India, the first being with Singapore.

• India has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the 10-nation ASEAN. Under the FTA, India will lift import tariffs on 80 per cent traded products between 2013 and 2016, starting from January 1, 2010.

• In the US, the savings from households has gone up to 7 per cent of GDP

• The economies of France and Germany have moved out of recession with both reporting that their GDP grew by 0.3 per cent , quarter on quarter in April to June 2009

• Japan has come out of recession, recording a GDP growth of 0.9 per cent in April-June 2009

• India’s premier business magazine, Business India, has awarded State Bank of India with the BEST BANK 2009 award. SBI had gained market share in 2008-09. It has shown tremendous growth last year though its profit margins (net interest margins) are under pressure due to base effect of high interest rate regime prevailed in August to December 2008.

• During January-June 2009, Chinese banks said to have lent a record USD 1.1 trillion in new loans, triggering off a wave of speculation that this lending spree would create a bubble in the long run with the Shanghai index falling by more than 20 per cent from its July 2009 peak

• The corpus of the New Pension System is put at Rs 6,000 crore

• National Stock Exchange (NSE) re-launched exchange-traded interest rate futures trading on August 31, 2009

• Cash Management Bills: The Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, has decided to issue a new short-term instrument, known as Cash Management Bills, to meet the temporary cash flow mismatches of the Government. The Cash Management Bills will be non-standard, discounted instruments issued for maturities less than 91 days.

The Cash Management Bills will have features as follows:

a) The tenure, notified amount and date of issue of the proposed Cash Management Bills will depend upon the temporary cash requirement of the Government. The tenure of the proposed Bills will be less than 91 days.

b) The proposed Bills will be issued at discount to the face value through auctions as in the case of the treasury bills.

c) The announcement of the auction of the proposed Bills will be made by the Reserve Bank through separate press release to be issued one day prior to the date of auction.

d) The settlement of the auction will be on T+1 basis.

e) The Non-Competitive Bidding Scheme for treasury bills will not be

extended to the Cash Management Bills.

f) The proposed Bills will be tradable and qualify for ready forward facility. Investment in the proposed Bills will be reckoned as an eligible investment in government securities by banks for SLR purpose under Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

SEPTEMBER 2009

• Banks will get more flexibility to raise long-term capital as RBI has relaxed guidelines for issuing subordinated Tier-II bonds. The RBI has allowed banks to issue these bonds with ‘call’ and ‘step-up’ option. Subordinated or Tier-II bonds have short maturity periods, usually of five years. Until now, these features were allowed only in case of upper Tier-I, or perpetual bonds, which have longer maturity, of at least 15 years.

• With loan growth yet to pick up, banks have begun parking their surplus resources with mutual funds. Till August 14, the mutual fund investments of both public and private sector banks stood at Rs 1.56 lakh crore, an increase of Rs 1.36 lakh crore over the corresponding period of the last financial year

• Mangala oil field in Barmer, Rajasthan, has begun commercial production of oil for the first time after oil was discovered there five and a half years back. This oil field is owned by Cairn India Limited, a listed company. By 2011, this oil well will be contributing to 20 per cent of India’s oil output. The current production will be 30,000 barrels per day and will peak at 125,000 barrels a day by 2011.

• RBI Governor, D.Subbarao has said that there is no need for a single regulator for the financial markets and that it is better, at least for the time being, to stick to the current arrangement of having separate regulators for banks, insurance, stock market, pensions and so on

• So far, 27 companies have raised Rs 22,000 crore in India through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) route

• Public sector banks in India are getting funds of USD two billion from World Bank to shore up their capital. This money comes at an interest of 1.05 per cent over LIBOR for tenors above 14 years and without any conditionalities attached thereto as part of IBRD’s Development Policy Loan. It approved other loans also: USD one billion to Power Grid Corp and USD 1.12 billion for IIFCL.

• At present, banks are permitted to raise lower Tier II subordinated bonds without special features such as Call and Step up options. On a review of international practices in this regard, it has been decided to permit banks to issue subordinated debt as Tier II capital with call and step-up options.

• The Reserve Bank has finalised the guidelines on classification of commercial real estate (CRE) exposures. The guidelines which have come into effect from September 9, 2009 are -

Definition: Real Estate is generally defined as an immovable asset-land (earth space) and the permanently attached improvements to it. Income-producing real estate (IPRE) as defined in the Basel-II framework, is reproduced below:

“Income-producing real estate (IPRE) refers to a method of providing funding to real estate (such as, office buildings to let, retail space, multifamily residential buildings, industrial or warehouse space and hotels) where the prospects for repayment and recovery on the exposure depend primarily on the cash flows generated by the asset. The primary source of these cash flows would generally be lease or rental payments or the sale of the asset. The borrower may be, but is not required to be, an SPE (special purpose entity), an operating company focused on real estate construction or holdings, or an operating company with sources of revenue other than real estate. The distinguishing characteristic of IPRE versus other corporate exposures that are collateralised by real estate is the strong positive correlation between the prospects for repayment of the exposure and the prospects for recovery in the event of default, with both depending primarily on the cash flows generated by a property”. In terms of the Reserve Bank’s Master Circular on Housing Finance dated July 1, 2009, banks may extend finance to public agencies, and not to private builders, for acquisition and development of land provided, it is a part of the complete project including development of infrastructure, such as, water systems, drainage, roads, provision of electricity, etc. Where land is acquired and developed by state housing boards and other public agencies, banks may extend credit to private builders on commercial terms by way of loans linked to each specific project. Banks are, however, not permitted to extend fund based or non fund based facilities to private builders for acquisition of land even as part of a housing project.

Bank finance can also be granted to individuals for purchase of a plot, provided a declaration is obtained from the borrower that he intends to construct a house on the plot, within such period as may be laid down by the bank.

Priority Sector Lending:

Pursuant to the Government of India announcing the categorisation of activities under services under the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, the Reserve Bank has advised that loans granted by banks for certain activities under micro and small (service) enterprises would be included within the priority sector provided, such enterprises satisfy the definition of micro and small (service) enterprises in respect of investment in equipment (i.e., original cost excluding land and building, furniture, fittings and other items not directly related to the service rendered or as may be notified under the MSMED Act, 2006 should not exceed Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 2 crore respectively). The activities which would be included within priority sector are : –

(a) Consultancy services including management services.

(b) Composite broker services in risk and insurance management.

(c) Third party administration (TPA) services for medical insurance claims of policy holders.

(d) Seed grading services.

(e) Training-cum-incubator centre.

(f) Educational institutions.

(g) Training institutes.

(h) Retail trade.

(i) Practice of law, i.e. legal services.

(j) Trading in medical instruments (brand new).

(k) Placement and management consultancy services.

(l) Advertising agency and training centres

Accordingly, there will be no separate category for “retail trade” under priority sector. Loans granted by banks for retail trade [i.e., advances granted to retail traders dealing in essential commodities (fair price shops), consumer co¬operative stores and advances granted to private retail traders with credit limits not exceeding Rs. 20 lakh] would henceforth be part of the small (service) enterprises.

Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification, and Provisioning pertaining to Advances - Computation of NPA Levels:

It has been observed that banks follow different methods to compute and report Gross and Net Advances, and Gross and Net NPAs. While, on an account turning NPA, some banks reverse the interest already charged, and stop further interest application, others prefer to make provisions in lieu of interest already credited to Profit and Loss account, and continue to debit interest, though it is credited to Interest Suspense account instead of to Profit and Loss account. While all the aforesaid methods in substance are the same, there is a need for uniformity across banks in reporting of Advances and NPAs, so as to avoid any scope for different interpretations by the auditors/public, as also to improve the comparability of Advances position of banks.

Therefore, in consultation with Indian Banks’ Association, it has been decided that:

a. On an account turning NPA, banks should reverse the interest already charged and not collected by debiting Profit and Loss account, and stop further application of interest. However, banks may continue to record such accrued interest in a Memorandum account in their books, as is the practice currently followed by some banks.

b. For the purpose of computing Gross Advances, interest recorded in the Memorandum account should not be taken into account.

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In addition to the above developments, several initiatives have been taken by the government has taken a number of initiatives. Some of them are like, the Direct Taxes Code Bill 2009, Goods and Services Tax introduction, the New Pension System for all citizens, Limited Liability Partnership (a new corporate structure) and some other initiatives have been heralded through the Union Budget presented in July 2009 and other policy initiatives. GOI has re-introduced exchange-traded interest rate futures in India.

LATEST FINANCIAL TERMS EXPLAINED IN A DOCUMENT dt. 9.10.09

1. BSE IPO Index 6. Swiss Banking Secrecy

2. Helicopter Ben 7. Indian Depository Receipts IDRs

3. Defined Pension vs Defined Contribution 8. Cloud Computing

4. New Pension System NPS 9. Carbon Footprint

5. Debt Management Office DMO 10. Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement

AUTHOR: Rama Krishna Vadlamudi

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FINALLY, WISHING YOU ALL SUCCESS IN YOUR EXAMS

All these issues have been thoroughly discussed through my articles and documents published on the above mentioned websites. Readers may note all these articles have been painstakingly researched supported by authentic data and author’s vast experience in financial markets for more than two decades. And readers can read and download these articles freely from anywhere in the world anytime. Some important articles posted on the websites are:

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Name of the article/document Article Updated as on
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1 India & World-Macro Economic Indicators 23-Oct-09

2 The Swagger is back on Wall Street!-Outlook for Stock Markets 19-Oct-09

3 Currency Futures Market in India-Status Check after one year 14-Oct-09

4 Financial Terms Latest-Decoded 9-Oct-09

5 Government Securities Market in India & Duration Management 9-Oct-09

6 India & World-Macro Economic Indicators 9-Oct-09

7 Bond Basics-All You Wanted to Know About Bonds 5-Oct-09

8 Limited Liability Partnership LLP 5-Oct-09

9 Forex Swaps & IRS - an introduction 4-Oct-09

10 Goods and Services Tax GST-INDIA 4-Oct-09

11 Exchange Traded Funds and NIFTY BeES 30-Sep-09

12 NIFTY BeES-Exchange Traded Fund-making risk less profits 30-Sep-09

13 European Cenral Bank ECB Key Policy Interest Rates 21-Sep-09

14 Money Market Mutual Funds 5-Sep-09

15 Public Provident Fund PPF A/C-Little Knownn Facts 5-Sep-09

16 Income Tax Slabs 2009-10-Resident Indians-HUF 3-Sep-09

17 Direct Taxes Code DTC 2009 2-Sep-09

18 Interest Rate Futures IFRs in India 28-Aug-09

19 Carbon Credits and Kyoto Protocol 25-Oct-07

20 Sovereign Wealth Funds-SWFs 25-Oct-07

21 Particpatory Notes-P Notes 18-Oct-07

22 International Financial Reporting Standards-IFRS 8-Sep-07

23 Perpetual Bonds & their Features 31-Aug-06

24 Real Estate Investment Trusts-REITs 20-Jun-06

25 Commodities Trading 7-Jun-06

26 Information Technology Act, 2002 24-Jun-04