Important words to remember during your Banking Job

आज अपनी मातृ संस्था बैंक में काम करते हुए मुझे दस साल हो गए और अपने अनुभव आप सबसे साझा करने का मन हुआ जो अच्छा लगे उसे अपनाइये,जहाँ सहमत न हों वहाँ भी अपनी  राय दें और मुझे सीखने का अवसर दें।

1. बैंक की  नौकरी एक  आशीर्वाद है  अभिशाप नहीं, ये नौकरी नहीं है एक सेवा है,जीवन जीने का एक सलीका है,इसलिये इसका आनंद लीजिये।कुछ भी अच्छा या बुरा लगना आपकी विचारधारा/सोच के ऊपर निर्भर करता है ,इसलिये पॉजिटिव बनिये।

2. बैंक में आपको हर तरह का मैनेजमेंट मिलेगा इसलिये अपनी सेवायें पूरी ईमानदारी के साथ दीजिये, आप हमेशा सुरक्षित रहेंगे।

3.अक्सर शाखाओं में काम करने वालों को जब रीजनल ऑफिस, हेड आफिस में काम करने का  मौका मिलता है उनका रंग ढंग,और व्यवहारिक स्वभाव बदल जाता है,इसे स्वयं पर हावी न होने दें और यथासंभव अपने स्टाफ की मदद करें,अपने सहकर्मियों का दिल जीतने का यह सबसे अच्छा तरीका है।

4.अपने ग्राहकों के साथ हमेशा empathetic व्यवहार 
   रखिये,उन्हें सेवा देने के साथ थोड़ा सा मुस्कुरा कर
   अपनेपन से बात करेंगे तो वो संतुष्ट ही नहीं अपितु हर्षित
    होकर जाएगा।

5. मैंने देखा है कि कुछ एक्सपर्ट साथी अपना ज्ञान बांटने से बचते है ,ये सोचकर, कि इस तरह उनकी वैल्यू काम हो जाएगी लेकिन आपमें अगर किसी विषय विशेष की expertise है तो उसे साझा कीजिये अपने सहकर्मियों के साथ,ऐसा करने से आप सम्मान के पात्र भी बनेंगे और आपका काम करने का उत्साह भी बढ़ेगा।

6.बैंक की सेवा में चार "प" यानि पद, पैसा,प्रतिष्ठा और परिवार हमेशा एक साथ नहीं मिल पाएंगे,ये आपकी priority है कि आप क्या चुनते हैं और क्या कीमत चुकाते हैं।

7. प्रैक्टिकल बैंकिंग और बुक बैंकिंग हमेशा एकसाथ सम्भव नही है जहां भी संभव हो अपने विवेक के अनुसार फैसला लीजिये और काम कीजिये।

8.सामान्यतया अधिकतर साथी 4-5 बजे के बाद तसल्ली से शाखा में बैठकर काम करते हैं इससे आपके परिवार पर प्रतिकूल प्रभाव पड़ता है और साथ मे ब्रांच हेड की अपेक्षाएँ भी। अधिकांश कार्य आप नियत समय यानी 10 से 5 के बीच खत्म कर सकते हैं।अनावश्यक न रुकें।

 9.अनावश्यक चापलूसी से बचिए। और "नये हैं काम सीखने का वक़्त है" ये बोलकर अपना काम कराने वाले सीनियर को साफ सुथरा "ना" बोलना शुरू कीजिए।

10.अगर आपकी गलती ना भी हो तो किसी भी स्टाफ से बहस मत करिये। भविष्य में फायदे में रहेंगे, वरना बेवजह आपके हर होने वाले काम को लटकाया जायेगा।नकारात्मक स्टाफ और कस्टमर हमेशा मिलेंगे,अपना सारा काम बिना किसी दुर्भावना के करें।

11. "लिख के दे दो" बोलने वाले कस्टमर्स से बोलिये "लिख के पूछो" और यदि बैंक का कस्टमर नही है तो बोलिये rti से लीजिये। 

12.सीनियर, जूनियर, सबस्टाफ़ जो भी आपसे क्लोज हैं,गाइड करता है,सेवा करता है उसके काम मे आगे बढ़ कर मदद कीजिये आत्मसंतुष्टि भी मिलेगी,ब्रांच का काम भी निपटेगा और माहौल फ्रेंडली बनेगा।

13. ब्रांच हेड हमेशा गलत नही होता,अनुशासन बनाये रखने के लिए कभी कभी कठोर होना पड़ता है,सहयोग करना सीखिये।ब्रांच हेड से यथासम्भव मेलजोल रखिए। हंस बोलकर, समय से काम निपटाकर, बिना कहे कभी कभार उनकी हेल्प करके अपना काम करवाना सीखिए। यथासंभव यूनियनबाज़ी, रूल एन राईट्स से बचिए। ध्यान दीजिए ।

14.बैंक मे एक सूत्र है-विश्वास रखिए, विश्वासपात्र बनिए। इसका पालन सोचसमझकर करेंगे तो काम का बोझ और तनाव कम होगा।

    आश्वस्त रहिए कि हम नई पीढ़ी, ध्वस्त और बदनाम होती बैंकिंग को बदल पाएंगे। अगले कुछ सालों मे लगभग सारा बैंकिंग स्टाफ यंग होगा। पुराने लोगो का तजुर्बा और हमारी स्मार्ट वर्किंग इस दमघोंटू वर्किंग कल्चर को निश्चित ही बदलेगी।

याद रखिए, काम की अधिकता से पहले काम की अनियमितता हमे थकाती है।
कुछ नया हो तो मुझे भी सिखाईये☺️☺️

हैप्पी बैंकिंग...!!!
Share:

Mistakes which you make while writing Cheque’s – Dont do it !

One of the most common ways to pay money to someone is through cheque’s. Cheque’s give you the flexibility to make payments to someone at some later date (post dated cheque) by writing it now at this moment. Writing a cheque seems to be such a simple task, but do you know that there are many weak links in writing cheques which can create a big problem for you.
If you are not careful while writing a cheque, it can be misused by someone else and potential of monitory loss to you along with unwanted headache. Today’s generation is very causal when it comes to writing  the cheques. In this article, I will cover 6 must know points which you should always practice writing the cheque’s . You can see these 6 points as a step by step recipe to write cheques. Lets see them one by one
1. Do not leave spaces between words or numbers
Its a no-brainier. When you write numbers and words in the cheque, be it Name or amount, never leave a space or gaps between them, because that gives a chance to add some alphabet or number and change the whole cheque.
Imagine you issue a cheque to “ANKIT SHARMA” , but put sufficient space between “ANKIT” and “SHARMA” and it looks like “ANKIT    SHARMA” . One can add an additional “A” after “ANKIT” and the name can become “ANKITA SHARMA” . However if you just leave exact one small space between “ANKIT” and “SHARMA” , its going to be tough to add another alphabet in between.

2. Make sure you cross the cheque saying “A/C Payee” 
If you are going to pay to some person and want to force that the payment should go to the same person bank account, in that case, you should be putting a double cross line on the left-top corner of cheque and write “A/C Payee” or “Account Payee“, which ensures that the money will get credited only to a bank account and not be handed over to someone as CASH over the counter.
A lot of people forget to do this, and if the cheque is misplaced or lost, someone can pose himself as the target person and take the money from bank, I hope you know how easy it is to steal someone’s identity and misuse the documents.

3. Add a line after the name and amount till the end 
I recently learned this point, where you add a running line like —————————- after the name and the amount in the cheque, which ensures that one cant add anything after the name and amount and misuse it .

4. Cancel the word “Bearer”
If you look at your cheque closely, in the “Pay” section, there is space for the name and then on the right corner it ends with “Or Bearer” , which means that either the person whose name is written in the cheque or anyone else who is bearing the cheque can encash it , provided the “A/C Payee” is added to cheque as mentioned in 2nd point above. So you should always cancel the word “Bearer” from the cheque, unless you really want it. This ensures additional safety of the cheque.
5. Add a sign of “/-” after the amount”
Now this might sound so small, but this has lots of wisdom inside this simple trick . There is huge difference between Rs 37,000 and Rs 37,000/- . In first option of Rs 37,000 , you can add more numbers at the end and can make it Rs 37,00000 if there is enough space ahead of it, but in case of Rs 37,000/- , You cant do anything . Below is a simple example of how it can be misused.

6. Keep the details of Cheque’s issued, even if it sounds boring !
And finally, when you give a cheque to someone, write down the cheque number, account name, amount and the date when it was issued or dated, because you might need this information incase you want to cancel the cheque. A lot of times, it happens that you need to cancel the payment, but do not remember the details. Having recorded this information would be handy at times and will help you to act faster.
Some more tips :-
  • Generally, while giving a cheque, i also make a point to use a cello tape on the name and amount, so that no one can change these
  • In the present era of mobile phones, when most of us have camera enabled cell phone, it is better idea to get a snapshot of Cheque before handing over. This way all your details will be maintained.
Use these 6 things everytime you issue a cheque
Next time you write a cheque, just make sure you have done all these 6 things, and the chances of misuse of your cheque will be close to ZERO because each and every step add a security layer. Let me know if you have any tips on writing cheque  in correct manner or any real life experience on this issue.
Share:

7 of the world’s 10 worst-performing bank stocks are in India

Seven of the 10 worst-performing bank stocks globally are from Asia’s third-biggest economy, data compiled by Bloomberg show. There are likely to be more dark days ahead as the lenders, already battling with the world’s highest soured debt, face fresh challenges to their asset quality from the slowdown in economic growth and the lingering crisis at the shadow banks. 



“It’s a double-whammy for lenders as a slowing economy has added to their existing woes with asset quality and fund-raising plans,” said Pritesh Bumb, an analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. in Mumbai. 


At the top of the heap, of course, is Yes Bank Ltd., which has seen its shares crash 70% this year on concerns about the lender’s thinning capital buffers and its sizable exposure to the cash-strapped shadow lenders. 


While Yes Bank last week raised about $273 million selling shares to large investors, the market remains jittery about its holding of pledged shares. The stock is down over 25% this week after CG Power Ltd., in which the bank owns a 12.8% stake, on Tuesday raised red flags over “suspect, unauthorized and undisclosed” transactions. 

IDBI Bank Ltd. leads share price losses among state-run lenders, having slumped by about 60% this year. The bank’s provisions for bad loans have risen for seven straight financial years through March 2019, forcing it to set aside 192 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) last year -- an amount that almost equals its current market value. 

Source- Economic Times 
Share:

How ATM card related frauds are happening, Know Do's & Don't for such transactions


In all ATM transactions we opt for printed slip (most of us including customer) throw the printed slip in dustbin without tearing off or destroyed properly. All these slip have last digits of ATM card as well as account Number and balance of account. When the fraudsters disclose account balance,  we get confidence in the caller without suspicion. Sol ID mentioned in the slip confirm branch name.

Any person having little smartness can find branch Name with the help of sol ID. In all POS transactions only last four digit is printed on slip for customer convenience. If the caller is having all the details than why he or she wants OTP number and why we have to trust ? OTP number should not be disclosed to any one at any cost. RBI gives advertisement every day on TV advising not to share card number, password,OTP etc with any one.


Bank has referred few number of callers to be blocked by the telecom service providers with the help of cyber crime branch of Mumbai police. But blocking few numbers can not resolve the problem.

We all are happy to share our personal details on social media like Facebook, whatsapp, twitter etc. We also download lots of apps and allow the apps to access our address book, messages , camera, photos etc. Even we allow the apps knowingly or unknowingly to reset or change the mobile settings, which starts sending all the personal details to the criminals or fraudsters.

We happily provide details to the shopping mall to win surprise gift through lucky draw which includes our mobile number as well as email address. We provide correct date of birth on social media and forward sms at the request of fraudsters which enables them to clone the sim also. We search branch number on google map instead of Banks website which is like inviting the fraudsters at home.


Some times customer writes complete account number and card number on social media specially on Face Book page. In case of sim clone the fraudsters get account balance and wins the customer confidence.

Never share any information to any caller (known + unknown) regarding your ATM CARD and / or account details.
Share:

You may hear some big banking decisions by government before 2019 polls


For banks, the last quarter of the financial year is usually time for consolidation rather than change. This is the time when they go full throttle on lending and beef up their top line before closing their books for the year. The year 2019 will, however, see a lot of front-ending of events in the private sector and also among state-owned lenders as the government is likely to push through some key decisions ahead of the elections. 

On the cards is a decision on transfer of surplus funds by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the government. This is likely to follow the report of the Bimal Jalan-led committee, which is expected before end-March 2019. The government is simultaneously going full-steam ahead on its decision to consolidate the three public sector banks — Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank. Management consultancy firm EY has already been appointed to help in the process. 


The other major M&A activity in the public sector that will conclude in the first quarter of 2019 will be LIC’s acquisition of IDBI Bank. LIC has said that it will pay shareholders who respond to its open offer for purchase of IDBI Bank stock on December 31. This means that the process will be completed in the third quarter. LIC’s acquisition, through infusion of fresh capital, will bring IDBI Bank out of RBI’s prompt corrective action plan. LIC plans to professionalise IDBI Bank on the lines of Axis Bank.


Additionally, the fourth quarter is when SBI’s mega qualified institutional placement of equity shares is expected. SBI aims to raise Rs 20,000 crore as it prepares itself for a surge in lending in 2019. 

Early 2019 will also see the conclusion of the last chapter in the high drama in several private banks. Justice B N Srikrishna, who is looking into the conflict of interest allegations at ICICI Bank, is expected to submit his report in the coming weeks. This will put an end to the controversy in the bank, which culminated in the resignation of Chanda Kochhar. In Kotak Bank, the Bombay high court will decide on the lender’s plea to retain its promoter’s shareholding at above 20%. Kotak Mahindra Bank has filed a writ petition challenging the central bank’s order to dilute promoter holding to 20%. 

The new year will be the most eventful for Yes Bank where the lender’s founder, promoter and CEO Rana Kapoor is expected to step down in January 2019 and make way for a new chief executive. The year is also likely to see a truce between the two promoter group’s Rana Kapoor and his sister-in-law Madhu Kapur who have been fighting in courts over the right to appoint directors. 

Axis Bank will also see a new beginning with newly-appointed CEO Amitabh Chaudhury taking charge from January 1 in place of Shikha Sharma who completes her term in December.  
Share:

ATM Costs are Part of Overall Bank Costs

The reported warning by the Confederation of ATM Industry that nearly half of the 2,38,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) may shut down by March 2019 due to unviability of their operations cannot be dismissed lightly.
Providing customers access to ATMs is a service of the banking industry. Additional costs associated with the infrastructure needed to make ATM operations secure should be counted as overhead costs that must be defrayed by banks, not the outsourced service providers.

If ATMs do not have cash, customers will need to visit branches, putting more pressure on tellers. Typically, banks spend at least three times more to service their clients for routine transactions. More office space, more tellers, all spell cost.
Rightly, banks are liable for all the associated risks of the cash held with service providers and their sub-contractors. RBI and the ministry of home affairs have stipulated stringent standards for these service providers that include a minimum net worth requirement of Rs 100 crore, minimum fleet size of 300 fully-equipped cash vans, two custodians and two armed guards plus a driver, GPS-CCTV, upgradation of the software and using lockable cassettes in their ATMs to prevent pilferage.
The estimated cost of adhering to the minimum standards is Rs 1,50,000 per ATM per month. That’s not small change. But compromising security is not a solution. Banks do have to recover the extra costs of this infrastructure.

India is a large, underbanked country, and banks must ensure that beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana who withdraw subsidies in form of cash through ATMs cannot be deprived of the basic benefit. The cost must be spread over the generality of banking services and recovered from them in general, not specifically from ATMs.
Share:

Duties of subordinate staff in Bank


In addition to the duties of the sub ordinate staff cadre they will be required to perform the following duties :

DUTIES OF CASH PEON:
1. To take money orders, to buy stamps etc., which involves carrying of cash not exceeding Rs.5000/- and to carry insured letters etc. to post office;
2. to Stitch currency note bundles;
3. to stitch and seal parcels and packets containing currency notes;
4. to transit cash from the bank to an office outside or vice versa, if unaccompanied by a watchmen/Armed Guard.


DUTIES OF DAFTARY :
1. Obtaining acceptance of bills of exchange, hundies etc., drawn on local parties or banks and /or collecting payments thereof.
2. Collecting payments for cheques or postal order etc., from banks or post office counters. They may also required to collect cash not exceeding Rs. 5,000/- at a time against various instruments.
3. Simple binding of books and registers;
4. Press-copying;
5. Filing independently letters and other papers in respective files as per indications marked thereon;
6. Assisting in issuing stationery;
7. Stacking under guidance, old records in orderly manner and assisting in giving them out when required; and
8. Undertaking the whole process of sorting, arranging; numbering, tallying the total number of and stitching the vouchers.

DUTIES OF HEAD PEON :
Required to assist in supervision of various matters pertaining to subordinate staff like:
1. Cleanliness of the office premises;
2. Cleanliness of the uniforms;
3. Leave arrangements;
4. Arrangements for safe-keeping of keys; and
5. Distribution of duties amongst the subordinate staff.


LIFTMEN:
Required to operate the lifts on regular assignment.

WATCHMEN:
Other than "Armed Guards" who are required to perform watch and ward duties, i.e. to watch or look after the premises or a department for the purpose of its safety, security and guard against infiltration and removal of the bank's property by any unauthorized persons AND/OR to watch and guard as above, the movement of cash from one place to another inside the bank premises or outside, where an armed guard is not employed at the Branch/Office.

ARMED GUARDS:
Required to perform watch and ward duties i.e. to watch or look after the premises or department for the purpose of its safety, security and guard against attack or assault or infiltration and against removal of the Bank's property by any unauthorized persons AND/OR to watch and guard as above the movement of cash from one place to another whether inside or outside the Bank, for which purpose they are required by the Bank to carry
any of the following weapons:-
(i) Gun, Pistol or any other fire arm; or
(ii) Dagger, sword, khukri, or spear; or
(iii) Any other licensed weapon.

Note:
'Retainer' : Peon (other than watchmen) whose names are registered in the Bank's licence as 'Retainers' will, when they perform "Armed Guard" duties, be entitled to special pay for "Armed Guards" pro-rate.

BILL COLLECTORS:
1. Obtaining acceptance of bills of exchange, hundies etc. drawn on local parties or banks and/or collecting payments thereof:
2. Collecting payments for cheques or postal orders, etc. from banks or post office counters;
3. They may also be required to collect cash not exceeding Rs.4000/- at a time against various instruments.

AIR-CONDITIONING PLANT HELPERS:
Persons who under the supervision of the technician attend to routine maintenance of and minor repairs to Air conditioning plants.

ELECTRICIANS:
Their work involves carrying out semi-skilled electrical work like routine maintenance of electrical equipment, effecting minor repairs to electrical fixtures and applications.

DRIVERS:
Required to drive, maintain and effect minor repairs (not requiring a technician's skill) to motor cars, motor vans, station wagons, scooters, motor cycles or other motor vehicles.
Share:

Daily life of a Branch Manager in Bank


Branch opens at 10 am. Branch Head had noted down the work he intended to complete: Process Note, OTS proposal, OD renewal and follow up of top ten NPAs. 

• So he walks in, his mind already overcrowded – and thereby clouded – with all the things he planned to execute  and is greeted by a bunch of papers – reminders about statements, performance review letters, undelivered debit cards, NPA Recovery, insurance canvassing, CASA campaign report and the like and a series of reminders from Whatsapp and Mail- messages!

• Second-line walks in informing about the staff position – two clerks are on leave.

• He is then reminded of heavy cash accumulation.

• He is then reminded of insufficient stock of cheque books and vital stationery for which indent placed with SRD. Stock not arrived yet. Customers are complaining. 

• Another frontline officer barges in – connectivity problem due to digging work by civic bodies which has severed BSNL lines. BSNL pleads for time to restore connectivity. Problem with ISDN line. Customer rush and complaints.

• Telephone rings – call from CO about SMAs – status report needed immediately and to be placed to authorities.

• A customer walks in complaining about the delay in service.

• From the glass door, he can already see two well dressed people waiting impatiently to get a chance to enter the already crowded cabin. He then remembers that they are the same persons who had come some time back with a request for a high value credit facility and they were sent back with a request to meet after a week. And here they are now. Trying desperately to catch his attention and make eye-contact.

• He gets a call from someone enquiring about credit card facility and its features.


• Suddenly he remembers that time is running out for filing suit for a NPA a/c.

• Another call from CO – your ATM hits are low, popularize it and report progress, Status of Demat Account of staff members, signature pendency etc. etc...

• Suddenly there is uproar outside – a customer yelling at the top of his voice, complaining about the charges debited to his account which he feels is too high. Threatens to go to Consumer Forum/Banking Ombudsman.

• Second-line rushes in to inform that he just received a call from (where else) CO insisting on receiving a report on the complaint immediately as they have been reminded from ZO!

• “I did not get cash from ATM, but my account is debited”, a customer laments.

• A flood of Mail- Messages – on KYC compliance, limit expired, auto NPA slippage list and the like. Each Mail Message begins with – VERY IMPORTANT – TO BE PLACED BEFORE BRANCH HEAD and ending with CONFIRM COMPLIANCE BY RETURN Mail. Even as he is rushing through the Mail msg, another one pops in, and another, and another!

• ‘Sir, again you have deducted tax, I have given Form 15G/H twice’, a depositor laments.

• Even as he is trying to respond to the one nearest to him, another one is desperately elbowing his way in to the cabin shouting at the top of his voice: this is my 4th visit for my HL interest certificate, the Officer is asking me to come two days later, how many times should I come to the branch?

• Two gentlemen gently make their way in to cabin, identifying themselves as Inspectors. Regular Inspection (RBIA) has begun!!

He then thought about all the planning he had done in the morning and sighed: ‘they can wait’ OR RATHER ‘I HAVE TO WAIT’!!  Well, so much for planning!
Share:

Armed robbers shot a bank manager and injured a guard


Armed robbers shot a bank manager and injured a guard while escaping after looting Rs 12 lakh at Milak village in Bhiwani district on Monday afternoon. While manager Ramphal, 55, died on the spot, security guard Dayal Singh sustained a bullet injury in his hand and was rushed to Bhiwani civil hospital. 

Police have registered a case of murder and robbery. "We are collecting evidence and video footage from areas in the vicinity of the crime scene. We have put our crime branch teams on the job to crack the case," said Bhiwani SP Ganga Ram Punia. 

According to information available, Ramphal and Dayal, who were posted at Milak branch of Bhiwani Central Cooperative Bank, had gone to the bank's Bhiwani branch on Monday to bring cash for payments to its customers.


They took a Haryana Roadways bus from Bhiwani and reached the village around 1.15pm. As they started walking towards the bank, two men on a bike came from behind and attacked them. They fired a bullet at Ramphal, who was hit in the head and died on the spot.

The assailants then shot at Dayal and grabbed the bag containing Rs 12 lakh cash from Ramphal lying on the road. They sped away before anybody could react and try to stop them.


A team of police officials, forensic and ballistic experts visited the spot and collected the empty bullet shells. Police sent the manager's body to hospital for post mortem. "We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the bullet used in the crime," said Punia. 
Share:

India needs more private banks and only 3-5 PSU banks: Arvind Subramanian


Outgoing Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian feels that Indian banking sector should have only a dozon of banks with private banks more in number than public sector banks. "India should have just three to five public sector banks and as many private sector banks," Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian said in an interview to ToI. 

Speaking about the health of Indian banking sector, Subramanian said the country needs more reforms. "We need to do more. We need to think about how to improve governance, more private sector participation." 

"I think there should be more private sector banks and probably fewer banks. A healthy system is where we have three to five public sector banks, three to four private sector banks and one or two foreign banks,"Subramanian told ToI. 


On the relationship between RBI and government, he said " by definition, there will be friction because objectives are different, mandates are different, sometimes the personalities are different. If there isn’t some amount of tension then things are not right. The only thing is how it’s resolved. It should never be unseemly." 

Also talking about his relation with former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, Subramanian said he has a very freindly relation with the Rajan. "I tell Raghu this, the only person who knows someone better than his wife, is a co-author. So, I know Raghu better than his wife and Raghu knows me better than my wife. We know each other very well." 

On demonistisation he said: "The fact that money came back is not an argument for saying those with black money were not punished. Was it right or wrong? Was it helpful or not? You may have to leave it to historians, three, four five years from now, to do a proper assessment." 


Arvind Subramanian had last month announced that is quitting his post on July 26 to return to academic research in the US, becoming the third high-profile economist after Raghuram Rajan and Arvind Panagariya to depart during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime.

Source- EconomicTimes
Share:

RBI’s new cash management norms hike banks’ costs

With the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) new standards for cash logistics companies kicking in from July 6, some lenders are raising the issue of higher costs and are making a case for higher inter-bank payments for use of automated teller machines (ATMs). On April 6, 2018, the RBI had come out with new prescriptions for companies that undertake cash services on behalf of banks. The guidelines were to come in force within 90 days.

Under the new norms, lenders must ensure that they engage service providers and their sub-contractors with a net worth of at least Rs 100 crore. In case of existing agreements, banks have to ensure that the net worth criteria is met by March 2019. Cash logistics companies need to have a minimum fleet size of 300 specifically fabricated cash vans. These vans should be equipped with GPS, tubeless tyres, an emergency hooter and CCTV covering both passenger and cash compartments.

Rituraj Sinha, group managing director, SIS Group, said, “The guidelines were much needed, in fact overdue. A working group created by the Indian Bank Association in 2013-14 had first highlighted the pressing need for regulating cash logistics operations. Currency logistics is completely outsourced by banks and demonetisation highlighted the vital role of private cash logistics operators in the currency management ecosystem.”


He added that while in the short term they are likely to push up cost of operations, in the long term they will save money by improving efficiency and reduce fraud. “The RBI guidelines are benchmarked with global standards. Currency management is regulated in most major economies by the central bank,” he added.

According to banks, the RBI also wants lenders to discontinue open cash replenishment and top-up in ATMs. Instead, it has asked banks to use lockable cassettes in their ATMs which shall be swapped at the time of cash replenishment. This move comes after a couple of incidents where personnel in charge of cash refilling replaced banknotes with play money. A bank official said, “Shipping cassettes instead of cash would mean lesser quantity in every cash van.” It will also increase the transit cycle as cash will have to be moved from currency chests to bank vaults to refill the cassettes. 
Share:

Unsecured bank loans rise four-times in FY15-18: Report


Banks' unsecured loan book has grown four times the bank credit during the past three years, helped by a rise in discretionary spending, technology-driven disbursements and lower interest rates, says a report. 

Unsecured loans are the loans where individual exposures are smaller and more distributed and given without any collaterals but banks get higher margins. Typically personal loan, education loans and credit card spends fall under this category of loans. 

"Between fiscals 2015 and 2018, unsecured credit - comprising personal, small and medium enterprise (SME), and credit card loans - clocked a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent, or almost four times growth in bank credit," Crisil said in a report today. 


As of March 2018, outstanding unsecured loans stood at around Rs 5 trillion, accounting for 26 per cent of retail lending, compared to 21 per cent three years ago. 

Growth in unsecured loans is on account of a surge in discretionary spending, increased availability of customer data, faster disbursements driven by technology, and lower interest rates in some segments. 


The report said financiers are expected to focus more on this segment due to attractive yields. 

Return on assets are 2.5-3 per cent for personal and SME loans, and 3-4 per cent for credit cards, compared to under 2 per cent for home loans and new passenger vehicle loans, it said, adding rising competition has led to lower rates in some segments such as personal loans. 

In unsecured SME loans, rates have remained sticky, but average tenure and commissions paid to direct selling agents have increased, it said. 

Source- Economic Times
Share:

The Indian banking system is probably the most pressurised system

It was not too long ago when we all hailed the concept of debt restructuring on grounds that projects failed because of policy failure. The argument was that companies should not be penalised when government machinery did not move, and hence, some latitude was required. With this in the background, the logic is carried forward to the farm sector. If we are willing to restructure the loans of the rich and prepare for deep haircuts, the same logic should be applied for farmer loans because they are poor. 

Therefore, farm loan waivers have become a habit which cannot be criticised even by bankers. The picture is again similar when we see the urgency to push SME loans where banks have no option but to aggressively meet targets. NPA recognition norms have been made flexible to accommodate the travails of SMEs. Similarly, another big push is given for loans to the lower income groups under the umbrella of affordable housing. The threat of a potential pile up of NPAs is germinated at this stage and the blame is put on bankers for reckless lending when these numbers swell. Are we being fair to bankers?

The irony is that even the central bank is not spared. As long as NPAs increased, everyone was asking why results were not flowing in. But with the IBC in place, and RBI bringing out its notification where strict action is taken from Day 1 of failure, there is immense pressure to relax this rule, or else, it will affect corporate sentiment. It is clearly a case of being damned if one does and damned if one doesn’t.

Are bankers really responsible for these loans when they are forced to lend even if it does not make sense? Umbrage is always expressed that it is public money that is being wasted by irresponsible bankers. But the CBI, CVC and CAG do not trail government officials when, say, people perish in a stampede in a station or accidents take place on bad roads because of bad planning where public money has been incorrectly used. This is the dilemma for bankers, and it is not surprising that no one would like to be a banker in a top position—especially a public-sector bank chief.

Curiously, in almost all the high profile cases of asset failure, which involve consortium lending, it is the PSB chief who can be hounded post retirement and lives in fear, while counterparts in private sector banks are not really affected. Something is evidently amiss in this industry.

To top it all, banks are run like any commercial enterprise where, under the force of competition, growth numbers matter a lot. Targets are stretched for every aspect of business. This can be seen if one reads the transcripts of any bank after results are announced. It is always a case of saying that we grew by x% which is higher than that of the system. Targets are always high for the future, and the staff is motivated to sell more loans. This has led to compromise in quality. Unlike manufacturing, where producing 100 or 10,000 units maintains homogeneous quality as it is mechanised, for lending decisions, it is not the same given every loan is different and, hence, requires individually attention. Mechanising the same business has made it scalable, but also prone to error in judgement.
This is what is being seen today. Credit cards are sold on the telephone, and in a lighter manner, it is said that it takes lesser time to get a home loan than to pay the bill for groceries in a supermarket. In short, there seems to be an irrational push to giving loans in the name of serving shareholder interests. This has led to taking high risks, mis-selling in the guise of cross-selling and so on. With every bank talking of market share, shareholder value, etc, it is but natural that banks have reached this embarrassing situation.
The other part of the story—historical—is the role of the external environment. There is just too much interference in the banking sector, especially when it comes to PSBs. There is no gainsaying the fact that if the government is the owner, it has an inherent right to guide PSBs’ operations. But, over the years, PSBs have become a tool for implementing a political agenda, and this is not desirable.
First, since nationalisation, several appointments at the top have been motivated this way, which leads to directed lending. The culture in anything ‘government’ is obeisance and, hence, all employees get fine-tuned to obeying orders. For almost a decade-and-half, the relationship between the PSB heads and the ministry of finance has been one where there are regular conversations on how business should be conducted. Ideally, from a governance standpoint, there should be full independence as interest rate decisions should be taken based on commercial considerations.

Secondly, banks are, at times, told to lend to targeted sectors like the farm sector, SMEs or affordable housing for poor, all of which is political agendas. There are stiff targets for MUDRA loans which have to be met, which, in turn, make bankers run after the ‘target’ rather than becoming quality-oriented. All this is justified under priority sector lending, which ironically is the only part of the Narasimham Committee Report of the 1990s which has not been touched even once in the last quarter century. This creates potential bubbles.
Thirdly, even on the liability-side schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana that are intrinsically commercially non-viable have been implemented more by PSBs than private banks, which diverts important personnel time for such schemes.
Lastly, often, bankers are confused with the continued moral hazard that has been institutionalised in the system. Credit appraisal may lose its sanctity when such dictats come from above. Bankers also lose interest when appraising projects, knowing very well that there will be dictats coming from the top at some point of time. Even today, every political party is talking only of farm loan waivers at a time when the NPA issue has reached its peak.
The overall environment, thus, does breed uncertainty that makes it hard for one to do business. This is probably the most pressurised system where politics and commerce scores over economics. The fissures in the structure are out in the open. Banks should not become tools for implementing any extraneous agenda, and this is the only way in which we can have a better system. Decades of obeisance to external agendas has weakened the fabric of banking.
Share:

Coming years challenging for banks, need to look beyond NPAs: SBI


The coming years will be very challenging for banks which will have to look beyond the bad loan resolution and address pressing issues such as frauds, cyber security and governance, SBI has said. 

The operating environment has become increasingly complex, the state-owned bank said in its Annual Report 2017-18. 

Resolution of stressed assets has progressed satisfactorily and the final outcome will take some more time to reflect in the profit and loss (P&L), it said, adding that this delay is mainly because new laws take some time to mature in practice, . 

"The coming years will be very challenging for the banking system as a whole," said the country's largest lender. 


"The structural transformation of banks must move beyond the non-performing asset (NPA) resolution and address other pressing issues, such as frauds, customer retention and servicing , human resource, cyber security and governance," it added. 


Of all the 21 public sector banks (PSBs), 19 have registered a staggering loss of Rs 87,300 crore in 2017-18, topped by scam-hit Punjab National Bank (PNB) which posted a net loss of nearly Rs 12,283 crore during the year. Indian Bank and Vijaya Bank were the only two PSBs which made profits. 

SBI said the policy initiatives over the last four years have gathered momentum with far reaching structural transformation in all sectors and banks are unlikely to remain untouched by these changes. 

With capital infusion in PSBs, it will be up to them how they grab the opportunity and deploy technology to address some of these pressing issues, the SBI report said. 

As on March 31, 2018, the gross NPAs of SBI increased to Rs 2,23,427 crore (10.91 per cent of the gross advances), from Rs 1,77,866 crore (9.11 per cent) by end-March 2017. 

The net NPAs or bad loans grew to Rs 1,10,855 crore (5.73 per cent) from Rs 96,978 crore (5.19 per cent). 

The largest lender of the country suffered a net loss of Rs 6,547.45 crore in 2017-18, as against a net profit of Rs 10,484.1 crore in the preceding fiscal. 


"The year 2017-18 was a difficult year as far as net profits are concerned. The main contributing factors being increase in loan loss provisions, mark to market losses on government securities and provisions and payments to employees," Chairman Rajnish Kumar said in the report. 


The banking environment remained eventful in 2017-18 as asset quality, resolution of stressed assets and muted credit growth in fist half continued as major challenges for most banks. 

"Higher NPAs impacted interest income adversely and led to elevated provisions, thus putting pressure on the profitability of banks. Further, some PSBs have been put under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework of RBI, which puts restrictions on key areas viz. dividend payment, branch expansion..," the report said.

The external environment has also become more uncertain, despite a positive outlook on growth, it said, adding that trade wars have become more acute and the situation will continue in 2018 in the same direction. 

So, the banks across the world have revisited their foreign business strategy in line with growing risks, it said. 

"Such cautions prevails among Indian banks as well. The government has advised banks to rationalise their foreign branches. However, this does not constitute a blanket withdrawal but a more realistic strategy in line with changing trade patterns of the country. This rationalisation in foreign business will therefore continue," SBI said. 

Terming the year gone by "an exceptional year" in many ways, SBI said the future strategy of the bank has to be clearly articulated and executed. 


"Potential leaders will be identified and mentored through customised training programmes to create a strong leadership pipeline. Some of these works are already in progress and concrete action plan will be implemented in the next two years," said the report. 

As per the report, the Chairman and Managing Director Rajnish Kumar, who was elevated to the post from October 7, 2017, drew a gross salary of Rs 14,25,594.10 by March 31, 2018 as the new chairman. 

Ex-chairperson, Arundhati Bhattacharya, took home a gross salary of Rs 14,69,975.81. She retired from the post on October 6, 2017. 

Source- EconomicTimes
Share:

  Useful links for Bankers
   * Latest DA Updates
   * How to recover Bad loans/NPA Acs
   * Latest 12th BPS Updates
   * Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
   * Tips while taking charge as Manager
   * Software used by Banks in India
   * Finacle Menus, Shortcuts & Commands
   * Balance Inquiry Number of all Banks
   * PSU & Private Banks Quarterly result
   * Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *