RBI plans to inspect deposits

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is proposing to inspect the fortnightly reports on deposits filed by banks to check if there is any manipulation of figures.

A few banks have been caught by the RBI for manipulating the deposit figures to skirt maintenance of the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) on a part of their liabilities.

RBI guidelines require banks to maintain 5 per cent of the net demand and time liabilities with the RBI as CRR and another 25 per cent as SLR in the form of investments in government securities. So, by showing a lower deposit level, banks can bring down their CRR and SLR requirements.