Bank borrowings test RBI's CRR resolve

MUMBAI: Bank borrowings from the Reserve Bank of India has doubled in two weeks, testing the Reserve Bank of India's resolve not to signal a shift in monetary stance of fighting inflation by easing the cash reserve requirement.

The maturity of forward contracts where the central bank had sold US dollars to prevent the rupee slide last month, and higher demand for funds from companies that no more want to borrow overseas due to higher rates, could push up interest in the domestic market in the short term, traders say.

"The selling by RBI for intervention was partly extended by receiving the forward sales," said Ashish Vaidya, executive director, trading, UBS AG. "So, the impact of that on systemic liquidity will be felt on the day the forward sale matures."

Banks borrowed 1.56 lakh crore from the central bank, double of what it was two weeks ago, setting off speculation that the RBI may have to take some measures to ease the pressure, which may be even cutting the cash reserve ratio from 6%.

They also borrowed 200 crore by paying penal rate that is 1 percentage point more than the 8.5% repo rate in the so called marginal standing facility. The borrowing under this window is done when a bank pledges securities by breaching the minimum 24% limit of mandated government bond holdings.

The rupee has already appreciated by almost 6.2% this year, partly due to the impact of the RBI measures to curb speculative trading.

The call, or overnight rates, touched a high of 9.55%, reflecting the tight cash position in the market. Loans demand could also be leading to tight liquidity, some say. "There is a shift in credit demand from foreign currency to rupee-denominated loans, since it will now be more expensive to take the dollar route," said Moses Harding of IndusInd Bank.

Source: EconomicTimes