The basic function of a commercial bank is to make loans and advances out of the money which is received from the public by way of deposits. The loans are particularly granted to businessmen and members of the public against personal security, gold and silver and other movable and immovable assets. Such loans and advances are given to members of the public and to the business community at a higher rate of interest than allowed by banks on various deposit accounts. The rate of interest charged on loans and advances varies depending upon the purpose, period and the mode of repayment. The difference between the rates of interest allowed on deposits and the rate charged on the loans is the main source of a commercial banks income. A loan is granted for a specific time period. Generally, commercial banks grant short-term loans. But term loans, that is, loan for more Continue reading
Bank Management Concepts
Risks Associated with Payment Systems and Risk Mitigation Measures
Risks in payment systems In any payment transaction, there will be a time lag between the time payment instructions are issued and final settlement of these claims (either on gross or net basis). This time lag exposes the entire system to various risks which are given below: Credit Risk: the risk that a party within the system will be unable fully to meet its financial obligations within the system either when due or at any time in the future Liquidity Risk: the risk that a party within the system will have insufficient funds to meet financial obligations within the system as and when expected although it may be able to do so at sometime in the future Legal Risk: the risk that a poor legal framework or legal uncertainties will cause or exacerbate credit or liquidity risks Operational Risk: the risk that operational factors such as technical malfunctions or operational Continue reading
Bank Risk Exposure Types – On-balance Sheet and Off-Balance Sheet Exposures
Generally, credit risk is related to the traditional bank lending activities, while it also comes from holding bonds and other securities. Basel (1999) reports that for most banks, loans are the largest and most obvious source of credit risk; however, throughout the activities of a bank, which include in the banking book as well as in the trading book, and both on and off the balance sheet, there are also other sources of credit risk. Various financial instruments including acceptances, inter-bank transactions, financial futures, guarantees, etc increase banks’ credit risk. Therefore, it is indispensable to identify all the credit exposures— the possible sources of credit risk for most banks, which can also serve as a starting point for the following parts of this work. 1. On-balance Sheet Exposures Commercial and industrial, real estate, consumer and others are the most common types of loans. Commercial and industrial loans can be made Continue reading
Case Studies on Debt Recovery Management
Case Study 1: HDFC Bank Recovery Mr.Kaushik Agarwal, about 18 months back had purchased 1 Tata Indigo, financed by HDFC bank. His EMI for this month (May’08) was bounced due to some reasons. The recovery person called him on the 22nd May for the payment of the same. He was out of town at that moment so Mr.Kaushik had asked him to send someone to his office on the 24th to collect cash. Now on 24th it slipped out of Kaushik’s mind that he had to pay cash to HDFC Bank and hence he did not withdraw any cash from the bank. As it was a Saturday so when the person came for collection, he requested him to come on Monday, as the bank was already closed for the day. On this the person, who had called Kaushik earlier on the 22nd, called him again and started shouting at him Continue reading
Measures of Selective Credit Control for Banking
Qualitative or selective credit control policy refers to the set of policies implemented by the central bank in order to channelize the available credit in-the desired direction. For example, suppose in India the agricultural and small scale industry sectors are to be encouraged, then the RBI may direct the commercial banks to be more liberal in lending to these sectors and be strict while lending to other sectors. This will help the economy to provide ample opportunities for the priority sectors to grow. In other words, in every country the government determines in advance the priorities and to ensure that the banks conform to the priorities in their lending policies, the selective credit control policies are implemented. Hence, while the quantitative credit control policies aim at controlling the volume of credit created, and the money supply in the economy, the qualitative credit control policies help in using the available funds Continue reading
Asset and Liability Management (ALM)
In banking, asset and liability management (ALM) is used to manage the risks that arise due to mismatches between the assets and liabilities (debts and assets) of the bank. Banks face several risks like liquidity risk, market risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, and operational risk. Asset Liability Management (ALM) is a strategic management tool to manage interest rate risk and liquidity risk faced by banks, other financial services companies, and corporations. Banks manage the risks of Asset liability mismatch by matching the assets and liabilities according to the maturity pattern or matching the duration, by hedging and by securitization. Asset and liability management remain high-priority areas for bank regulators, with an emphasis on the management of market risk, liquidity risk, and credit risk. Asset/liability managers face the challenge of keeping pace with industry changes as new areas of risk are identified and new tools and models are developed to Continue reading