Chakrabarty had same views on CRR as a banker: SBI chief

Mumbai, August 28: State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri on Tuesday took a gentle dig at the Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty, who had advised him yesterday to “find out some other place” if he didn’t agree with the current regulatory environment insofar as cash reserve ratio was concerned.
Speaking on the sidelines of an investor conference on Tuesday, Chaudhuri said he hadn’t read the complete media reports, but what he remembered was that Chakrabarty had the same views when he was a banker.
“What I want to say is that it’s just a view. When he (Chakrabarty) was a bank chairman, he was also of the same view (reducing the CRR),” Chaudhuri said. He made the remarks with a big smile, but the message was loud and clear.
Before joining the central bank, Chakrabarty was the chairman and managing director of Punjab National Bank and before that, of Indian Bank.
However, while speaking to NewsWire 18, Chaudhuri clarified his intention was not a complete abolition of cash reserve ratio (CRR) overnight, but to ignite a public debate on the merits of CRR. “My comments are in sync with the views of most of the bankers today,” he said.
Chaudhuri had earlier suggested that CRR should be phased out in a time bound manner or at least RBI should consider a paying an interest on it equivalent to the savings bank account rate if not the repo or the reverse repo rate.
CRR is the proportion of deposits that banks need to park with the regulator. While RBI used to pay interest on CRR funds, but that system was withdrawn a few years back. As a result, banks do not earn anything for keeping CRR with RBI but the negative carry for CRR and also SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) is considered while calculating the benchmark lending rate — the Base rate.
At present, CRR is 4.75 per cent. The central bank had reduced CRR by 125 bps to improve liquidity situation during January-February. CRR is not only used a liquidity tool but also indicates the monetary policy stance of the central bank.

Capital infusion
Regarding fund raising, Chaudhuri said SBI was in talks with the government for capital infusion and he expected the government to infuse about Rs 4,000 crore this financial year in the bank.
The government is committed to infuse capital in the PSBs and retain its stake, financial services secretary D K Mittal had told reporters on a sidelines of an event last year in Mumbai. However the Rs 8,000 crore capital infusion for SBI came only at the end of the last financial year after from the government after dilly-dallying on the issue for the whole year.
Capital adequacy ratio for the SBI at the end of the first quarter stood at 13.17 per cent.
On associate banks’ merger, Chaudhuri said that it was currently not on the priority list of the bank and he could not say if any associate bank would be merged this financial year. The SBI board has already cleared the merger of one associate bank this year.

SBI chairman presses for abolition of CRR

Mumbai, August 27 (PTI) Making a strong case for abolition of cash reserve ratio, country's largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI) chairman today said the banks were unable to use the resources more productively, which is lying with the central bank without any interest earning. Though CRR, the amount of capital that banks park with the RBI, doesn't pay any interest to banks, RBI views it as a cushion against any liquidity crisis in the system.
Earlier in the day, the deputy governor of RBI K C Chakrabarty had said that banks had to work in the regulatory environment of the country. "If the SBI chairman is not able to do business as per our regulatory environment, he has to find some other place," RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty said in a sharp reaction to Chaudhuri's recent comment that CRR does not help anybody and it was unfairly put on banks.
However, Pratip Chaudhari, chirman of SBI also defended his views on CRR saying that when the deputy governor was a bank chairman, he was asking for the same. Chaudhari also said that when the CRR rate was high and GDP was low, there was a strong inverse co- relationship. He also said if CRR is a inflation tool, then other sectors like insurance and NBFC should also have such norm.

SBI chief gets taste of RBI's tongue-lashing

Chennai, Aug 27: His predecessor, O P Bhatt, had spent the better part of his five-year tenure in a bitter war of words with the Reserve Bank of India over teaser home loans and sundry other things. State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri obviously didn’t want that to continue — so his first public statement after taking over in April last year focused on why SBI should not get into a state of perpetual conflict with the regulator.
Chaudhuri’s best efforts apparently have not been enough to soothe the RBI’s nerves and to stop it from seeing SBI as a problem child. A week after he suggested the abolition of the cash reserve ratio (CRR) — the proportion of deposits banks need to park with the regulator — RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty bluntly said on Monday — Chaudhuri “has to find some other place” if he could not work as per the central bank’s regulatory environment.
Chakrabarty was responding to a question from the audience at a conference on systemic risk here. The tongue-lashing took many by surprise, as it was probably the first time that a top RBI official resorted to such a public reprimand for the chairman of the country’s largest bank. Chaudhuri had said keeping the CRR balance with the RBI was costing the banking system Rs 21,000 crore. He had questioned why the CRR was not applied to insurance companies, non-banking financial companies and mutual funds, which were also mobilising public deposits. “CRR doesn't help anybody and it is unfairly put on the banks,” Chaudhuri had said.
While the RBI used to pay interest on CRR funds, that was withdrawn a few years back. Interestingly, SBI has reduced the lending rate on some segments such as retail and small and medium enterprises and said the reduction was due to a cut in the CRR and not due to a policy rate or repo rate cut. The RBI had reduced the repo rate in April by 50 bps to eight per cent.
Meanwhile, to another query as to “which banking tree needed to be protected”, Chakrabarty, drawing a forest fire analogy, said: “Obviously, it is SBI. It is too big a tree. If you fail to protect the SBI tree, it (the fire) may spread to other banks and it will turn out to be a systemic failure.”

Chakrabarty frowns at SBI chief’s views on CRR phase-out

Chennai, Aug. 27: The Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor, K. C. Chakrabarty, came down heavily on State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri’s views seeking the phase out of the cash reserve ratio (CRR), saying either comply or do business elsewhere.
Responding to a question, on the sidelines of a financial conference on systemic risk organised here on Monday by the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chakrabarty said banks must work within the framework prescribed by the regulator. “If the SBI Chairman is not able to do the business in this regulatory environment, he has to find out some other place,” he said.
CRR is the percentage of deposits commercial banks keep with the central bank.
Pratip Chaudhuri recently said that CRR does not help anybody. “When CRR is not applicable to insurance companies, non-banking finance companies and mutual funds that also mobilise funds from the public, it is an unfair imposition on banks,” he said to make a point that the CRR adds to the cost of doing business for banks.

Finance ministry wants RBI to pay 7% interest on CRR deposits

New Delhi, August 12: The finance ministry has suggested that the Reserve Bank of India pay 7% interest on the mandatory deposits parked with it by banks, one among several measures proposed to lower rates even if the central bank does not ease the monetary policy. Finance minister P Chidambaram will take a call on the proposal, which would eventually go to the RBI.

“This is one among the many measures we have suggested to bring interest costs down,” a senior finance ministry official told ET on condition of anonymity. Chidambaram had last week indicated that the government was aware of the high interest rates and said “carefully calibrated risks” could be taken to stimulate investment, suggesting some innovation from the government to lower rates.

Banks have to mandatorily park a percentage of their deposits, called the cash reserve ratio, or CRR, with the RBI. The central bank had stopped paying interest to banks on CRR in 2007. Finance ministry officials are of the view that if the RBI were to pay interest at the reverse repo rate, or the rate at which banks park their surpluses with it, then banks will be able to lower their deposit rates, and eventually, lending rates will fall. At present, the CRR rate is 4.75%.

If the RBI were to agree to the proposal, banks will earn 7%, the reverse repo rate, on this portion of funds, helping them lower the cost of funds that can be passed on to borrowers. The RBI had not cut rates in its June 18 policy review because of the high inflation and lack of fiscal consolidation from the government. An RBI official said the move may not bring down interest rates, as effective cuts in policy rates have not yet been transmitted by banks to borrowers.

“We have not seen any real transmission in spite of a 100 basis points SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) cut in July, 75bps CRR cut in March and 50 bps rate cut in April,” the official said. “So how will this (paying interest on CRR) help is still a mystery to us.”

RBI wants banks to cut base rates, not select lending rates

Mumbai, August 6: With banks led by the country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) choosing to cut spreads on certain categories of loans instead of the base rate, deputy governor Anand Sinha today said the Reserve Bank would like the banks to cut the minimum lending rate to better carry forward its monetary policy measures.

“The base rate is supposed to be responsive to the changes in monetary conditions Reserve Bank would definitely want the responses to be through the base rate,” Sinha said at an IDBI Bank event here. Sinha further said an RBI committee on interest rates, headed by him, is looking into these aspects.

The committee, supposed to come out with report last month, has made progress and will be submitting it soon. Replying to a question, Sinha said banks are unable to cut their base rates as per the monetary policy changes, because they carry the burden of fixed rate deposits and fixed costs to service that over a longer-time.

“Banks are not able to respond quickly to the changes in monetary conditions or monetary policy signals because they carry a fixed cost over an extended period of time,” he said, flagging this as a subject of discussion with bankers during deliberations on floating deposit rates.

On asked if the RBI which has been discussing floating rate deposits but also stressing fixed rate loans is concerned over potential asset liability mismatches, Sinha replied in the affirmative. “Asset liability concern, in the long-term, yes,” he said, adding that so far banks have been successful in managing the longer gestation infrastructure projects.

Though, since January, the RBI has cut repo rate by 50 bps and CRR by 125 bps, and a 100 bps SLR cut last week, the effect of the same has not been passed on to the customers by banks by lowering interest rates as a whole. Instead, banks have been cherry-picking interest rates reduction, and have not lowered their base rates, which would automatically lead to a similar reduction in interest rates for both existing as well as the new customers.

Some banks like State Bank and Union Bank of India, among others, have slashed interest rate on certain loan products like home loans and lending to SMEs, but have not cut the base rate, or the minimum rate of lending.

Trying to increase coverage in retail space: Pratip Chaudhuri

Mumbai, August 2: In an interview with ET Now, Pratip Chaudhuri, Chairman of State Bank of India, gives his views on the RBI monetary policy and rate cuts. Excerpts:

 

ET Now: Firstly, how much of a benefit will SBI get from the cut in SLR announced by the RBI in this policy?

 

Pratip Chaudhuri: We thank the RBI. The policy had become two-dimensional. People used to only talk about the repo rate and a possible CRR cut. But the RBI added a third dimension of injecting liquidity beyond these two instruments, i.e. repo rate and CRR cut. Last time they increased the refinance component on export credit from 15% to 50%. This has given us an additional Rs 5000 crore.

 

The SLR cut has released about Rs 10000 crore for SBI. So what it means to my mind is that Rs 10000 crore which was locked up in low-yield SLR security, we would have greater urgency to deploy that in productive sectors.

 

ET Now: How much is your present SLR holding and would you look at taking benefit of the SLR reduction limit which was announced by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday?

 

Pratip Chaudhuri: Our SLR holding is currently about 28%. With this 1% reduction, it would become about 4% surplus. So you can either sell, depending on where that particular scrip is trading. Even if you don't sell, you can always put it into LAF and get liquidity. So roughly we have Rs 40000 crore of extra liquidity.

 

ET Now: Is the cut in your base rates as well in the pipeline then?

 

Pratip Chaudhuri: Not a broad-base rate cut. Only car loan and home loans are being targeted because we think that the instrument of interest rate should be used for increasing the credit flow.

 

So we think that the impact of cutting interest rates would be highest in these 2 segments -- home and car loans. No matter what is the interest rate for the corporate sector, there is hardly any demand for term loans. Working capital loans are also not in high demand because currently the commercial papers are going at about 9.3 to 9.7, which is below the base rates of all banks. So we are trying to increase our coverage in the retail space.

SBI Chief Pratip Chaudhuri says repo rate cut won’t be sufficient

Mumbai, July 27:  A cut in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) could serve as a mood elevator for the markets, according to the State Bank of India Chairman, Mr Pratip Chaudhuri. CRR, currently at 4.75 per cent, is the slice of deposits that banks have to maintain with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “Perhaps there should be a 50 basis points CRR cut (to 4.25 per cent). I don’t know what kind of liquidity signals are being looked at.
“I do not agree with this that the total borrowing under the LAF (liquidity adjustment facility) is a ‘measure of the street’. The ‘measure of the street’ is at what price banks are issuing certificates of deposits (CDs),” said Mr Chaudhuri at a press meet to announce the conclusion of the bank’s $1.25-billion five-year overseas bond offering. LAF is a facility extended by the RBI to banks to avail themselves of liquidity in case they face deficit or park funds with the RBI in case they have surplus funds on an overnight basis against the collateral of government securities.
Mr Chaudhuri said that if banks are continuing to issue CDs at 9 per cent and 9.2 per cent, it obviously indicates that the liquidity situation is not comfortable.

‘Strong case for rate cut’
“Last time they (the RBI) skipped CRR cut. So, there is a strong case for it now. Globally, the monetary authorities have taken upon themselves the task of rejuvenating the economy. One thing that they can contribute is by moderating the interest rates,” reasoned the SBI chief.
The interest rate differential between Indian and overseas markets opens up carry trade. “Rupee is a good currency for deposits but not-so-good currency for bonds. We think there is case for bringing down the CRR and that will have a cooling effect on interest rates, especially for customers,” said Mr Chaudhuri.
In case of a repo rate cut, the benefits (for banks) are little. If there is no benefit, then banks cannot pass on any interest rate cut, he explained.

Disadvantage India
“Interest rate acts as a signal. It is a necessary but not a sufficient condition (for growth). It is a mood elevator. If interest rate comes down, it will trigger enthusiasm (among various participants in the economy). To some extent, most markets are a function of sentiments. Market sentiment will turn positive if there is a reduction in interest rates,” said Mr Chaudhuri.
Pointing out that Indian companies were at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their foreign competitors, the SBI chief said if the promoter of a power plant buys capital equipment from an Indian manufacturer, then he has to take rupee loan, which will come at 10-11 per cent. If the promoter were to go for foreign gear, say, Chinese equipment, which is very common, the interest cost is 4 per cent.

Low-cost Deposits up
According to Mr Chaudhuri, SBI’s retail deposit growth has been quiet good in the first four months of the current financial year. Low-cost deposits in current accounts and savings bank accounts increased by about Rs 30,000 crore in those first four months. However, loan growth has been muted.

SBI expects 50 bps cut in CRR, no change in lending rate

India's largest lender State Bank today said it expects Reserve Bank to lower the mandatory cash reserve requirement of banks or CRR by 50 basis points on July 31 but sees no reduction in the key short-term lending rate.

 "We expect a 0.5 percentage point reduction in CRR (the percentage of deposits that banks park with the RBI) to ease money supply. Also, this will have better effect on monetary transmission than a reduction in the short-term lending rate," SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters after announcing the successful conclusion of a USD 1.25 billion overseas bond sale.

 RBI will announce its first quarter monetary policy review on Tuesday in the backdrop of slowing growth, poor investment sentiment and persistently high inflation.

Yesterday, SBI had closed a mid-term note or bond issue at a coupon of 4.12%, making it the largest and cheapest bond sale by a domestic lender till date. Chaudhuri said the asset quality of the Government-run
bank has improving compared to last year. He did not give any further details citing a silent period ahead of the earnings.

 The bank will announce its April-June quarterly earnings on August 8. The comments came after SBI shares slumped as much as 3.8% today as a rise in non-performing assets at Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India sparked concerns about asset quality in the Government-run lenders.

 Explaining the rationale behind why a CRR cut is better at this juncture, Chaudhuri said this will help bank's liquidity, which in turn, will help them lower the lending rates, thus helping the monetary transmission better.

On the contrary, he said a marginal reduction in the repo will not help banks to cut lending rates.The senior unsecured dollar bond issue, due in August 2017, was carried through the London branch of SBI. The issue was rated Baa2 by Moody's and BBB- by S&P.