Manojit Saha

Stories by Manojit Saha

PSB reforms only on paper; 10 don't even have chairman

PSB reforms only on paper; 10 don't even have chairman

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2021

The talk of governance reforms at public-sector banks seems to remain on paper, as a majority of them continue to be working with just a handful board members. Half of the board seat at these banks have been vacant. Ten of the 12 public-sector banks, even large ones like Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India - all except State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda - don't even have a chairman. In 2014, while splitting the post of chairman & managing director (CMD), the government had decided to appoint non-executive chairmen at these banks. SBI, which has an executive chairman and four managing directors, was an exception.

PSBs' loan write-offs twice as much as govt's capital infusion

PSBs' loan write-offs twice as much as govt's capital infusion

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2021

Public sector banks (PSBs) have written off a massive Rs 8 trillion of loans in the seven years of the Narendra Modi government in office. This is more than twice the capital infused by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government during the period. Between 2014-15 and 2020-21 (FY21), the Centre had infused Rs 3.37 trillion into PSBs. At Rs 1.06 trillion, FY19 saw the highest capital infusion.

'RBI has given us 120 days to operationalise SFB'

'RBI has given us 120 days to operationalise SFB'

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2021

Only when we are part of the same family, which will happen down the line, then, of course, we will give them (PMC depositors) all the assurance and the comfort.'

Should RBI print money and finance govt's fiscal deficit?

Should RBI print money and finance govt's fiscal deficit?

Rediff.com   15 Jun 2021

Experts disagree with the idea and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has the sole right to print money, is not comfortable with it as well.

Banks report loan fraud worth Rs 5 trn; SBI's amount largest

Banks report loan fraud worth Rs 5 trn; SBI's amount largest

Rediff.com   2 Jun 2021

Banks operating in India reported fraud of Rs 4.92 trillion as on March 31, 2021, which represents nearly 4.5 per cent of the total bank credit, showed Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, which was sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Saurabh Pandhare. The data showed 90 banks and financial institutions reported a total of 45,613 cases of loan fraud till March 31, 2021. State Bank of India - the country's largest lender - reported the highest amount of loans as fraud - Rs 78,072 crore as on March 31, 2021.

Stable rupee is bad news for foreign currency deposits

Stable rupee is bad news for foreign currency deposits

Rediff.com   27 May 2021

The flow of deposits from non-resident Indians (NRIs) hit a four-year low in the financial year 2020-21 mainly due to contraction in foreign currency deposits, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows. Total NRI deposits during FY21 were $7.3 billion as compared to $8.6 billion in FY20 - the lowest since 2016-17, when such deposits had contracted by $12.3 billion. Indian banks have three kinds of deposit accounts where NRIs or PIOs (persons of Indian origin) can park their funds: non-resident external-rupee account (NRE); non-resident ordinary rupee account (NRO); and foreign currency non-resident bank account (FCNR [B]).

Covid effect: Banks prefer govt bonds to giving loans

Covid effect: Banks prefer govt bonds to giving loans

Rediff.com   20 May 2021

Record liquidity infusion by the central bank in the banking system during the financial year 2020-21 amid sluggish economic activity resulted in banks investing more in safe government papers than in extending loans, data from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. This trend has not been seen in nearly two decades, barring 2016 - the year of demonetisation.

Why Citi is exiting India

Why Citi is exiting India

Rediff.com   10 May 2021

The Indian regulatory framework forced Citi to hibernate -- contrary to the claim that it never sleeps!

Modi era: Private banks grow; PSBs don't

Modi era: Private banks grow; PSBs don't

Rediff.com   28 Apr 2021

Since 2014, the public sector banks' branch network in rural and semi urban has grown by a mere 4,000 while for private sector banks, it doubled from 9,673 to 18,437.

Pay life insurance premium in advance and get a discount

Pay life insurance premium in advance and get a discount

Rediff.com   5 Mar 2021

The discount should be equal to interest rates on savings bank account deposit of State Bank of India.

RBI's 3-pronged strategy to revive PMC Bank

RBI's 3-pronged strategy to revive PMC Bank

Rediff.com   5 Feb 2021

the three investors that have submitted their final bids are not commercial banks. Among the three, one is a non-banking financial company. Another distinctive feature of the revival is that PMC may lose its cooperative bank characteristic after its reconstruction.

Banks to face RBI heat for not passing on base rate cut benefit

Banks to face RBI heat for not passing on base rate cut benefit

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2015

Central bank sees action as discriminatory, unfair

Reserve Bank pulls up bosses for IOB mess

Reserve Bank pulls up bosses for IOB mess

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2015

The bank's branch expansion and recruitment have been curtailed.

Why loans rates are still high despite RBI's rate cut

Why loans rates are still high despite RBI's rate cut

Rediff.com   9 Sep 2015

For banks to cut loan rates, the cost of deposits needs to come down, and there is no sign of that happening.

2 years of Raghuram Rajan: Many hits but some misses, too

2 years of Raghuram Rajan: Many hits but some misses, too

Rediff.com   3 Sep 2015

We need a change in mindset, says the RBI Governor.

Autonomy for govt banks remains on paper

Autonomy for govt banks remains on paper

Rediff.com   31 Aug 2015

Instructions were issued on holding loan camps in the last week of September.

SBI takes Harvard lessons for staff appraisal

SBI takes Harvard lessons for staff appraisal

Rediff.com   24 Aug 2015

Apart from 40 modules of Harvard, SBI has internally developed 500 e-modules for employees.

All about the Indian financial code 2.0

All about the Indian financial code 2.0

Rediff.com   18 Aug 2015

The finance ministry has put out a revised draft in public domain.

Arundhati Bhattacharya's 'Super Six' strategy worked wonders for SBI

Arundhati Bhattacharya's 'Super Six' strategy worked wonders for SBI

Rediff.com   18 Aug 2015

SBI's gross NPA figures have shown a decline for three consecutive quarters.

There is room for August rate cut

There is room for August rate cut

Rediff.com   31 Jul 2015

Scanty rain would have put extra pressure on food prices.