Terms To Remember

In the competitive exams like IBPS, SBI, RRB and other bank, UPSC exams the below information will be very important. This information will be very handy in IBPS and SBI interviews also. These information below is added in different days. If you visit regularly it will be easier for you to remember these terms because only 10-12 terms will be added a day. Every week two or three entries will be added so visit regularly to stay updated.


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Some other terms:



1. What is a Repo Rate?
A: Repo rate is the rate at which our banks borrow rupees from RBI. Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases, borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive. Which means when repo rate increases bank will get money from rbi at higher rate ===bank will lend to customer at higher rate
higher repo===higher rate of loan by banks===reduction in flow of money as people will not take money at higher rate only needy people will take......At present the Repo Rate is 8.50%(as on 18/03/12)


2. What is Reverse Repo Rate?
A: This is exact opposite of Repo rate. Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India (RBI) borrows money from banks. RBI uses this tool when it feels there is too much money floating in the banking system. Banks are always happy to lend money to RBI since their money is in safe hands with a good interest. An increase in Reverse repo rate can cause the banks to transfer more funds to RBI due to this attractive interest rates.
Banks are happy to lend to RBI because risk factor is negligible .....means if they lend to other parties then there is a possibility of repayment failure
so this is also a tool to control flow of funds in economy. Reverse Repo Rate at present is 7.50%(as on 18/03/12)


3. What is CRR Rate?
A: Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks.CRR --- 4.75%(as on 18/03/12)

4. What is SLR Rate?
A:SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is the amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers.
SLR rate is determined and maintained by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in order to control the expansion of bank credit. SLR is determined as the percentage of total demand and percentage of time liabilities. Time Liabilities are the liabilities a commercial bank liable to pay to the customers on their anytime demand. SLR is used to control inflation and propel growth. Through SLR rate tuning the money supply in the system can be controlled efficiently. Currently SLR is 24%(as on 18/03/12)

5. What is Bank Rate?
A: Bank rate, also referred to as the discount rate, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on the loans and advances that it extends to commercial banks and other financial intermediaries. Changes in the bank rate are often used by central banks to control the money supply. Currently Bank Rate is 9.50%(as on 18/03/12)


6. RTGS ?
A: Real Time Gross Settlement -- is a tool to transfer funds from one bank to another or to same bank within india....
minimum limit---2 lakh
maximum limit---no limit
RTGS works on real time basis means money is transferred immediately as soon as it is recieved from customer it will take around 2 -3 hours 


7. NEFT ?
A:National Electronic Fund Transfer --- is also a tool to transfer money within india
minimum limit-- re 1
maximum limit--there is no such maximum limit but people prefer rtgs above 2 lakh
NEFT works on batch system means unlike RTGS in NEFT money is transferred in batches like upto 12 if 3 customers have applied for neft then there money be transferred in batch then again when some money is collected in given time slot then they will be transferred in next batch

8. Cheque ?
A: Cheque is a legal instrument to transfer money in writing signed by the person who deposited  , addressed to the banker for paying money when demand arises ....
Now there are various types of cheques---
a-- Bearer Cheque---when the words or to the bearer is not cancelled on the cheque then it becomes bearer cheque ....it is very risky as anyone having a cheque can ask for payment.

b-- Order cheque-- when word bearer is cancelled ....then payment be made to the party mentioned in cheque .

c--Crossed Cheque-- when two parllel lines are drawn on cheque and word "Account Payee " is written then its crossed cheque and the payment of these cheques cannot be obtained from counter of the bank they are deposited in account only


9. Difference between repo rate and bank rate ?
A.  DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BANK RATE AND REPO RATE

BANK RATE ---- IT IS FOR M LONG TERM ..... AND IS THE OUTCOME OF MONETARY POLICY........BANK RATE DECIDES THE RATE AT WHICH COMMERCIAL BANKS LEND TO CUSTOMER AS IF BANK RATE INCREASES MEANS BORROWING FROM RBI BECOMES COSTLY

REPO RATE---- IT IS FOR SHORT TERM...... BASICALLY TO MATCH THE WORKING CAPITAL NEEDS OF BANKS.......IN THIS COMMERCIAL BANKS SELL THEIR SECURITIES TO RBI WITH AN AGREEMENT TO REPURCHASE THEM AGAIN AT PRE SETERMINED RATE.


10. Devaluation ie. decrese of value of rupees against dollar ?
A. suppose 1$==rs 50
means for purchasing every dollar u have to pay rs 50
now is this ratio becomes 1$==rs 55
then this means u have to pay more 
now its impact..........
export sector will be benefited as when they export they get money in dollars and when they exchange it for rupee then they get more money ..........
import will be discouraged as if u purachse something u have to pay in dollars and for this u have to first change your currency in dollars and as rate is more so have to pay more so
this is called the situation of devaluation where export is promoted and import is curatiled...


11. Inflation, Deflation and Recession ?
A. Inflation is as an increase in the price of bunch of Goods and services that projects the Indian economy. An increase in inflation figures occurs when there is an increase in the average level of prices in Goods and services. Inflation happens when there are fewer Goods and more buyers; this will result in increase in the price of Goods, since there is more demand and less supply of the goods.
Deflation is the continuous decrease in prices of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate becomes negative (below zero) and stays there for a longer period.
A true economic recession can only be confirmed if GDP (Gross Domestic Product)growth is negative for a period of two or more consecutive quarters

12. Merchant Banking ?
A. Merchant banking is concerned with ipo and fpo for issuing shares in market company has to appoint a merchant banker who is responsible for all types approvals ,communications like from sebi, rbi etc and merchant banker have to fulfill all roc (registrar of companies ) filling also.....

13. Money Laundering ?
A. basically it means converting black money into white money by depositing it into bank........now what happens is the money earned by drug trafficking or by some other such kind of process are referred as black money ...........so money launderers deposit this amount in banks ............now there are chances that they may be caught by banks as amount involved is too much...........so they deposit money in small amounts and later on withdraw the same or they invest in some small investment schemes......
for getting rid of this KYC NORMS came into play ........ which means know your customer .......in this customer ahve to deposit their verification ids and some like details with banks............


14. SEBI--SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA its functions ?
A. SEBI is a capital market regulator means all the capital transactions are goverened by sebi----

its major functions are---
a---protecting the interest of investor in securities market
b--promoting development of securities market
c---regulating the securities market......


15. IRDA---INSURANCE REGULATORY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY its functions ?
A. IRDA is the regulatory authority of insurance business
its functions are
a--protectinginterest of policy holders
b--specifing proper training,qualification etc to insurance people
c--levying fees ,commision etc for conducting insurance business
d--specifing the manner in which insurance company maintain their books of accounts
e--specifing margin of solvency
f--specifing general and life insurance business which company can take 

16.Shadow Banking ?
A.shadow banking means those financial transactions which are not regulated ..... hence the risk involoved in these are very high..........shadow banking deals in money market instruments......and hence need money for early repayment .......... now what happens is they invest for long term .....and borrow for short term.......so this match creates problem coz of lack of liquidity...........and second thing as they are not regulated so they cant take help from any other organisation like for eg central banks.........the crisis which world faced during was coz of shadow banking also.


17. Shadow clearance ?
A. m explaining it by way of example
suppose sbi got 5 cheques from its customers for clearance and these cheques are of uco bank ...........no what sbi will do is they make a bundle of these cheques and send it to uco bank for clearance ......meanwhile sbi will make entry in their customer account that cheques are being sent for clearance and this entry is termed as shadow clearance..............and
 when uco bank makes payment then sbi will regularise this shadow clearance and transfer the payment in customer's account........

18. types of bank audit and appointment of auditor ?
A. broadly banks have 3 types of audit---
1--internal audit
2--external audit
3--audit conducted by banks when some person takes loan to check whether he actually own the property which he is going to mortgage or not
now coming to their appointment 
external auditors or u can say statutory auditors are appointed by banks itself but there is some process
means banks have to get the list of auditors from CAG and then have to get consent from auditors whether they are willing to work or not and they must not be disqualified to act as such .........and once they get consent banks have to send their names to rbi for approval .....

in case of RRB bank have to get approval from central government
internal auditors are appointed by board of directors........


19. Double taxation avoidance agreement ?
A. double taxation aviodance agreement ie dtaa is concerned with international taxation 
for eg--- a person from india wants to setup his induatry in mauritus so now he have to pay tax as per indian law and as per mauritus law ..... so he is paying tax twice ..... so to avoid this double taxation dtaa is signed by various countries......now he dont have to pay tax to the tax twice for same income....

20. Hedging ?
A. hedging is a tool by which risk can be minimised in forex market........ by taking money from low interest rate country and investing where interest rate is high............for eg---- suppose mr.a wants a loan of 1 lkh and in india he is getting loan at 5% and in america at 7% ...... so what he will do is he will take loan from india and invest in america...... by this he will minimise risk and make profit


21. MAT(Minimum Alternate Tax)
A. MAT(minimum alternate tax) is a tax which industries have to pay even if they are operating in tax free zone.........this concept came due to reliance........... what relaince do is they setup their industries in tax free zone and enjoy whole profits without spending a penny on tax............ so govt made provisions under which industries have to pay a minimum tax on their profit......


22. Inflationary gap ?
A.  inflationary gap means difference between supply and demand above full employment .............means if demand exceeds supply which country can produce at its extreme ..... then this gap is called inflationary gap............. for eg ---- suppose country demands 10 units while its supply could only be 5 units .... so the gap of 5 units is inflationary gap

23.fiat money
a. the money which is not backed by gold or such kind of reserves...... these are declared by govt thats y they circulate in market .......

24. Offshore banking 
is a type of banking conducted at an offshore bank, which is a bank located outside the depositor’s own country, usually in an area where the taxes are low, and there are other financial and legal benefits. These benefits include, but are not limited to greater privacy due to bank secrecy, easy access to deposits and protection against local economic, financial, or political risks.

25.Online banking
  allows bank clients to keep track of their finances whenever they find it convenient. Financial transactions can be conducted through a secure website owned and operated by a bank, virtual bank, building society, or credit union. Online banking services have some common features, which generally fall into several categories. Transactional features pertain to the carrying out of financial transactions such as opening new accounts, applying for loans, wire transfers, bill payments, etc. Payments can be made to third parties, such as telegraphic transfers and bill payments. Non-transactional features are related to cobrowsing, check links, online statements, etc. These encompass viewing paid checks, downloading bank statements, and viewing transactions. Other features relate to the transaction approval process, management of multiple account users, and administration. 
Online banking services allow bill payment and other banking transactions over the Internet. With Internet and other advanced technology, bank customers do not have to go the nearest branch any longer. They can communicate and shop online and even do their banking. A major benefit of online banking is that clients do not have to wait for their statements to arrive so that they can check the account balance. This can be done every day by reviewing the online account. Clients can check transactions and balances and look for discrepancies so that they can deal with these promptly. With access to Internet, online banking can be used practically anywhere. Moreover, since monthly bills are paid over the Internet, bank clients do not have to write checks and post payments. After one enters the amount and the payee, the money is deducted from the client’s account automatically. Then, the good news is that if you want to go green, this is an opportunity to part with paper statements. 

Since it costs less to process transactions, clients pay less in many cases. Online banking is typically offered for a small fee, which can be very low. Bank clients even save on ATM fees and postage. Online banking is not only convenient but with some banks, it is included in one’s account plan. Clients may also have access to Western Union money transfers over the Internet and through mobile banking. 
Some customers worry that online statements are not as secure as paperless ones. However, reputable banks make it clear that their online statements are completely secure as they use sophisticated security tools and advanced security systems. In general, protection for the online account is secured through password authentication. Other security methods have been developed as well. One security method is the PIN/TAN system in which the TAN represents a one-time password serving to authenticate transactions. The PIN is used for login the same way as in other places. TANs are often sent to bank customers in the form of a list and by postal letter. Another security method is the so called signature-based online banking. Every transaction is signed and encrypted in a digital form. The keys to generate and encrypt signatures may be stored on a memory medium or a smartcard, depending on the type of implementation. 

With regard to attacks on online banking services, one way involves stealing valid TANs and login information by deceiving bank clients. Pharming and phishing are two ways to steal user’s information. Trojan horses and cross-site scripting are other ways to steal account information. Signature-based online banking is also vulnerable to attacks. Here, the user’s software is manipulated so that the system shows correct transactions on the screen while cons hide fake transactions in the background. Unfortunately, in most cases, the source of intrusion remains unknown.

26 Overdrafts 
occur when bank customers withdraw cash from their account, with the balance going below zero. An overdraft is basically a form of credit extended by a creditor when the account balance reaches zero. Overdrafts allow bank clients to withdraw money even when there are no funds in the account. In other words, banks allow their clients to borrow certain amount of money. With overdraft accounts, financial institutions cover checks to prevent them from bouncing. Given that overdrafts are a type of loan, bank clients pay interest on the overdraft’s loan balance. On the other hand, the interest rate is often lower compared to credit cards. 

Overdrafts may occur for various reasons, among which not maintaining proper account register, merchant error, unexpected electronic withdrawals, and more. When the accountholder fails to maintain his account register well, overspending is due to negligence. Another reason for overdraft is, in fact, the possibility to overdraw money using an ATM. Some ATMs and banks allow withdrawals even when cash is insufficient in the account. ATMs are sometimes unable to communicate with the bank of the accountholder, with this resulting in automatic authorization of withdrawals. With temporary deposit holds, banks can put on hold a deposit that has been made to an account. Bank policies or Regulation CC may be responsible for that. Given that money is not immediately available, this will result in overdraft fees. Unexpected electronic withdrawals are yet another reason for overdrafts. This may occur when the trial period of some recurring service ends. Overdrafts may also occur due to direct deposit chargeback, recovering overpayment, or wage garnishment. Finally, overdraft may occur due to merchant error, with a merchant wrongly debiting a client’s account. 

On the other hand, it can be said that an overdraft acts like a safety net on one’s account. Clients are allowed to borrow up to a specified limit whenever they do not have money in the account. This is useful in covering short-term financial problems. Keep in mind that some bank accounts come with an overdraft facility, but this is not necessarily true for all accounts. If your account doesn’t, you need to ask your banking institution for an overdraft facility. The bank’s decision will depend on the client’s record, and he may be required to pay a fee for setting it up. You will not have to use it unless you need an overdraft. Moreover, you will not be required to pay additional charges in case of accidentally overdrawing. Naturally, clients have to pay the overdraft and interest charges. Rates depend on the bank and can be variable and fixed. In addition, a monthly charge and arrangement fee may apply. If you don’t have the bank’s authorization to overdraw, the charges may be quite high. Your financial institution may not pay direct debits, bounce checks, and charge a fee for all refused transactions. Administration fees may be set in place as well. 

27. Private banking 
A. is a term that encompasses different financial, investment, and banking services offered to high net worth individuals. Banks provide personalized services to individuals with sizeable assets through bank advisors. With regard to wealth management, high net worth individuals have more wealth than regular bank customers and enjoy access to a large array of alternative and conventional investment instruments. Private banking aims to offer such clients the best products and services, suited to their individual requirements. 

Bank advisors provide investment-related advice, customized financial solutions, credit and liquidity management, estate and tax planning, retirement planning, and much more. Banking teams operate on the domestic and international markets to provide investment and banking solutions to persons from diverse backgrounds. Structured products are featured with returns linked to currencies, basket of stocks, single stocks, equity indices, interest rates, etc. Investment protection is also designed to fit the requirements of individual clients – from 0 percent to 100 percent. In addition, investment products may be offered with terms from 1 month to 10 years. Private banking also encompasses alternative investment products which are not associated with traditional asset classes such as bonds and equities. High net worth individuals enjoy access to private real estate and equity funds and hedge funds. Bank advisors also offer a large selection of financial planning services, including business and family protection, pension consolidation, saving for retirement, and income planning. Business and family protection services are designed to protect high net worth individuals and their families from financial hardship. Income planning aims at income generation through developing and implementing a personalized investment strategy. Pension consolidation is a service intended for persons with multiple pension plans. Bank advisors help high net worth individuals avoid lost opportunities and problems by consolidating pension plans into a single one. Finally, those who are saving for retirement are offered help in designing a plan to build up their wealth and enjoy it post retirement. 

28. stop payment 
A. occurs when an accountholder asks their bank not to honor some payment. Stop payments can be made before the receiving party cashes a check and after the latter is delivered. Stop payment orders are mainly governed by banking regulations and state laws, and they can vary by bank and state. Banking institutions usually charge a fee to issue a stop payment. If the check is issued to pay back a legitimate debt, stopping payment may be regarded as an act of fraud. State fraud laws determine if this is considered a criminal act, and laws differ from one state to another. 

29.Wire transfer
 A. also known as credit transfer, refers to a method of transferring funds electronically from one institution or person to another. Wire transfers are made in two different ways. Cash can be transferred at a cash office or from one bank account to another. Compared to bulk payments, wire transfer systems are intended to offer individualized transactions. Examples of such systems are Check21 and ACH. ACH stands for Automated Clearing House, which functions as an electronic network for making transactions in the US. This system processes debit and credit transactions in batches and in large volumes. Credit transfers encompass vendor payments and direct deposits. Direct debit transfers include, on the other hand, mortgage loans, insurance premiums’ consumer payments, and other types of bills. Check21 is another name for Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, which was enacted in 2004. Under this law, recipients are allowed to create digital versions of paper checks, which are known as substitute checks. In this way, further processing of the physical document is not necessary. The effects of this become visible to consumers when some checks no longer come with their monthly statements. At the same time, others are returned. In addition, under this law, mobile phones and computer scanners cannot be used to capture checks’ images with the purpose of depositing them electronically. This is called remote deposit. 

Basically, wire transfers are transfers of money done by a bank, and both recipients and senders do not touch the funds. It is not difficult to make a wire transfer, and the first step is to contact your financial institution online or by phone and provide the required information. This includes the name of the company or person to have the money wired to, the routing number of the bank, together with the phone number and address of the latter, the account number of the recipient, and the contact details of a person to whom questions can be presented, if needs be. The next step is to determine the sum of money to be wired and when the recipient needs to have it sent. The transaction is to be completed through your banking institution. Some banks allow clients to make transactions over the Internet, but other entities require that clients contact them by fax or phone. Finally, you have to confirm that the wire transfer took place. Request a transfer confirmation to be emailed or faxed or call the receiving bank and ask for confirmation. 
Wire transfers are a popular payment method, along with personal account management, balance transfers, and credit cards. With account management, clients can transfer money between savings and checking accounts. In fact, by swiping an ATM card, bank clients authorize a wire transfer from their bank accounts. At point of sale, transfers are free-of-charge for customers, but a fee may be charged for other types of transfer. For example, it will be based on percentage of the amount to be transferred, or it can be a flat amount. This is oftentimes the case with credit card balance transfers. 

Western Union and some other companies feature an anonymous type of wire transfer. Customers can go to Western Union, for example, and send certain amount of money to a branch of Western Union in Jamaica. Even if the office they visit is in Chicago, they will send cash and pay all applicable fees. The wire transfer will be made electronically. 

Wire transfers have advantages and disadvantages. They are handy in case you do not have a bank account. However, if you make a wire transfer to buy something from a private seller, they may provide wrong or false information.

30.What is PLR?
 A: The Prime Interest Rate is the interest rate charged by banks to their most creditworthy customers (usually the most prominent and stable business customers). The rate is almost always the same amongst major banks. Adjustments to the prime rate are made by banks at the same time; although, the prime rate does not adjust on any regular basis. The Prime Rate is usually adjusted at the same time and in correlation to the adjustments of the Fed Funds Rate. The rates reported below are based upon the prime rates on the first day of each respective month. Some banks use the name "Reference Rate" or "Base Lending Rate" to refer to their Prime Lending Rate.

31. What is Deposit Rate?

A: Interest Rates paid by a depository institution on the cash on deposit.

32. What is FII?
 A: FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) used to denote an investor, mostly in the form of an institution. An institution established outside India, which proposes to invest in Indian market, in other words buying Indian stocks. FII's generally buy in large volumes which has an impact on the stock markets. Institutional Investors includes pension funds, mutual funds, Insurance Companies, Banks, etc.

33. What is FDI?
 A: FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) occurs with the purchase of the “physical assets or a significant amount of ownership (stock) of a company in another country in order to gain a measure of management control” (Or) A foreign company having a stake in a Indian Company.

34. What is IPO?
 A: IPO is Initial Public Offering. This is the first offering of shares to the general public from a company wishes to list on the stock exchanges.

35. What is Disinvestment?
A: The Selling of the government stake in public sector undertakings.

36. What is Fiscal Deficit AND Revenue deficit?
 A: It is the difference between the government’s total receipts (excluding borrowings) and total expenditure.
 Revenue deficit defines that, where the net amount received (by taxes & other forms) fails to meet the predicted net amount to be received by the government.

37. What is GDP,GNP,Per Capita Income AND National Income?
 A: The Gross Domestic Product or GDP is a measure of all of the services and goods produced in a country over a specific period; classically a year. GDP during 2008-09 is 6.7%.
Gross National Product is measured as GDP plus income of residents from investments made abroad minus income earned by foreigners in domestic market.
National Income is the money value of all goods and services produced in a country during the year.
 The national income of a country, or region, divided by its population. Per capita income is often used to measure a country's standard of living.Per capita income during 2008-09 estimated by CSO: Rs.25, 494.
Indicators of Growth
 Gross Domestic Product (GDP):  It is the sum total of the market value of the final goods and services produced within the geographical boundary of a country during an accounting year. 
 Gross National Product (GNP):  GNP = GDP + Net factor income from abroad.
 Net factor income = X – M, [X = Income earned and received by nationals in foreign countries; M=Income earned by foreign nationals in a country.]
 It better indicates the production potential of the nationals as against GDP.  In India’s case, GNP is less than GDP.  In other words, net factor income is negative in India. 
 Net National Product (NNP):  NNP = GNP – Depreciation
 Depreciation is consumption of fixed capital in the process of production. 
 National Income:  When NNP is calculated at factor cost, it is known as National Income.  In other words, it can be represented as,
National Income = NNP at market prices – Indirect taxes + subsidies 





38. What is Vote on Account?
 A: A vote-on account is basically a statement ,where the government presents an estimate of a sum required to meet the expenditure that it incurs during the first three to four months of an election financial year until a new government is in place, to keep the machinery running.

39. Difference between Vote on Account and Interim Budget?
 A:Vote-on-account deals only with the expenditure side of the government's budget, an interim Budget is a complete set of accounts, including both expenditure and receipts.

40. What is SDR?
 A: The SDR (Special Drawing Rights) is an artificial currency created by the IMF in 1969. SDRs are allocated to member countries and can be fully converted into international currencies so they serve as a supplement to the official foreign reserves of member countries. Its value is based on a basket of key international currencies (U.S. dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling).

41. What is SEZ?
 A: SEZ means Special Economic Zone is the one of the part of government’s policies in India. A special Economic zone is a geographical region that economic laws which are more liberal than the usual economic laws in the country. The basic motto behind this is to increase foreign investment, development of infrastructure, job opportunities and increase the income level of the people.

42. What is corporate governance?
The way in which a company is governed and how it deals with the various interests of its customers, shareholders, employees and society at large. Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation (or company) is directed, administered or controlled.Is defined as the general set of customs, regulations, habits, and laws that determine to what end a firm should be run.

43. Functions of RBI?
A. The Reserve Bank of India is the central bank of India, was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The Reserve Bank of India was set up on the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission. The commission submitted its report in the year 1926, though the bank was not set up for nine years.To regulate the issue of Bank Notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage." Banker to the Government: performs merchant banking function for the central and the state governments; also acts as their banker.Banker to banks: maintains banking accounts of all scheduled banks

44. What is monetary policy?
 A Monetary policy is the process by which the government, central bank, of a country controls (i) the supply of money, (ii) availability of money, and (iii) cost of money or rate of interest, in order to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and stability of the economy.

45. What is Fiscal Policy? 
Fiscal policy is the use of government spending and revenue collection to influence the economy. These policies affect tax rates, interest rates and government spending, in an effort to control the economy. Fiscal policy is an additional method to determine public revenue and public expenditure.

46. What is Core Banking Solutions?
 Core banking is a general term used to describe the services provided by a group of networked bank branches. Bank customers may access their funds and other simple transactions from any of the member branch offices. It will cut down time, working simultaneously on different issues and increasing efficiency. The platform where communication technology and information technology are merged to suit core needs of banking is known as Core Banking Solutions.

47. What is bank and its features and types?
 A bank is a financial organization where people deposit their money to keep it safe.Banks play an important role in the financial system and the economy. As a key component of the financial system, banks allocate funds from savers to borrowers in an efficient manner.
 49.
Regional Rural Banks were established with an objective to ensure sufficientinstitutional credit for agriculture and other rural sectors. The RRBs mobilizefinancial resources from rural / semi-urban areas and grant loans and advancesmostly to small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and rural artisans.The area of operation of RRBs is limited to the area as notified by GoI coveringone or more districts in the State.
Banking services for individual customers is known as retail banking
 A bank that deals mostly in but international finance, long-term loans for companies and underwriting. Merchant banks do not provide regular banking services to the general publicOnline banking (or Internet banking) allows customers to conduct financialtransactions on a secure website operated by their retail or virtual bank.Mobile Banking is a service that allows you to do banking transactions on yourmobile phone without making a call , using the SMS facility. Is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments etc. via a mobile device such as a mobile phone. Traditional banking is the normal bank accounts we have. Like, put your money in the bank and they act as a security and you will get only the normal interests (decided by RBI in our case, FED bank in US).Investment banking is entirely different. Here, people who are having so much money (money in excess which will yield only less interest if in Banks) will invest their money and get higher returns. For example, If i have more money instead of taking the pain of investing in share market, buying properties etc. I will give to investment banks and they will do the money management and give me higher returns when compared to traditional banks.

48. What is E-Governance?
 E-Governance is the public sector’s use of information and communication technologies with the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen participation in the decision-making process and making government more accountable,transparent and effective.

49. What is Right to information Act?
 The Right to Information act is a law enacted by the Parliament of India giving citizens of India access to records of the Central Government and State overnments.The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir - which is covered under a State-level law. This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 13 October 2005.

50. Credit Rating Agencies in India?
 The credit rating agencies in India mainly include ICRA and CRISIL. ICRA wasformerly referred to the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited. Their main function is to grade the different sector and companies in terms of performance and offer solutions for up gradation. The credit rating agencies in India mainly include ICRA and CRISIL(Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited)

51. What is demand Draft?
 A demand draft is an instrument used for effecting transfer of money. It is a Negotiable Instrument. Cheque and Demand-Draft both are used for Transfer of money. You can 100% trust a DD. It is a banker's check. A check may be dishonored for lack of funds a DD can not. Cheque is written by an individual and Demand draft is issued by a bank. People believe banks more than individuals.

52. What is a NBFC?
 A non-banking financial company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stock/bonds/debentures/securities issued by government, but does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.NBFCs are doing functions akin to that of banks; however there are a few differences:
(i)A NBFC cannot accept demand deposits (demand deposits are funds deposited at a depository institution that are payable on demand -- immediately or within a very short period -- like your current or savings accounts.)
(ii) it is not a part of the payment and settlement system and as such cannot issue cheques to its customers; and
(iii) Deposit insurance facility of DICGC is not available for NBFC depositors unlike in case of banks.


53. What is NASSCOM ?
 The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the Indian chamber of commerce is a consortium that serves as an interface to the Indian software industry and Indian BPO industry. Maintaining close interaction with the Government of India in formulating National IT policies with specific focus on IT software and services maintaining a state of the art information database of IT software and services related activities for use of both the software developers as well as interested companies overseas.

54. What is ASSOCHAM?
 The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), India's premier apex chamber covers a membership of over 2 lakh companies and professionals across the country. It was established in 1920 by promoter chambers, representing all regions of India. As an apex industry body, ASSOCHAM represents the interests of industry and trade, interfaces with Government on policy issues and interacts with counterpart international organizations to promote bilateral economic issues.

55. What is NABARD?
NABARD was established by an act of Parliament on 12 July 1982 to implement the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act 1981. It replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC). It is one of the premiere agency to provide credit in rural areas. NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts.

56. What is SIDBI?
 The Small Industries Development Bank of India is a state-run bank aimed to aid the growth and development of micro, small and medium scale industries in India. Set up in 1990 through an act of parliament, it was incorporated initially as a wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial Development Bank of India.

57. What is SENSEX and NIFTY?
 SENSEX is the short term for the words "Sensitive Index" and is associated with the Bombay (Mumbai) Stock Exchange (BSE). The SENSEX was first formed on 1-1-1986 and used the market capitalization of the 30 most traded stocks of BSE. Where as NSE has 50 most traded stocks of NSE.SENSEX IS THE INDEX OF BSE. AND NIFTY IS THE INDEX OF NSE.BOTH WILL SHOW DAILY TRADING MARKS. Sensex and Nifty both are an "index”. An index is basically an indicator it indicates whether most of the stocks have gone up or most of the stocks have gone down.

58. What is SEBI?
 SEBI is the regulator for the Securities Market in India. Originally set up by the Government of India in 1988, it acquired statutory form in 1992 with SEBI Act 1992 being passed by the Indian Parliament. Chaired by C B Bhave.

59. What is Mutual funds?
 Mutual funds are investment companies that pool money from investors at large and offer to sell and buy back its shares on a continuous basis and use the capital thus raised to invest in securities of different companies. The mutual fund will have a fund manager that trades the pooled money on a regular basis. The net proceeds or losses are then typically distributed to the investors annually.

60. What is Asset Management Companies?
 A company that invests its clients' pooled fund into securities that match its declared financial objectives. Asset management companies provide investors with more diversification and investing options than they would have by themselves. Mutual funds, hedge funds and pension plans are all run by asset management companies. These companies earn income by charging service fees to their clients.

61. What are non-perfoming assets?
 Non-performing assets, also called non-performing loans, are loans,made by a bank or finance company, on which repayments or interest payments are not being made on time. A debt obligation where the borrower has not paid any previously agreed upon interest and principal repayments to the designated lender for an extended period of time. The nonperforming asset is therefore not yielding any income to the lender in the form of principal and interest payments.


62. What is foreign exchange reservers?
 Foreign exchange reserves (also called Forex reserves) in a strict sense are only the foreign currency deposits and bonds held by central banks and monetary authorities.However, the term in popular usage commonly includes foreign exchange and gold,SDRs and IMF reserve positions.

63. What is Open Market operations(OMO)?
 The buying and selling of government securities in the open market in order to expand or contract the amount of money in the banking system by RBI. Open market operations are the principal tools of monetary policy.

64. What is Micro Credit?
 It is a term used to extend small loans to very poor people for self-employment projects that generate income, allowing them to care for themselves and their families.

65. What is Liquidity Adjustment Facility(LAF)?
 A tool used in monetary policy that allows banks to borrow money through repurchase agreements. This arrangement allows banks to respond to liquidity pressures and is used by governments to assure basic stability in the financial markets.

66. What is Bancassurance?
 It is the term used to describe the partnership or relationship between a bank and an insurance company whereby the insurance company uses the bank sales channel in order to sell insurance products.

67. What is Wholesale Price Index AND Consumer price Index(CPI) ?
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is the index used to measure the changes in the average price level of goods traded in wholesale market. A total of 435 commodity prices make up the index. It is available on a weekly basis. It is generally taken as an indicator of the inflation rate in the Indian economy. The Indian Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was first published in 1902, and was used by policy makers until it was replaced by the Producer Price Index (PPI) in 1978.
CPI: It is a measure estimating the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households.

68. What is Venture Capital? 
Venture capital is money provided by an outside investor to finance a new, growing, or troubled business. The venture capitalist provides the funding knowing that there’s a significant risk associated with the company’s future profits and cash flow. Capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business rather than given as a loan, and the investor hopes the investment will yield a better-than-average return.

69. What is a Treasury Bills?
 Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are short term, Rupee denominated obligations issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of the Government of India. They are thus useful in managing short-term liquidity. At present, the Government of India issues three types of treasury bills through auctions, namely, 91-day, 182-day and 364-day. There are no treasury bills issued by State Governments.

70. What is Banking Ombudsmen Scheme?
 The Banking Ombudsman Scheme enables an expeditious and inexpensive forum to bank customers for resolution of complaints relating to certain services rendered by banks.The Banking Ombudsman is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to redress customer complaints against deficiency in certain banking services.The Banking Ombudsman Scheme was first introduced in India in 1995, and was revised in 2002. The current scheme became operative from the 1 January 2006, and replaced and superseded the banking Ombudsman Scheme 2002.

71. What is Subsidy?
 A subsidy is a form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or to encourage it to hire more labor.

72. What is a Debenture? How many types of debentures are there? What are they?
 A debenture is basically an unsecured loan to a corporation. A type of debt instrument that is not secured by physical asset. Debentures are backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the issuer.
 i)Convertible Debentures: Any type of debenture that can be converted into some other security or it can be converted into stock..
 ii)Non-Convertibility Debentures(NCB): Non Convertible Debentures are those that cannot be converted into equity shares of the issuing company, as opposed to Convertible debentures. Non-convertible debentures normally earn a higher interest rate than convertible debentures do.

73. What is a hedge fund?
 ‘Hedge’ means to reduce financial risk. A hedge fund is an investment fund open to a limited range of investors and requires a very large initial minimum investment. It is important to note that hedging is actually the practice of attempting to reduce risk, but the goal of most hedge funds is to maximize return on investment.

74. What is FCCB?
 A Foreign Currency Convertible Bond (FCCB) is a type of convertible bond issued in a currency different than the issuer’s domestic currency. In other words, the money being raised by the issuing company is in the form of a foreign currency. A company may issue an FCCB if it intends to make a large investment in a country using that foreign currency.

75. What is Capital Account Convertibility(CAC)?
 It is the freedom to convert local financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice versa at market determined rates of exchange. This means that capital account convertibility allows anyone to freely move from local currency into foreign currency and back.The Reserve Bank of India has appointed a committee to set out the framework for fuller Capital Account Convertibility.Capital account convertibility is considered to be one of the major features of a developed economy. It helps attract foreign investment. capital account convertibility makes it easier for domestic companies to tap foreign markets.

76. What is Current Account Convertibility?
 It defines at one can import and export goods or receive or make payments for services rendered. However, investments and borrowings are restricted.

77. What is Arbitrage?
 The opportunity to buy an asset at a low price then immediately selling it on a different market for a higher price.

78. What is Capitalism AND Socialism??
 Capitalism as an economy is based on a democratic political ideology and produces a free market economy, where businesses are privately owned and operated for profit; in capitalism, all of the capital investments and decisions about production, distribution, and the prices of goods, services, and labor, are determined in the free market and affected by the forces of supply and demand.
Socialism as an economy is based on a collectivist type of political ideology and involves the running of businesses to benefit the common good of a vast majority of people rather than of a small upper class segment of society.

79. Types of Banks in India - 
What is a Bank?
A Bank is a financial organization which accepts deposits that can be withdrawn on
demand and also lends money to individuals and business houses that need it.
Structure of banking sector in India:
 What is RBI?
The RBI is India's central bank. The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
RBI acts as a banker to the Government and Banks.
The Central Bank maintains record of Government revenue and expenditure under various heads. It maintains deposit accounts of all other banks and advances money to other banks, when needed.
Another important function of the Central Bank is the issuance of currency notes, regulating their circulation in the country by different methods.

Scheduled Bank?
All banks which are included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 are scheduled banks.
These banks comprise Scheduled Commercial Banks and Scheduled Cooperative Banks.
All most all banks are Scheduled banks in India.

Commercial Banks?
Commercial banks may be defined as, any banking organization that deals with the deposits and loans of business organizations
Commercial banks issue bank checks and drafts, as well as accept money on term deposits.  Commercial banks also act as moneylenders, by way of installment loans and overdrafts.
Commercial banks also allow for a variety of deposit accounts, such as checking, savings, and time deposit. These institutions are run to make a profit and owned by a group of individuals.

Types of Loans offered by Commercial banks:
1)Secured Loan: A secured loan is one where the borrower provides a certain property or asset as collateral against the loan. The main condition of these loans is that if the loan remains unpaid, the bank has the right to use the property in any way they like to realize the outstanding amount.
2)Unsecured Loan: Unsecured loans have no collateral and therefore command higher interest rates. There are a variety of unsecured loans available today and these include credit cars, credit facilities such as a lines of credit, corporate bonds, and bank overdrafts.
3)Mortgage Loans: Mortgage loans that are provided by commercial banks are similar to secured loans but are used specifically to buy real estate property for commercial purposes. In most of these cases, the banks hold a lien on the title to the particular property purchased with the loan. If the borrower is unable to pay the loan back, the bank leverages this item against the loan to generate funds or recover the principal.

Public Sector Banks?
These are banks where majority stake is held by the Government of India.
Examples of public sector banks are: SBI, Bank of India, Canara Bank, etc.

Private Sector Banks?
These are banks majority of share capital of the bank is held by private individuals. These banks are registered as companies with limited liability.
Examples of private sector banks are: ICICI Bank, Axis bank, HDFC, etc.

Foreign Banks?
These banks are registered and have their headquarters in a foreign country but operate their branches in our country.
Examples of foreign banks in India are: HSBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, etc.

Regional Rural Banks?
Regional Rural Banks were established under the provisions of an Ordinance promulgated on the 26th September 1975 and the RRB Act, 1976 with an objective to ensure sufficient institutional credit for agriculture and other rural sectors. The area of operation of RRBs is limited to the area as notified by GoI covering one or more districts in the State.
RRBs are jointly owned by GoI, the concerned State Government and Sponsor Banks (27 scheduled commercial banks and one State Cooperative Bank); the issued capital of a RRB is shared by the owners in the proportion of 50%, 15% and 35% respectively.
Prathama bank is the first Regional Rural Bank in India located in the city Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.

Cooperative Banks?
A co-operative bank is a financial entity which belongs to its members, who are at the same time the owners and the customers of their bank. Co-operative banks are often created by persons belonging to the same local or professional community or sharing a common interest. Co-operative banks generally provide their members with a wide range of banking and financial services (loans, deposits, banking accounts, etc).
They provide limited banking products and are specialists in agriculture-related products.
Cooperative banks are the primary financiers of agricultural activities, some small-scale industries and self-employed workers.
Co-operative banks function on the basis of "no-profit no-loss".
Anyonya Co-operative Bank Limited (ACBL) is the first co-operative bank in India located in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat.

How Bank gets Money?
Banks make money by lending your money out at interest and by charging you for services provided. Banks keep on lending money.
The other big revenue items generated by banks are the fees they charge. Bank charge for every service, whether it is for an electronic transaction, or permitting a transfer through the Internet banking system.
When banks get profits they invest in other companies and in return they will get money

80. Diff between banking & Finance?
A. Finance is generally related to all types of financial, this could be accounting, insurances and policies. Whereas banking is everything that happens in a bank only.The term Banking and Finance are two very different terms but are often associated together. These two terms are often used to denote services that a bank and other financial institutions provide to its customers.

81. Who are forensic accountants?
 Forensic accountants are trained to detect evidence of frauds in financial statements. They go beyond the numbers and attempt to analyze 100% of the data as against the sampling procedure adopted by auditors. When the extended procedures are invoked, cases like the overvaluation of the sales or the debtors become easy to investigate. In India there is an urgentneed of large number of forensic accountants in view of the preponderance of corporate frauds.

82. What do you mean by Financial Inclusion?
 Financial inclusion means providing to the large unbanked population of India access to financial products and services like:Bank accounts, immediate credit, savings products, remittance and payment services, insurance, mortgage, entrepreneurial credit, financial advisory services.Steps taken so far for promotion of financial inclusion have been – the cooperative movement, setting up of State Bank of India, nationalization of banks, lead bank scheme, regional rural banks, service area approach, self help groups.Out of 611 districts in the country, only 68 districts have been covered by so called financial inclusion (as of July 2009).

83. What do you mean by Capital adequacy ratio?
CRAR is the acronym for capital to risk weighted assets ratio, a standard metric to measure balance sheet strength of banks.BASEL I and BASEL II are global capital adequacy rules that prescribe a minimum amount of capital a bank has to hold given the size of its risk weighted assets. The old rules mandate banks to back every Rs. 100 of commercial loans with Rs. 9 of capital irrespective of the nature of these loans. The new rules suggest the amount of capital needed depends on the credit rating of the customer.

84. What are Banking Codes and Standards Board of India BCSBI?
BCSBI is an independent and autonomous body set up by RBI to ensure that comprehensive code of conduct for fair treatment of customers was evolved and adhered to. In substance the board has been set up to ensure that the common consumer of banking services is in no way in a disadvantageous position and really gets what he has been promised by the banks.Member banks of the board have voluntarily agreed to abide by the provisions enumerated in the codes which have been drawn up for the benefit of customers. These are:Code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers, andCode of Bank’s Commitment to Micro and Small Enterprises.

85. Overseas Banking Units (OBUs): The exim policy 2002-07 permitted registered Indian Banks to set up OBUs in the SEZs. Through these OBUs exporters in SEZs will have access to finances at international costs. This is because OBUs would be exempted from CRR, SLR and priority sector lending requirements which would permit them to operate at par with their overseas branches. These units have been permitted to accept funds from NRIs and individuals and so they can raise foreign currency funds from international markets at global interest rate. These banks should have a minimum capital of $10 million, to set up OBUs. Recently SBI opened the first OBU in Mumbai.




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