WALR Subject : Economics Context : The weighted average lending rate (WALR) on fresh rupee loans sanctioned by scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) fell by 183 basis points (bps), of which 112 bps cut was effected since March 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said. Concept : Weighted average lending rate (WALR) […]

    OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS Subject : Economics Context : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for an amount of ₹10,000 crore each on March 25. Concept : Open Market Operations (OMOs) are market operations conducted by RBI by […]

    BOND YIELDS Subject : Economics Context :Indian equity benchmarks dropped by more than 1% for the second straight session on Thursday on concern that rising U.S. bond yields in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s dovish policy stance could herald foreign fund outflows. Concept : Bond yield is the return an investor gets […]

    SOFR Subject : Economics Context : SBI and IOCL ink $100 million first SOFR linked deal in the ECB market. Concept : The secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) is a benchmark interest rate for dollar-denominated derivatives and loans that is replacing the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR). SOFR is based on transactions in […]

    FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVE Subject: Economics Context: The country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $4.255 billion to $580.299 billion in the week ended March 5, according to RBI data. Concept: Foreign exchange reserves are assets held on reserve by a central bank in foreign currencies, which can include bonds, treasury bills and other government […]

    AT1 BONDS Subject : Economics Context : The decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to slap restrictions on mutual fund (MF) investments in additional tier-1 (AT1) bonds has raised a storm in the MF and banking sectors. Concept : AT-1 bonds are a type of unsecured, perpetual bonds that […]

    BASE EFFECT Subject : Economics Context: Crisil expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to rebound to 11 per cent in fiscal 2022 after an estimated 8 per cent contraction this fiscal. The analytics company sees growth next fiscal (FY22) to be a story of two halves, with base effect lifting the first […]

    FPI & DII Subject: Economics Context:  FPI ownership in NSE-listed companies hit a five-year high of 22.74 per cent at the end of December 2020, up from 21.51 per cent as on September 30, 2020. Concept: Foreign Portfolio Investments Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) refers to investing in the financial assets of a foreign […]

    BAD BANKS Subject: Economics Context: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on Monday revived the idea of a ‘bad bank’ by stating that the Centre proposes to set up an asset reconstruction company to acquire bad loans from banks. Concept: A bad bank conveys the impression that it will function as […]

    CURRENCY SWAP Subject: Economics Context: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) settled a $400 million currency swap facility from the Reserve Bank (RBI) of India last week, meeting the terms that the two countries had agreed upon. Concept: A currency swap is a transaction in which two parties exchange an equivalent amount […]