The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has proposed major changes to the Banking Companies Ordinance-1962 to bring all deposit taking Non-Bank Financial Companies (NBFCs) like investment banks, leasing companies and housing finance companies completely under the fold of SBP.
The major rationale behind this move is that these NBFCs are engaged in activities which are quite incidental to banking both on the liability as well as asset side.
Bringing such entities under SBP would lead to greater supervisory efficiency as being regulator of banks. Its supervisory approach was well-equipped for their kind of business. The proposed amendments would enable Pakistan to ensure compliance with this principle said Governor, State Bank of Pakistan Dr Shamshad Akhtar while delivering her key-note address on Pakistan : Framework for Consolidated Supervision at the 58th annual general meeting of Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP) here on Friday. She indicated that the SBP is positioning itself for moving to consolidated supervision, in anticipation of amendments in Banking Companies Ordinance (BCO)-1962 to empower SBP to launch this initiative. This is a timely move in the wake of potential risks arising from complex structures of financial groups and emergent supervisory challenges.
Dr Akhtar stated the SBP has proposed significant amendments in the Banking Companies Ordinance. The objective of these proposed amendments is to strengthen the oversight of financial sector in accordance with the 10- year strategy and blueprint of financial sector reforms of the SBP. Although Pakistan’s financial sector as a whole has a lot to gain through increased integration and conglomeration, the newly emerging phenomenon has to be properly monitored and governed under proper legal framework to mitigate the potential risks, she added.
The SBP, as part of its overall financial sector reforms launched in July 2008, has been advocating the need for legislature to empower the Central Bank to augment its oversight of the financial sector, she said adding that the legislative reforms proposed by the SBP in this area have recently been approved, in principle, by the Cabinet and will be tabled for consideration of the Parliament.
The SBP governor said the banking sector being at the core of all activities of the financial sector, its safety and soundness is critical for public, financial sector itself and the economy as a whole. However, the current legislation and regulatory tools are not adequate to effectively address the threats to safety and soundness of the financial sector, she observed.
Dr Akhtar said the amendments proposed by the SBP would result into significant benefits in the form of operational efficiency, lower costs, reduced prices and innovation in products and services. She said one of the Core Principles for effective banking supervision (CP-24) issued by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision requires that a banking supervisor should be able to supervise the banking groups on a consolidated basis.
Presently, Pakistan is either compliant or largely compliant with all the core principles except those dealing with consolidated supervision, she said.
Dr Akhtar said another change being sought in BCO is to authorise the SBP to designate and regulate the financial groups. Financial group for this purpose will be any group containing at least one of the entities, directly regulated by the SBP. This is an extremely important step because it will enable the central bank to effectively monitor the intra-group potentially dubious transactions involving banks and NBFCs and also will enable it to curtail the possible contagion risk.
The proposed amendments will also enable the SBP to seek information from the unregulated commercial entities and conduct limited inspection for verification of such information, she added. The SBP governor observed that for entities in a financial group, which are falling under securities regulator’s supervision, current supervisory mechanism also needs to be amended to move towards greater consolidated supervision. She further said that the time is ripe for the introduction of a Financial Holding Company (FHC) concept. For facilitating the FHC model, we are also seeking several amendments in the BCO covering its definition, licensing and supervision (which will be done by SBP), capital requirement and various other aspects, Dr Akhtar said.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
banking tactics
USSR-POLAND: Soviet Banking Tactics
Moscow in late December reportedly instructed Soviet-owned banks chartered abroad to createreserve accounts to guardossible Polish default. The Poles owed these banks more0 million by midyear, but the Foreign Trade Bank of the USSR apparently assumed moreillion of this debt during the fall.
Comment: While the reported instruction may simply reflect concern over Western regulatory requirements, it also suggests Soviet pessimism about Poland's ability to resolve its financial problems. The Foreign Trade Bank's apparent assumption of roost of the Polish debt owed to these Soviet-owned banks puts themtronuer position toossible Polish default.
Read more: http://www.faqs.org/cia/docs/33/0000237153/USSR-POLAND:-SOVIET-BANKING-TACTICS.html#ixzz0aFFYRWPc
banking history(US)
History in the United States
Early Years to the Federal Reserve
In the United States the first bank was the Bank of North America, established (1781) in Philadelphia. Congress chartered the first Bank of the United States in 1791 to engage in general commercial banking and to act as the fiscal agent of the government, but did not renew its charter in 1811. A similar fate befell the second Bank of the United States, chartered in 1816 and closed in 1836.
Prior to 1838 a bank charter could be obtained only by a specific legislative act, but in that year New York adopted the Free Banking Act, which permitted anyone to engage in banking, upon compliance with certain charter conditions. Free banking spread rapidly to other states, and from 1840 to 1863 all banking business was done by state-chartered institutions. In many Western states it degenerated into "wildcat" banking because of the laxity and abuse of state laws. Bank notes were issued against little or no security, and credit was overexpanded; depressions brought waves of bank failures. In particular, the multiplicity of state bank notes caused great confusion and loss. To correct such conditions, Congress passed (1863) the National Bank Act, which provided for a system of banks to be chartered by the federal government.
In 1865, by granting national banks the authority to issue bank notes and by placing a prohibitive tax on state bank notes, an amendment to the act brought all banks under federal supervision. Most banks in existence did take out national charters, but some, being banks of deposit, were unaffected by the tax and continued under their state charters, thus giving rise to what is generally known as the "dual banking system." The number of state banks expanded rapidly with the increasing use of bank checks.
Recurrent banking panics caused by overexpansion of credit, inadequate bank reserves, and inelastic currency prompted Congress in 1908 to create the National Monetary Commission to investigate the banking and currency fields and to recommend legislation. Its suggestions were embodied in the Federal Reserve Act (1913), which provided for a central banking organization, the Federal Reserve System (see also central bank).
Further Legislation
Since the establishment of the Federal Reserve system, federal banking legislation has been limited largely to detailed amendments to the National Bank and Federal Reserve acts. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1932 and the Banking Act of 1933 together formed an extensive reform measure designed to correct the abuses that had led to numerous bank crises in the years following the stock market crash of 1929. The Glass-Steagall Act prohibited commercial banks from involvement in the securities and insurance businesses. The Banking Act strengthened the powers of supervisory authorities, increased controls over the volume and use of credit, and provided for the insurance of bank deposits under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The Banking Act of 1935 strengthened the powers of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in the field of credit management, tightened existing restrictions on banks engaging in certain activities, and enlarged the supervisory powers of the FDIC.
Deregulation, Bank Failures, and New Technology
Several deregulatory moves made by the federal government in the 1980s diminished the distinctions among various financial institutions in the United States. Two major changes were the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (1980) and the Depository Institutions Act (1982), which allowed savings and loan associations to engage in often-risky commercial loans and real estate investments, and to receive checking deposits. By 1984, banks had federal support in buying discount brokerage firms, and commercial banks were beginning to acquire failed savings banks; in 1985 interstate banking was declared constitutional.
Such deregulation was blamed for the unprecedented number of bank failures among savings and loan associations , with over 500 such institutions closing between 1980 and 1988. The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC), until it became insolvent in 1989, insured deposits in all federally chartered—and in many state-chartered—savings and loan associations. Its outstanding insurance obligations in connection with savings and loan failures, over $100 billion, were transferred (1989) to the FDIC.
Further deregulation occurred in 1999, when Congress overhauled the entire U.S. financial system. Among other actions, the legislation repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, thus allowing banks to enter the insurance and securities businesses. Supporters predicted that the measure would permit U.S. banks to diversify and compete more effectively on an international scale. Opponents warned that this deregulation could lead to failures of many financial institutions, as had occurred with the savings and loans.
In the last decades of the 20th cent., computer technology transformed the banking industry. The wide distribution of automated teller machines (ATMs) by the mid-1980s gave customers 24-hour access to cash and account information. On-line banking through the Internet and banking through automated phone systems now allow for electronic payment of bills, money transfers, and loan applications without entering a bank branch.
general history(banking)
General History
A simple form of banking was practiced by the ancient temples of Egypt, Babylonia, and Greece, which loaned at high rates of interest the gold and silver deposited for safekeeping. Private banking existed by 600 BC and was considerably developed by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. Medieval banking was dominated by the Jews and Levantines because of the strictures of the Christian Church against interest and because many other occupations were largely closed to Jews. The forerunners of modern banks were frequently chartered for a specific purpose, e.g., the Bank of Venice (1171) and the Bank of England (1694), in connection with loans to the government; the Bank of Amsterdam (1609), to receive deposits of gold and silver. Banking developed rapidly throughout the 18th and 19th cent., accompanying the expansion of industry and trade, with each nation evolving the distinctive forms peculiar to its economic and social life.
A simple form of banking was practiced by the ancient temples of Egypt, Babylonia, and Greece, which loaned at high rates of interest the gold and silver deposited for safekeeping. Private banking existed by 600 BC and was considerably developed by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. Medieval banking was dominated by the Jews and Levantines because of the strictures of the Christian Church against interest and because many other occupations were largely closed to Jews. The forerunners of modern banks were frequently chartered for a specific purpose, e.g., the Bank of Venice (1171) and the Bank of England (1694), in connection with loans to the government; the Bank of Amsterdam (1609), to receive deposits of gold and silver. Banking developed rapidly throughout the 18th and 19th cent., accompanying the expansion of industry and trade, with each nation evolving the distinctive forms peculiar to its economic and social life.
banking facts
banking primarily the business of dealing in money and instruments of credit. Banks were traditionally differentiated from other financial institutions by their principal functions of accepting deposits—subject to withdrawal or transfer by check—and of making loans.
Types of Banks
Banks have traditionally been distinguished according to their primary functions. Commercial banks, which include national- and state-chartered banks, trust companies, stock savings banks, and industrial banks, have traditionally rendered a wide range of services in addition to their primary functions of making loans and investments and handling demand as well as savings and other time deposits. Mutual savings banks , until recently, accepted only savings and other time deposits, and offered limited types of loans and services. The fact that commercial banks were able to expand or contract their loans and investments in accordance with changes in reserves and reserve requirements further differentiated them from mutual savings banks, where the volume of loans and investments was governed by changes in customers' deposits. Membership in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is compulsory for all Federal Reserve member banks but optional for other banks.
Other Financial Institutions
Types of financial institutions that have not traditionally been subject to the supervision of state or federal banking authorities but that perform one or more of the traditional banking functions are savings and loan associations , mortgage companies, finance companies, insurance companies, credit agencies owned in whole or in part by the federal government, credit unions, brokers and dealers in securities, and investment bankers. Savings and loan associations, which are state institutions, provide home-building loans to their members out of funds obtained from savings deposits and from the sale of shares to members. Finance companies make small loans with funds obtained from invested capital, surplus, and borrowings. Credit unions , which are institutions owned cooperatively by groups of persons having a common business, fraternal, or other interest, make small loans to their members out of funds derived from the sale of shares to members. The primary functions of investment bankers are to act as advisers to governments and corporations seeking to raise funds, and to act as intermediaries between these issuers of securities, on the one hand, and institutional and individual investors, on the other.
International Banks
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) was organized (1945) to make loans both to governments and to private investors. The discharge of debts between nations has been simplified and facilitated through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which also provides members with technical assistance in international banking. The former European Monetary Agreement also made possible the rapid discharge of debts and balance of payments obligations between nations. The European Central Bank (see European Monetary System ) was established in 1998 to help formulate the joint monetary policy of those European Union nations adopting a single currency.
Types of Banks
Banks have traditionally been distinguished according to their primary functions. Commercial banks, which include national- and state-chartered banks, trust companies, stock savings banks, and industrial banks, have traditionally rendered a wide range of services in addition to their primary functions of making loans and investments and handling demand as well as savings and other time deposits. Mutual savings banks , until recently, accepted only savings and other time deposits, and offered limited types of loans and services. The fact that commercial banks were able to expand or contract their loans and investments in accordance with changes in reserves and reserve requirements further differentiated them from mutual savings banks, where the volume of loans and investments was governed by changes in customers' deposits. Membership in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is compulsory for all Federal Reserve member banks but optional for other banks.
Other Financial Institutions
Types of financial institutions that have not traditionally been subject to the supervision of state or federal banking authorities but that perform one or more of the traditional banking functions are savings and loan associations , mortgage companies, finance companies, insurance companies, credit agencies owned in whole or in part by the federal government, credit unions, brokers and dealers in securities, and investment bankers. Savings and loan associations, which are state institutions, provide home-building loans to their members out of funds obtained from savings deposits and from the sale of shares to members. Finance companies make small loans with funds obtained from invested capital, surplus, and borrowings. Credit unions , which are institutions owned cooperatively by groups of persons having a common business, fraternal, or other interest, make small loans to their members out of funds derived from the sale of shares to members. The primary functions of investment bankers are to act as advisers to governments and corporations seeking to raise funds, and to act as intermediaries between these issuers of securities, on the one hand, and institutional and individual investors, on the other.
International Banks
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) was organized (1945) to make loans both to governments and to private investors. The discharge of debts between nations has been simplified and facilitated through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which also provides members with technical assistance in international banking. The former European Monetary Agreement also made possible the rapid discharge of debts and balance of payments obligations between nations. The European Central Bank (see European Monetary System ) was established in 1998 to help formulate the joint monetary policy of those European Union nations adopting a single currency.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
banking shares
As well as the banks, British Airways climbed 6p to 208.4p ahead of passenger figures for November due later in the session.
Among other top flight stocks, home improvement retailer Kingfisher gave up gains seen after it revealed like-for-like sales were up 5.7% in the 13 weeks to October 31, driven by higher sales of "big ticket" items and improved DIY performance. Shares were later 0.2p lower at 235.8p, although Homebase rival Home Retail Group still cheered 3.1p to 313.1p.
Outside the top flight, shares in brewer Marston's were 4% higher, up 4p to 93.9p, as the company offset any disappointment over lower full-year profits by reporting an improved sales trend at its managed pubs in recent weeks.
Transport firm Go-Ahead was another stock on the front foot after it announced the disposal of its loss-making aviation services business. Shares were 36p higher at 1264p, even though it warned the move would result in a £20 million hit to results.
bank loans
Assess your current financial situation by listing your assets, detailing your monthly income and deducting any liabilities, debts or expenses.
- Step2
Ask your employer for a letter confirming your monthly income and job security, and back it up with pay stubs or, if your salary is deposited directly into your bank account, invoice statements.
- Step3
Do some shopping. You may or may not qualify to get a personal loan through your regular bank. If you don't, there are dozens of lenders out there who specialize in personal loans.
- Step4
Compare not only interest rates, but also repayment terms. Find out if your monthly loan payment is fixed or variable, and opt for a fixed term whenever possible. Ask about any up-front fees, and make sure you know whether the loan is disbursed all at once or in installments.
- Step5
Offer collateral to get a lower interest
rate . Even if you have excellent credit, an unsecured personal loan will always come at a higher interest rate than a secured one. - Step6
Complete all application materials in full, including supporting documentation listing your assets, liabilities and income.
- Step7
Check over the loan documents once they're prepared. The terms you and the lender agreed to should be represented honestly and in good faith in the loan documents. You can sign off on the loan if all items appear as discussed with the lender.
- Step8
Repay the loan according to the terms outlined in your agreement. If you default, you risk losing the collateral you offered up to secure your loan. If you have an unsecured loan, failure to make payments will have a profoundly negative impact on your credit rating.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
