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Showing posts from June, 2015

RBI to work on July 1, 2015 to facilitate public transactions

          The Reserve Bank’s accounting year is July to June. Hence, the Reserve Bank remains closed for public transactions every July 1 on account of its annual closing of accounts On a review and in order to facilitate the settlement of market transactions, as also, to aid the transactions of the general public, the Reserve Bank of India has decided that it will remain open for public transactions on July 1, 2015.. In view of the annual closing of its books of account, however, on July 1, 2015– ·        services, such as, RTGS/ NEFT, transfer of funds and settlement of securities will be available from 11.00 a.m. onwards; ·        settlement of funds as well as securities for all transactions that settle on T+0 basis will be effected from 11.00 a.m. onwards; ·        settlement of all outstanding transactions under the Reserve Bank’s liquidity adjustment facility(LAF) / marginal standing facility (MSF) due for reversal will take place at 11.00 a.m. on that

Mudra Bank ATM Cards-One step forward, two steps backward

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          Government of India is making all efforts to migrate cash transactions to Safe eTransactions. The ‘Draft Proposals For Facilitating Electronic Transactions’ invites suggestions from general public to increase the number of Safe eTransactions in our country.           In this respect, the proposal of Mudra Bank to issue  ATM Cards to enable Loan beneficiaries to withdraw loan amount through cash is a retrograde step. Quote 8        (i)       MUDRA Card -         Going forward, MUDRA would look at improving the offerings basket by looking at innovative ideas like a pre-loaded MUDRA Card, say with an assessed value. -         The credit limit available on MUDRA Card could be 20% of the loan limit sanctioned to the enterprise, with a maximum credit limit on the card being 10,000/-. The principal issuer will be MUDRA and credit risk of upto 20% of the card portfolio could also be covered under the Credit Guarantee Scheme of MUDRA. The remaining risk would rema

Indian Banks to stay closed on 2nd and 4th Sat from July 15 2015

 Indian Bank Branches will be closed on all second and fourth Saturdays from July 15th. This is as per the pact between public sector bank (PSB) employees and officers with the management. T M Bhasin, chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), said the Reserve Bank of India had approved the proposal and a notification would be issued on the change, under the Negotiable Instruments Act. It will take three to four weeks for the process to get complete. PSB branches will work fulltime on the first and third Saturday of each month, said Bhasin, also chairman and managing director of Indian Bank. This would unleash a major revolution in the Indian banking sector. All the stake-holders i.e Bank Staff and Bank customers would need to relook their banking practices. The transition period would last 12-18 months. Details  of 2nd and 4th Saturdays in the coming month are as under: Sr No Month 2 nd Saturday 4 Th Satu

RBI imposes INR 20 lacs penalty on The Hubli Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Hubli, Karnataka

A hefty fine of INR 20 lacs (Rupees Twenty lakh only) has been imposed   ‘The Hubli Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Hubli, Karnataka’, by Reserve Bank of India. This fine is for violation of Reserve Bank of India’s instructions for irregularities in cheque discounting, overdrawal in OD loan accounts etc. Cheque discounting : Cheque discounting is a component of Working capital limits. The Bills limit has to include limits for purchase of third party (outstation) cheques / bank drafts. Banks must satisfy themselves that the bills limit is not mis-utilised. Overdrawal in OD loan accounts: A limit is set in the Overdraft accounts as per the assessed credit profile of the customers.  The limit can be breached in exceptional circumstances. Such breaches should be backed with proper approvals. In the instant case, there were frequent breaches of the Overdraft limits. Read an interesting article - Flower, creeper and food

RBI imposes penalty on The Junagadh Commercial Co-operative Bank Ltd., Junagadh (Gujarat)

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹ 5.00 lakh (Rupees Five Lakh only) on The Junagadh Commercial Co-operative Bank Ltd., Junagadh (Gujarat).           The monetary penalty is for violations of the directives/guidelines of the Reserve Bank on :- 1.      Know Your Customer (KYC) Norms 2.      Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Measures 3.      Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) 4.      Obligations of Banks under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Top Things to Do in Junagadh The predominant cuisine in Junagadh is vegetarian.  Junagadh might not have any lavish or fine dining restaurants but it does have quiet some options for some lip-smacking street food and good quality Indian and local Gujarati cuisine.  Some Gujarati snacks and sweets that relish are Dhokla, Khandvi, Thepala, Ghevar, Basundi and probably a few more. Check this out @ http://kimeatsnblogs.blogspot.in/2014/06/petals-junagadh.html Tourist Attractions in

RBI imposes penalty on The Sutex Co-operative Bank Ltd., Surat (Gujarat)

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹ 2.00 lakh (Rupees Two Lakh only) on The Sutex Co-operative Bank Ltd., Surat (Gujarat), for violations of the directives/guidelines of the Reserve Bank on Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML). Sutex Bank’s proud journey started with its establishment on 15th May,1972. At the prime time of opening Sutex Bank its name was The Surat Textile Traders Co-Op. Bank Ltd. Sutex Bank has in total 15 branches and a administrative office. surattextiledirectory

RBI imposes penalty on The Pij Peoples Co-operative Bank Ltd., Pij, Dist. Kheda

    The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty ₹ 1.00 lakh (Rupees One Lakh only) on the Pij People’s Co-operative Bank Ltd., Pij, Dist. Kheda (Gujarat), for violation pertaining to risk categorization of accounts and non-reporting of Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs) to Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), New Delhi. Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to prepare a profile for each customer based on risk categorization. At the same time, RBI has reemphasized the need for periodical review of risk categorization.  As continuous monitoring cannot be done manually, an appropriate software application has to be in place to throw alerts when the transactions are inconsistent with risk categorization and updated profile of customers.

RBI Penalises The Kutch Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Rapar, Dist. Kutch (Gujarat)

 Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹ 5.00 lakh (Rupees Five Lakh) on The Kutch Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Rapar, Dist. Kutch (Gujarat). The reasons for this monetary penalty are for: 1.      Non-compliance to Inspection Report(IR) for March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2013, 2.      Not publishing its annual accounts for the position as on 31/03/2013 up to 31/03/2014 despite persuasion and  repetitive violation, 3.      Not completed risk categorization as well as Unique Customer Identification Code (UCIC) of its customers and 4.      Circumvention of RBI guidelines on issuance of Demand Draft(DD)/Pay Order(PO)/At par cheques against receipt of cash for value ₹ 50,000/- and above. Rapar is a city and a municipality in Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Particularly this area of Kutch is called Vagad. The name derives from famous Vaghela rulers. It means the land of Vaghelas. Link 1: 10 Must Do’s on a Trip to Kutch, India

IIBF-Certificate Examination in Foreign Exchange Facilities for Individuals

          The primary objective this IIBF course is to make the branch officials familiar with the FEMA provisions that impact their day to day functioning at the branch level.     This exam is being introduced pursuant to the recommendation of a committee of RBI.           Normally foreign exchange transactions pertaining to individuals are handled at branches only and are not referred to specialised forex cells.           The course covers ‘Foreign Exchange Facilities for individuals under FEMA1999’ RBIs FAQs’ on Forex Facilities for Residents (Individuals) (updated up to November 21, 2014) For full details refer to Reserve Bank of India website: Introduction : The legal framework for administration of foreign exchange transactions in India is provided by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), which came into force with effect from June 1, 2000, all transactions involving forei