Reserve Bank of India

The 1980s was a period of currency shortage in South Asia. South Korea's moneymaking technology was key to countries like India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Pakistan, where "made-in-Korea" banknotes and coins were circulated. Further, South Korea's moneymaking technology was transferred to some countries like Bhutan to produce currency. Such export of currencies and technology transfer from South Korea to South Asia is significant in the sense that possessing and producing unique national currencies is closely linked to state legitimacy and power.

The debate around the conversion of Scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks into commercial banks warrants an investigation into their performance. The larger objective is to examine whether SUCBs are able to compete with their peer group and remain viable when subjected to stringent regulatory requirements, in the event of their conversion. The performance of SUCBs as a group is comparable with that of their peer group, that is, old private sector banks, with the exception of non-performing assets. Performance rankings reveal that the smaller SUCBs are better performers than larger ones, calling for a relook at the threshold for conversion. In the event of conversion of SUCBs into commercial banks, some of the converted entities will be as good as some of the existing OPSBs, or may even be a shade better.

No Regrets by D N Ghosh; New Delhi: Rupa Publications, 2015; pp xi + 375, ₹695 (hardcover).

Spending a few years in Washington D C as India’s executive director at the International Monetary Fund or some Ivy League think tank should not be considered as a qualification for the post of Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.  Instead, deputy governors and even those junior to them who have spent the immediate preceding years working in Mumbai, and most of whom do have doctorates the PhDs in relevant sub areas, should have the first lien on the governor’s job.

Critically evaluating the draft guidelines for “on-tap” bank licences put up by the Reserve Bank of India, it is argued that India’s banking system is already sufficiently competitive, and there appear to be few who would be willing to enter the banking business. Entry of newer players, especially those with corporate backing, cannot be the priority at the moment. The priority over the next two or three years has to be the resolution of the non-performing assets problem and strengthening of the existing players.