RBI governor, Shaktikanth Das, on May 4 2022 revised the repo rates. On this context, let us look more about the credit control measures adopted by Reserve bank of India.
Reserve bank is the apex body to control the banking system in India. As we all know banks are the major link in money supply. Thus, RBI can control the money in the economy by controlling the banks. These policies are termed as monetary policy.
RBI could adopt either quantitative or qualitative methods.
Quantitative methods
Statutory Liquidity Ratio
Statutory Liquidity Ratio or SLR is the minimum percentage of deposits that a commercial bank has to maintain in the form of liquid cash, gold or other securities. It is basically the reserve requirement that banks are expected to keep before offering credit to customers. The SLR is fixed by the RBI and is a form of control over the credit growth in India.
The government uses the SLR to regulate inflation and fuel growth. Increasing the SLR will control inflation in the economy while decreasing the statutory liquidity rate will cause growth in the economy. The SLR was prescribed by Section 24 (2A) of Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Cash Reserve Ratio
CRR is an essential monetary policy tool used for controlling the money supply in the economy, a regulation implemented in almost every nation by the Central Bank of that country.
CRR rate is the minimum percentage of cash deposits (as specified by RBI) that must be maintained by every commercial bank as per the requirement of the Central Bank.
Cash Reserve Ratio Rate is computed as a percentage of the net demand and time liabilities of each bank. Net Demand and Time Liability is reached with the total of the savings account, current account, and fixed deposit balances.
Bank rate
Bank rate is a rate at which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provides the loan to commercial banks without keeping any security. There is no agreement on repurchase that will be drawn up or agreed upon with no collateral as well. The RBI allows short-term loans with the presence of collateral. This is known as Repo Rate. Bank Rates in India is determined by the RBI. It is usually higher than a Repo Rate on account of its ability to regulate liquidity.
Open market operations
Open market operations refer to the selling and purchasing of the treasury bills and government securities by the central bank of any country in order to regulate money supply in the economy.
It is one of the most important ways of monetary control that is exercised by the central banks. Under this system, the central bank sells securities in the market when it wants to reduce the money supply in the market. It is done to increase interest rates. This policy is also known as the contractionary monetary policy.
Similarly, when the central bank wants to increase the money supply in the market, it will purchase securities from the market. This step is taken to reduce the rate of interest and also to help in the economic growth of the country. This policy is known as the expansionary monetary policy.
Qualitative methods
Margin Requirement:
Margin requirement refers to the difference between the current value of the security offered for loan (called collateral) and the value of loan granted. It is a qualitative method of credit control adopted by the central bank in order to stabilize the economy from inflation or deflation.
Rationing of Credit:
Rationing of credit refers to fixation of credit quotas for different business activities which is introduced when the flow of credit is to be checked particularly for speculative activities in the economy.
Moral Suasion:
The central bank makes the member bank agree through persuasion or pressure to follow its directives which is generally not ignored by the member banks. The banks are advised to restrict the flow of credit during inflation and be liberal in lending during deflation.
