Category: Bank / Bank Audit

ICICI Bank plans to offer other retail loans such as personal, auto, and credit cards on this platform

ICICI Bank has launched a new digital-lending platform called ‘iLens’

ICICI Bank plans to offer other retail loans such as personal, auto, and credit cards on this platform.

iLens, which stands for ICICI Bank Lending Solutions, is powered by the TCS Lending Platform and is customised with ICICI Bank’s proprietary policies for loans, data-led algorithms, and over 130 API (application programme interface) integrations, including with fintechs, enabling quicker credit assessment, property appraisals, legal, and technical documentation,” TCS said.

iLens offers a unified digital interface for all stakeholders in the lending process, including customers, employees, sourcing channels, lawyers, technical officers, and underwriters.

The platform enables video KYC (know-your-customer) norms.

NFRA introduces audit quality inspections

(NFRA) has published its audit quality inspection guidelines  as a step towards  further  improving the quality of audit profession. The inspection guidelines are on the lines of the best practices followed by International Audit Regulators. In fact, Audit quality inspections are integral to the functioning of independent audit regulators, world-wide. The International Forum for Independent Audit regulators (IFIAR), which comprises independent audit regulators from 54 countries, requires that audit regulators, should as a minimum, conduct recurring inspections of audit firms undertaking audits of public interest entities in order to assess compliance with applicable professional standards, independence requirements and other rules, laws and regulations.

Also, in response to a NFRA’s consultation paper “Enhancing Engagement with Stakeholders’ in 2021, many stakeholders had suggested onsite inspection of audit firms by NFRA to help inspection teams familiarize themselves with the systems and processes followed by audit firms and  also to enable the audit firms to comply with  auditing standards, guidance etc  in  its audits.

NFRA’s  inspections are intended to identify areas and opportunities for improvement in the audit firm’s system of quality control. Inspections will consist of firm-wide review of audit quality (SQC 1) and individual file reviews on test-check basis to evaluate the level of compliance with applicable auditing standards and quality control policy and processes. NFRA has clarified that inspections by nature, are distinct from investigations. However, in certain cases, test-check by the inspection teams may provide basis for enforcement or investigation under applicable provisions of the Act and Rules.

Audit quality inspections will provide an opportunity for feedback and course correction to the audit firms and at the same time foster a greater mutual understanding of the policies and procedures that underlie audit quality management. The inspections are intended to bring about systemic improvements in overall financial reporting framework in the country. The inspection guidelines are available at:

Click here pdf

Claim: GooglePay is not authorized by the RBI as a payment system under the Govt_NPCI, Media statement?

Claim: GooglePay is not authorized by the RBI as a payment system under the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)


✅This claim is #Fake

✅ According to the @NPCI_NPCI, Google Pay is an authorized UPI payment services provider

Media-statement-from-NPCI-June_25_2020 (2)Download

Measures taken by the Government to protect the interest of investors/account holders in the bank

A number of steps are being taken by the Government to protect the interests of the investors/account holders in the bank. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

The Minister further stated that the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), a wholly- owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), provides insurance for bank deposits:

  • DICGC insures all deposits such as savings, fixed, current and recurring, etc. including accrued interest, in terms of the provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961. As specifically defined in Section 2 (g) of the Act, “deposit” means the aggregate of the unpaid balances due to a depositor in respect of all his accounts by whatever name called, thereby including, inter alia, fixed deposits and accrued interest in its ambit. Section 16 (1) of the Act further provides for deposit insurance for a depositor by DICGC equal to the amount due to him in respect of his deposit in the bank, subject to the ceiling/ limit of deposit insurance.

 

  • With a view to providing a greater measure of protection to depositors in banks, DICGC raised the limit of insurance cover for depositors in insured banks from the earlier level of ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh per depositor with effect from 04.02.2020.

 

  • Accordingly, the number of fully protected accounts at end-March 2022 constituted 97.9% of the total number of accounts. In terms of amount, the total insured deposits as at end- March 2022 stood at ₹81,10,431 crore and constituted 49.0% of assessable deposits (₹1,65,49,630 crore). This is higher than the guidance of International Association for Deposit Insurance (IADI) which recommends coverage of number of accounts up to 80% and 20-30% in value terms. As per core principle of effective deposit insurance, cover should be limited, credible, cover vast majority of deposits, and subject to market discipline. Cover given by DICGC is according to this principle.

 

  • The deposit insurance cover of ₹5 lakh is applicable uniformly to all insured banks and their depositors, and is payable to any depositor in respect of deposits held by him/ her in the same right and same capacity at all the branches of an insured bank taken together, in case of liquidation/ failure of a bank.

 

  • Further, vide the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2021 which was brought into force with effect from 01.09.2021, a new Section 18A was inserted in the DICGC Act, 1961, enabling depositors to get easy and time-bound access to their deposits to the extent of deposit insurance cover through interim payments by DICGC, in cases of imposition of restrictions on banks under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 such as when banks are placed under ‘All Inclusive Directions’ (AID) by RBI. In such cases, DICGC is liable to make interim payments to depositors up to the deposit insurance cover of ₹ 5 lakh within 90 days of imposition of such directions. The time-bound payment to depositors of banks placed under AID has paved the way for improving public confidence in the banking system and has also helped in strengthening financial stability.

BANK GUARANTEE- CORPORATE FUNDING TOOL

BANK GUARANTEE

Bank guarantees are part of non-fund-based credit facilities provided by the bank to the customers. Bank issue bank guarantee on behalf of his client as a commitment to third party assuring her/him to honour the claim against the guarantee in the event of the non-performance by the bank’s customer.

Banks issue different types of guarantees, on behalf of their customers

  • Financial Guarantee: The banker issues guarantee in favour of a government department against caution deposit or earnest money to be deposited by bank’s client. At the request of his customer, in lieu of a caution deposit/earnest money, the banker issues a guarantee in favour of the government department. This is an example of a Financial Guarantee. This type of guarantee helps the bank’s customer to bid for the contract without depositing actual money. In case, the contractor does not take up the awarded contract, then the government department would invoke the guarantee and claim the money from the bank.
  • Performance Guarantee: Performance Guarantees are issued by banks on behalf of his client to assure the third party to complete some work on time or as per the terms of contract between the parties. If the work is not completed as per the term of contract then the third party can request the bank to invoke the bank guarantee and make payment for default.
  • Deferred Payment Guarantee(DPG): It is clear from the name of the Bank guarantee that under this guarantee, the banker guarantees payments of instalments payable by the buyer of capital goods such as machinery, on long term credit given by the supplier. Normally advance payment of 10 to 15% of the price of the capital goods is made by the borrower(margin). The balance amount with interest is payable in instalments spread over may be 1 to 5 years.

Some of the purposes for which Bank Guarantees are issued are:

  • Due performance of a specific contract undertaken by a customer in favour of Govt. bodies, for e.g Supply of materials, Construction of Roads, Buildings, Dams, Civil Work, etc.
  • To secure any claims by the buyer on the seller arising from default in delivery or performance of the terms of the contract(e.g. construction, assembly, execution).
  • Due performance of an equipment/project after completion for a specific period due to possible defects appearing after delivery during warranty period of the equipment.
  • Execution of Long- Term Infrastructure Projects such as Seaports, Airports, Road Construction, Bridges, Sanitation and Sewerage Projects, Telecommunication Services, Construction of Educational Institutions and Hospitals, Generation/ Transmission/ Distribution of Power, etc.
  • Deferred Payment Guarantee: It is clear from the name of the Bank guarantee that under this guarantee, the banker guarantees payments of instalments spread over a period of time.

Bank Guarantee vs Letter of Credit

  • A bank guarantee is a promise made by a lending institution that the bank will step up if a debtor is unable to repay a debt.
  • Letters of credit, which are financial promises made on behalf of one party in a transaction, are particularly important in international trade.
  • Bank guarantees are frequently used in real estate contracts and infrastructure projects, whereas letters of credit are mostly used in international transactions.

Bank guarantees and letters of credit both work to reduce risk in a business agreement or transaction. When a letter of credit or bank guarantee is in place, the parties are more likely to agree to the transaction.

These agreements are especially important and useful in transactions that would otherwise be risky, such as certain real estate and international trade contracts.

Clients who are interested in one of these documents are thoroughly screened by banks. A monetary limit is placed on the agreement after the bank determines that the applicant is creditworthy and poses a reasonable risk.

The bank agrees to be obligated up to the limit but not beyond it. This protects the bank by setting a specific risk threshold.

Another significant distinction between bank guarantees and letters of credit is the parties who use them. Contractors who bid on large projects typically use bank guarantees. The contractor demonstrates its financial credibility by providing a bank guarantee.

In essence, the guarantee assures the entity behind the project that it is financially stable enough to take on the project from start to finish. Letters of credit, on the other hand, are commonly used by businesses that import and export goods on a regular basis.

Except SBI, all government banks will be private! Know latest updates

The government is moving fast regarding privatization in the country. The government is soon going to privatize two public sector banks, the preparation of which is almost complete. Bids have also started for many companies. If sources are to be believed, privatization may start by September this year. On the other hand, government employees are also continuously on strike in protest against this, but in the meantime, two leading economists of the country say that the government should hand over all public sector banks except State Bank of India to private hands.

Amidst the opposition to the privatization of public sector banks in the country, two big economists of the country have said that except the State Bank of India, all public sector banks should be privatized. Former Deputy Chairman of NITI Aayog and Professor Arvind Panagariya of Columbia University and Poonam Gupta, Director General of NCAER and member of the Council to advise the Prime Minister on economic matters, Poonam Gupta has given this big advice to the government.

Panagariya and Gupta, presenting in the India Policy Forum, have said in a policy paper, ‘Privatization of public sector banks is in the interest of all. With most banks going into the private sector, the pressure on the Reserve Bank of India will also increase to streamline the entire process, rules and laws, so that it can yield good results.

SBI kept out

According to the report given by ncaer.org, it has been said in this policy paper that in principle all public sector banks including State Bank of India should be privatized. But in the economic and political structure of India, no government would like that it does not have a government bank. In view of this, the target at present should be to privatize all other banks except SBI. If the environment looks favorable after a few years, then SBI should also be privatized. That is, both the economists are giving their full support for the banks to be private.

What is the government’s plan?

It is worth noting that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the budget for the current financial year, announced the privatization of two public sector banks along with IDBI Bank in FY 2022. Apart from this, NITI Aayog has also shortlisted two PSU banks for privatization. Despite the continuous protests, the government has already clarified its stand regarding privatization. Along with this, the Finance Minister had also said that an insurance company would be sold in the current financial year.

Now the question is, which can be the two banks which will be made private first. According to the information given by the sources, Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank were selected as possible candidates for privatization. That is, Indian Overseas Bank and Central Bank of India are the two banks which can be privatized first.

Bank Alert: Banks Will Be Closed For 12 Days in June 2022

Bank Holiday List June 2022: These holidays include Sundays/ second and fourth Saturdays. However, let us tell you that during these holidays the online services of banks will continue, that is, you will be able to do your banking related work sitting at home. Let us inform here that bank holidays can also differ from one state to another, because they list is prepared according to the festivals celebrated in different states across the country and states.

SBI’s Big Setback To its Home Loan Customers

If you are a customer of State Bank of India (SBI) or you are planning to take home loan from SBI, then the beginning of the new month will increase the expenses for you too. In fact, let us tell you that SBI has increased its home loan external benchmark lending rate (EBLR) by 40 basis points (bps) to 7.05 per cent, while the RLLR will be 6.65 per cent plus CRP. According to the information shared on SBI’s website, these increased interest rates will be effective from June 1, 2022. It may be noted that earlier, the EBLR was 6.65 per cent, while the repo-linked lending rate (RLLR) was fixed at 6.25 per cent.

ATM Cash Withdrawal: Now Soon You Will Be Able To Withdraw Money From ATM Without Card

RBI has issued a circular on May 19, 2022, directing all banks to start the facility of withdrawing money without card soon. This facility will be available 24 hours a day. In fact, in the meeting of the MPC held on April 8, 2022, this facility was announced by the Reserve Bank. The RBI governor had said that this new rule is being brought with the aim of making digital transactions safe, in view of the ever-increasing online fraud and incidents like card cloning at ATMs, so that the general public is not harmed. 

Let us inform here that some selected banks are already providing this cardless facility to their customers. But, now after issuing the circular of RBI, soon all the banks will have to provide this facility at their ATMs. Mobile PIN will have to be generated through this system. In cashless cash withdrawal facility, the transaction will be completed through Unified Payment Interface (UPI). This facility will be available only on withdrawing money from yourself. Along with this, the transaction limit will also be fixed. According to the report, the limit of such transactions is 5 thousand to 10 thousand rupees.

RBI board reviews the economic situation, approves giving dividend of Rs 30,307 crore to the central government

RBI: The RBI board has decided to transfer a surplus amount of Rs 30,307 crore to the central government for 2021-22.

Under the chairmanship of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, the Central Board of Directors of RBI met in Mumbai. In the meeting, the current economic situation, from global domestic challenges to the impact of geopolitical influences were discussed. In the meeting of the RBI board, from April 2021 to March 2022, the functioning of the RBI was discussed. In the meeting, the RBI board has decided to transfer a surplus amount of Rs 30,307 crore to the central government for 2021-22. At the same time, RBI has decided to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.50%. The amount given by the RBI board to the central government as surplus i.e. dividend for 2021-22 is less than the government’s estimate. The government had set a target of getting dividend of Rs 73,948 crore.

Rising inflation raised concern

 However, after the data of retail inflation and wholesale price based inflation reached the highest level of 9 years, there is a difficult time for the RBI. On one hand it has the challenge of reducing inflation through monetary policy and on the other hand it has the responsibility of accelerating economic growth. On that the dollar rupee is depreciating continuously, which has increased the trouble of RBI. On Thursday, the dollar has fallen to 77.73 against the rupee. In the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in June, the RBI may again announce an increase in the repo rate. According to experts, in the month of June, the RBI can announce a 25 to 35 percent increase in the repo rate in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The repo rate can be increased from the current level of 4.40 percent to 4.75 percent. If this happens, then your EMI can become more expensive.

RBI’s MPC meeting will be held from 6 to 8 June
RBI’s Monetary Policy meeting will start for 3 days from June 6, 2022. And on June 8, the decision taken in the monetary policy will be announced. Earlier, after RBI’s policy meeting on May 4, suddenly the repo rate was increased by 40 basis points to 4.40 percent and the cash reserve ratio was increased by 50 basis points from 4 percent to 4.50 percent. However, the increase in CRR is going to be implemented from May 21. After which the cash present in the banks system will decrease.

Debt became costlier after repo rate hike
RBI announced a 40 basis point increase in the repo rate on May 4, since then, from public-private banks to housing finance companies, from home loans to other types of loans are becoming costlier. So the EMI of the customers who have already taken loan is getting expensive. And the process of EMI becoming expensive is not going to stop here. After the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in June, the borrowers may again get a setback.

Setback To ICICI Bank Customers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hurriedly convened a meeting on Wednesday and increased the policy interest rates at an all-time low since May 2020. RBI increased the repo rates by 40 basis points to 4.40 per cent from 4 per cent. The common man had not yet recovered from this shock, that ICICI Bank also made loans expensive by increasing the External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR).

New Rates Applicable From May 4, 2022

Yes, after the announcement of the central bank, private sector lender ICICI Bank first announced a hike in its External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR). The bank has increased it by 40 basis points to 8.10 per cent. The new rates will be considered effective from May 4, 2022. The bank has shared the rate hike information on its website. Explain here that external benchmark lending rates are the lending rates set by banks based on external benchmarks like repo rate, which is the minimum interest rate at which commercial banks can lend. Banks add credit risk premium (CRP) on EBLR and RLLR while granting loans including home-auto.

Big Setback To HDFC Bank Customers

After SBI and Bank of Baroda, now HDFC Bank has also given a big blow to its customers. If you have taken a home loan from this bank, then this news is for you. Actually, the bank has increased the retail prime lending rate (RPLR) by five basis points. After this increase, the home loan rates for the customers will increase. As per the information provided on HDFC’s website, the new rates will be deemed to be applicable from May 1, 2022.

It is worth noting that the increase in interest rates by HDFC Bank will have an effect on the customers who have taken home loans from this bank and their EMI burden will increase. Whereas, it will not have any effect on new customers. There was no hike in loan rates for new customers. The interest rate for them will be from 6.70 to 7.15 percent depending on the amount and tenure of the loan.

According to the information shared by HDFC Bank about the revised retail prime lending rate, now 6.85 percent for loans up to 30 lakhs, 7.10 percent for loans from 30.01 lakhs to 75 lakhs And for loans up to Rs 75.01 lakh and above, the rate of 7.20 per cent will be applicable.

Let us tell you that this step of HDFC has been taken after the loan inflation by SBI, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank in the past. Recently, State Bank of India and Axis Bank also increased the MCLR by 10 basis points and five basis points respectively. The current rate of SBI is 6.65 and that of ICICI Bank is 6.7 percent.

SBI Not Issued ‘No Due Certificate’ To Farmer For 31 Paise Outstanding, High Court Said Harassment

State Bank of India has been strongly reprimanded by the Gujarat High Court. Actually, this matter is related to the land deal of a farmer. The bank did not issue a ‘No Due Certificate’ (No Dues Certificate) to this farmer as only 31 paise remained outstanding. 

The court expressed displeasure in this way

The court of Justice Bhargava Karia of the Gujarat High Court, during the hearing of a petition filed in this regard, on Wednesday expressed displeasure with the bank saying that it is nothing but harassment. The judge said that the limit is reached, a nationalized bank says that no dues certificate cannot be issued because only 31 paise remains outstanding. 

The plot was purchased in 2020

Significantly, the petitioners Rakesh Verma and Manoj Verma had bought a plot in the year 2020 from farmer Shamjibhai and his family in Khorja village near Ahmedabad city. For this, Shamjibhai had sold the land to the petitioner for Rs 3 lakh even before the full repayment of the crop loan taken from SBI, so the petitioner (new owner of the land) could not register his name in the revenue records due to bank charges on the plot.

Certificate not given after repayment of loan

The farmer later repaid the entire loan of the bank, but despite this, SBI did not issue the said certificate due to some reason. Thereafter, the new buyer of the land moved the High Court. Justice Karia asked the bank to produce the no dues certificate in the court, to which SBI’s counsel Anand Gogia said it was not possible as the farmer still owes 31 paise. This is a systemic matter.

List Of Bank Holidays in May 2022

If you have any important work related to the bank, then settle them till last of April only. Actually, the month of April is about to end and the month of May is going to start with the bank holidays. In the beginning of the month, there will be no work in the banks for four consecutive days. In fact, the Reserve Bank of India has released the holiday calendar for May 2022.

Don’t Act Like Raju And Don’t Become Victim Of Fraud: RBI

RBI has recently released a comic book namely “Raju & The Forty Thieves” to give message to people that don’t become victim of fraud.

RBI has exposed modus operandi of financial fraudsters in this book.

Raju is the character of these stories. One who comes easily to talk. Because of this he often has to cheat. Raju is depicted as a different character in these stories. Somewhere Raju is a victim of banking fraud as a farmer and somewhere as a senior citizen. To spread financial literacy among the people, RBI has published this booklet.

Four of these modus operandi are posted in the below mentioned tweet which you can see below. Remaining modus operandi will be posted soon.

Tweet:

Bank Opening Time: Bank opening time has changed from today, customers will benefit, know how

Bank Opening Time: From today, banks will open from 9 am. In such a situation, customers will get one hour extra time to avail banking facilities in the bank.

Bank Opening Time: A big news has come out for crores of bank customers across the country including Mumbai. There has been a big change in the opening hours of banks across the country including Mumbai from Monday i.e. today. This will be of great convenience to the customers. From Monday, the opening hours of the bank have become 9 am. This will give an additional hour to the customers to get their work done. However, there has been no change in the closing times of banks. That is, the banks will be closed from the earlier time.

Actually, due to the corona virus epidemic, the opening hours of banks were reduced in the day. Which has now been normalized again. This new facility has come into effect from 18th April 2022 i.e. from today. RBI has made a new announcement related to ATM for the customers of the bank. You will be happy knowing that.According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the opening hours of banks have been changed from Monday (April 18). Now banks will open at 9 am, while there is no change in the closing time of banks. This means that now customers will get one hour extra time than before. Through which customers can avail banking services. There are seven government banks in the country including State Bank of India, apart from these there are more than 20 private banks in the country. to whom this rule shall apply.

Despite the recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission, the MP Area Development Fund is not being closed

Transaction facility from cardless ATM soon

Now preparations are going on in the banks to provide the facility of transaction from Ge cardless ATM soon. With this, customers will be able to withdraw money from banks and their ATMs through UPI. RBI is going to do this to increase cardless i.e. cardless transactions. To do this, the facility of withdrawing money from all banks and their ATMs will be provided through UPI.

There will be a reduction in fraud related to ATM

RBI believes that, this will reduce the fraud related to ATM. Cardless transactions will make transactions easier and cardless transactions will also help in preventing many other frauds including card cloning, card theft.

 

Applications invited from qualified Chartered/Cost Accountant or a firm of Chartered/Cost Accountants for empanelment as stock & Book Debts auditors

UCO Bank
Honours Your Trust

Date : 06.04.2022

ZO/MUM/CRM/004/ 2022-23

NOTICE FOR EMPANELMENT OF STOCK AUDITORS FOR BRANCHES UNDER MUMBAI ZONE

Applications in prescribed format are invited from qualified Chartered/Cost Accountant or a firm of Chartered/Cost Accountants registered with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India/Institute of cost Accountants of India for empanelment as stock & Book Debts auditors with our branches under Mumbai Zone.

Prescribed forms such as proforma of application (Annexure-I to be printed on letter head), Code of Conduct document for stock auditors (Annexure-I1), and proforma of declaration-cum-undertaking (Annexure-111) to be submitted by the applicant stock auditors will be uploaded on our bank’s website.

Interested individuals/firms those having their place of business in Mumbai, Maharashtra satisfying the eligibility criteria may submit their application along with requisite credentials, declaration cum undertaking (on Non-Judicial Stamp Paper of requisite Value) etc. in sealed envelope to our office latest by 30’h April, 2022 on the following address:

The Zonal Manager
UCO Bank. Zonal Office,
1st Floor, 359, DN Road,
Fort, Mumbai, Maharahstra-40000

Applications received after the due date and also without relevant particulars will be summarily rejected and bank’s decision in this regard shall be final and binding on all parties. Bank will be on its liberty to reject or empanel any individual/firms without giving any reason to affected parties/firms. The Bank’s decision on selection/empanelment shall be final no communication in this regard shall be entertained.

Deputy General Manager & Zonal Manager

Eligibility criteria for empanelment:

Minimum Criteria:

a. The applicant should be a qualified Chartered Accountant / Cost Accountant or a firm of Chartered/Cost Accountants, registered with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India / Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

b. A fellow/associate member of Institution of Stock Auditors as specialist in jewellery, precious stones & ornaments or as specialist in Works of Art or as Stock Auditor for chemicals or as Stock Auditor of any such specialized stock may also apply for empanelment as stock auditor for such specialized categories. An audit firm having at least one such partner or senior employee shall be eligible for being empanelled as stock auditor for such specialized stock.

c. The applicant should have 3 years Post-qualification practicing experience as stock auditor with any of the commercial Banks (Public or Private). In case of Firm etc, the individual experience of the any partners etc of at least 3 years can also be considered.

d. In case the Stock auditor / proprietor or any of the partners of the audit firm /employee of the audit firm is an ex-employee of our Bank, such stock auditor audit firm shall be eligible for empanelment after a cooling period of two(2) years from the date of retirement of that employee.

Additional / Preferred Criteria:

a. Empanelment with PSBs as stock auditor shall be treated as a preferred qualification, but not mandatory one for being empanelled.

b. The firms having partners/personnel with engineering background and/or partners/person nel experienced with SAP environment and/or partners/personnel with CISA/DISA to assist stock audit will be given preference.

c. Firms having more than one qualified Chartered Accountants/ Cost accountants as partners.

Other Criteria:

a. The applicant should be an Indian Citizen/Firm registered in India.

b. There must be minimum 2 trained /Semi trained employees/Trainees/Apprentices besides a Chartered Accountant/Cost Accountant.

c. Adequate knowledge of financial analysis.

d. The applicant individuals / firms as well as all partners must be income tax assesse.

e. The auditors against whom complaints have been registered with CBI / SFIO/police / court of law &/or blacklisted by any bank / Fl / IBA/etc shall not be eligible.

f. An undercharged insolvent shall not be eligible for empanelment.

g. central statutory auditor of the Bank shall not be eligible for empanelment as stock auditor during the tenor as statutory Auditor. Statutory / concurrent auditor of a branch shall not be eligible for undertaking stock audits related to the same branch, even if empaneled.

Tender_emplanelment_a71be51fdcDownload

RBI May Increase Repo Rate By 0.25 Percent From June, Preparing For Change in Liberal Stance

The Reserve Bank of India may increase the repo rate by half a percent in the coming two monetary policy reviews. It may increase by 25 basis points in June and 25 basis points in August. The effort of the central bank is to reduce the rate of inflation, due to which it will have to take such a step.

SBI Chief Economist Soumyakanti Ghosh said in a report that after hitting 6.95 per cent in March, it is likely to go above 7 per cent by September. During this, the good thing is that the government is continuously increasing investment. 10 lakh crores have been invested in the last two years.

Cardless Cash Withdrawal To Be Available At All Banks

Taking note of the increasing cases of frauds while withdrawing money through ATMs, the Reserve Bank has taken a major decision. Under this, the facility of cardless cash withdrawal with the help of UPI will now be available on all banks. The RBI Governor said that through this facility, the cases of frauds that occur while withdrawing money from ATMs will be curbed.

RBI Imposes Ban On This Co-Operative Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has announced to impose a number of restrictions on Shushruti Soudhaar Sahakara Bank Regularity based in Bengaluru. In a statement issued by the RBI in this regard, it has been said that the bank can no longer give loans or accept deposits without its approval. These restrictions will remain in force for six months.

RBI MoneTary Policy: Monetary Policy Review Meeting Began On 6th April

The two-day monetary policy review meeting of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started from Wednesday. This meeting is headed by the central bank governor Shaktikanta and its results will be announced on April 8. If experts are to be believed, this time also the Reserve Bank can keep the policy interest rates unchanged. 

Significantly, in the last review meeting, the Reserve Bank of India did not change the policy rates for the tenth time in a row. At present, the repo rate remains at 4 per cent. On the other hand, talking about the reverse repo rate, it remains the same at 3.5 percent. It has been said in the earlier report that this time also the Reserve Bank can maintain its status quo on interest rates. However, there is also a possibility of a change in the central bank’s stance due to the geopolitical situation arising out of the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, the decision of what RBI takes will be known only after the results are announced on April 8.  

Trustee Units Of SBI, IDBI And Axis Under Siege, CCI Starts Investigation

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is initiating an investigation into the trustee units of State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank and IDBI Bank. The investigation is being done following allegations of suspected collusion over fees.

This is likely to spark a legal battle in the coming days. As per the rules, debt-raising companies have to appoint a so-called debenture trustee to protect the interests of investors.

The trustees oversee the debt issuing companies by charging them fees. SBI, Axis Trustee and IDBI Trustee are under investigation. All three of them make billions of dollars by providing trustee services for debt securities.

The CCI, in an order in December, said the Trustees Association of India last year increased the fee to assist companies raising debt and prevent members from going below the fixed price.

RBI Imposes Fine On Three Co-Operative Banks

The Reserve Bank of India has taken action against three co-operative banks for non-compliance with the rules. The banks which have been penalized include Phaltan-based Yashwant Co-Operative Bank Ltd., Kokan Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Samta Co-operative Development Bank Ltd.

According to the statement, RBI has taken action against these banks for non-compliance. It was informed that action has been taken against Yashwant Co-operative Bank for non-compliance with the guidelines in respect of income, asset classification and other matters of Rs. Along with this, a penalty of Rs 2 lakh has also been imposed on Mumbai-based Kokan Mercantile Co-Operative Bank Limited for non-compliance with the rules. Apart from this, a fine of Rs 1 lakh has been imposed on Kolkata-based Samta Co-operative Development Bank Ltd.

Big News: HDFC Will Merge With HDFC Bank, 41 Percent Stake Will Be Acquired

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) is going to be merged with HDFC Bank and its preparations have been completed. It was officially announced on Monday. Chairman Deepak Parekh said that after this transformational merger, HDFC will have 41 per cent stake in the bank.

Process to be completed by 2024

HDFC said on April 4 that its board has approved the merger of its wholly owned subsidiaries HDFC Investment Ltd and HDFC Holdings Ltd with HDFC Bank Ltd. According to the report, the merger process of HDFC- HDFC Bank is expected to be completed by the second or third quarter of FY 2024.

Market cap will be higher than TCS

The market cap of the merged entity will be higher than that of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). It is worth noting that at present, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is at number one and TCS is at number two. After the merger, public shareholders will have 100% stake in HDFC Bank. Post the merger, it will be the second largest company by market cap, overtaking TCS.

Alert: This Big Change is Happening in Punjab National Bank From Today

Cheque payment verification will be mandatory

It is worth noting that since this rule applicable in PNB, it will be compulsorily verified at the time of issuance of cheque for payment. Without verification the cheque will not be passed under any circumstances. That is, this cheque will be returned without verification. Let us inform that before Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda had implemented the positive pay-system rule on its own on February 1.

Banking fraud will be curbed

Let us tell you that there has been a significant increase in the cases of banking fraud in the past. In view of the increasing number of such cases, banks are changing their rules with the aim of protecting their customers. Under the new rule, now while issuing a PNB cheque to anyone, you will have to share the details of the cheque date, beneficiary name, account number, amount mentioned in the cheque electronically through internet banking, ATM or mobile banking or SMS. After its verification, the cheque will be cleared quickly and there will be no possibility of fraud.

Banking Frauds Of 100 Crores Daily in India: RBI Claims

The country has lost Rs 100 crore everyday in the last seven years due to bank frauds. However, this loss amount is declining year after year. According to RBI, 83 per cent of banking fraud cases in the country are in just five states. Maharashtra tops it with 50 per cent, while Delhi is in second place. After that, most of the banking frauds are in the states like Telangana, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

According to the data, from April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2021, banking frauds of about Rs 2.5 lakh crore took place in all the states. In this, the share of these five states is more than Rs 2 lakh crore i.e. 83%. RBI has divided banking frauds into eight categories. However, the Finance Ministry says that steps have been taken for reporting and prevention of such incidents. Due to this, the cases of banking fraud are decreasing every year.

This Big Change To Happen in Axis Bank

For customers who have salary or savings account in Axis Bank, new rules are being implemented from April 1, 2022. The bank has increased the limit of minimum balance in savings account from 10 thousand to 12 thousand rupees. According to the information given on the website of AXIS Bank, the bank has also changed the prescribed limit of free cash transactions to four free transactions or Rs 1.5 lakh.

RBI Released Format Of Geo Tagging Of PoS Machines

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday released the format for geo-tagging of payment system touch points to co-monitor the availability of payment accepting infrastructure. According to the news of PTI, Geo-tagging refers to marking the geographical location (latitude and longitude) of the payment touch point on the part of the shopkeeper to receive payment from his customers. This payment is accepted through POS terminal and QR code.

Emphasis on Payment Acceptance Infra

According to the news, RBI said in its format related to geo-tagging that it is committed to expand digital payment and provide inclusive access to all citizens. He said that to achieve this objective, it is important that a robust payment acceptance framework is in place and within reach across the country.

Geo-tagging to be reported to RBI

According to RBI’s draft paper, banks and non-banking payment system operators will retain the exact geographical location of all payment touch points. Apart from this, geo-tagging related to POS machines and QR codes will have to be reported to RBI.

Bank Alert: Banks Will Be Closed For 4 Consecutive Days

Banks across the country will remain closed for the next four days from Saturday due to the strike of various employees union in protest against other government decisions including privatization of banks. Various employees’ unions have called for a two-day strike on March 28-29. At the same time, the banks will be closed on 26 (Saturday) and 27 (Sunday).

Banking services across the country may be affected due to this strike. SBI said, work in banks will be affected on March 28 and March 29 due to the strike by the bank union. SBI said in a statement that we will try our best to ensure that customers do not face any kind of problem during this period. The two-day strike has been announced by organizations like All India Bank Employees Association.