Expense AccountMintMoneyPersonal FinanceDecember 4, 2020by Monika Halan0RBI gives growth a chance, parking inflation worries for the moment
Both bond and stock markets were waiting with bated breath for RBI Governor Shantikanta Das to indicate if inflation was going to be more important or growth on the morning on December 4. While nobody expected policy rates to be reversed, the market was watching every word that could indicate the central bank was turning hawkish –...
Expense AccountMintPersonal FinanceNovember 25, 2020by Monika Halan0More banks won’t solve problem of credit supply
The reason that globally rules on who can set up a bank and what regulatory hoops they need to constantly jump through are much tougher than for a biscuit or a car company or even a telecom service provider has to do with the nature of banking itself. If a non-bank fails, the problem is...
Expense AccountInvestmentsMintMoneyPersonal FinanceNovember 18, 2020by Monika Halan0Bank is safe and so are your deposits
Indian households looking for a safe space to put their money have been going from crisis to crisis in the past few years. Banks have failed, debt funds saw deep losses, and in March 2020, we saw six debt funds frozen. Even people who trusted nobody and kept cash under the mattress lost it during...
Expense AccountInvestmentsMintMoneyPersonal FinanceNovember 17, 2020by Monika Halan0How does the LVB crisis impact you?
Indian households, looking for a safe space to put their money in, have been hurtling from crisis-to-crisis past few years. Banks have failed, debt funds saw uncharacteristically deep losses and in March 2020, we saw six debt funds frozen. People who trusted nobody and kept cash under the mattress, lost it during demonetisation. The latest...
Expense AccountFinancial LiteracyMintMoneyPersonal FinanceNovember 11, 2020by Monika Halan0Don’t buy into the distressed home sales story
The full-page ads are back. So are the stories in some parts of the media where “experts” are advising you to take advantage of the low interest rates and bargain basement prices to invest in real estate. The real estate corporate brokers are pushing the narrative of aisa mauka phir kahan milega (when will you get...
Expense AccountMintMoneyPersonal FinanceNovember 5, 2020by Monika Halan0Regulatory turf today prevents an Ant-like IPO. But things are changing
As much as $2.8 trillion, or money almost equal to the GDP of India, was available to buy shares of Alibaba Jack Ma’s Ant Group last week, making the $34.4 billion IPO, which has now run into trouble with the Chinese regulators, hugely oversubscribed. Ant is a Chinese company that began life as an escrow account to facilitate...
Consumer RightsExpense AccountFinancial LiteracyMintPersonal FinanceOctober 28, 2020by Monika Halan0The insurance regulator’s 70’s mindset is not serving the purpose in 2020
It is almost as if you can see the conflict: there is the desire to do the right thing by the customer, but the DNA of an institution that does not believe in consumer rights comes in the way. The insurance regulator is torn with this dichotomy, of watching its capital market counterpart take giant...
Expense AccountFinancial LiteracyMintMoneyMutual FundsPersonal FinanceOctober 14, 2020by Monika Halan0Three regulation changes that make mutual funds safer
The closer you examine the financial sector, the more you get to believe that parts of the industry believe that if there is a way to do something wrong, why do it the right way? Not for all the firms in the market, but a few aggressive ones. And these cause regulators to go on...