Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Shifting gears (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/)

-   -   Government scraps Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/181570-government-scraps-rs-500-rs-1000-notes-52.html)

I got a whatsapp forward and also read online somewhere that coop bank managers are forced by the local bigwigs into converting their cash at the cost of farmer's accounts. Could be one reason.

I agree; in general the public sector bank employees have a long history of being a pampered lot, but they have risen to the occasion this time, no question about that.

Sharing the following update/clarification I read in the paper today.
Ignore if already mentioned.

I read this article yesterday. It is about Kerala's cooperative banks, but I imagine is applicable to the ones elsewhere as well.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/keral...h-3106408.html

In summary, they fought the RBI tooth and nail to not have to adopt modern banking standards, regulations and technology; and now they find themselves in a position where they are unable to continue in business without such compliance.

The most talked of topic for everyone,

Same is the case in Kerala. There are a few cooperative banks (Urban Co.Op & State Co.Op etc.) who have moved to Core Banking System (CBS) and are working under RBI Guide lines. There is some relaxation to them; they could accept any amount in the old currency from their account holders. They were given rights to exchange notes, but only for three days.

Then there are very many other co.op banks which are nothing but glorified "chit fund" companies. They do not follow RBI guide lines, do not have any KYC norms and also encourage people to hold multiple accounts and make payments for Rs.49,999 etc (to escape the PAN card requirement). The RBI have been trying to get the compliant, they operate under certain state specific laws. It is these banks who have got shafted big time. They cannot accept or issue money. I would not blame the RBI, because these "banks" were operating in a shady way. Most of these co.op banks are governed by local politicians directly. Chances of money laundering is very high here.

Wifey works at a bank, and have been spending 9-7 kind of work schedule for the past few days. Her main complaint has been the same people (so called "poor people") who line up with Rs.500 & Rs.1000 notes for exchange. They just keep coming again and again, where as genuine customers are now left high and dry. The media is also causing panic and over playing the current negative impact. This makes me worried, if a sad situation comes up and the nation has to go on a war. Our own media would be our own worst enemies, if their current reporting styles can be taken as a bench mark.

And in Kerala the "you know whos" have started a campaign that these co.op banks are forced to close down, so that people would opt for "new generation banks". The co.op banks were a source of easy access to credit for many people, but it has now been heavily misused. Don't know how many of them exist purely for money laundering purposes.

Well as per the firstpost article, Kerala has 60,000Cr deposits in Co-op banks and 30,000Cr in loans disbursed by them. That is a mind boggling amount of money. They are even beyond the purview of IT?

All these big numbers hurt my poor brain :P

Example: You access the app and find an ATM which is dispensing cash. Before you reach there, the cash in the ATM is over, then it is your task (a kind of volunteering effort) to edit the app (ATM icon) as "not working" to facilitate others.

This is done by visiting people, volunteers and bank staff. He is in need of volunteers in all cities.

People who have a requirement for cash will come repeatedly because the government has made this a necessity. What makes you think that people who come frequently aren't genuine?

During war time free speech is suspended, rest easy, this isn't war time, just legislated chaos. The media's job is not to push the government line, that would be propaganda, social media is doing a great job of that.

I am not a fan of the Singapore system. I'd rather have more freedom than prosperity. But even then, Singapore collects far less income tax (highest slab is 20%) and very less sales tax (7%). So it is easy to guess where all the taxes we pay are going.

I'd like a world where people take care of themselves. So I'd rather buy a gun than pay for an FIR. But then I am not an idealist either. If govt sticks to what they really supposed to do (law and order) and quit all wasteful spending, we would be taxed at very low rates, and people would more willingly pay taxes.

There was a news report (sting operation) where it was revealed that lots of daily-wages workers (don't want to generalize ... this was in a specific area in Delhi) are standing in bank queues as a full time job since last Wednesday. Two modes of operation:
1. Get 4000/4500 in old notes from someone and get them exchanged from bank. Get paid 300 Rs for exchanging 4500 Rs.
2. Stand in queue as a proxy for someone and as the counter comes close, make a call and then that someone stands in queue for last few minutes. Again get paid something like 300Rs from each 'customer'.

The 2nd mode is still OK, but the first one is a clear fraud.

The move to mark people with indelible ink has been announced to address this problem.

In which case, don't you think those who could afford bazookas will end up being "always right" in disputes with those who could afford only airguns?

And presumably in your world those physically incapable of operating a gun don't have a place, at all.

This is a continuous operation in most large white goods stores today in Chennai. They have a stream of people coming in continuously collecting cash (one at a time), getting it exchanged and picking up the next lot. Necessity breeds innovation and this model is in place almost from the 9th/10th of nov at most places... Just visit any brand store where you are seeing crowd and you will see this in action.

US of A allows guns, but one still needs 911 to take care of most things. Immigration can be an issue too.

There are some countries like that, but aren't civilised. Law and Order is nothing to talk about there. You can search on google to know which such countries suit your tastes.
Immigration in such countries should also not be a problem, as most people avoid it. Their own citizens abort ship.

You need to actually think about moving to a country you would like/prefer. From some of your previous posts, you absolutely detest Indian conditions.

I received an SMS from Citi stating payments against Credit Cards and Loans, over 50,000, will be accepted in cash only be accepted up to the credit limit and that all such deposits are subject to usual reporting.
They smartly added "over 50,000" there. And this can be interpreted in many ways.

Huh? Why are large white goods stores accepting old invalid currency?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a separate note, somebody who works in a bank told me this yesterday - the number of loans (auto and car loans mostly) that are getting pre-closed has increased noticeably since last few days. So looks like people are using others with a fairly small outstanding loan (let's say 1.5 Lakhs) to convert their black to white with a IOU understanding when the dust settles. Banks are also smart. They are allowing loan pre-closures with cash if the amount is small (in thousands). For large amounts, they are asking them to deposit in their account and then use that amount for closing the loan, so that there is a digital trail.