Archive
Reuters blog archive
from India Insight:
Understanding the repo rate, cash reserve ratio and the Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday cut the repo rate as well as the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percent. Here's a quick explanation of what that means. It will be obvious to some readers, but many people haven't studied economics and are unfamiliar with the terms.
The repo rate, which now stands at 7.75 percent, is the rate at which the central bank lends money to Indian banks. As the repo rate goes down, it gets cheaper for banks to borrow money. That makes it easier for people to borrow money at cheaper rates too. As more people borrow money, which ought to be the result of action like this, they'll spend more money. That's good for the Indian economy.
The CRR, meanwhile, is the amount of funds banks must keep with the RBI. The CRR is at 4 percent, which means for every 100 rupees, the bank keeps 4 rupees with the RBI in cash. The ratio indicates the policy stance of the bank and is used as a tool to manage liquidity, or the amount of money in the system. By changing this ratio, the central bank can control the amount of liquidity. Tuesday's cut would release 180 billion rupees (or about $3.35 billion) into the system, meaning banks would have more money to lend to borrowers.
Cutting the repo rate doesn't always cut lending rates, of course. Banks might worry that lower lending rates could hurt their profits. However, IDBI Bank cut its base rate after the RBI announcement, and the head of India’s top lender, State Bank of India, said banks likely will cut lending rates.
from Money on the markets:
Subbarao goes against his panel, again
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Thomson Reuters)
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is not the only one walking alone.
Duvvuri Subbarao, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief, also seems to be on a solitary, and one hopes, contemplative walk.
from India Insight:
RBI plays wait-and-watch game as politics dominates
Not surprisingly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate on hold on Monday, just days after the Congress-led government dropped a cluster bomb of several reform measures on "big bang Friday".
Though most experts thought that the RBI would not cut rates on Monday, markets were hoping that central bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao would oblige them just a little bit. The Sensex ended 78 points higher, but was up 200 points in anticipation.
from India Insight:
Forget CRR cut, Subbarao should cut down his humour
Is Duvvuri Subbarao, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, considering an alternative career in stand-up comedy? In July, Subbarao tried to lighten the usually grey world of central banking with a self-deprecating wisecrack, linking rising prices and his receding hairline.
"I must admit that even at a personal level, I do not know how to interpret inflation. Twenty years ago when I had a thick mop of hair, I used to pay 25 rupees for a haircut … and now, when I have virtually no hair left, I am paying 150 rupees for a haircut," he said at a conference.
