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Selected Interview QuestionsCandidate: 00101.Why you are willing to join in a bank?I am willing to join in a bank since I hope that I may be having more opportunities to serve the public. Banks have better career opportunities by means of periodical promotions to higher cadre.02.What do you mean by appraisal of gold loans?Gold loans are granted against the security of gold jewellery namely gold chains, necklaces etc., The jewellery apart from gold contains certain amount of copper and stones. Appraiser is a person well versed in the art of appraising the jewellery and on appraisal of the jewellery, he will be finding out the approximate gold content so that the bank may be able to provide loans against the gold content.03.What are the different kinds of term deposits available in a commercial bank?The different kinds of term deposits available in a commercial bank are – fixed deposit, recurring deposit and reinvestment deposit. In the case of fixed deposit, a fixed amount is accepted for a definite period and interest is paid on quarterly basis. In the case of reinvestment deposit which is similar to fixed deposit, interest is paid on maturity since interest is reinvested. In the case of recurring deposit, monthly instalments are accepted for a fixed period.04.What is the minimum period for which a fixed deposit is accepted and the maximum period for which a fixed deposit is accepted?The minimum period for which fixed deposit is accepted is seven days and the maximum period is ten years.05.Whether a fixed deposit can be accepted for a period more than ten years?In the case of deposits in the names of minors on account of settlement of claims, the deposit can be for more than ten years06.What do you mean by FERA?FERA means foreign exchange regulations act and it came into effect from the year 1973. An act to regulate certain payments dealing in foreign exchange, securities, the import & export of currency and acquisition of immovable property by foreigners. Under Section 31 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act ( FERA) of 1973, it is mandatory for foreign corporations, which are not incorporated in India to obtain permission from the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) to acquire, hold, transfer or dispose off in any manner (expect by way of lease for a period not exceeding five years) any immovable property in India.07.What do you mean by ECS?ECS means electronic clearing service and the customer can authorize on periodical basis to make payment of certain utility bills like electricity charges, water charges etc., by debiting his account till such time he submits a revocation letter. Similarly, he can authorize corporate to credit the dividends on shares and interest on debentures as and when due to the credit of his account with the bank.08.What is the minimum amount that can be sent through RTGS?The minimum amount that can be sent through RTGS is Rupees two lakhs and there is no maximum limit09.What is the maximum amount that can be remitted through NEFT?There is no or maximum limit for remittances sent through NEFT10.What is the maximum amount that can be sent abroad by any resident individual?Under liberalized remittance scheme, all resident individuals including minors are allowed to freely remit an amount upto US dollars 250000 (or its equivalent freely convertible foreign currency) per financial year11..What is the name of apex bank which is responsible for the development of agriculture in the country?NABARD is the apex bank which is responsible for the development of agriculture in the country.12.What are the different kinds of schemes available in our country aiming towards poverty alleviation?National old age pension scheme; Jawahar Gramin Samruddi Yojana; National Family Benefit scheme; Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme; National Maternal Benefit Schemel Annapurna etc.,13.What do you mean by crossing of any cheque?Writing of two parallel transverse lines drawn on the face of the cheque on top left hand corner with or without any words between the lines is known as crossing and it is for the purpose of making payment of the cheque through an account in the name of the payee or holder.14.What are the different kinds of crossing?Two parallel transverse lines drawn on the face of the cheque on top left hand corner of the cheque with any words or without any words is known as general crossing and the the payment can be made to the account of the payee or holder with any bank. In case the name of any bank is mentioned within the two parallel lines, it is known as special crossing and in this case, the payment should be made to the account of the payee or holder with the bank mentioned in the crossing only and not to any other bank.15.What do you mean by CASA?CASA means current and savings and this is applicable to computerized branches linked under core banking solution16.Whose signature is available in Rs. 100/- currency note?The signature of RBI governor is available in Rs. 100 currency note17.What do you know by dividend?Dividend is the return available in the form of money for the investments made by the shareholders in the equity shares and preference shares of any company.18.Bank holidays are declared according to which act?Holidays for banks are declared according to Negotiable Instruments act 1881 by the respective state governments in their states. However, all Sundays, all second and fourth Saturdays have been declared as holidays apart from the holidays permitted for religious and national ceremonies.19.Banks are functioning according to which act?Commercial banks in the country are functioning according to Banking Regulation act 1949 and to some extent as per Reserve Bank of India act 193420.RBI is functioning in the country as per which act?Reserve Bank of India is functioning according to Reserve Bank of India act 1934.Candidate: 00201.What do you mean by a guarantee?Guarantee is an undertaking executed by one person called as guarantor in favour of another person called as beneficiary expressing his intention to make payment in the event of failure of the principal debtor on payment of a debt or failure to perform any contract within the stipulated time or according to the terms of the contract.02.What are the different types of guarantees?The different types of guarantees are financial guarantee, performance guarantee and deferred payment guarantee03.What do you mean by letter of credit?Letter of credit is an undertaking executed by one banker on behalf of its customer to honour bills and documents drawn by another person as per the terms and conditions as mentioned in the letter of credit04.What do you know by packing credit advance?It is the preshipment advance granted by one bank to the exporter for the purpose of procuring raw materials; payment of various duties like customs duty, excise duty; packing charges; shipment charges etc.,05.What do you mean by special crossing?In case the name of any bank is mentioned within the two parallel lines, it is known as special crossing and in this case, the payment should be made to the account of the payee or holder with the bank mentioned in the crossing only and not to any other bank.06.What do you know by IFSC code ?IFSC means Indian Financial System Code and this is one alphanumeric code consisting of eleven digits of which the four alphabetic digits represent the name of the bank mentioned in abridged form and the next zero is known as control number and the last six numeric digits represent the branch code of the bank.07.Which is called as mother of deposits?Savings deposit is known as mother of deposits. Normally the first time customers will be advised to open savings deposits with the bank branch before availing any other facility with the bank08.Who is a called as natural guardian?Bother mother and father are known as natural guardian for the purpose of opening accounts in the name of minors represented by the guardian.09.Whether grandfathers and grandmothers can be natural guardians?Grand fathers, grandmothers grand grandfathers or grand grandmothers cannot represent as natural guardians on be behalf of the minors10.Which type of credit facility is available to a farmer for raising crops?For raising crops, the farmers are provided with crop loans, Kisan Credit Cards etc.,11.What do you mean by NULM?National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), Government of India in 24th September, 2013 by replacing the existing Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).The NULM will focus on organizing urban poor in their strong grassroots level institutions, creating opportunities for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up self-employment venture by ensuring easy access to credit. The Mission is aimed at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner. In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors12.What do you mean by Gram Sadak Yojana?The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana called as PMGSY was launched by the Government of India for the purpose of providing connectivity to unconnected habitations as part of a poverty reduction strategy. Government of India is endeavouring to set high and uniform technical and management standards and facilitating policy development and planning at state level in order to ensure sustainable management of the rural roads network.13.What are the salient features of MGNREGA?MGNREGA is known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee act and according to this employment is guaranteed at least one person per household in rural areas. It aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people living in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment during each financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteers to undertake unskilled manual work14.Which authority is supervising the functions of insurance companies?IRDA – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is the authority responsible for supervising the functions of insurance companies in our country15.What is meant by IPO?IPO means initial public offer and this is the first time public offer of equity shares, preference shares or debentures to the public for subscription16.What is meant by ASBA?ASBA means applications supported by blocked amount. Nowadays investors are permitted to remit the amount through ASBA demand drafts drawn in ASBA accounts for the purpose of subscribing shares or debentures through initial public offer and further public offer. When the demand draft is issued, instead of debiting the amount in the account, the amount is blocked till such time the shares or debentures are allotted. On allotment, the entire amount is debited; in the case of partial allotment, the amount is debited equivalent to the value of allotment and in the case of non allotment, the entire amount is allowed for further use. For the intervening period, the depositor earns interest as applicable to the category of deposits.17.What is meant by Performance guarantee issued by any commercial bank?In the case of contracts in favour of governments, the contractors are in a position to provide a bank guarantee by a reputed commercial bank, thereby undertaking to guarantee the government department to compensate the loss on account of failure of performance of the contract by the contractor within the due date or failure to perform the contract as per the terms and conditions of the contract. This is known as performance guarantee.18.What do you mean by packing credit facility issued by any commercial bank?Packing guarantee is known as preshipment advance provided by the commercial bank to the exporter for the purpose of procuring raw materials, packing materials or making payment towards customers duty, excise duty, transportation charges etc.,19.What do you mean by notice money?Notice money is money borrowed for a period of two days and more and upto fourteen days in the call money market.20.Treasury bills are issued by which authority and what are the different kinds of treasury bills available in the country?Treasury bills are issued by central government and state governments for the purpose of mobilizing funds from the public and others towards meeting the cost of various projects. There are three kinds of treasury bills as at present namely – 91 days, 182 days and 364 days. 91 days treasury bills are issued each Friday and the notified amount is Rupees one hundred crores. 182 day treasury bills are issued during alternative Wednesdays which is non reporting week and the notified amount is Rupees 100 crores and 364 days treasury bills are issued on alterntive Wednesdays which is a reporting week and the notified amount is Rupees 500 crores.Candidate: 00301.What do you know by PIN number?PIN number is four digit number expressed in numerical characters. PIN number is used for the transactions done using debit cards and credit cards through automated teller machines and point of sale terminals.02.What do you know by PAN number?PAN number is known as permanent account number. This is used for the purpose of remittance of income tax with income tax department. Tax payers should get one PAN number by sending an application along with relevant documents and by payment of specified sum of money to Income tax department or their agencies. It is ten digit number consisting and alphapetical and numerical characters.03.What are the functions of DICGC?DICGC means Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation and this corporation provides deposit insurance upto an amount of Rupees one lakh per depositor per bank in the event of insolvency of the bank and it also provides small loans guarantee upto certain limits04.What is the role played by ECGC?ECGC provides guarantee support to the exporters of the country in the form of several export guarantees05.Mention the Regional Rural Banks which are functioning in Tamilnadu?The Regional rural banks which are functioning in Tamilnadu are Pandiyan Grama Bank and Pallavan Gramin Bank. Pandiyan Grama Bank has been sponsored by Indian Overseas Bank and pallavan Gramin Bank has been sponsored by Indian bank.06.What do you mean by Mergers and what are the different kinds of mergers?When two independent units merge together to form a single unit, it is known as merger. The mergers can be vertical merger, horizontal merger, reverse merger, consolidation, amalgamation etc.,07.What do you mean by horizontal merger and reverse merger?When the business functions of two units are identical in nature and when the merger takes place between those units, it is known as horizontal merger. New Bank of India merged with Punjab National Bank and both are banking organizations. Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited was instrumental in establishing ICICI bank as per LPG norms and subsequently Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation Limited merged with ICICI Bank and when a parent unit gets merged with an ancillary unit, it is known as reverse merger.08.Which are the top two private sector banks in our country?The top private sector banks in our country are HDFC bank limited and ICICI bank limited09.Whether housing loan is a priority sector advance and if so, upto what amount?Housing loans granted are treated as priority sector advances subject to certain conditions. Loans to individuals up to Rupees 28 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of ten lakh and above) and loans up to Rupees 20 lakh in other centres for purchase/construction of a dwelling unit per family, are eligible to be considered as priority sector provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit in the metropolitan centre and at other centres does not exceed Rupees 35 lakh and Rupees 25 lakh, respectively. Housing loans to banks’ own employees are not eligible for classification under priority sector.10.Whether educational loan is a priority sector advance?Loans to individuals for educational purposes including vocational courses upto Rupees 10 lakh irrespective of the sanctioned amount are eligible for classification under priority sector.11.What do you mean by micro, small and medium enterprises?The classification is based on original investment in plant and machinery: For micro enterprises, upto Rs. 25 lakhs for manufacturing units and Rupees 10 lakhs for service units; For small enterprises, for manufacturing units above Rupees 25 lakhs and upto Rs. 5 crores and for service units above Rupees 10 lakhs and upto Rupees 2 crores; For medium enterprises, for manufacturing units above Rupees 5 crores and upto 10 crores and for service units above Rupees 2 crores and upto Rupees five crores12.What do you mean by KYC and name any two important documents which are obtained as per KYC?KYC means know your customer guidelines and these guidelines were prescribed by RBI for new customers who are willing to open accounts with commercial banks and according to KYC, any new customer who is willing to open accounts with commercial banks should submit the photocopy of anyone of the following namely; driving licence, voter id card, AADHAARA card, passport as address proof and photocopy of anyone of the following namely; driving licence, voter id card, AADHAAR card, passport, pancard as identity proof. KYC is antimony laundering device.13.What is the present repo rate and reverse repo rate?The present repo rate is 6.25% and reverse repo rate is 5.75%14.In the case of MICR code, the middle three digits represent what?MICR code consists of nine numerical digits and the middle three numerical digits represent bank name15.PAN number consists of how many alpha characters?PAN number consists of ten digits. The first three alpha characters are random alphapetical characters between AAA to ZZZ; next one alpha character represents the category of the cardholder; the next one alpha character represents the first character of the name of the cardholder; the next four numerical digits are auto generated sequential numbers and the last one single alpha character is a check digit.16.What do you know by biometric automated teller machines?In the case of automated teller machines, the four digit numerical PIN number is used for performing transactions using debit card and credit card. In the case of biometric automated teller machines, instead of PIN numbers, anyone of the following body parts is used – left hand thumb impression; eye retina and voice recognition. In India, the left hand thumb impression is the accepted mode and these kinds of automated teller machines are known as green label automated teller machines.17.What is the criteria by which a bank is considered as largest bank?For the purpose of ranking, a bank is considered to be largest or smallest taking into consideration the business position of the bank; namely – the total deposits and total advances as at the end of March each year.18.What do you mean by commercial paper?Commercial papers are issued by well rated organizations for mobilizing funds from the public and other corporate. They are issued at a discount and they are freely negotiable by endorsement and delivery. The minimum maturity period is seven days and the corporate should have earned credit rating equivalent to P2 issued by CRISIL19.What do you mean by FCNR?FCNR means foreign currency non resident accounts. Non resident Indians and Persons of Indian origin are eligible to invest in this deposit. It is a term deposit accepted in the currencies – US dollar, Sterling Pound, Euro, Japanese Yen, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar. The minimum period of deposit is one year and the maximum period is five years and the deposit is held in foreign currencies and the interest earned is free from income tax.20.What do you mean by Escheat?He is a person who dies without leaving any legal heirs and in this case, his estate will revert to the state government.Candidate: 00401.What do you mean by money laundering?Using the banking channel for the purpose of bringing illegal money is known as money laundering.02.What do you mean by subprime lending?Mass lending by commercial banks to the borrowers without ascertaining the credit worthiness of the borrowers03.What is meant by LPG and who is responsible for introduction of LPG strategy in our country?LPG means liberalization, privatization and globalization and this was coined by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then finance minister of our country. The salient highlights of the Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation Policy in India are: Foreign Technology Agreements; Foreign Investment; MRTP Act, 1969 (Amended); Industrial Licensing; Deregulation Beginning of privatization; Opportunities for overseas trade; Steps to regulate inflation; Tax reforms; Abolition of License -Permit Raj04.What do you mean by PURA?PURA means providing urban amenities in rural areas. This concept was coined by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the then president of India.05.What do you know by current ratio?It is one equation between current assets and current liabilities. This ratio provides the liquidity position of the organization. When the ratio is more than one it is known as positive current ratio and the unit is having sufficient working capital and when it is less than one, the unit is found to have more current liabilities than current assets and the liquidity position is found to be very weak.06.What do you know about negotiable instruments act?In India, the negotiable instruments act was passed during 1881 which came into force with effect from March 01, 1882. Negotiable instruments means and include promissory note, bills of exchange and cheque payable to order or bearer. Promissory note, bill of exchange, cheque and demand draft are negotiable instruments.07.What do you know by MICR?MICR means magnetic ink character recognition. MICR code is available in MICR bank at the bottom of the cheque or demand draft. It consists of nine numerical digits of which the first three digits represent the centre/city; the middle three digits represent the bank and the last three digits represent the branch of the bank.08.When it comes to rural lending, which are all considered to be priority sector advances?When it comes to rural lending, the loans granted to the following are considered to be priority sector advances – Loans granted to all agriculture related activities; self help group; Differential rate of interest; Loans to SC/ST beneficiaries; Loans provided to doctors for setting up clinics in rural areas; Loans to dealers in fertilizers and pesticides; loans to dealers of springler irrigation and drip irrigation equipments etc.,09.Who is called as an authorized dealer?Authorised dealer is at present known as authorized person. Authorised person is an individual or organization permitted to deal in foreign exchange business in the country.10.What do you know by financial inclusion?Financial inclusion means the following: Providing formal banking services to poor people in urban and rural areas; Promoting the habit of money savings, insurance, pension-investment among poor people; Helping the people in getting loans at reasonable rates from commercial banks so that they do not become victims to local moneylenders11.What are the important initiatives taken through financial inclusion in the country?The following are the important initiatives taken through financial inclusion in our country: Lead banking scheme; No frill accounts; Basic savings bank deposit accounts; JANDHAN accounts; business correspondent and business facilitator facilities; Swabhiman campaign;12.What do you mean by MCLR?MCLR replaces the base rate system. RBI introduced the system with effect from 01.04.2016 in order to determine the base rate by commercial to improve the efficiency of monetary policy transmission. All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed with effect from 01.04.2016 to be priced with reference to MCLR and it will be an internal benchmark for the banks. It consists of marginal cost of funds, negative carry on account of CRR, operating costs and tenor premium. The marginal cost of funds consists of two components namely; marginal cost of borrowings and return on networth13.What are the major money market instruments?Certificate of deposits; Commercial paper; Inter Bank participation certificates; iner bank term money; Treasury bills; Bills rediscounting and call/notice money14.What are the differences between NEFT and RTGS?Both are two categories of online remittance facilities through CBS enabled branches of commercial banks. The minimum balance that can be sent through RTGS is Rupees two lakhs whereas in the case of NEFT, there is no such limit. The beneficiary gets his funds at real time and it means instantaneously without any loss of time. In the case of the beneficiary gets his funds in between batches15.Who is deciding the rate of interest for savings deposit accounts?Rate of interest for savings deposits is decided by respective commercial banks only and RBI has permitted full freedom in this connection.16.Who cannot open savings deposit accounts?Proprietorship concerns, partnership firms, limited liability partnership firms, private limited companies and public limited companies are not permitted to open savings accounts17.What is meant by memorandum of association?Memorandum of association is the parent document for any company whether it is a private limited company or private limited company. It contains the details of formation of the company, policies, objectives, registered office and more.18.What is known as power of attorney?Power of attorney is an authorization given by one person called as principal in favour of another person called as an agent authorizing the agent to perform certain activities on behalf of the principal and it can be specific power of attorney or particular power of attorney.19.In which currencies FCNR accounts can be opened in our country?FCNR account can be opened in the following currencies namely; US dollars, Sterling Pounds; Euro; Japanese Yen; Australian dollars and Canadian dollars.20.What are the differences between NRE and FCNR?NRE and FCNR accounts are opened by non resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin in India. NRE accounts are to be opened in rupees whereas FCNR is opened in foreign currencies. NRE accounts can be opened in the form of savings account, current account, reinvestment deposit and fixed deposit whereas, FCNR account is permitted to be opened as fixed deposit or reinvestment deposit. NRE term deposits can be opened for a minimum period of seven days and maximum period of ten years. FCNR accounts can be opened for a minimum period of one year and maximum period of five years.Candidate: 00501.What do you mean by masala bonds?Masala bonds are the bonds issued for rupee denominated borrowings by Indian companies in overseas markets02.What do you mean by secondary market in our country?Secondary market pertains to capital market and it is also known as stock exchange or old issues market. Shares, debentures and bonds can be bought and sold from the stock exchange through registered brokers.03.What do you mean by fund based limits and non fund based limits?The loans provided to the borrowers in the form of term loans, overdrafts, cash credits and bills discounting limits are known as fund based limits since funds are released to the borrowers. Guarantees and letter of credits are non fund based limits since no funds are provided for the time being since they are contingent liabilities.04.What do you mean by off balance sheet items?Guarantees, letter of credits and bills sent for collection for which proceeds are yet to be realized are known as off balance sheet items05.What do you mean by closed ended scheme?This is one form of mutual fund scheme. Like initial public offer, the scheme is open for a certain period only and after which the public cannot invest their amount in the units under this scheme.06.What do you mean by open ended scheme?This is one mutual fund scheme and the units under scheme can be purchased and sold at any time07.What do you mean by overdraft facility granted by a bank?Overdraft is a facility granted by the banks towards meeting the working capital requirements of a borrower. This is provided by means of credit limit over and above the current account balance and the borrower has to pay the interest as and when due.08.What do you mean by collateral security?Collateral security is an additional security provided by the borrower in addition to the primary security. For example, in the case of vehicle loan, the car purchased out of loan is known as the prime security and the insurance policy obtained by the bank from the borrower for the sanction of this loan is known as collateral security.09.In regard to educating a customer, what are the different kinds of information boards displayed in a bank branch?The following boards are available in the bank branches – Working hours and business hours; Interest rates on various deposits; Interest rates for loans; Service charges; Time norms for various services; Details of schemes available in the branch10.Who is the present RBI Governor?The present governor of RBI is Shri Urjit Patel and he is functioning as the governor of RBI since 04th September, 201611.What do you mean by unclaimed deposits?The deposits which are not in operation for more than ten years are known as unclaimed deposits. For the purpose of this classification, the customer induced transactions are only taken into account.12.How many regional centres are available for RBI in the country?Reserve Bank of India has four regional centres at the following places – Chennai, Kolkatta, New Delhi and Mumbai.13.What do you mean by white label automated teller machines?The automated teller machines which are maintained and managed by non bank entities are known as white label automated teller machines. In our country TATA Indicash and Muthoot finance are having such machines installed at various centres.14.What are the advantages of CTS?CTS means cheque truncation scheme. This is used for clearing purpose. Normally commercial banks used to send the physical cheques through their15.What do you mean by certificate of deposits?Certificate of deposits are issued by scheduled commercial banks (except Regional Rural Banks) and all financial institutions within their umbrella limits. Individuals, corporate, companies, trusts, funds and associations can invest in certificate of deposits and they are issued for a minimum period of seven days and maximum period of twelve months in the case of commercial banks and in the case of financial institutions the minimum period is one year and maximum three years, Minimum amount for investment is Rupees one lakh and in multiples of Rupees one lakh.16.RBI is called by which names – mention four names?RBI is called by the following names – banker to banker; lender of the last resort; custodian of banks; banker to government;17.What do you mean by ways and means advances?Ways and means advances were introduced as per an agreement between Reserve Bank of India and Government and they are temporary overdraft facilities provided by RBI to central government and state governments and the purpose is to bridge the time interval of mismatch the government expenditure and receipts. The duration of the limit is ten days for central government and 14 days for state government departments.18.Who is banking ombudsman and by whom he is appointed?Banking Ombudsman is an arbitrary authority who resolves the complaints received from the customers of commercial banks in regard to bank related issues.19.What do you mean by EEFC account?Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency account is an account maintained in an account maintained in foreign currency with an authorized dealer ; i/e/ a bank dealing in foreign exchange. Professionals, exporters, trainers etc., who are in receipt of foreign exchange for the services extended by them in foreign countries can invest the amount in EEFC account and the account will be in the form of current account and no interest is paid for the balance held in EEFC account.20.What do you know by NBFC?NBFC means non banking finance companies. It is a company registered under Indian Companies act 1956 and presently 2013 engaged in the business of providing loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire purchase, insurance business, chit fund business etc.,Candidate: 00601.What do you mean by arbitrage?It is the process of purchase of one security from one market and selling the same security for earning a profit at the same time at another market.02.What do you mean by Bonus shares?It is the free allotment of shares in certain proportion to the existing shares held by the shareholders of a company and this is a means of providing reward to the investors for their contribution to the growth of the organization by capital investment03.What do you mean by Bull?It is a term given to a speculator on stock exchange who buys the securities in expectation of a rise in the prices. The market is called as bullish when there is a domination of buyers over the sellers04.What is known as dematerialization?Dematerialisation is the process by which shares in the physical form are cancelled and they are issued in electronic form. The certificates are known as demat shares. This process eliminates the time and manpower involved in transfer and registration of shares from the seller to the buyer05.What do you mean by moorat trading?It is the auspicious trading on a special day, say Diwali during some specified hours.06.What do you mean by rights issue?It is the issue of new shares to the existing shareholders in a fixed ratio to those already held at a price which is generally below the market price of the old shares.07.What do you mean by futures?It is a standard contract issued on an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a certain price at a certain time in future. It is an obligation on the buyer to purchase the underlying instrument and the seller to sell it.08.What do you mean by forward?The forward is a contract that is traded off the stock exchange and it is self regulatory and has certain flexibility unlike future which are traded at stock exchange only and it do not have flexibility of quantity and quality of commodity to be delivered and these are regulated by Securities Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India or other agencies.09.What do you mean by factoring?Factoring is an arrangement in which short term domestic receivables on sale of goods or services are sold to a company called as factor and this scheme came into existence during 1991 based on the report of Kalyanasundaram Committee10.What do you mean by forfeiting?Forfaiting represents the purchase of obligations, which fall due at some future date and arise from the delivery of goods in export transactions, without recourse to the previous holder of the obligations.11.What do you mean by leasing?A lease is a contract where the owner of the assets transfers the right to another person to use the assets against the payment of fixed lease rentals. In the case of one lease contract, there are two parties namely – the lessor or the owner and the lessee or user. The lessor remains owner and the leased property remains with the possession of the lessee.12.What do you mean by debt market?It is a market wherein the debt instruments are issued to the public by any company for investment and such debt instrument bears a fixed interest rate payable half yearly on specific dates and principal amount repayable on particular date on redemption. Debentures are normally secured/charged against the asset of the company in favour of debenture holder. The following are some debt instruments – debenture; bond; zero coupon bond; convertible bond; security receipts etc.,13.What do you mean by greenshoe option?It is an option provided by Securities and Exchange Board of India to a company which is coming out with one initial public offer to the public. By this option, the company can retain certain portion of the applications received through IPO in case of oversubscription.14.What do you mean by equity market?Equity market consists of investment by the public in different kinds of shares issued by the company and by subscribing for the shares, the investors are expressing their willingness to stand as owners of the company. The equity market consists of equity shares, preference shares, rights shares, bonus shares etc.,15.What do you mean by sweat equity?Directors and employees contribute intellectual property rights to the company in the form of providing technical know-how captured by way of research or contributed by way of strategy software developed for the company or adding profit and economic value. To compensate the directors and employees, the concept of sweat equity has come into existence.16.What do you mean by participatory notes?A participatory note is a financial derivative instrument issued against an underlying security and it allows the holder, to get dividend or capital gains earned from the underlying security although some of the holders may not be eligible to trade in stock markets in India.17.What do you mean by book building?Book building is the process to assess the demand for a particular public issue of various prices, based on which the issue is priced and sold to the investors.18.What do you mean by sensex?It is a stock market index provided by Bombay Stock Exchange for the information of the investors. The positive or negative variation in the index provides an insight for investment or dis-investment to the general public and especially the investors in the stock market. It is based on the market capitalization of top thirty shares earmarked by BSE19.What do you mean by Nifty?It is a stock market index provided by National Stock Exchange for the information of the investors. The positive or negative variation in the index provides an insight for the investment or dis-investment to the general public and especially the investors who are participating in stock market trading. It is based on the market capitalization of top fifty shares earmarked by NSE20.What do you mean by swap?A swap is a contract that binds two counterparties to exchange the different streams of payments over the specified period at specified rate.

Notifications(460 kb)Money Transfer Service Scheme – Revised GuidelinesRBI/2012-13/436A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 89March 12, 2013ToAll Authorised Persons, who are Indian Agents under Money Transfer Service SchemeMadam / Sir,Money Transfer Service Scheme – Revised GuidelinesAttention of all Authorised Persons (APs), who are Indian Agents under the Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) is invited to the Notification dated June 4, 2003 on MTSS, as amended from time to time and the specific permission accorded to them under FEMA, 1999 by the Reserve Bank to undertake inward cross-border money transfer activities in India, through tie-up arrangements with Overseas Principals.2. The MTSS Guidelines have been revised in consultation with the Government of India and the revised MTSS Guidelines are in the Annex-I.3. All other instructions issued vide the said Notification ibid, as amended from time to time remain unchanged.4. These guidelines would also be applicable mutatis mutandis to all Sub Agents of the Indian Agents under MTSS and it will be the sole responsibility of the APs (Indian Agents) to ensure that their Sub Agents also adhere to these guidelines.5. Authorised Persons (Indian Agents) may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents concerned.6. The directions contained in this Circular have been issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/approvals if any, required under any other law.Yours faithfully,(Rudra Narayan Kar)Chief General Manager--in-ChargeAnnex-IRevised Guidelines on Money Transfer Service SchemePART-ASECTION IGuidelines for permitting(authorising) Indian Agents under Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS):1. Introduction1.1Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) is a quick and easy way of transferring personal remittances from abroad to beneficiaries in India. Only inward personal remittances into India such as remittances towards family maintenance and remittances favouring foreign tourists visiting India are permissible. No outward remittance from India is permissible under MTSS. The system envisages a tie-up between reputed money transfer companies abroad known as Overseas Principals and agents in India known as Indian Agents who would disburse funds to beneficiaries in India at ongoing exchange rates. The Indian Agent is not allowed to remit any amount to the Overseas Principal. Under MTSS the remitters and the beneficiaries are individuals only.Statutory Basis1.2 In terms of the powers granted under Section 10 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, the Reserve Bank of India may accord necessary permission (authorization) to any person to act as an Indian Agent under the Money Transfer Service Scheme. No person can handle the business of cross-border money transfer to India in any capacity unless specifically permitted by the Reserve Bank.1.3 These guidelines lay down basic conditions for grant of permission (authorisation) to Indian Agents and renewal of existing MTSS permissions given to them. These guidelines also include guidelines for Overseas Principals and appointment of Sub-Agents by the Indian Agents. The guidelines are not exhaustive and other relevant information, security considerations, etc., will be factored into the decision of permitting an entity. These guidelines will apply to all applications pending with the Reserve Bank for new arrangements, renewal of permissions given to Indian Agents, etc. Existing Indian Agents who do not meet the eligibility norms will have to meet the norms in a phased manner with the approval of the Reserve Bank or wind up the business of money transfer immediately.2. GuidelinesEntry NormsThe applicant to become an Indian Agent should be an Authorised Dealer Category-I bank or an Authorised Dealer Category-II or a Full Fledged Money Changer (FFMC), as defined in the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 25 [A.P. (FL Series) Circular No. 02] dated March 6, 2006, or a Scheduled Commercial Bank or the Department of Posts.The applicant should have minimum Net Owned Funds of Rs.50 lakh.Note :- (i) Owned Funds :- (Paid-up Equity Capital + Free reserves + Credit balance in Profit & Loss A/c) minus (Accumulated balance of loss, Deferred revenue expenditure and Other intangible assets)(ii) Net Owned Funds :- Owned funds minus the amount of investments in shares of its subsidiaries, companies in the same group, all (other) non-banking financial companies as also the book value of debentures, bonds, outstanding loans and advances made to and deposits with its subsidiaries and companies in the same group in excess of 10 per cent of the Owned funds.3. Procedure for making Applications to the Reserve BankApplication for necessary permission to act as an Indian Agent may be made to the Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Forex Markets Division, Foreign Exchange Department, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, Amar Building, Fort, Mumbai-400 001 and should be accompanied by the documents pertaining to its proposed Overseas Principal, as detailed in Section II below and the following documents:A declaration to the effect that no proceedings have been initiated by / are pending with the Directorate of Enforcement (DoE) / Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) or any other law enforcing authorities, against the applicant or its directors and that no criminal cases are initiated / pending against the applicant or its directors.A declaration to the effect that proper policy framework on KYC / AML / CFT, in accordance with the guidelines issued vide A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No. 18[ A.P.(FL/RL Series) Circular No. 05] dated November 27, 2009, as amended from time to time, will be put in place on obtaining permission (authorization) of the Reserve Bank and before commencement of money transfer operations.Name and address of the Overseas Principal with whom the MTSS will be conducted.Full details of the operation of the scheme by the Overseas Principal.List of branches in India and their addresses where MTSS will be conducted by the applicant.Estimated volume of business per month/year under the scheme.Audited Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account for the last two financial years of the applicant, if available or a copy of the latest audited accounts, with a certificate from Statutory Auditors regarding the position of the Net Owned Funds as on the date of application.Memorandum and Articles of Association of the applicant where either a provision exists for taking up money transfer business or an appropriate amendment thereto has been filed with the Company Law Board.Confidential Report from at least two of the applicant's bankers in sealed cover.Details of sister/ associated concerns of the applicant functioning in the financial sector.A certified copy of the board resolution for undertaking money transfer business by the applicant.A letter from the proposed Overseas Principal, agreeing to enter into tie up with the applicant and also to provide necessary collateral.4. Collateral requirementCollateral equivalent to 3 days' average drawings or US $ 50,000, whichever is higher, may be kept by the Overseas Principal in favour of the Indian Agent with a designated bank in India. The minimum amount of US $ 50,000 shall be kept as a foreign currency deposit while the balance amount may be kept in the form of a Bank Guarantee. The adequacy of collateral should be reviewed by Indian Agents at quarterly intervals on the basis of remittances received during the past three months.5. Other conditionsOnly cross-border personal remittances, such as, remittances towards family maintenance and remittances favouring foreign tourists visiting India shall be allowed under this arrangement. Donations/contributions to charitable institutions/trusts, trade related remittances, remittance towards purchase of property, investments or credit to NRE Accounts shall not be made through this arrangement.A cap of US $ 2500 has been placed on individual remittance under the scheme. Amounts up to Rs.50,000/- may be paid in cash to a beneficiary in India. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be paid by means of account payee cheque/ demand draft/ payment order, etc., or credited directly to the beneficiary's bank account only. However, in exceptional circumstances, where the beneficiary is a foreign tourist, higher amounts may be disbursed in cash. Full details of such transactions should be kept on record for scrutiny by the auditors/ inspectors.Only 30 remittances can be received by a single individual beneficiary under the scheme during a calendar year.6. Criteria for RBI decisions(i) The Indian Agents need to have strength and efficiency to function profitably in a highly competitive environment. As a number of Indian Agents are already functioning, permission (authorization) will be issued on a very selective basis to those who meet the above requirements, have necessary outreach and who are likely to conform to the best international and domestic standards of customer service and efficiency.(ii) The Indian Agent should commence its money transfer operations under the scheme within a period of six months from the date of issuance of permission(authorization) and inform the Central Office and the Regional Office concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank.SECTION IIGuidelines for Overseas Principals:Indian Agents entering into arrangements with Money Transfer Operators overseas, known as Overseas Principals, may note that Overseas Principals with adequate volume of business, track record and outreach will only be considered under the scheme. Further, since the primary objective of permitting the business of money transfer business in the country is to facilitate cheaper and more efficient means of receipt of remittances, operators with limited outreach in terms of branch network in the country and localized operations overseas will not be entertained.Applicant Indian Agents should submit the following documents / comply with the following requirements, in respect of their Overseas Principals:The Overseas Principal should obtain necessary authorisation from the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Reserve Bank of India under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (PSS Act), 2007 to commence/ operate a payment system. Prior to such authorization, the Reserve Bank will verify the background and antecedents of the Overseas Principal with the help of Govt. of India,The Overseas Principal should be a registered entity, licenced by the Central Bank / Government or financial regulatory authority of the country concerned for carrying on Money Transfer Activities. The country of registration of the Overseas Principal should be AML compliant.The minimum Net Worth of Overseas Principals should be at least US $ 1 million as per the latest audited balance sheet, which should be maintained at all times. However, the Reserve Bank may consider relaxing the minimum Net Worth criterion in case of Overseas Principals incorporated in FATF member countries and are supervised by the concerned Central Bank/ Government or financial regulatory authority.The Overseas Principal should be well established in the money transfer business with a track record of operations in well regulated markets.The arrangement with Overseas Principal should result in considerably increasing access to formal money transfer facilities at both ends.The Overseas Principal should be registered with the overseas trade / Industry bodies.The Overseas Principal should have a good rating from one of the international credit rating agencies.The Overseas Principal should submit confidential reports from at least two of its bankers.The Overseas Principal should submit a report certified by independent Chartered Accountants, regarding steps taken to comply with anti money laundering norms in the home/ host country.The Overseas Principals will be fully responsible for the activities of their Agents and Sub Agents in India.Proper records of remitters as also beneficiaries pertaining to all pay-outs in India are to be maintained by the Overseas Principals. All records must be made accessible on demand to the Reserve Bank or other agencies of the Government of India, viz., Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs, FIU-IND, etc. Full details of the remitters and the beneficiaries should be provided by the Overseas Principals, if called for.SECTION IIIGuidelines for appointment of Sub Agents by Indian Agents:1. The SchemeUnder the Scheme, Indian Agents can enter into Sub Agency agreements with entities, fulfilling certain conditions, for the purpose of undertaking money transfer business.2. Sub AgentsA Sub Agent should have a place of business, and whose bonafides are acceptable to the Indian Agent. Indian Agents are free to decide on the tenor of the arrangement as also the commission or fee through mutual agreement with the Sub Agent. The audit and on-site inspection of premises and records of the Sub Agents by the Indian Agent to be conducted at least once in a month and in a year respectively.3. Procedure for Submission of information in respect of Sub Agents by Indian AgentsIndian Agents should submit necessary information in the prescribed format (Annex-III) in soft copy form pertaining to their existing Sub Agents within one month of the date of this circular, to the respective Regional Offices of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank under whose jurisdiction the registered office of the Indian Agent falls, for onward submission to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Govt. of India (GoI) through the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Govt. of India (GoI). Thereafter, Indian Agents should submit on a quarterly basis necessary information in the prescribed format (Annex-III) in soft copy form pertaining to their Sub Agents appointed during a quarter within 15 days of the end of the quarter, to the respective Regional Offices of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank under whose jurisdiction the registered office of the Indian Agent falls for onward submission to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Govt. of India (GoI) through the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Govt. of India (GoI). In case of any objection by the MHA, the Sub Agency arrangement concerned should be terminated immediately.Indian Agents should also furnish certificates along with the information in Annex-III that the Sub Agents appointed by them comply with the eligibility norms and also they have done due diligence, wherever applicable, in respect of them.4. Due Diligence of Sub AgentsThe Indian Agents and the Overseas Principals should undertake the following minimum checks while conducting due diligence of the Sub Agents, other than ADs Cat-I, ADs Cat-II, Scheduled Commercial Banks, FFMCs and the Deptt. of Posts.existing business activities of the Sub Agent/ its position in areaShop & Establishment/ other applicable municipal certification in favour of the Sub Agentverification of physical existence of location of the Sub Agentconduct certificate of the Sub Agent from the local police authorities. (certified copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association and Certificate of Incorporation in respect of incorporated entities).Note: Although obtaining of conduct certificate of the Sub Agent from the local police authorities is non-mandatory for the Indian Agents, the Indian Agents must take due care to avoid appointing individuals/ entities as Sub Agents who have cases / proceedings initiated / pending against them by any law enforcing agencies.declaration regarding past criminal cases, cases initiated/ pending against the Sub Agent and/or its directors/ partners by any law enforcing agency, if anyPAN Card of the Sub Agents and its directors/ partnersPhotographs of the directors/ partners and the key persons of the Sub AgentThe above checks should be done on a regular basis, at least once in a year. The Indian Agents should obtain from the Sub Agents proper documentary evidence confirming the location of the Sub Agents in addition to personal visits to the site. The Indian Agents should discontinue agreements with Sub Agents who do not meet the criteria laid down above within three months from the date of this circular.5. Selection of CentersThe Indian Agents are free to select centers for operationalising the Scheme. However, this may be advised to the Reserve Bank.6. TrainingThe Indian Agents would be expected to impart training to the Sub Agents as regards operations and maintenance of records.7. Reporting, Audit and InspectionThe Indian Agents would be expected to put in place adequate arrangements for reporting of transactions by the Sub Agents to the Indian Agents (on a regular basis) in a simple format to be prescribed by them, say at monthly intervals.Regular spot audits of all locations of Sub Agents, at least on a monthly basis, should be conducted by Indian Agents. Such audits should involve a dedicated team and 'mystery customer'(Individuals acting as potential customers to experience and measure the extent up to which people and process perform as they should) concept should be used to test the compliance carried out by Sub Agents. As mentioned above, a system of inspection of the books of the Sub Agents should be put in place. The purpose of such inspection, which should be done at least once a year, would be to ensure that the money transfer business is being carried out by the Sub Agents in conformity with the terms of agreement/prevailing RBI guidelines and that necessary records are being maintained by the Sub Agents.Note:- As of now, the Indian Agents are fully responsible for the activities of their Sub Agents. While the Indian Agents will be encouraged to act as self-regulated entities, the onus of ensuring the conduct of activities of the Sub Agents in the prescribed manner will lie solely on the Indian Agents concerned and Reserve Bank of India can in no way be held responsible for the activities of the Sub Agents. Each Indian Agent would be required to conduct due diligence before appointing a Sub Agent and any irregularity observed could render the Indian Agent’s permission liable for cancellation.SECTION IVGuidelines for renewal of permission(authorization) of existing Indian Agents:1. Necessary permission to Indian Agents will be issued initially for a period of one year, which may be renewed for one to three years at a time on the basis of fulfilment of all conditions and other directions/ instructions issued by the Reserve Bank from time to time by Indian Agents.2. The applicant should be an Authorised Dealer Category-I bank or an Authorised Dealer Category-II or a Full Fledged Money Changer (FFMC), as defined in the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 25 [A.P. (FL Series) Circular No. 02] dated March 6, 2006, or a Scheduled Commercial Bank or the Department of Posts.3. The Indian Agent should have minimum Net Owned Funds of Rs.50 lakh.4. Application for renewal of permission should be submitted to the Regional Office concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank under whose jurisdiction the registered office of the Indian Agent falls along-with the documents pertaining to the Overseas Principal as detailed in Section II above and the following documents:A declaration to the effect that no proceedings have been initiated by / are pending with the Directorate of Enforcement (DoE) / Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) or any other law enforcing authorities, against the Indian Agent or its directors and that no criminal cases are initiated / pending against the Indian Agent or its directors.A write up on the KYC / AML / CFT, risk management and internal control policy framework, put in place by the Indian Agent.Audited Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account for the last two financial years of the Indian Agent, if available or a copy of the latest audited accounts, with a certificate from statutory auditors regarding the position of the Net Owned Funds as on the date of application.Confidential Reports from at least two of the bankers of the Indian Agent in sealed cover.Details of sister/ associated concerns of the Indian Agent functioning in the financial sector.A certified copy of the board resolution for renewal of permission.Note :- An application for the renewal of permission under MTSS shall be made not later than one month, or such other period as the Reserve Bank may prescribe, before the expiry of the permission. Where an entity submits an application for the renewal of its MTSS permission, the permission shall continue in force until the date on which the permission is renewed or the application for renewal of permission is rejected, as the case may be. No application for renewal of MTSS permission shall be made after the expiry of the permission.SECTION VInspection of Indian AgentsInspections of the Indian Agents may be conducted by the Reserve Bank under the provisions of Section 12(1) of the FEMA, 1999.SECTION VIKYC/ AML/ CFT Guidelines for the Indian AgentsDetailed instructions on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) for Indian Agents under MTSS in respect of cross-border inward remittance activities, in the context of the FATF Recommendations on Anti Money Laundering standards and on Combating the Financing of Terrorism have been prescribed (Annex-II).SECTION VIIGeneral InstructionsAll Overseas Principals are required to submit their annual audited balance sheet along with a certificate on Net Worth from their Statutory Auditors to the Central Office of the Foreign Exchange Department and the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems of the Reserve Bank. Similarly, all Indian Agents are required to submit their annual audited balance sheet along with a certificate from their Statutory Auditors on Net Owned Funds to the Regional offices concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank. As the Overseas Principals and the Indian Agents are expected to maintain minimum Net Worth and Net Owned Funds respectively on an ongoing basis, they are required to bring it to the notice of the Reserve Bank immediately along with a detailed plan of restoring the Net Worth/ Net Owned Funds to the minimum required level, if there is any reduction in their Net Worth/ Net Owned Funds below the minimum level.PART-BReports / Statements1. A quarterly statement of the quantum of remittances received, as per the enclosed format (Annex-IV) should be furnished by the Indian Agents to the Regional Offices (ROs) concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department (FED) of the Reserve Bank, under whose jurisdiction their registered offices fall and Foreign Exchange Department, Forex Markets Division, Central Office, Amar Building, Fort, Mumbai-400001 within 15 days from the close of the quarter to which it relates.2. List of their additional locations should be furnished by the Indian Agents to the ROs concerned of the FED of the Reserve Bank, under whose jurisdiction their registered offices fall, on quarterly basis within 15 days from the close of the quarter to which it relates.3. Indian Agents should forward the list of their Sub Agents, Overseas Principal-Indian Agent wise along with the addresses of all the locations of their Sub Agents in excel format in soft form by emailing the same. Indian Agents should e-mail in excel format in soft form and to the concerned FED Regional Office, full updated list (names and addresses of all the locations) of the Sub Agents, whenever they appoint/ remove any Sub Agent. Indian Agents should visit the RBI website and verify the list of Sub Agents on regular intervals and any aberration to the list observed may immediately be brought to the notice of the concerned FED ROs and FED Central Office (CO). Further, Indian Agents should confirm the veracity on quarterly basis of the list placed on RBI wesbite to FED CO either in form of a letter or by e-mail within 15 days of the end of a quarter.3. A half-yearly statement of the collateral held as at the end of June and December every year, as per the enclosed format (Annex-V) should be furnished by the Indian Agents to the ROs concerned of the FED of the Reserve Bank, under whose jurisdiction their registered offices fall and Foreign Exchange Department, Forex Markets Division, Central Office, Amar Building, Fort, Mumbai-400001 within 15 days from the close of the half-year to which it relates.Annex-IIKYC/ AML/ CFT Guidelines for Indian AgentsSECTION-IKnow Your Customer (KYC) norms/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Obligation of Authorised Persons (Indian Agents) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002, as amended by Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009 - Cross Border Inward Remittance under Money Transfer Service Scheme1. IntroductionThe offence of Money Laundering has been defined in Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) as "whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime and projecting it as untainted property shall be guilty of offence of money laundering". Money Laundering can be called a process by which money or other assets obtained as proceeds of crime are exchanged for "clean money" or other assets with no obvious link to their criminal origins.2. The objectiveThe objective of prescribing KYC/AML/CFT guidelines is to prevent the system of cross border inward money transfer into India from all over the world under the MTSS from being used, intentionally or unintentionally, by criminal elements for money laundering or terrorist financing activities. KYC procedures also enable Authorised Persons, who are Indian Agents under MTSS [referred as APs (Indian Agents) hereinafter] to know/understand their customers and their financial dealings better, which in turn help them manage their risks prudently.3. Definition of CustomerFor the purpose of KYC policy, a ‘Customer’ is defined as :a person who receives occasional/ regular cross border inward remittances under MTSS;one on whose behalf a cross border inward remittance under MTSS is received (i.e., the beneficial owner)[In view of Government of India Notification dated February 12, 2010 - Rule 9, sub-rule (1A) of PML Rules - 'Beneficial Owner' means the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a client and or the person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted, and includes a person who exercises ultimate effective control over a juridical person].4. Guidelines4.1 GeneralAPs (Indian Agents) should keep in mind that the information collected from the customer while making payment of cross border inward remittances is to be treated as confidential and details thereof are not to be divulged for cross selling or any other like purposes. APs (Indian Agents) should, therefore, ensure that information sought from the customer is relevant to the perceived risk, is not intrusive, and is in conformity with the guidelines issued in this regard. Any other information from the customer, wherever necessary, should be sought separately with his/her consent.4.2 KYC PolicyAPs (Indian Agents) should frame their KYC policies incorporating the following four key elements:Customer Acceptance Policy;Customer Identification Procedures;Monitoring of Transactions; andRisk Management.4.3 Customer Acceptance Policy (CAP)a) Every AP (Indian Agent) should develop a clear Customer Acceptance Policy laying down explicit criteria for acceptance of customers. The Customer Acceptance Policy must ensure that explicit guidelines are in place on the following aspects of customer relationship in the AP (Indian Agent).No remittance is received in anonymous or fictitious/ benami name(s). [APs (Indian Agents) should not allow any transaction in any anonymous or fictitious name (s) or on behalf of other persons whose identity has not been disclosed or cannot be verified in view of Government of India Notification dated June 16, 2010 Rule 9, sub-rule (1C)].Parameters of risk perception are clearly defined in terms of the nature of business activity, location of customer and his clients, mode of payments, volume of turnover, social and financial status, etc. to enable categorisation of customers into low, medium and high risk (APs may choose any suitable nomenclature, viz., level I, level II and level III). Customers requiring very high level of monitoring, e.g., Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) may, if considered necessary, be categorised even higher.Documentation requirements and other information to be collected in respect of different categories of customers depending on perceived risk and keeping in mind the requirements of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002, as amended by Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009, Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Rules, 2005, as amended from time to time, as well as instructions / guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank, from time to time.Not to make payment of any remittance where the AP (Indian Agent) is unable to apply appropriate customer due diligence measures, i.e., AP (Indian Agent) is unable to verify the identity and /or obtain documents required as per the risk categorisation due to non-cooperation of the customer or non reliability of the data/information furnished to the AP (Indian Agent). It is, however, necessary to have suitable built in safeguards to avoid harassment of the customer. In the circumstances when an AP (Indian Agent) believes that it would no longer be satisfied that it knows the true identity of the customer, the AP (Indian Agent) should file an STR with FIU-IND.Circumstances, in which a customer is permitted to act on behalf of another person/entity, should be clearly spelt out, the beneficial owner should be identified and all reasonable steps should be taken to verify his identity.b) APs (Indian Agents) should prepare a profile for each new customer, where regular cross-border inward remittances are/ expected to be received, based on risk categorisation. The customer profile may contain information relating to customer’s identity, social / financial status, etc. The nature and extent of due diligence will depend on the risk perceived by the AP (Indian Agent). However, while preparing customer profile, APs (Indian Agents) should take care to seek only such information from the customer, which is relevant to the risk category and is not intrusive. The customer profile is a confidential document and details contained therein should not be divulged for cross selling or any other purposes.c) For the purpose of risk categorisation, individuals (other than High Net Worth) and entities whose identities and sources of wealth can be easily identified and transactions by whom by and large conform to the known profile, may be categorised as low risk. Customers that are likely to pose a higher than average risk should be categorised as medium or high risk depending on customer's background, nature and location of activity, country of origin, sources of funds and his client profile, etc. APs(Indian Agents) should apply enhanced due diligence measures based on the risk assessment, thereby requiring intensive ‘due diligence’ for higher risk customers, especially those for whom the sources of funds are not clear. Examples of customers requiring enhanced due diligence include (a) non­resident customers; (b) customers from countries that do not or insufficiently apply the FATF standards; (c) high net worth individuals; (d) politically exposed persons (PEPs); (e) non-face to face customers; and (f) those with dubious reputation as per public information available, etc.d) It is important to bear in mind that the adoption of customer acceptance policy and its implementation should not become too restrictive and must not result in denial of cross border inward remittance facilities to general public.e) With a view to preventing the system of cross border inward money transfer into India from all over the world under the MTSS from being used, intentionally or unintentionally, by criminal elements for money laundering or terrorist financing activities, whenever there is suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing or when other factors give rise to a belief that the customer does not, in fact, pose a low risk, APs (Indian Agents) should carry out full scale customer due diligence (CDD) before making payment of any remittance.4.4 Customer Identification Procedure (CIP)a) The policy approved by the Board of APs (Indian Agents) should clearly spell out the Customer Identification Procedure while making payment to a beneficiary or when the AP has a doubt about the authenticity/veracity or the adequacy of the previously obtained customer identification data. Customer identification means identifying the customer and verifying his/her identity by using reliable, independent source documents, data or information. APs (Indian Agents) need to obtain sufficient information necessary to establish, to their satisfaction, the identity of each new customer, whether regular or occasional. Being satisfied means that the AP must be able to satisfy the competent authorities that due diligence was observed based on the risk profile of the customer in compliance with the extant guidelines in place. Such risk based approach is considered necessary to avoid disproportionate cost to APs (Indian Agents) and a burdensome regime for the customers. The APs (Indian Agents) should obtain sufficient identification data to verify the identity of the customer and his address/location. For customers that are natural persons, the APs (Indian Agents) should obtain sufficient identification document /s to verify the identity of the customer and his address/location. For customers that are legal persons, the AP (Indian Agent) should (i) verify the legal status of the legal person through proper and relevant documents; (ii) verify that any person purporting to act on behalf of the legal person is so authorised and identify and verify the identity of that person; and (iii) understand the ownership and control structure of the customer and determine who are the natural persons who ultimately control the legal person. Customer identification requirements in respect of a few typical cases, especially, legal persons requiring an extra element of caution are given in paragraph 4.5 below for guidance of APs (Indian Agents). APs (Indian Agents) may, however, frame their own internal guidelines based on their experience of dealing with such persons, their normal prudence and the legal requirements as per established practices. If the AP (Indian Agent) decides to undertake such transactions in terms of the Customer Acceptance Policy, the AP (Indian Agent) should take reasonable measures to identify the beneficial owner(s) and verify his/her/their identity in a manner so that it is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner(s) is/are [in view of Government of India Notification dated June 16, 2010 - Rule 9 sub-rule (1A) of PML Rules].Note: Rule 9(1A) of Prevention of Money Laundering Rules, 2005 requires that every AP (Indian Agent) under MTSS shall identify the beneficial owner and take all reasonable steps to verify his identity. The term "beneficial owner" has been defined as the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a client and/or the person on whose behalf the transaction is being conducted, and includes a person who exercises ultimate effective control over a juridical person. Government of India has since examined the issue and has specified the procedure for determination of Beneficial Ownership. The procedure as advised by the Government of India is as under:A. Where the client is a person other than an individual or trust, the AP (Indian Agents) shall identify the beneficial owners of the client and take reasonable measures to verify the identity of such persons, through the following information:The identity of the natural person, who, whether acting alone or together, or through one or more juridical person, exercises control through ownership or who ultimately has a controlling ownership interest.Explanation: Controlling ownership interest means ownership of/entitlement to more than 25 percent of shares or capital or profits of the juridical person, where the juridical person is a company; ownership of/entitlement to more than 15% of the capital or profits of the juridical person where the juridical person is a partnership; or, ownership of/entitlement to more than 15% of the property or capital or profits of the juridical person where the juridical person is an unincorporated association or body of individuals.In cases where there exists doubt under (i) as to whether the person with the controlling ownership interest is the beneficial owner or where no natural person exerts control through ownership interests, the identity of the natural person exercising control over the juridical person through other means.Explanation: Control through other means can be exercised through voting rights, agreement, arrangements, etc.Where no natural person is identified under (i) or (ii) above, the identity of the relevant natural person who holds the position of senior managing official.B. Where the client is a trust, the AP (Indian Agent) shall identify the beneficial owners of the client and take reasonable measures to verify the identity of such persons, through the identity of the settler of the trust, the trustee, the protector, the beneficiaries with 15% or more interest in the trust and any other natural person exercising ultimate effective control over the trust through a chain of control or ownership.C. Where the client or the owner of the controlling interest is a company listed on a stock exchange, or is a majority-owned subsidiary of such a company, it is not necessary to identify and verify the identity of any shareholder or beneficial owner of such companies.b) Some close relatives, e.g., wife, son, daughter and parents, etc., who live with their husband, father / mother and son / daughter, as the case may be, may find it difficult to undertake transactions with APs (Indian Agents) as the utility bills required for address verification are not in their name. It is clarified, that in such cases, APs (Indian Agents) can obtain an identity document and a utility bill of the relative with whom the prospective customer is living along with a declaration from the relative that the said person (prospective customer) wanting to undertake a transaction is a relative and is staying with him/her. APs (Indian Agents) can use any supplementary evidence such as a letter received through post for further verification of the address. While issuing operational instructions to the branches on the subject, APs (Indian Agents) should keep in mind the spirit of instructions issued by the Reserve Bank and avoid undue hardships to individuals who are, otherwise, classified as low risk customers.c) APs (Indian Agents) should introduce a system of periodical updation of customer identification data, if there is a continuing relationship.d) An indicative list of the type of documents / information that may be relied upon for customer identification is given in SECTION-II. It is clarified that permanent correct address, as referred to in SECTION-II means the address at which a person usually resides and can be taken as the address as mentioned in a utility bill or any other document accepted by the AP for verification of the address of the customer. When there are suspicions of money laundering or financing of the activities relating to terrorism or where there are doubts about the adequacy or veracity of previously obtained customer identification data, APs (Indian Agents) should review the due diligence measures including verifying again the identity of the client and obtaining information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship, as the case may be. [In view of Government of India Notification dated June 16, 2010- Rule 9 sub-rule (1D) of PML Rules].e) Payment to Beneficiariesi) For payment to beneficiaries, the identification documents, as mentioned at SECTION-II, should be verified and a copy retained. The copy of identification documents obtained should contain current and legible photograph of beneficiaries. This shall continue for a period of next six months from the date of this circular, subject to submission of a copy of the identifications documents during every payment. Further, in the event of a beneficiary being discovered to have received funds on the basis of a photo ID which did not sport his/ her photograph, action would also be initiated against the Agent/ Sub Agent. Thereafter, in addition to this, the identification requirements for cash payment to beneficiary shall also include biometric identification of the beneficiary. This stipulation will ultimately be linked to UID when it is fully implemented.ii) A cap of US $ 2500 has been placed on individual remittances under the scheme. Amounts up to Rs.50,000 may be paid in cash. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be paid only by means of cheque/D.D. /P.O., etc., or credited directly to the beneficiary's bank account. However, in exceptional circumstances, where the beneficiary is a foreign tourist, higher amounts may be disbursed in cash. Only 30 remittances can be received by a single individual during a calendar year.4.5 Customer Identification Requirements – Transactions by Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) - Indicative GuidelinesPolitically exposed persons are individuals who are or have been entrusted with prominent public functions in a foreign country, e.g., Heads of States or of Governments, senior politicians, senior government/judicial/military officers, senior executives of state-owned corporations, important political party officials, etc. APs (Indian Agents) should gather sufficient information on any person/customer of this category intending to undertake a transaction and check all the information available on the person in the public domain. APs (Indian Agents) should verify the identity of the person and seek information about the source /s of wealth and source /s of funds before accepting the PEP as a customer. The decision to undertake a transaction with a PEP should be taken at a senior level which should be clearly spelt out in the Customer Acceptance Policy. APs (Indian Agents) should also subject such transactions to enhanced monitoring on an ongoing basis. The above norms may also be applied to transactions with the family members or close relatives of PEPs. The above norms may also be applied to customers who become PEPs subsequent to establishment of the business relationship. These instructions are also applicable to transactions where a PEP is the ultimate beneficial owner. Further, in regard to transactions in case of PEPs, it is reiterated that APs (Indian Agents) should have appropriate ongoing risk management procedures for identifying and applying enhanced CDD to PEPs, customers who are family members or close relatives of PEPs and transactions of which a PEP is the ultimate beneficial owner.4.6 Monitoring of TransactionsOngoing monitoring is an essential element of effective KYC procedures. APs (Indian Agents) can effectively control and reduce their risk only if they have an understanding of the normal and reasonable receipt of remittances of the beneficiary so that they have the means of identifying receipts that fall outside the regular pattern of activity. However, the extent of monitoring will depend on the risk sensitivity of the remittance. APs (Indian Agents) should pay special attention to all complex, unusually large receipts and all unusual patterns which have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose. APs (Indian Agents) may prescribe threshold limits for a particular category of receipts and pay particular attention to the receipts which exceed these limits. High-risk receipts have to be subjected to intense monitoring.Every AP (Indian Agent) should set key indicators for such receipts, taking note of the background of the customer, such as the country of origin, sources of funds, the type of transactions involved and other risk factors. APs (Indian Agents) should put in place a system of periodical review of risk categorization of customers and the need for applying enhanced due diligence measures. Such review of risk categorisation of customers should be carried out periodically.APs (Indian Agents) should exercise ongoing due diligence with respect to the business relationship with every client and closely examine the transactions in order to ensure that they are consistent with their knowledge of the client, his business and risk profile and where necessary, the source of funds [In view of Government of India Notification dated June 16, 2010 -Rule 9, sub-rule (1B)]APs (Indian Agents) should examine the background and purpose of transactions with persons (including legal persons and other financial institutions) from jurisdictions included in the FATF Statements and countries that do not or insufficiently apply the FATF Recommendations. Further, if the transactions have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose, the background and purpose of such transactions should, as far as possible, be examined and written findings together with all the documents should be retained and made available to the Reserve Bank/ other relevant authorities, on request.4.7 Attempted transactionsWhere the AP (Indian Agent) is unable to apply appropriate KYC measures due to non-furnishing of information and /or non-cooperation by the customer, the AP should not undertake the transaction. Under these circumstances, APs should make a suspicious transactions report to FIU-IND in relation to the customer, even if the transaction is not put through.4.8 Risk Managementa) The Board of Directors of the AP (Indian Agent) should ensure that an effective KYC programme is put in place by establishing appropriate procedures and ensuring effective implementation. It should cover proper management oversight, systems and controls, segregation of duties, training and other related matters. Responsibility should be explicitly allocated within the AP (Indian Agent) for ensuring that the APs’ policies and procedures are implemented effectively. APs (Indian Agents) should, in consultation with their Boards, devise procedures for creating risk profiles of their existing and new customers and apply various anti money laundering measures keeping in view the risks involved in a transaction.b) APs’ (Indian Agents) internal audit and compliance functions have an important role in evaluating and ensuring adherence to the KYC policies and procedures. As a general rule, the compliance function should provide an independent evaluation of the AP’s (Indian Agent’s) own policies and procedures, including legal and regulatory requirements. APs (Indian Agents) should ensure that their audit machinery is staffed adequately with individuals who are well-versed in such policies and procedures. The concurrent auditors should check all cross border inward remittance transactions under MTSS to verify that they have been undertaken in compliance with the anti-money laundering guidelines and have been reported whenever required to the concerned authorities. Compliance on the lapses, if any, recorded by the concurrent auditors should be put up to the Board. A certificate from the Statutory Auditors on the compliance with KYC / AML / CFT guidelines should be obtained at the time of preparation of the Annual Report and kept on record.4.9 Introduction of New TechnologiesAPs (Indian Agents) should pay special attention to any money laundering threats that may arise from new or developing technologies including transactions through internet that might favour anonymity and take measures, to prevent their use for money laundering purposes and financing of terrorism activities.4.10 Combating Financing of Terrorisma)In terms of PML Rules, suspicious transaction should include inter alia transactions which give rise to a reasonable ground of suspicion that these may involve the proceeds of an offence mentioned in the Schedule to the PMLA, regardless of the value involved. APs (Indian Agents) should, therefore, develop suitable mechanism through appropriate policy framework for enhanced monitoring of transactions suspected of having terrorist links and swift identification of the transactions and making suitable reports to the FIU-IND on priority.b) APs (Indian Agents) are advised to take into account risks arising from the deficiencies in AML/CFT regime of certain jurisdictions, viz., Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Bolivia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey and Nigeria, as identified in FATF Statement (www.fatf-gafi.org) issued from time to time, while dealing with individuals from these jurisdictions. In addition to FATF Statements circulated by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time, (latest as on February 14, 2013, circulated vide the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 71 dated January 10, 2013), APs (Indian Agents) should also consider using publicly available information for identifying countries, which do not or insufficiently apply the FATF Recommendations. All APs (Indian Agents) are accordingly advised to take into account risks arising from the deficiencies in AML/CFT regime of these countries, while entering into business relationships and transactions with persons (including legal persons and other financial institutions) from or in these countries/ jurisdictions and give special attention to these cases.4.11 Principal Officera) APs (Indian Agents) should appoint a senior management officer to be designated as Principal Officer. Principal Officer shall be located at the head/corporate office of the AP and shall be responsible for monitoring and reporting of all transactions and sharing of information as required under the law. The role and responsibilities of the Principal Officer should include overseeing and ensuring overall compliance with regulatory guidelines on KYC/ AML/ CFT issued from time to time and obligations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, as amended by Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009, rules and regulations made there under, as amended from time to time.The Principal Officer should also be responsible for developing appropriate compliance management arrangements across the full range of AML/CFT areas (e.g. CDD, record keeping, etc.). He will maintain close liaison with enforcement agencies, APs (Indian Agents) and any other institution which are involved in the fight against money laundering and combating financing of terrorism. To enable the Principal Officer to discharge his responsibilities, it is advised that the Principal Officer and other appropriate staff should have timely access to customer identification data and other CDD information, transaction records and other relevant information. Further, APs (Indian Agents) should ensure that the Principal Officer is able to act independently and report directly to the senior management or to the Board of Directors.b) The Principal Officer will be responsible for timely submission of CTR and STR to the FIU-IND.4.12 Maintenance of records of transactions/Information to be preserved/ Maintenance and preservation of records/ Cash and Suspicious Transactions Reporting to Financial Intelligence Unit- India (FIU-IND)Section 12 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as amended by Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009, casts certain obligations on the APs (Indian Agents) in regard to preservation and reporting of transaction information. APs (Indian Agents) are, therefore, advised to go through the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002, as amended by Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009 and the Rules notified there under and take all steps considered necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of Section 12 of the Act ibid.(i) Maintenance of records of transactionsAPs (Indian Agents) should introduce a system of maintaining proper record of transactions prescribed under Rule 3, as mentioned below:all cash transactions of the value of more than Rupees ten lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency;all series of cash transactions integrally connected to each other which have been valued below Rupees ten lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency where such series of transactions have taken place within a month and the aggregate value of such transactions exceeds Rupees ten lakh;all transactions involving receipts by non-profit organisations of value more than Rupees ten lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency [In view of Government of India Notification dated November 12, 2009 - Rule 3, sub-rule (1) clause (BA) of PML Rules];all cash transactions where forged or counterfeit currency notes or bank notes have been used as genuine and where any forgery of a valuable security or a document has taken place facilitating the transaction; andAll suspicious transactions whether or not made in cash and by way of as mentioned in the Rules.(ii) Information to be preservedAPs (Indian Agents) are required to maintain all necessary information in respect of transactions referred to in Rule 3 to permit reconstruction of individual transactions including the following information:the nature of the transaction;the amount of the transaction and the currency in which it was denominated;the date on which the transaction was conducted; andthe parties to the transaction.(iii) Maintenance and Preservation of Recordsa) APs (Indian Agents) are required to maintain the records containing information of all transactions including the records of transactions detailed in Rule 3 above. APs (Indian Agents) should take appropriate steps to evolve a system for proper maintenance and preservation of transaction information in a manner that allows data to be retrieved easily and quickly whenever required or when requested by the competent authorities. Further, APs (Indian Agents) should maintain for at least ten years from the date of transaction between the AP and the client, all necessary records of transactions, both with residents and non-residents, which will permit reconstruction of individual transactions (including the amounts and types of currency involved, if any) so as to provide, if necessary, evidence for prosecution of persons involved in criminal activity.b) APs (Indian Agents) should ensure that records pertaining to the identification of the customer and his address (e.g. copies of documents like passport, driving license, PAN card, voter identity card issued by the Election Commission, utility bills, etc.) obtained while undertaking the transaction, are properly preserved for at least ten years from the date of cessation of the business relationship. The identification records and transaction data should be made available to the competent authorities upon request.c) In paragraph 4.6 of this Circular, APs (Indian Agents) have been advised to pay special attention to all complex, unusual large transactions and all unusual patterns of transactions, which have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose. It is further clarified that the background including all documents/office records / memoranda pertaining to such transactions and purpose thereof should, as far as possible, be examined and the findings at branch as well as Principal Officer’s level should be properly recorded. Such records and related documents should be made available to help auditors in their day-to-day work relating to scrutiny of transactions and also to Reserve Bank/other relevant authorities. These records are required to be preserved for ten years as is required under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002, as amended by Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009 and Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Rules, 2005, as amended from time to time.(iv) Reporting to Financial Intelligence Unit – Indiaa) In terms of the PML rules, APs (Indian Agents) are required to report information relating to cash and suspicious transactions to the Director, Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) in respect of transactions referred to in Rule 3 at the following address:The Director,Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND),6th Floor, Hotel Samrat,Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021.Website - http://fiuindia.gov.in/b) APs (Indian Agents) should carefully go through all the reporting formats. There are altogether four reporting formats, as detailed in SECTION-III, viz. i) Cash Transactions Report (CTR); ii) Electronic File Structure-CTR; iii) Suspicious Transactions Report (STR); and iv) Electronic File Structure-STR. The reporting formats contain detailed guidelines on the compilation and manner/procedure of submission of the reports to FIU-IND. It would be necessary for APs (Indian Agents) to initiate urgent steps to ensure electronic filing of all types of reports to FIU-IND. The related hardware and technical requirement for preparing reports in an electronic format, the related data files and data structures thereof are furnished in the instructions part of the formats concerned.c) In terms of instructions contained in paragraph 4.3(b) of this Circular, APs (Indian Agents) are required to prepare a profile for each customer based on risk categorisation. Further, vide paragraph 4.6, the need for periodical review of risk categorisation has been emphasized. It is, therefore, reiterated that APs (Indian Agents), as a part of transaction monitoring mechanism, are required to put in place an appropriate software application to throw alerts when the transactions are inconsistent with risk categorization and updated profile of customers. It is needless to add that a robust software throwing alerts is essential for effective identification and reporting of suspicious transactions.4.13 Cash and Suspicious Transaction ReportsA) Cash Transaction Report (CTR)While detailed instructions for filing all types of reports are given in the instructions part of the related formats, APs (Indian Agents) should scrupulously adhere to the following:i) The Cash Transaction Report (CTR) for each month should be submitted to the FIU‑IND by 15th of the succeeding month. Cash transaction reporting by branches to their controlling offices should, therefore, invariably be submitted on a monthly basis and APs (Indian Agents) should ensure to submit CTR for every month to FIU-IND within the prescribed time schedule.ii) While filing CTR, details of individual transactions below Rs.50,000 need not be furnished.iii) CTR should contain only the transactions carried out by the AP on behalf of their customers excluding transactions between the internal accounts of the APiv) A cash transaction report for the AP as a whole should be compiled by the Principal Officer of the AP every month in physical form as per the format specified. The report should be signed by the Principal Officer and submitted to the FIU-IND.v) In case of Cash Transaction Reports (CTR) compiled centrally by APs (Indian Agents) for the branches at their central data centre level, APs (Indian Agents) may generate centralised Cash Transaction Reports (CTR) in respect of branches under central computerized environment at one point for onward transmission to FIU-IND, provided:The CTR is generated in the format prescribed by Reserve Bank in Para 4.12(iv)(b) of this Circular.A copy of the monthly CTR submitted on its behalf to the FIU-IND is available at the branch concerned for production to auditors/inspectors, when asked for.The instruction on ‘Maintenance of records of transactions’, ‘Information to be preserved’ and ‘Maintenance and Preservation of records’ as contained above in this circular at Para 4.12 (i), (ii) and (iii) respectively are scrupulously followed by the branch.However, in respect of branches not under central computerized environment, the monthly CTR should be compiled and forwarded by the branch to the Principal Officer for onward transmission to the FIU-IND.B) Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR)i) While determining suspicious transactions, APs (Indian Agents) should be guided by definition of suspicious transaction contained in PML Rules, as amended from time to time.ii) It is likely that in some cases, transactions are abandoned/ aborted by customers on being asked to give some details or to provide documents. It is clarified that APs (Indian Agents) should report all such attempted transactions in STRs, even if not completed by customers, irrespective of the amount of the transaction.iii) APs (Indian Agents) should make STRs if they have reasonable ground to believe that the transaction, including an attempted transaction, involves proceeds of crime generally irrespective of the amount of transaction and/or the threshold limit envisaged for predicate offences in part B of Schedule of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002, as amended by Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009.iv) The Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) should be furnished within 7 days of arriving at a conclusion that any transaction, including an attempted transaction, whether cash or non-cash, or a series of transactions integrally connected are of suspicious nature. The Principal Officer should record his reasons for treating any transaction or a series of transactions as suspicious. It should be ensured that there is no undue delay in arriving at such a conclusion once a suspicious transaction report is received from a branch or any other office. Such report should be made available to the competent authorities on request.v) In the context of creating KYC/ AML awareness among the staff and for generating alerts for suspicious transactions, APs (Indian Agents) may consider the following indicative list of suspicious activities.Some possible suspicious activity indicators are given below:Customer is reluctant to provide details / documents on frivolous grounds.The transaction is undertaken by one or more intermediaries to protect the identity of the beneficiary or hide their involvement.Large amount of remittances.Size and frequency of transactions is high considering the normal business of the customer.The above list is only indicative and not exhaustive.vi) APs (Indian Agents) should not put any restrictions on payment to beneficiaries where an STR has been made. Moreover, it should be ensured that employees of APs shall keep the fact of furnishing such information as strictly confidential and there is no tipping off to the customer at any level.4.14 Customer Education/Employees’ Training/Employees’ Hiringa) Customer EducationImplementation of KYC procedures requires APs (Indian Agents) to demand certain information from customers which may be of personal nature or which has hitherto never been called for. This can sometimes lead to a lot of questioning by the customer as to the motive and purpose of collecting such information. There is, therefore, a need for APs (Indian Agents) to prepare specific literature/ pamphlets, etc., so as to educate the customer of the objectives of the KYC programme. The front desk staff needs to be specially trained to handle such situations while dealing with customers.b) Employees’ TrainingAPs (Indian Agents) must have an ongoing employee training programme so that the members of the staff are adequately trained to be aware of the policies and procedures relating to prevention of money laundering, provisions of the PMLA and the need to monitor all transactions to ensure that no suspicious activity is being undertaken under the guise of remittances. Training requirements should have different focuses for frontline staff, compliance staff and staff dealing with new customers. It is crucial that all those concerned fully understand the rationale behind the KYC policies and implement them consistently. The steps to be taken when the staff come across any suspicious transactions (such as asking questions about the source of funds, checking the identification documents carefully, reporting immediately to the Principal Officer, etc.) should be carefully formulated by the APs (Indian Agents) and suitable procedure laid down. The APs (Indian Agents) should have an ongoing training programme for consistent implementation of the AML measures.c) Hiring of EmployeesIt may be appreciated that KYC norms/AML standards/CFT measures have been prescribed to ensure that criminals are not allowed to misuse the system of money transfer under MTSS. It would, therefore, be necessary that adequate screening mechanism is put in place by APs (Indian Agents) as an integral part of their recruitment/hiring process of personnel to ensure high standards.Note:- (i) The Government of India had constituted a National Money Laundering / Financing of Terror Risk Assessment Committee to assess money laundering and terror financing risks, a national AML/CFT strategy and institutional framework for AML/CFT in India. Assessment of risk of Money Laundering /Financing of Terrorism helps both the competent authorities and the regulated entities in taking necessary steps for combating ML / FT adopting a risk-based approach. This helps in judicious and efficient allocation of resources and makes the AML / CFT regime more robust. The Committee has made recommendations regarding adoption of a risk-based approach, assessment of risk and putting in place a system which would use that assessment to take steps to effectively counter ML / FT. The recommendations of the Committee have since been accepted by the Government of India and need to be implemented. Accordingly, APs (Indian Agents) should take steps to identify and assess their ML/TF risk for customers, countries and geographical areas as also for products/ services/ transactions/delivery channels, in addition to what has been prescribed in the paragraph 4 above. APs (Indian Agents) should have policies, controls and procedures, duly approved by their boards, in place to effectively manage and mitigate their risk adopting a risk-based approach as discussed above. As a corollary, APs (Indian Agents) would be required to adopt enhanced measures for products, services and customers with a medium or high risk rating. APs (Indian Agents) may design risk parameters according to their activities for risk based transaction monitoring, which will help them in their own risk assessment.(ii) The above KYC/ AML/ CFT Guidelines would also be applicable mutatis mutandis to all Sub Agents of the Indian Agents under MTSS and it will be the sole responsibility of the APs (Indian Agents) to ensure that their Sub Agents also adhere to these guidelines.Section -IICustomer Identification Procedure Features to be verified and documents that may be obtained from customersFeaturesDocuments- Legal name and any other names used(i) Passport (ii) PAN card (iii) Voter’s Identity Card (iv) Driving licence (v) Identity card (subject to the AP’s satisfaction) (vi) Letter from a recognized public authority or public servant verifying the identity and residence of the customer to the satisfaction of the AP(Indian Agent)- Correct permanent address(i) Telephone bill (ii) Bank account statement (iii) Letter from any recognized public authority (iv) Electricity bill (v) Ration card (vi) Letter from employer (subject to satisfaction of the AP).(any one of the documents, which provides customer information to the satisfaction of the AP (Indian Agent) will suffice).Note :- If the address on the document submitted for identity proof by the prospective customer is same as that declared by him/her, the document may be accepted as a valid proof of both identity and address. If the address indicated on the document submitted for identity proof differs from the current address declared by the customer, a separate proof of address should be obtained.Section-IIIList of various reports and their formatsCash Transaction Report (CTR)Electronic File Structure- CTRSuspicious Transaction Report (STR)Electronic File Structure-STRNote: FIU-IND have now advised that the 'go-live' date is October 20, 2012 and that Authorised Persons, who are Indian agents under MTSS may discontinue submission of reports in CD format after October 20, 2012, using only FINnet gateway for uploading of reports in the new XML reporting format. Any report in CD format received after October 20, 2012 will not be treated as a valid submission by FIU-IND.Annex-IIIFormat for Sub Agents of Indian Agents of MTSS1.Name of the Sub Agent2.Sub Agent Category (AD Cat-I bank/ AD Cat-II/ Other Scheduled Commercial Bank/ Full Fledged Money Changer/ Department of Posts/ Registered NBFC/ Others)3.Address of the registered/corporate/administrative office with telephone number/s, Fax number/s and e-mail id/s.4.Registered with5.Registration Number6.Details of Registration (papers to be attached as at Annex-IIIa)7.PAN Number (copy as at Annex-IIIa)8.Name/s of Banker/s and Bank Account Number/s (enclosures as at Annex-IIIa)9.Details (Name, Nationality, Residential address, Controlling interest in any other company, PAN Number) of each promoter with more than 10% equity holding10.Paid up capital in Rs. and Number of shares11.Accounts certified by which Chartered Accountant? Details (Enclosures as at Annex-IIIa)12.Whether prosecuted/ convicted for criminal/ economic offence? If yes, particulars thereof (Enclosures as at Annex-IIIa)13.Whether the Sub Agent is solvent as on date14.Details (Name, Designation, Nationality, Residential address, PAN No., Name/s of other company/ies in which the person has held any post, Details of equity shareholding in the company, if any) of Chairman/Managing Director/Director/Chief Executive Officer (Details as at Annex-IIIa)Note: With reference to point 9, ownership of the Sub Agent should be detailed up to the last layer of equity holding ending in mentioning the name of the individual/ entity that owns beneficial interest in the company.Date:Place:Signature of Chartered AccountantSignature of Managing DirectorAnnex-IIIa : List of Certified copies of Documents to be submittedCertificate of IncorporationMemorandum (up-to-date) and Articles of AssociationBoard resolution for conducting money transfer activities, submission of application and its contents including authorization of an official to make the application.Details of associates, group companies, etc.PAN Card/s of the Director/s.Bank Account details and sealed confidential reports from banks.A certificate from Chartered Accountant certifying Net Owned FundsBalance Sheet and P&L A/c statement for the last three years.Business plan for the next three years.Conduct certificate from the local police authorities.Declaration regarding past criminal cases, cases initiated/ pending against the company or its Directors by any law enforcing agencies.Photographs of the Directors and key persons.Information about the management.Shop and establishment certificate/ other municipal certificate.Annex-IVStatement showing details of quantum of remittances received through Money Transfer Service Scheme during the quarter ended __________________Name of the Indian Agent ______________________________________Name of the Overseas PrincipalTotal quantum of remittances received in US $INR equivalentNote: This statement is required to be submitted to the Regional Office concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank and Foreign Exchange Department, Forex Markets Division, Central Office, Amar Building, Fort, Mumbai-400001 within 15 days from the close of the quarter to which it relates.Annex-VStatement of Collateral kept by Indian AgentsName of the Indian Agent __________________________Name of the Overseas PrincipalTotal quantum of remittances received during the past 6 months in US $Amount of collateral held in US $Collateral kept in various forms (Foreign Currency Deposit/ Bank Guarantee)Last review of adequacy of collateral along with observationsNote: This statement as at the end of June and December every year is required to be submitted to the Regional Office concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank and Foreign Exchange Department, Forex Markets Division, Central Office, Amar Building, Fort, Mumbai-400001 within 15 days from the close of the half year to

For officers there will be questions on economics, banking, finance and general affairs only (the recent events)Please note that the interview for bank placements are conducted by retired bank officials and more than 95 percent questions will be only on the above subjects and rarely one or two questions will be asked in engineering - electronics, information technology, mechanical engineering etc.,In fact the exact qualification meant for bank job is B. Com.The graduate knows about various types of accounting, economics, finance, management accounting etc and he will be more comfortable than others.Please concentrate on the following subjects:Types of accountsTypes of firmsFinancial statementsBalance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow statement and funds flow statementVarious balance sheet ratiosVarious financial termsRead the following sample questions:Selected Interview QuestionsCandidate: 00101.Why you are willing to join in a bank?I am willing to join in a bank since I hope that I may be having more opportunities to serve the public. Banks have better career opportunities by means of periodical promotions to higher cadre.02.What do you mean by appraisal of gold loans?Gold loans are granted against the security of gold jewellery namely gold chains, necklaces etc., The jewellery apart from gold contains certain amount of copper and stones. Appraiser is a person well versed in the art of appraising the jewellery and on appraisal of the jewellery, he will be finding out the approximate gold content so that the bank may be able to provide loans against the gold content.03.What are the different kinds of term deposits available in a commercial bank?The different kinds of term deposits available in a commercial bank are – fixed deposit, recurring deposit and reinvestment deposit. In the case of fixed deposit, a fixed amount is accepted for a definite period and interest is paid on quarterly basis. In the case of reinvestment deposit which is similar to fixed deposit, interest is paid on maturity since interest is reinvested. In the case of recurring deposit, monthly instalments are accepted for a fixed period.04.What is the minimum period for which a fixed deposit is accepted and the maximum period for which a fixed deposit is accepted?The minimum period for which fixed deposit is accepted is seven days and the maximum period is ten years.05.Whether a fixed deposit can be accepted for a period more than ten years?In the case of deposits in the names of minors on account of settlement of claims, the deposit can be for more than ten years06.What do you mean by FERA?FERA means foreign exchange regulations act and it came into effect from the year 1973. An act to regulate certain payments dealing in foreign exchange, securities, the import & export of currency and acquisition of immovable property by foreigners. Under Section 31 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act ( FERA) of 1973, it is mandatory for foreign corporations, which are not incorporated in India to obtain permission from the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) to acquire, hold, transfer or dispose off in any manner (expect by way of lease for a period not exceeding five years) any immovable property in India.07.What do you mean by ECS?ECS means electronic clearing service and the customer can authorize on periodical basis to make payment of certain utility bills like electricity charges, water charges etc., by debiting his account till such time he submits a revocation letter. Similarly, he can authorize corporate to credit the dividends on shares and interest on debentures as and when due to the credit of his account with the bank.08.What is the minimum amount that can be sent through RTGS?The minimum amount that can be sent through RTGS is Rupees two lakhs and there is no maximum limit09.What is the maximum amount that can be remitted through NEFT?There is no or maximum limit for remittances sent through NEFT10.What is the maximum amount that can be sent abroad by any resident individual?Under liberalized remittance scheme, all resident individuals including minors are allowed to freely remit an amount upto US dollars 250000 (or its equivalent freely convertible foreign currency) per financial year11..What is the name of apex bank which is responsible for the development of agriculture in the country?NABARD is the apex bank which is responsible for the development of agriculture in the country.12.What are the different kinds of schemes available in our country aiming towards poverty alleviation?National old age pension scheme; Jawahar Gramin Samruddi Yojana; National Family Benefit scheme; Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme; National Maternal Benefit Schemel Annapurna etc.,13.What do you mean by crossing of any cheque?Writing of two parallel transverse lines drawn on the face of the cheque on top left hand corner with or without any words between the lines is known as crossing and it is for the purpose of making payment of the cheque through an account in the name of the payee or holder.14.What are the different kinds of crossing?Two parallel transverse lines drawn on the face of the cheque on top left hand corner of the cheque with any words or without any words is known as general crossing and the the payment can be made to the account of the payee or holder with any bank. In case the name of any bank is mentioned within the two parallel lines, it is known as special crossing and in this case, the payment should be made to the account of the payee or holder with the bank mentioned in the crossing only and not to any other bank.15.What do you mean by CASA?CASA means current and savings and this is applicable to computerized branches linked under core banking solution16.Whose signature is available in Rs. 100/- currency note?The signature of RBI governor is available in Rs. 100 currency note17.What do you know by dividend?Dividend is the return available in the form of money for the investments made by the shareholders in the equity shares and preference shares of any company.18.Bank holidays are declared according to which act?Holidays for banks are declared according to Negotiable Instruments act 1881 by the respective state governments in their states. However, all Sundays, all second and fourth Saturdays have been declared as holidays apart from the holidays permitted for religious and national ceremonies.19.Banks are functioning according to which act?Commercial banks in the country are functioning according to Banking Regulation act 1949 and to some extent as per Reserve Bank of India act 193420.RBI is functioning in the country as per which act?Reserve Bank of India is functioning according to Reserve Bank of India act 1934.Candidate: 00201.What do you mean by a guarantee?Guarantee is an undertaking executed by one person called as guarantor in favour of another person called as beneficiary expressing his intention to make payment in the event of failure of the principal debtor on payment of a debt or failure to perform any contract within the stipulated time or according to the terms of the contract.02.What are the different types of guarantees?The different types of guarantees are financial guarantee, performance guarantee and deferred payment guarantee03.What do you mean by letter of credit?Letter of credit is an undertaking executed by one banker on behalf of its customer to honour bills and documents drawn by another person as per the terms and conditions as mentioned in the letter of credit04.What do you know by packing credit advance?It is the preshipment advance granted by one bank to the exporter for the purpose of procuring raw materials; payment of various duties like customs duty, excise duty; packing charges; shipment charges etc.,05.What do you mean by special crossing?In case the name of any bank is mentioned within the two parallel lines, it is known as special crossing and in this case, the payment should be made to the account of the payee or holder with the bank mentioned in the crossing only and not to any other bank.06.What do you know by IFSC code ?IFSC means Indian Financial System Code and this is one alphanumeric code consisting of eleven digits of which the four alphabetic digits represent the name of the bank mentioned in abridged form and the next zero is known as control number and the last six numeric digits represent the branch code of the bank.07.Which is called as mother of deposits?Savings deposit is known as mother of deposits. Normally the first time customers will be advised to open savings deposits with the bank branch before availing any other facility with the bank08.Who is a called as natural guardian?Bother mother and father are known as natural guardian for the purpose of opening accounts in the name of minors represented by the guardian.09.Whether grandfathers and grandmothers can be natural guardians?Grand fathers, grandmothers grand grandfathers or grand grandmothers cannot represent as natural guardians on be behalf of the minors10.Which type of credit facility is available to a farmer for raising crops?For raising crops, the farmers are provided with crop loans, Kisan Credit Cards etc.,11.What do you mean by NULM?National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), Government of India in 24th September, 2013 by replacing the existing Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).The NULM will focus on organizing urban poor in their strong grassroots level institutions, creating opportunities for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up self-employment venture by ensuring easy access to credit. The Mission is aimed at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner. In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors12.What do you mean by Gram Sadak Yojana?The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana called as PMGSY was launched by the Government of India for the purpose of providing connectivity to unconnected habitations as part of a poverty reduction strategy. Government of India is endeavouring to set high and uniform technical and management standards and facilitating policy development and planning at state level in order to ensure sustainable management of the rural roads network.13.What are the salient features of MGNREGA?MGNREGA is known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee act and according to this employment is guaranteed at least one person per household in rural areas. It aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people living in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment during each financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteers to undertake unskilled manual work14.Which authority is supervising the functions of insurance companies?IRDA – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is the authority responsible for supervising the functions of insurance companies in our country15.What is meant by IPO?IPO means initial public offer and this is the first time public offer of equity shares, preference shares or debentures to the public for subscription16.What is meant by ASBA?ASBA means applications supported by blocked amount. Nowadays investors are permitted to remit the amount through ASBA demand drafts drawn in ASBA accounts for the purpose of subscribing shares or debentures through initial public offer and further public offer. When the demand draft is issued, instead of debiting the amount in the account, the amount is blocked till such time the shares or debentures are allotted. On allotment, the entire amount is debited; in the case of partial allotment, the amount is debited equivalent to the value of allotment and in the case of non allotment, the entire amount is allowed for further use. For the intervening period, the depositor earns interest as applicable to the category of deposits.17.What is meant by Performance guarantee issued by any commercial bank?In the case of contracts in favour of governments, the contractors are in a position to provide a bank guarantee by a reputed commercial bank, thereby undertaking to guarantee the government department to compensate the loss on account of failure of performance of the contract by the contractor within the due date or failure to perform the contract as per the terms and conditions of the contract. This is known as performance guarantee.18.What do you mean by packing credit facility issued by any commercial bank?Packing guarantee is known as preshipment advance provided by the commercial bank to the exporter for the purpose of procuring raw materials, packing materials or making payment towards customers duty, excise duty, transportation charges etc.,19.What do you mean by notice money?Notice money is money borrowed for a period of two days and more and upto fourteen days in the call money market.20.Treasury bills are issued by which authority and what are the different kinds of treasury bills available in the country?Treasury bills are issued by central government and state governments for the purpose of mobilizing funds from the public and others towards meeting the cost of various projects. There are three kinds of treasury bills as at present namely – 91 days, 182 days and 364 days. 91 days treasury bills are issued each Friday and the notified amount is Rupees one hundred crores. 182 day treasury bills are issued during alternative Wednesdays which is non reporting week and the notified amount is Rupees 100 crores and 364 days treasury bills are issued on alterntive Wednesdays which is a reporting week and the notified amount is Rupees 500 crores.Candidate: 00301.What do you know by PIN number?PIN number is four digit number expressed in numerical characters. PIN number is used for the transactions done using debit cards and credit cards through automated teller machines and point of sale terminals.02.What do you know by PAN number?PAN number is known as permanent account number. This is used for the purpose of remittance of income tax with income tax department. Tax payers should get one PAN number by sending an application along with relevant documents and by payment of specified sum of money to Income tax department or their agencies. It is ten digit number consisting and alphapetical and numerical characters.03.What are the functions of DICGC?DICGC means Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation and this corporation provides deposit insurance upto an amount of Rupees one lakh per depositor per bank in the event of insolvency of the bank and it also provides small loans guarantee upto certain limits04.What is the role played by ECGC?ECGC provides guarantee support to the exporters of the country in the form of several export guarantees05.Mention the Regional Rural Banks which are functioning in Tamilnadu?The Regional rural banks which are functioning in Tamilnadu are Pandiyan Grama Bank and Pallavan Gramin Bank. Pandiyan Grama Bank has been sponsored by Indian Overseas Bank and pallavan Gramin Bank has been sponsored by Indian bank.06.What do you mean by Mergers and what are the different kinds of mergers?When two independent units merge together to form a single unit, it is known as merger. The mergers can be vertical merger, horizontal merger, reverse merger, consolidation, amalgamation etc.,07.What do you mean by horizontal merger and reverse merger?When the business functions of two units are identical in nature and when the merger takes place between those units, it is known as horizontal merger. New Bank of India merged with Punjab National Bank and both are banking organizations. Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited was instrumental in establishing ICICI bank as per LPG norms and subsequently Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation Limited merged with ICICI Bank and when a parent unit gets merged with an ancillary unit, it is known as reverse merger.08.Which are the top two private sector banks in our country?The top private sector banks in our country are HDFC bank limited and ICICI bank limited09.Whether housing loan is a priority sector advance and if so, upto what amount?Housing loans granted are treated as priority sector advances subject to certain conditions. Loans to individuals up to Rupees 28 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of ten lakh and above) and loans up to Rupees 20 lakh in other centres for purchase/construction of a dwelling unit per family, are eligible to be considered as priority sector provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit in the metropolitan centre and at other centres does not exceed Rupees 35 lakh and Rupees 25 lakh, respectively. Housing loans to banks’ own employees are not eligible for classification under priority sector.10.Whether educational loan is a priority sector advance?Loans to individuals for educational purposes including vocational courses upto Rupees 10 lakh irrespective of the sanctioned amount are eligible for classification under priority sector.11.What do you mean by micro, small and medium enterprises?The classification is based on original investment in plant and machinery: For micro enterprises, upto Rs. 25 lakhs for manufacturing units and Rupees 10 lakhs for service units; For small enterprises, for manufacturing units above Rupees 25 lakhs and upto Rs. 5 crores and for service units above Rupees 10 lakhs and upto Rupees 2 crores; For medium enterprises, for manufacturing units above Rupees 5 crores and upto 10 crores and for service units above Rupees 2 crores and upto Rupees five crores12.What do you mean by KYC and name any two important documents which are obtained as per KYC?KYC means know your customer guidelines and these guidelines were prescribed by RBI for new customers who are willing to open accounts with commercial banks and according to KYC, any new customer who is willing to open accounts with commercial banks should submit the photocopy of anyone of the following namely; driving licence, voter id card, AADHAARA card, passport as address proof and photocopy of anyone of the following namely; driving licence, voter id card, AADHAAR card, passport, pancard as identity proof. KYC is antimony laundering device.13.What is the present repo rate and reverse repo rate?The present repo rate is 6.25% and reverse repo rate is 5.75%14.In the case of MICR code, the middle three digits represent what?MICR code consists of nine numerical digits and the middle three numerical digits represent bank name15.PAN number consists of how many alpha characters?PAN number consists of ten digits. The first three alpha characters are random alphapetical characters between AAA to ZZZ; next one alpha character represents the category of the cardholder; the next one alpha character represents the first character of the name of the cardholder; the next four numerical digits are auto generated sequential numbers and the last one single alpha character is a check digit.16.What do you know by biometric automated teller machines?In the case of automated teller machines, the four digit numerical PIN number is used for performing transactions using debit card and credit card. In the case of biometric automated teller machines, instead of PIN numbers, anyone of the following body parts is used – left hand thumb impression; eye retina and voice recognition. In India, the left hand thumb impression is the accepted mode and these kinds of automated teller machines are known as green label automated teller machines.17.What is the criteria by which a bank is considered as largest bank?For the purpose of ranking, a bank is considered to be largest or smallest taking into consideration the business position of the bank; namely – the total deposits and total advances as at the end of March each year.18.What do you mean by commercial paper?Commercial papers are issued by well rated organizations for mobilizing funds from the public and other corporate. They are issued at a discount and they are freely negotiable by endorsement and delivery. The minimum maturity period is seven days and the corporate should have earned credit rating equivalent to P2 issued by CRISIL19.What do you mean by FCNR?FCNR means foreign currency non resident accounts. Non resident Indians and Persons of Indian origin are eligible to invest in this deposit. It is a term deposit accepted in the currencies – US dollar, Sterling Pound, Euro, Japanese Yen, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar. The minimum period of deposit is one year and the maximum period is five years and the deposit is held in foreign currencies and the interest earned is free from income tax.20.What do you mean by Escheat?He is a person who dies without leaving any legal heirs and in this case, his estate will revert to the state government.Candidate: 00401.What do you mean by money laundering?Using the banking channel for the purpose of bringing illegal money is known as money laundering.02.What do you mean by subprime lending?Mass lending by commercial banks to the borrowers without ascertaining the credit worthiness of the borrowers03.What is meant by LPG and who is responsible for introduction of LPG strategy in our country?LPG means liberalization, privatization and globalization and this was coined by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then finance minister of our country. The salient highlights of the Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation Policy in India are: Foreign Technology Agreements; Foreign Investment; MRTP Act, 1969 (Amended); Industrial Licensing; Deregulation Beginning of privatization; Opportunities for overseas trade; Steps to regulate inflation; Tax reforms; Abolition of License -Permit Raj04.What do you mean by PURA?PURA means providing urban amenities in rural areas. This concept was coined by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the then president of India.05.What do you know by current ratio?It is one equation between current assets and current liabilities. This ratio provides the liquidity position of the organization. When the ratio is more than one it is known as positive current ratio and the unit is having sufficient working capital and when it is less than one, the unit is found to have more current liabilities than current assets and the liquidity position is found to be very weak.06.What do you know about negotiable instruments act?In India, the negotiable instruments act was passed during 1881 which came into force with effect from March 01, 1882. Negotiable instruments means and include promissory note, bills of exchange and cheque payable to order or bearer. Promissory note, bill of exchange, cheque and demand draft are negotiable instruments.07.What do you know by MICR?MICR means magnetic ink character recognition. MICR code is available in MICR bank at the bottom of the cheque or demand draft. It consists of nine numerical digits of which the first three digits represent the centre/city; the middle three digits represent the bank and the last three digits represent the branch of the bank.08.When it comes to rural lending, which are all considered to be priority sector advances?When it comes to rural lending, the loans granted to the following are considered to be priority sector advances – Loans granted to all agriculture related activities; self help group; Differential rate of interest; Loans to SC/ST beneficiaries; Loans provided to doctors for setting up clinics in rural areas; Loans to dealers in fertilizers and pesticides; loans to dealers of springler irrigation and drip irrigation equipments etc.,09.Who is called as an authorized dealer?Authorised dealer is at present known as authorized person. Authorised person is an individual or organization permitted to deal in foreign exchange business in the country.10.What do you know by financial inclusion?Financial inclusion means the following: Providing formal banking services to poor people in urban and rural areas; Promoting the habit of money savings, insurance, pension-investment among poor people; Helping the people in getting loans at reasonable rates from commercial banks so that they do not become victims to local moneylenders11.What are the important initiatives taken through financial inclusion in the country?The following are the important initiatives taken through financial inclusion in our country: Lead banking scheme; No frill accounts; Basic savings bank deposit accounts; JANDHAN accounts; business correspondent and business facilitator facilities; Swabhiman campaign;12.What do you mean by MCLR?MCLR replaces the base rate system. RBI introduced the system with effect from 01.04.2016 in order to determine the base rate by commercial to improve the efficiency of monetary policy transmission. All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed with effect from 01.04.2016 to be priced with reference to MCLR and it will be an internal benchmark for the banks. It consists of marginal cost of funds, negative carry on account of CRR, operating costs and tenor premium. The marginal cost of funds consists of two components namely; marginal cost of borrowings and return on networth13.What are the major money market instruments?Certificate of deposits; Commercial paper; Inter Bank participation certificates; iner bank term money; Treasury bills; Bills rediscounting and call/notice money14.What are the differences between NEFT and RTGS?Both are two categories of online remittance facilities through CBS enabled branches of commercial banks. The minimum balance that can be sent through RTGS is Rupees two lakhs whereas in the case of NEFT, there is no such limit. The beneficiary gets his funds at real time and it means instantaneously without any loss of time. In the case of the beneficiary gets his funds in between batches15.Who is deciding the rate of interest for savings deposit accounts?Rate of interest for savings deposits is decided by respective commercial banks only and RBI has permitted full freedom in this connection.16.Who cannot open savings deposit accounts?Proprietorship concerns, partnership firms, limited liability partnership firms, private limited companies and public limited companies are not permitted to open savings accounts17.What is meant by memorandum of association?Memorandum of association is the parent document for any company whether it is a private limited company or private limited company. It contains the details of formation of the company, policies, objectives, registered office and more.18.What is known as power of attorney?Power of attorney is an authorization given by one person called as principal in favour of another person called as an agent authorizing the agent to perform certain activities on behalf of the principal and it can be specific power of attorney or particular power of attorney.19.In which currencies FCNR accounts can be opened in our country?FCNR account can be opened in the following currencies namely; US dollars, Sterling Pounds; Euro; Japanese Yen; Australian dollars and Canadian dollars.20.What are the differences between NRE and FCNR?NRE and FCNR accounts are opened by non resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin in India. NRE accounts are to be opened in rupees whereas FCNR is opened in foreign currencies. NRE accounts can be opened in the form of savings account, current account, reinvestment deposit and fixed deposit whereas, FCNR account is permitted to be opened as fixed deposit or reinvestment deposit. NRE term deposits can be opened for a minimum period of seven days and maximum period of ten years. FCNR accounts can be opened for a minimum period of one year and maximum period of five years.Candidate: 00501.What do you mean by masala bonds?Masala bonds are the bonds issued for rupee denominated borrowings by Indian companies in overseas markets02.What do you mean by secondary market in our country?Secondary market pertains to capital market and it is also known as stock exchange or old issues market. Shares, debentures and bonds can be bought and sold from the stock exchange through registered brokers.03.What do you mean by fund based limits and non fund based limits?The loans provided to the borrowers in the form of term loans, overdrafts, cash credits and bills discounting limits are known as fund based limits since funds are released to the borrowers. Guarantees and letter of credits are non fund based limits since no funds are provided for the time being since they are contingent liabilities.04.What do you mean by off balance sheet items?Guarantees, letter of credits and bills sent for collection for which proceeds are yet to be realized are known as off balance sheet items05.What do you mean by closed ended scheme?This is one form of mutual fund scheme. Like initial public offer, the scheme is open for a certain period only and after which the public cannot invest their amount in the units under this scheme.06.What do you mean by open ended scheme?This is one mutual fund scheme and the units under scheme can be purchased and sold at any time07.What do you mean by overdraft facility granted by a bank?Overdraft is a facility granted by the banks towards meeting the working capital requirements of a borrower. This is provided by means of credit limit over and above the current account balance and the borrower has to pay the interest as and when due.08.What do you mean by collateral security?Collateral security is an additional security provided by the borrower in addition to the primary security. For example, in the case of vehicle loan, the car purchased out of loan is known as the prime security and the insurance policy obtained by the bank from the borrower for the sanction of this loan is known as collateral security.09.In regard to educating a customer, what are the different kinds of information boards displayed in a bank branch?The following boards are available in the bank branches – Working hours and business hours; Interest rates on various deposits; Interest rates for loans; Service charges; Time norms for various services; Details of schemes available in the branch10.Who is the present RBI Governor?The present governor of RBI is Shri Urjit Patel and he is functioning as the governor of RBI since 04th September, 201611.What do you mean by unclaimed deposits?The deposits which are not in operation for more than ten years are known as unclaimed deposits. For the purpose of this classification, the customer induced transactions are only taken into account.12.How many regional centres are available for RBI in the country?Reserve Bank of India has four regional centres at the following places – Chennai, Kolkatta, New Delhi and Mumbai.13.What do you mean by white label automated teller machines?The automated teller machines which are maintained and managed by non bank entities are known as white label automated teller machines. In our country TATA Indicash and Muthoot finance are having such machines installed at various centres.14.What are the advantages of CTS?CTS means cheque truncation scheme. This is used for clearing purpose. Normally commercial banks used to send the physical cheques through their15.What do you mean by certificate of deposits?Certificate of deposits are issued by scheduled commercial banks (except Regional Rural Banks) and all financial institutions within their umbrella limits. Individuals, corporate, companies, trusts, funds and associations can invest in certificate of deposits and they are issued for a minimum period of seven days and maximum period of twelve months in the case of commercial banks and in the case of financial institutions the minimum period is one year and maximum three years, Minimum amount for investment is Rupees one lakh and in multiples of Rupees one lakh.16.RBI is called by which names – mention four names?RBI is called by the following names – banker to banker; lender of the last resort; custodian of banks; banker to government;17.What do you mean by ways and means advances?Ways and means advances were introduced as per an agreement between Reserve Bank of India and Government and they are temporary overdraft facilities provided by RBI to central government and state governments and the purpose is to bridge the time interval of mismatch the government expenditure and receipts. The duration of the limit is ten days for central government and 14 days for state government departments.18.Who is banking ombudsman and by whom he is appointed?Banking Ombudsman is an arbitrary authority who resolves the complaints received from the customers of commercial banks in regard to bank related issues.19.What do you mean by EEFC account?Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency account is an account maintained in an account maintained in foreign currency with an authorized dealer ; i/e/ a bank dealing in foreign exchange. Professionals, exporters, trainers etc., who are in receipt of foreign exchange for the services extended by them in foreign countries can invest the amount in EEFC account and the account will be in the form of current account and no interest is paid for the balance held in EEFC account.20.What do you know by NBFC?NBFC means non banking finance companies. It is a company registered under Indian Companies act 1956 and presently 2013 engaged in the business of providing loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire purchase, insurance business, chit fund business etc.,Candidate: 00601.What do you mean by arbitrage?It is the process of purchase of one security from one market and selling the same security for earning a profit at the same time at another market.02.What do you mean by Bonus shares?It is the free allotment of shares in certain proportion to the existing shares held by the shareholders of a company and this is a means of providing reward to the investors for their contribution to the growth of the organization by capital investment03.What do you mean by Bull?It is a term given to a speculator on stock exchange who buys the securities in expectation of a rise in the prices. The market is called as bullish when there is a domination of buyers over the sellers04.What is known as dematerialization?Dematerialisation is the process by which shares in the physical form are cancelled and they are issued in electronic form. The certificates are known as demat shares. This process eliminates the time and manpower involved in transfer and registration of shares from the seller to the buyer05.What do you mean by moorat trading?It is the auspicious trading on a special day, say Diwali during some specified hours.06.What do you mean by rights issue?It is the issue of new shares to the existing shareholders in a fixed ratio to those already held at a price which is generally below the market price of the old shares.07.What do you mean by futures?It is a standard contract issued on an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a certain price at a certain time in future. It is an obligation on the buyer to purchase the underlying instrument and the seller to sell it.08.What do you mean by forward?The forward is a contract that is traded off the stock exchange and it is self regulatory and has certain flexibility unlike future which are traded at stock exchange only and it do not have flexibility of quantity and quality of commodity to be delivered and these are regulated by Securities Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India or other agencies.09.What do you mean by factoring?Factoring is an arrangement in which short term domestic receivables on sale of goods or services are sold to a company called as factor and this scheme came into existence during 1991 based on the report of Kalyanasundaram Committee10.What do you mean by forfeiting?Forfaiting represents the purchase of obligations, which fall due at some future date and arise from the delivery of goods in export transactions, without recourse to the previous holder of the obligations.11.What do you mean by leasing?A lease is a contract where the owner of the assets transfers the right to another person to use the assets against the payment of fixed lease rentals. In the case of one lease contract, there are two parties namely – the lessor or the owner and the lessee or user. The lessor remains owner and the leased property remains with the possession of the lessee.12.What do you mean by debt market?It is a market wherein the debt instruments are issued to the public by any company for investment and such debt instrument bears a fixed interest rate payable half yearly on specific dates and principal amount repayable on particular date on redemption. Debentures are normally secured/charged against the asset of the company in favour of debenture holder. The following are some debt instruments – debenture; bond; zero coupon bond; convertible bond; security receipts etc.,13.What do you mean by greenshoe option?It is an option provided by Securities and Exchange Board of India to a company which is coming out with one initial public offer to the public. By this option, the company can retain certain portion of the applications received through IPO in case of oversubscription.14.What do you mean by equity market?Equity market consists of investment by the public in different kinds of shares issued by the company and by subscribing for the shares, the investors are expressing their willingness to stand as owners of the company. The equity market consists of equity shares, preference shares, rights shares, bonus shares etc.,15.What do you mean by sweat equity?Directors and employees contribute intellectual property rights to the company in the form of providing technical know-how captured by way of research or contributed by way of strategy software developed for the company or adding profit and economic value. To compensate the directors and employees, the concept of sweat equity has come into existence.16.What do you mean by participatory notes?A participatory note is a financial derivative instrument issued against an underlying security and it allows the holder, to get dividend or capital gains earned from the underlying security although some of the holders may not be eligible to trade in stock markets in India.17.What do you mean by book building?Book building is the process to assess the demand for a particular public issue of various prices, based on which the issue is priced and sold to the investors.18.What do you mean by sensex?It is a stock market index provided by Bombay Stock Exchange for the information of the investors. The positive or negative variation in the index provides an insight for investment or dis-investment to the general public and especially the investors in the stock market. It is based on the market capitalization of top thirty shares earmarked by BSE19.What do you mean by Nifty?It is a stock market index provided by National Stock Exchange for the information of the investors. The positive or negative variation in the index provides an insight for the investment or dis-investment to the general public and especially the investors who are participating in stock market trading. It is based on the market capitalization of top fifty shares earmarked by NSE20.What do you mean by swap?A swap is a contract that binds two counterparties to exchange the different streams of payments over the specified period at specified rate.