Summary of important sections of Banking Regulation Act

The Banking Regulation Act was passed as the Banking Companies Act 1949 and came into force wef 16.3.49. Subsequently it was changed to Banking Regulations Act 1949 wef 01.03.66. Summary of some important sections is provided hereunder.(Note:   The section no. is given at the end of each item. For details, kindly refer the bare Act.) Banking means accepting for the purpose of lending or investment of deposits of money from public repayable on demand or otherwise and withdrawable by cheque, drafts order or otherwise (5 (i) (b)). Banking company means any company which transacts the business of banking (5(i)(c) Transact banking business in India (5 (i) (e). Demand liabilities are the liabilities which must be met on demand and time liabilities means liabilities which are not demand liabilities (5(i)(f) Secured loan or advances means a loan or advance made on the security of asset the market value of which Continue reading

Primary Market Intermediaries: Underwriters

Underwriting is an agreement, entered into by a company with a financial agency, in order to ensure that the public will subscribe for the entire issue of shares or debentures made by the company. The financial agency is known as the underwriter and it agrees to buy that part of the company issues which are not subscribed to by the public in consideration of a specified underwriting commission. The underwriting agreement, among others, must provide for the period during which the agreement is in force, the amount of underwriting obligations, the period within which the underwriter has to subscribe to the issue after being intimated by the issuer, the amount of commission and details of arrangements, if any, made by the underwriter for fulfilling the underwriting obligations. The underwriting commission may not exceed 5 percent on shares and 2.5 percent in case of debentures. Underwriting has become very important in Continue reading

Differences Between Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Intelligence Quotient is a number or a count of the intelligence of a person. In a standard IQ test, a person’s quotient of intelligence is compared and determined on the basis of the scores of other on the same test. These days more and more people are relying on IQ tests for a lot of reasons. IQ tests have become a parameter for educational institutes and corporate offices in conjunction with personality tests. Intelligence Quotients are used by people to find out a person’s mental age, which is the persons understanding levels and performance capabilities at a particular age. A Standard IQ test would consist of tasks that involve the use of mental ability and vary on their difficulty levels. The test includes gauging of memory, reasoning power, numerical capability, definitions and scope of recalling data. Psychologists have determined a given age at which people can correctly Continue reading

Introduction to Payment Systems in Banking System

Payment Systems encompass a set of instruments and means generally acceptable in making payments, the institutional and organizational framework governing such payments and the operating procedures and communications network used to initiate and transmit payment information from payer to payee and to settle payments. Payment system facilitates the exchange of goods and services between economic agents using an accepted medium of exchange. A modern payment system typically has a range of specialized subsystems developed to serve particular sets of customers; some of these clear and settle small payments, some large payments, while some cover both large and retail settlements. The Bank for International Settlements defines payment systems as “a set of instruments, procedures and rules for the transfer of funds among system participants”. The proposed Payment System legislation in our country defines a ‘payment system’ as “a system that enables payment to be effected between a payer and a beneficiary Continue reading

Reputation Risk in E-Banking

Reputation Risk in E-Banking is the current and prospective risk to earnings and capital arising from negative public opinion. A bank’s reputation can be damaged by Internet banking services that are poorly executed (e.g., limited availability, buggy software, poor response). Customers are less forgiving of any problems and thus there are more stringent performance expectations from the Internet channel. Hypertext links could link a bank’s site to other sites and may reflect an implicit endorsement of the other sites. Risk of damage to the bank’s reputation goes along with the other risks. It can arise, for example, from operational risk even if customers suffer no actual damage. If a hacker successfully breaks into a bank’s website and makes alterations, the bank concerned can suffer substantial damage to its reputation although customers’ balances are safe and the hacker has not obtained any financial benefit. This does not only affect the individual Continue reading

Good Governance – Meaning, Principles and Characteristics

In general,  good governance  is perceived as a normative principle of administrative law, which obliges the State to perform its functions in a manner that promotes the values of efficiency, no corruptibility, and responsiveness to civil society. It is therefore a principle that is largely associated with statecraft. While the government is not obliged to substantively deliver any public goods, it must ensure that the processes for the identification and delivery of such goods are concrete in terms of i) being responsive to public demands; ii) being transparent in the allocation of resources and; iii) being equitable in the distribution of goods. The principle of good governance has also been espoused in the context of the internal operations of private sector organizations. In this way, corporate decision-making strategies integrate the principle of good governance and ensure that shareholder interests (i.e. public limited companies) and employees are taken into account. The Continue reading