RBI, Sebi join hands to calm volatile markets
India’s banking and markets regulators issued a rare joint statement late on Sunday, stating that they are closely monitoring the financial markets and will take appropriate steps, if required, to ensure their smooth functioning.The regulators seem to be concerned about linkages between various financial institutions in the system and whether any defaults, real or rumoured, can lead to the possibility of a systemic contagion. The intricate interlinkages in the financial system render all agents vulnerable in case of a default by a single layer. This systemic risk can bring the entire financial system to a halt.
Source : Mint
IL&FS may move NCLT against admitting insolvency petitions
After defaulting on a series of loan repayments, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd ( IL&FS) is planning to approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) with a plea to not admit a bankruptcy case against the group, said two people directly aware of IL&FS’s plans.The company will inform the tribunal that the group is already in the process of settling its dues through monetization of IL&FS’s assets and through other capitalraising programmes.“One of the options is to file a plea at NCLT asking the court not to admit any insolvency case by IL&FS’s creditors against the group or any of its subsidiaries, because IL&FS has already begun working on concrete plans to settle the dues with interest. This has also been conveyed to its lenders and shareholders,” said the first person, requesting anonymity.
Source: Mint
Mega bank mergers and the future of reforms
When the Modi government took charge in 2014, it was set to prove its admirers right, and the sceptics wrong, on banking reforms. The then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Raghuram Rajan, was halfway through his tenure and had independently started the clean up of the banking system by taking action wherever the remit of the RBI worked.The banking system had to play a pivotal role in the logistics of demonetization and remonetization. All the operational and strategic focus was on getting a new equilibrium of cash in circulation; digital architecture; cash logistics and dealing with the birth of two new denominations (Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 200) and the withdrawal of one denomination— Rs. 1,000.
Source: Mint
Sebi move to curb mis-selling in mutual funds
It’s good news that capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) brought down the costs (total expense ratio or TER) that mutual funds can charge you, a decision it announced on 18 September. The guidelines were revised 22 years after Sebi first fixed the limits of the annual costs that MFs can charge for managing your money. But what got buried in that announcement is this: closed-end equity funds will only be able to charge a maximum of 1.25% of TER. Sebi’s aim is to not just bring the costs down but also to clamp down on mis-selling. Here’s how your life—as a mutual fund investor—will change.
Sorce: Mint
Acquittal of ISRO Scientist: Government weighing law panel’s report on unfair prosecution
The recent Supreme Court judgement on acquitted scientist Nambi Narayanan awarding him a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for implication in a fabricated case has put the spotlight on the Law Commission report on “wrongful prosecution”.The commission, under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) BS Chauhan, had submitted a report suggesting the need for a “legislative framework” for “redressal of harms” inflicted by wrongful prosecution. It has recommended enactment of a “specific legal provision” for effective redressal of such cases.
Source: Economic times
