India
Rajan debunks central banking myths in final address
Outgoing governor completes valedictory tour with a cross-examination of the contradictory demands on the RBI, restating the value of central bank independence
RBI annual report shows both income and expenditure on the rise
Staff costs and transaction fees drove rise in overall costs in 2015–16, although these were balanced by higher income; staff numbers on the decline
Rajan tells regulators: do not be afraid of innovation
Regulators should not ban innovation in order to be safer, outgoing RBI governor says; innovation needs support to encourage its “appealing features”
RBI launches bond market shake-up
Host of measures aim to develop markets, increase participation and improve liquidity in Indian capital markets, following review by former deputy governor Harun Khan
RBI’s Mundra hopes to boost credit to small businesses
Deputy governor outlines “ABCD” of issues affecting small businesses’ ability to access credit, including better access to information and new forms of collateral
Urjit Patel to take over from Rajan at RBI
Deputy governor led work on India’s new inflation-targeting framework; appointment seen as signal of government’s commitment to current policy
RBI’s Mundra says banks must evolve or face extinction
Deputy describes “dismal future” for banks, saying they must embrace a socially responsible approach if they are to avoid the threat posed by fintech firms and other non-banks
RBI should improve link between analysis and macro-prudential policy – FSB review
The Reserve Bank of India should consider regular financial stability meetings to set policy, and it needs to support its decisions with deeper analysis, a peer review finds
Indian train robbery sees nearly $1m in soiled banknotes snatched
Soiled banknotes destined for the RBI stolen from train on the way back from Salem; police investigating incident
IMF paper examines drivers of India’s disinflation
‘Backward-looking’ expectations and domestic institutional structures amplified shocks, paper says; only 15% of India’s deflation is attributed to a decline in oil price
Rajan hopes new MPC will make next RBI policy statement
Reserve Bank of India keeps rates on hold in Rajan’s last decision before stepping down; he hopes the monetary policy committee will be up and running by next decision in October
Manpower a key tool in fending off cyber threats – RBI’s Gandhi
Skillset for security is evolving, says RBI deputy governor Gandhi, as he draws attention to new cyber security framework now in place for banks
Governments should look beyond criticism and protect central bank independence – Rajan
Governor of the RBI says institutions are used to criticism in line of work, but should still have ability to adopt whichever policies are needed
Indian reserves climb to $360.2bn at end-March
Reserve Bank of India’s latest report on reserve management shows 2.8% increase over six months; two-thirds of foreign currency assets invested in securities
RBI deputy praises Indian payment and settlement systems
R Gandhi notes the ever-increasing volume handled by state-of-the-art systems, but stresses the need to ensure they are safe and “result in overall efficiencies”
Rajan sees bright future on inclusion but stresses work to be done
Outgoing governor of the Reserve Bank of India discusses different approaches open to policy-makers and some common challenges; unified payment interface effective in a ‘few weeks’
Indian central bank sets up fintech working group
Inter-agency working group will report on financial technology within six months of first meeting to enable Indian authorities to review regulation of sector
Rajan has left his mark but risk of fiscal dominance remains
Vishrut Kansal examines the legal framework Raghuram Rajan’s successor will face, arguing much of the outgoing RBI governor’s work will continue but more safeguards are needed
Rajan urges completion of bank cleanup
Outgoing governor argues actions taken to address public sector bank balance sheets must be taken to their “logical conclusion”; encourages government to provide capital injection
Rajan says India should not change course, as he steps back from RBI
Governor announces his intention to return to academia after three eventful years at the helm of India's central bank, and urges policy-makers to stay strict on inflation
RBI approves new method for restructuring stressed loans
Indian banks will be able to split some of their largest stressed loans in two; rules introduced as RBI looks to help banks achieve “clean and fully provisioned bank balance sheets” by March 2017
Rajan sidesteps question on RBI future
Reserve Bank of India governor says decision on second term will be reached after discussion with government; RBI holds policy rate at 6.5% after inflation surprise
RBI moves to curb concentrated credit risk
Central bank hopes new prudential measures will reduce banks’ “very high” exposures to large corporations and encourage firms to turn to capital markets for funding
Rajan sided with the consensus, minutes show
RBI governor cuts rates in line with views of external advisers; four of the five members wanted to reduce the repo rate at the April 5 meeting