Electronic Accounting System in Excise and Service Tax (EASIEST)

In August 2004, a HPC was set up in the RBI for "setting up facilities for on-line transmission of Tax Payment Data from Banks to Central Excise Dept. under the Chairmanship of Shri J. N. Nigam (Member) CBEC. The terms of reference of the Committee included recommending: modalities for dematerialization of Challans, setting up and implementing a fully automated safe and secure system of receipt and transmission of information relating to tax payments, new business processes for operationalising the scheme, overall policy frame work for the industry etc. Members included Director General (Systems), CBEC, Principle Chief Controller of Accounts (CBEC), Controller General of Accounts, representatives from Corporate Sector, RBI and IBA.
At the first meeting of the HPC on 24th September 2005, it was decided that the project may be implemented in two phases viz. the first Excise and then Service Tax. It was decided to constitute 2 sub-committees: a Technical Sub-committee under Shri R. N. Ramanathan, DMD, SBI to work out the technical requirements of the project and a Sub-committee on Accounting Procedure chaired by Shri V. N. Kaila, Pr. CCA, CBEC to work out the accounting procedures for the project.
NSDL was identified as the intermediary for the transmission of Tax Information. In place of the quadruplicate, only a single copy of the challan would be submitted and the tear off portion containing the Challan Identification Number (CIN) would be handed over by the collecting bank branch to the assessee. The CIN number is the unique identifier for a challan. It consists of the Challan Number, Date of submission of Challan and the BSR code of the collecting branch. A combination of the three helps to identify the challan uniquely. The Technical Sub-committee worked out the file structures, the work flow etc. for the on-line transmission of tax-data based on the concept paper submitted by the CBEC.
The second HPC meeting was held at RBI on 5th November 2004. At the meeting, it was decided to start a Pilot at Chennai limiting the Pilot to Excise in the first phase. Thus, a pilot was started at Chennai from 17th January 2005 involving 5 branches of each of the 8 banks authorized to collect excise at Chennai. A single copy challan with a tearoff counterfoil called GR7 was introduced during the Chennai pilot.
On 1st June 2005, the Pilot was extended to all the 400 branches in and around Chennai, covering all the 4 commissionerates in Chennai.

EASIEST process Document.

Process to be followed at collecting branch

• Collecting branches to capture Challan details on the date of receipt of the challan irrespective of Cash or clearing cheques. This will ensure automatic capture of tender date by the system.
• Provision to be made for automatic capture of the following fields for every challan as a part of data entry:-
  1. BSR Code of Collecting Branch
  2. Challan tendered date
  3. Challan Sequence Number (CIN)
  4. BSR Code of Focal Point Branch.
  All these fields to be automatically captured by the system and should not be normally editable fields. In case of a need to edit any of these fields for some reason, it should be possible only on the basis of a supervisor authorization.
• Data entry software should identify the concerned Major Head from the Assessee code itself and the 8 digit reduced account codes needs to be selected from pop-up only. In case the Assessee code is not available or not validated, the software should provide option to select the Major Head and reduced account code through pull down menu only.
• System to provide the facility for data entry of Assessee Code. Once the Assessee Code is entered, the same will be validated against the Assessee Master provided by NSDL.
• Banks should periodically update the Assessee Master through the patches provided by NSDL.
• In case the Assessee Code is not available in the master, then software to prompt the user to Capture Name & Address of the Assessee. In addition, system to ensure capture of Location Code. If the complete Location Code is not available, bank should ensure capture of the first two digit (Commissionerate Code) correctly may be after confirming from the taxpayer and the other four digits can be filled as zeros. This will enable Commissionerate -wise scrolling of challans.
• If the Assessee Code is valid, then the Name and Address, Location Code etc are to be automatically be picked up from the Assessee Master and no editing of these fields should be allowed.
• All other mandatory fields are to be captured on the date of tender. In case mandatory details mentioned in challan are not captured, software to prompt User to capture same.
• Software should have Maker and checker feature for data entry. Software should generate Challan number (CIN) based on date of tender.
• At EOD, all realized payments to be compiled and date of realization for the same will be captured by the system automatically. For Cash transactions, cheque realization date to be the same as date of tender.
• Each challan will be given a running serial number based on its item number in the scroll. This number is to be allotted while scrolling the challans Commissionerate-wise and Major Head-wise for the day. The item number of the challan in the scroll will be number and to be captured in the new field BR_SCR_ITEM_SL. Physical challans needs to be arranged under the hard copy of the computer generated scroll in the seriatim of BR_SCR_ITEM_SL number.
• At EOD, the software to generate daily scrolls Commissionerate-wise and Major Head-wise. The scroll number and scroll date appears on the system generated scroll should be captured automatically in the electronic string also. This will help in having synchronization of electronic data and physical documents.
• Subsequently, file to be generated which can be transmitted to Focal Point Branch for further processing along with Physical scrolls & challans.

Process to be followed at Focal Point Branch (FPB)

• Software to provide only view facility to the FPB
• System to provide a facility to view scroll details and also underlying challans.
• On receipt of physical scrolls from the collecting branches, details of the scroll to be verified against the electronic data.
• In case of error, erroneous file to be reported back to the collecting branch and the file relating to that branch to be withheld.
• Remaining valid and verified files to be compiled and main scrolls are to be generated Commissionerate-wise and Major Head-wise.
• The Main Scroll number and scroll date appearing on the hard copy of the system generated scroll should be same in the electronic string also.
• Only the branch scrolls against which the physical challans have been reached the FPB and verified for its correctness against the corresponding electronic string to be consolidated to be uploaded to link cell and then to NSDL.
• Hard copy of the System generated Main scrolls together with the hard copy of receiving branch scrolls and underlying physical challans are to be sent to PAO.
• Hard copy of the receiving branch scrolls and underlying physical challans are to be arranged under the Hard copy of the Main scroll in seriatim as they appear on the Main scroll before sending the same to PAO.

On-Line Tax Accounting System(OLTAS)

The advisory Group on Tax Reforms under the Chairmanship of Dr. Vijay Kelkar had recommended networking of Income Tax Department, Banks and Reserve Bank of India to facilitate On-line Transmission of details regarding tax collection/refund, etc. between banks and offices of Income Tax Department and also RBI for settlement of funds.
To examine the various issues relating to implementation of the Kelkar Committee recommendations stated above, the RBI constituted a High Power Committee in February 2003, under the Chairmanship of Shri B. Swarup, Member (Inv.), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to recommend suitable measures in this regard. Chairman, IBA was a Member of this Committee.
The High Power Committee under the aegis of the RBI constituted a Sub-Group on Business Processess Designing for the OLTAS, under the Chairmanship of Shri C.B. Bhave, Managing Director, NSDL, Mumbai and Chief Executive, IBA as one of its members. The Group recommended that a Single Copy Challan should be adopted for payment of taxes as recommended by Kelkar Committee for simplifying the process for the tax payer. Accordingly, Single Copy Challan has been introduced in place of 4 Copy Challans from 1st June 2004.
The High Power Committee constituted a Technical Sub-Committee, chaired by Shri R.N. Ramanathan, Dy. Managing Director (IT), State Bank of India and with representatives from Income-tax Department (Systems), Controller of Accounts, CBDT, RBI and IBA, to address all issues for conducting pilot studies on On-Line Tax Accounting System (OLTAS). The Technical Sub-Committee held several meetings in the IBA and finalized the record structure and file format for the On-Line Transmission of tax information from the collecting banks to the TIN (Tax Information Network at NSDL) and the Income Tax Department. The Technical Committee also finalized the modalities for conducting pilot studies on OLTAS and three pilots were launched between June 2003 and April 2004:-

Phase I	Phase II	Phase III
Conducted from 9th June 2003 to 15th July 2003 involving selected branches of 15 Public Sector Banks in the 4 Metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata	Conducted from 1st Sep. to 15th Nov. 2003. During this phase, the no. of centres were increased to 8 viz. the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai and Cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.	Conducted from 1st Dec. 2003 to 31st May 2004. No. of participating banks increased from 15 to 19 incl.HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank and UTI Bank. From 1st Feb. 2004, the 12 remaining banks collecting IT also joined the Pilot, thus bringing the total no. tax collecting banks to 32 including RBI

Originally, the Pilot on OLTAS was confined only to the corporate tax payers, however, after 15th February 2004, the project covered both corporate and individual tax payers and finally, from 1st June 2004, the Pilot went All-India, covering all the authorized branches of the 32 participating banks all over the country. Several measures were taken to ensure smooth operations under the OLTAS. A crack team was setup in the IBA with members from CBDT, RBI, NSDL, SBI and banks for resolving problems immediately before and after the launch of the OLTAS project. A central technical help desk was setup at every bank to attend quickly to technical problems at the bank level. Additional arrangements for receipt of tax challans and help desks were setup at collecting branches to clarify the queries that may be raised by the assesses at the branch level during peak time. Declared under the Mission Mode, the OLTAS project is monitored at the highest levels.
Settlement of funds under OLTAS:

Originally, the OLTAS Project covered only the tax information data. The funds collected by the bank branches followed the manual mode and was reconciled with the paper scrolls sent to the ZAO. However, from 1st April 2005, the OLTAS Pilot Project was commercially rolled out and the settlement of funds was also migrated to on-line mode. Thus, from 1st April 2005, the banks had to reconcile funds collected on a day to day basis with the electronic data reported by banks to TIN.
With over 12000 branches reporting tax data, there were several issues related to quality of data being uploaded to TIN. For overseeing all such issues, the High Powered Committee has constituted a Monitoring Group under the Chairmanship of Member (Revenue), CBDT. The Committee meets regularly and addresses areas of concern. At its recent meeting held on 30th January 2006, the Group discussed the following issues among others:
a) Of the 12000 total number of branches collecting taxes, 60 were found not to be reporting to TIN. These were found to be mainly those that had nil collections over several months/ years and had applied for delisting.
b) While number of challans with missing PAN / TAN were negligible, the number of records with fictitious / non-existent PAN / TAN continued to be approximately 10%. For addressing this issue, various measures were discussed and agreed upon. These included introducing bar-coded pre-printed challans, verifying PAN / TAN entry against a regional database provided by the Income-Tax department, using the bulk query facility of the Income Tax department, etc. It was decided that in certain cases, the banks could also request for a copy of the PAN / TAN card from the tax payer.
c) Reconciliation of the funds settled with the RBI and the OLTAS data transmitted by banks on day-to-day basis. The difference for January 2006 was found to be only 2.46 crores while the total tax collection was Rs.7327.40 crores.
With concerted effort from the CBDT, RBI, the banks and the IBA, the On-line Tax Accounting for the Direct Taxes has become a reality. This project is one of its kind in the whole world.

Banking terms for interview

RBI – The Reserve Bank of India is the apex bank of the country, which was constituted under the RBI Act, 1934 to regulate the other banks, issue of bank notes and maintenance of reserves with a view to securing the monetary stability in India.

Demand Deposit – A Demand deposit is the one which can be withdrawn at any time, without any notice or penalty; e.g. money deposited in a checking account or savings account in a bank.

Time Deposit – Time deposit is a money deposit at a banking institution that cannot be withdrawn for a certain "term" or period of time. When the term is over it can be withdrawn or it can be held for another term. 

Fixed Deposits – FDs are the deposits that are repayable on fixed maturity date along with the principal and agreed interest rate for the period. Banks pay higher interest rates on FDs than the savings bank account.

Recurring Deposits – These are also called cumulative deposits and in recurring deposit accounts, a certain amounts of savings are required to be compulsorily deposited at specific intervals for a specified period.

Savings Account – Savings account is an account generally maintained by retail customers that deposit money (i.e. their savings) and can withdraw them whenever they need. Funds in these accounts are subjected to low rates of interest.

Current Accounts – These accounts are maintained by the corporate clients that may be operated any number of times in a day. There is a maintenance charge for the current accounts for which the holders enjoy facilities of easy handling, overdraft facility etc.

FCNR Accounts – Foreign Currency Non-Resident accounts are the ones that are maintained by the NRIs in foreign currencies like USD, DM, and GBP etc. The account is a term deposit with interest rates linked to the international rates of interest of the respective currencies.

NRE Accounts – Non-Resident External accounts are the ones in which NRIs remit money in any permitted foreign currency and the remittance is converted to Indian rupees for credit to NRE accounts. The accounts can be in the form of current, saving, FDs, recurring deposits. The interest rates and other terms of these accounts are as per the RBI directives.

Cheque Book - A small, bound booklet of cheques. A cheque is a piece of paper produced by your bank with your account number, sort-code and cheque number printed on it. The account number distinguishes your account from other accounts; the sort-code is your bank's special code which distinguishes it from any other bank.

Cheque Clearing - This is the process of getting the money from the cheque-writer's account into the cheque receiver's account.

Clearing Bank - This is a bank that can clear funds between banks. For general purposes, this is any institution which we know of as a bank or as a provider of banking services.

Bounced Cheque - when the bank has not enough funds in the relevant account or the account holder requests that the cheque is bounced (under exceptional circumstances) then the bank will return the cheque to the account holder. The beneficiary of the cheque will have not been paid. This normally incurs a fee from the bank.

Credit Rating - This is the rating which an individual (or company) gets from the credit industry. This is obtained by the individual's credit history, the details of which are available from specialist organisations like CRISIL in India.

Credit-Worthiness - This is the judgement of an organization which is assessing whether or not to take a particular individual on as a customer. An individual might be considered credit-worthy by one organisation but not by another. Much depends on whether an organization is involved with high risk customers or not.

Interest - The amount paid or charged on money over time. If you borrow money interest will be charged on the loan. If you invest money, interest will be paid (where appropriate to the investment).

Overdraft - This is when a person has a minus figure in their account. It can be authorized (agreed to in advance or retrospect) or unauthorized (where the bank has not agreed to the overdraft either because the account holder represents too great a risk to lend to in this way or because the account holder has not asked for an overdraft facility).

Payee - The person who receives a payment. This often applies to cheques. If you receive a cheque you are the payee and the person or company who wrote the cheque is the payer.

Payer - The person who makes a payment. This often applies to cheques. If you write a cheque you are the payer and the recipient of the cheque is the payee.

Security for Loans - Where large loans are required the lending institution often needs to have a guarantee that the loan will be paid back. This takes the form of a large item of capital outlay (typically a house) which is owned or partly owned and the amount owned is at least equivalent to the loan required.

Internet Banking - Online banking (or Internet banking) allows customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by the bank.

Credit Card - A credit card is one of the systems of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services.

Debit Card – Debit card allows for direct withdrawal of funds from customers bank accounts. The spending limit is determined by the available balance in the account.

Loan - A loan is a type of debt.  In a loan, the borrower initially receives or borrows an amount of money, called the principal, from the lender, and is obligated to pay back or repay an equal amount of money to the lender at a later time. There are different kinds of loan such as the house loan, auto loan etc.

Bank Rate - This is the rate at which central bank (RBI) lends money to other banks or financial institutions.   If the bank rate goes up, long-term interest rates also tend to move up, and vice-versa.

CRR - CRR means Cash Reserve Ratio.  Banks in India are required to hold a certain proportion of their deposits in the form of cash with Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This minimum ratio is stipulated by the RBI and is known as the CRR or Cash Reserve Ratio.  Thus, When a bank’s deposits increase by Rs100, and if the cash reserve ratio is 9%, the banks will have to hold additional Rs 9 with RBI and Bank will be able to use only Rs 91 for investments and lending / credit purpose. Therefore, higher the ratio (i.e. CRR), the lower is the amount that banks will be able to use for lending and investment.  This power of RBI to reduce the lendable amount by increasing the CRR makes it an instrument in the hands of a central bank through which it can control the amount that banks lend.  Thus, it is a tool used by RBI to control liquidity in the banking system.

SLR - SLR stands for Statutory Liquidity Ratio. This term is used by bankers and indicates the minimum percentage of deposits that the bank has to maintain in form of gold, cash or other approved securities.  Thus, we can say that it is ratio of cash and some other approved to liabilities (deposits). It regulates the credit growth in India. 

ATM - An automated teller machine (ATM) is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients with access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a cashier, human clerk or bank teller. On most modern ATMs, the customer is identified by inserting a plastic ATM card with a magnetic stripe or a plastic smart card with a chip, that contains a unique card number and some security information such as an expiration date or CVV. Authentication is provided by the customer entering a personal identification number (PIN)

STOCK EXCHANGE, COMMODITY EXCHANGE RELATED TERMS

   Arbitration :-

        Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism provided by a stock exchange for resolving disputes between the trading members and their clients in respect of trades done on the exchange.

            Barcode Labelling :-

         A Barcode is a printed code that consists of a series of vertical bars, which vary in thickness. Barcodes are capable of being ‘read’ and decoded by barcode scanners. They are used in various industries as application tools. They are used to identify retail sales items, identification cards, library books and other products. They are also utilised to manage work in progress, to track documents and for many other automated identification applications.

            Basis Point (bps) :-

        One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

            Book Building :-

         A process used to ascertain and record the indicative subscription bids of interested investors to a planned issue of securities. The advantages of this technique of obtaining advance feedback, are that it results in optimal pricing and removes uncertainty regarding mobilisation of funds.

            Book Value :-

        Book value is the net worth that comprises of equity capital plus reserves and surplus minus accumulated losses divided by the number of shares outstanding as rendered in the latest annual report of a company. The book value of an equity share tends to increase as the ratio of reserves and surplus to the paid-up equity capital increases.

     Calendar Spread :-

       This is done between futures contracts. The investor buys the near month contract (ex. October gold) when prices rise or sell the positions in the near months and purchase the forward months contracts. This trading is popular in gold, soya, silver, crude, chana, urad, jeera and chilli.

            CDs :-

         A Certificate of Deposit (CD) is a negotiable promissory note issued by the banks and the Financial Institutions (FIs) with a maturity date of upto a year. It is secure in nature and issued at a discount to the face value (the redemption to investors takes place at the face value).  

            Collateralised Borrowings Lending Obligation (CBLO) :-

        Collateralised Borrowings Lending Obligation (CBLO) is a money market instrument for borrowing against the securities, held in custody by the Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL) for the amount lent.

            Commodity Exchange :-

        Like stock exchanges in capital markets, a commodity exchange is an association or a company or any other body corporate that is organising futures trading in commodities. The new generation National-level exchanges have been set up in a corporatised/demutualised environment. There are three nationally recognised commodity exchanges in India and 22 regional exchanges. The National exchanges are Multi Commodities Exchange of India (MCX) in Mumbai, National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange of India (NCDEX) and National Multi Commodities Exchange (NMCE).       

           Commodity:

        A commodity is a product having commercial value that can be produced, bought, sold and consumed. It is normally in a basic raw unprocessed state. But products derived from primary sector and structured products are also traded at these exchanges. In India, the list includes previous metals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, spices, pulses, plantation crops, sugar and other soft commodities.

 

            Trading done in the Commodity Exchanges:

        Like the stock market online trading system, commodity exchanges are also typically on the online trading system. It is an order-driven, transparent trading platform, which is reachable to the various participants through the Internet, VSAT and leased line modes operated by members or sub-brokers spread around country.

            Demutualisation :-

      It essentially means segregating the trading rights to member brokers from the ownership and management of the exchanges. It aims at curbing the clout of member-brokers in running the exchanges.

            Due Diligence :-

      An internal audit of a target firm by an acquiring firm. Offers are often made contingent upon resolution of the due dilengence process.

            Exchange Rate :-

        Just as the price of any asset, the exchange rates is the price at which you can buy that currency. If at any given rate, the demand for a currency is greater (lesser) than its supply, its price will r
ise (fall).

            What makes currency rates move ?

       The exchange rate reflects the strength of an economy in terms of its growth performance, balance of payments etc. as well as economic expectations that drive the ‘market sentiment’ and how much the market has reacted or ‘discounted’ the anticipated information.

            Are exchange rates entirely market-determined ?

        Under the current managed float regime, most currencies, including India, let their rates fluctuate according to market forces. But if a currency appears to be ‘overvalued’ or ‘undervalued’ by the market or if rate movements are significantly adversely affecting an economy’s macroeconomic performance, then Central banks intervene to depreciate (or appreciate) their currency. Exchange rates also move on expectations of change in regulations relating to exchange markets and official intervention. In India, the Reserve Bank’s basic philosophy is a flexible one, without any particular ‘target’ for the rupee’s rate. With a broad objective to avoid excessive volatility, facilitate growth of Indian exports and generate confidence among overseas investors.

                    Futures contract :-

      Futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a specified quantity and defined quality of a commodity at a certain time in future at a price agreed upon at the time of entering into the contract. This is typically traded at regulated commodity exchanges. 

            Futures and options :-

       A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an underlying asset at a certain time in the future at a certain price. It has a standardised date and month of delivery, quantity and price.

   An option gives the buyer the right but not the obligation to buy the underlying asset. A futures contract on the other hand is obligatory on both the buyer and the seller is a transaction between the buyer and seller to buy or sell an asset at an agreed price at a future date. This is a common feature of options trading in shares, stocks and commodities.

            Geographic Information Systems (GIS) :-

       The GIS are computer systems used to store and process geographic data. The GIS scores over other data management systems in its ability to present spatial relationships in a digital map form that is easy to visualise and understand. Data is the central resource of a GIS system. The GIS systems process two kinds of data-spatial and attribute. Spatial data gives the geographic location of a point of interest (e.g. railway station, school, bank branch, the ATM etc). Attribute data contains other characteristics of that point of interest.

 

            Hot Money :-

    Money that moves across country borders in response to interest rate differences and that moves away when the interest rate differential disappears.

            Independent Director :-

          An independent Director is a non-executive Director on the board of a company who has integrity, expertise and independence to balance the interests of the various stakeholders. The idea of having them is to bring objectivity to the board decisions and to protect general interests of the company, including that of the minority and the small shareholders. The independent Directors are expected to improve the corporate governance in a company.

            Who cannot be an independent Director in a listed company ?

        According to the SEBI, having a ‘pecuniary’ relationship with the company or its arms, other than receiving the Director’s remuneration, is a disqualification. The independent Director must not be related to the promoters or anyone in the senior management position from one level below the board. He should not have been an executive of the company or of its audit, consulting or legal firms in the past three financial years.

            Which listed entities are outside the scope of the revised Clause 49 ?

         The Clause will apply to the listed entities which are not companies but body corporates such as the private and the PSU banks, the Financial Institutions (FIs) and the insurance companies, only to the extent that it does not violate the laws governing them. Revised Clause 49 does not apply to mutual funds.

           

            Inter-exchange arbitrage :-

        This is popular among liquid commodities like gold and silver, where the arbitrage can take place between the Indian exchanges and the foreign exchanges, where contract specifications are similar.

            Interest Rate Swaps (IRS) :-

        Interest Rate Swaps (IRS) are Over-The-Counter (OTC) products that involve an exchange of cash flows between the two counter parties at pre-determined specifications wherein the fixed rate interest payments are exchanged for floating rate payments.

            Islamic Banking :-

        It is banking practiced as per the Islamic principles as prescribed in the ‘shariah’ known as ‘Fiqh al-Muamalat’ (Islamic rules on transaction). The Islamic law prohibits interest on both the loans and the deposits. Interest is also called ‘riba’ in Islamic discourse. The argument against interest is that money is not good and profit should be earned on goods and services only and not on control of money itself.

            What are the different products offered ?

        Investment finance is offered by these banks through ‘Musharka’, where a bank participates as a Joint Venture (JV) partner in a project and shares the profits and losses. Investment finance is also offered through ‘Mudabha’, where the banks contribute the finance and the client provides the expertise, management and labour and the profits are shared in a pre-arranged proportion, while the loss is borne by the bank.

            Where is it practised ?

        Islamic banks have come into being since the early 70s. There are nearly 30 Islamic banks all over the world, from Africa, Europe to Asia and Australia and are regulated even within the conventional banking system.

            Kaizen :-

        Kaizen comes from two words : Kai, which means ‘to change’ and zen, which means ‘good or for the better’. Together, the words mean continuous change for the better. It is not just a philosophy of the workplace, it also means continuously improving in every facet of life, including business, industry, commerce Government and diplomacy, among others. In full implementation, it becomes the foundation of all activities. Kaizen requires everyone in the organisation to be involved in the improvement process executives, management, supervisors and workers.

            Letter of Offer :-

         A Letter of Offer is a document addressed to the shareholders of the target company containing disclosures of the acquirer/Persons Acting in Concert (PACs), target company, their financials, justification of the offer price, the offer price, number of shares to be acquired from the public, purpose of acquisition, future plans of acquirer, if any, regarding the target company, change in control over the target company, if any, the procedure to be followed by acquirer in accepting the shares tendered by the shareholders and the period within which all the formalities pertaining to the offer will be completed. 

           

            Merchant Banker :-

        An intermediary who provides various financial services, other than lending money, such as managing public issues, underwriting new issues, arranging loan syndications and giving advice on portfolio management, financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions.

            Mid-cap stock :-

         The name 'mid-cap' originates from the term medium capitalised. It is based on the market capitalisation of the stock. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) defines the mid-cap as stocks whose average six months' market capitalisation is between Rs.75 crore and Rs.750 crore. In the US, the midcap shares are those stocks that have a market capitalisation ranging from Rs.9,000 crore to Rs.45,000 crore. In India, these shares are classified as large-cap shares.

            MIFOR :-

       MIFOR is an interest rate derivative, which is calculated by adding dollar London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rates with the rupee-dollar forward premia. The MIFOR rate is hence, the borrowing cost from overseas. It is utilised to hedge against the movement of global interest rates. LIBOR is the term money benchmark for the Euro-dollar market.

            Net worth :-

       Net worth is the difference between the total assets and total liabilities.

            Participatory Notes (PNs) :-

       Participatory Notes (PNs) are a derivative instrument issued by the FIIs to their overseas clients, who are not registered with the Indian regulators.

            Plea Bargaining :-

         Plea Bargaining is the import of principles of contract into criminal law.

 

            Penny Stocks :-

        Penny stocks is a term used to define cheaply available stocks of typically loss-making companies. Penny stock is used in the context of general equities. The stocks that typically sell for less than $1 share, although it may rise to as much as $10/share after the Initial Public Offering (IPO), usually because of heavy promotion.

            Podcasting :-

          A term based on the name of Apple’s portable media player, allows customers to download audio and now video segments for free, to their computers and portable devices.

            Profit Booking :-

        Selling shares when their prices have risen above their purchase price.

            Profit taking :-

        Selling commodities, securities etc. at a profit, either after a market rise or because they show a profit at current levels but will not do so if an expected fall in prices occurs.

           

            Settlement :-

         Settlement refers to the import of principles of contract into civil or administrative law.

            The Cash and Carry Arbitrage :-

        This is the easiest form of arbitrage, where the investor has to buy the commodity in the spot market and sell it in the futures market. This is largely successful in gold and silver and is also popular among various agricultural commodities.

            The Price Earning ratio (P/E ratio) :-

         The P/E ratio is the ratio between the Market Price of the Share (MPS) and the Earning Per Share (EPS). This ratio tells us how many times the market price of the shares is vis-à-vis its earning per share.

BANKING & FINANCIAL TERMS

• Accrued interest: Interest due from issue date or from the last coupon payment date to the settlement date. Accrued interest on bonds must be added to their purchase price.
• Arbitrage: Buying a financial instrument in one market in order to sell the same instrument at a higher price in another market.
• Ask Price: The lowest price at which a dealer is willing to sell a given security.
• Asset-Backed Securities (ABS): A type of security that is backed by a pool of bank loans, leases, and other assets. Most ABS are backed by auto loans and credit cards – these issues are very similar to mortgage-backed securities.
• At-the-money: The exercise price of a derivative that is closest to the market price of the underlying instrument.
• Basis Point: One hundredth of 1%. A measure normally used in the statement of interest rate e.g., a change from 5.75% to 5.81% is a change of 6 basis points.
• Bear Markets: Unfavorable markets associated with falling prices and investor pessimism.
• Bid-ask Spread: The difference between a dealer’s bid and ask price.
• Bid Price: The highest price offered by a dealer to purchase a given security.
• Blue Chips: Blue chips are unsurpassed in quality and have a long and stable record of earnings and dividends. They are issued by large and well-established firms that have impeccable financial credentials.
• Bond: Publicly traded long-term debt securities, issued by corporations and governments, whereby the issuer agrees to pay a fixed amount of interest over a specified period of time and to repay a fixed amount of principal at maturity.
• Book Value: The amount of stockholders’ equity in a firm equals the amount of the firm’s assets minus the firm’s liabilities and preferred stock. /p>
• Broker: Individuals licensed by stock exchanges to enable investors to buy and sell securities.
• Brokerage Fee: The commission charged by a broker.
• Bull Markets: Favorable markets associated with rising prices and investor optimism.
• Call Option: The right to buy the underlying securities at a specified exercise price on or before a specified expiration date.
• Callable Bonds: Bonds that give the issuer the right to redeem the bonds before their stated maturity.
• Capital Gain: The amount by which the proceeds from the sale of a capital asset exceed its original purchase price.
• Capital Markets: The market in which long-term securities such as stocks and bonds are bought and sold.
• Certificate of Deposits (CDs): Savings instrument in which funds must remain on deposit for a specified period, and premature withdrawals incur interest penalties.
• Closed-end (Mutual) Fund: A fund with a fixed number of shares issued, and all trading is done between investors in the open market. The share prices are determined by market prices instead of their net asset value.
• Collateral: A specific asset pledged against possible default on a bond. Mortgage bonds are backed by claims on property. Collateral trusts bonds are backed by claims on other securities. Equipment obligation bonds are backed by claims on equipment.
• Commercial Paper: Short-term and unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations with very high credit standings.
• Common Stock: Equity investment representing ownership in a corporation; each share represents a fractional ownership interest in the firm.
• Compound Interest: Interest paid not only on the initial deposit but also on any interest accumulated from one period to the next.
• Contract Note: A note which must accompany every security transaction which contains information such as the dealer’s name (whether he is acting as principal or agent) and the date of contract.
• Controlling Shareholder: Any person who is, or group of persons who together are, entitled to exercise or control the exercise of a certain amount of shares in a company at a level (which differs by jurisdiction) that triggers a mandatory general offer, or more of the voting power at general meetings of the issuer, or who is or are in a position to control the composition of a majority of the board of directors of the issuer.
• Convertible Bond: A bond with an option, allowing the bondholder to exchange the bond for a specified number of shares of common stock in the firm. A conversion price is the specified value of the shares for which the bond may be exchanged. The conversion premium is the excess of the bond’s value over the conversion price.
• Corporate Bond: Long-term debt issued by private corporations.
• Coupon: The feature on a bond that defines the amount of annual interest income.
• Coupon Frequency: The number of coupon payments per year.
• Coupon Rate: The annual rate of interest on the bond’s face value that a bond’s issuer promises to pay the bondholder. It is the bond’s interest payment per dollar of par value.
• Covered Warrants: Derivative call warrants on shares which have been separately deposited by the issuer so that they are available for delivery upon exercise.
• Credit Rating: An assessment of the likelihood of an individual or business being able to meet its financial obligations. Credit ratings are provided by credit agencies or rating agencies to verify the financial strength of the issuer for investors.
• Currency Board: A monetary system in which the monetary base is fully backed by foreign reserves. Any changes in the size of the monetary base has to be fully matched by corresponding changes in the foreign reserves.
• Current Yield: A return measure that indicates the amount of current income a bond provides relative to its market price. It is shown as: Coupon Rate divided by Price multiplied by 100%.
• Custody of Securities: Registration of securities in the name of the person to whom a bank is accountable, or in the name of the bank’s nominee; plus deposition of securities in a designated account with the bank’s bankers or with any other institution providing custodial services.
• Default Risk: The possibility that a bond issuer will default ie, fail to repay principal and interest in a timely manner.
• Derivative Call (Put) Warrants: Warrants issued by a third party which grant the holder the right to buy (sell) the shares of a listed company at a specified price.
• Derivative Instrument: Financial instrument whose value depends on the value of another asset.
• Discount Bond: A bond selling below par, as interest in-lieu to the bondholders.
• Diversification: The inclusion of a number of different investment vehicles in a portfolio in order to increase returns or be exposed to less risk.
• Duration: A measure of bond price volatility, it captures both price and reinvestment risks to indicate how a bond will react to different interest rate environments.
• Earnings: The total profits of a company after taxation and interest.
• Earnings per Share (EPS): The amount of annual earnings available to common stockholders as stated on a per share basis.
• Earnings Yield: The ratio of earnings to price (E/P). The reciprocal is price earnings ratio (P/E).
• Equity: Ownership of the company in the form of shares of common stock.
• Equity Call Warrants: Warrants issued by a company which give the holder the right to acquire new shares in that company at a specified price and for a specified period of time.
• Ex-dividend (XD): A security which no longer carries the right to the most recently declared dividend or the period of time between the announcement of the dividend and the payment (usually two days before the record date). For transactions during the ex-dividend period, the seller will receive the dividend, not the buyer. Ex-dividend status is usually indicated in newspapers with an (x) next to the stock’s or unit trust’s name.
• Face Value/ Nominal Value: The value of a financial instrument as stated on the instrument. Interest is calculated on face/nominal value.
• Fixed-income Securities: Investment vehicles that offer a fixed periodic return.
• Fixed Rate Bonds: Bonds bearing fixed interest payments until maturity date.
• Floating Rate Bonds: Bonds bearing interest payments that are tied to current interest rates.
• Fundamental Analysis: Research to predict stock value that focuses on such determinants as earnings and dividends prospects, expectations for future interest rates and risk evaluation of the firm.
• Future Value: The amount to which a current deposit will grow over a period of time when it is placed in an account paying compound interest.
• Future Value of an Annuity: The amount to which a stream of equal cash flows that occur in equal intervals will grow over a period of time when it is placed in an account paying compound interest.
• Futures Contract: A commitment to deliver a certain amount of some specified item at some specified date in the future.
• Hedge: A combination of two or more securities into a single investment position for the purpose of reducing or eliminating risk.
• Income: The amount of money an individual receives in a particular time period.
• Index Fund: A mutual fund that holds shares in proportion to their representation in a market index, such as the S&P 500.
• Initial Public Offering (IPO): An event where a company sells its shares to the public for the first time. The company can be referred to as an IPO for a period of time after the event.
• Inside Information: Non-public knowledge about a company possessed by its officers, major owners, or other individuals with privileged access to information.
• Insider Trading: The illegal use of non-public information about a company to make profitable securities transactions
• Intrinsic Value: The difference of the exercise price over the market price of the underlying asset.
• Investment: A vehicle for funds expected to increase its value and/or generate positive returns.
• Investment Adviser: A person who carries on a business which provides investment advice with respect to securities and is registered with the relevant regulator as an investment adviser.
• IPO price: The price of share set before being traded on the stock exchange. Once the company has gone Initial Public Offering, the stock price is determined by supply and demand.
• Junk Bond: High-risk securities that have received low ratings (i.e. Standard & Poor’s BBB rating or below; or Moody’s BBB rating or below) and as such, produce high yields, so long as they do not go into default.
• Leverage Ratio: Financial ratios that measure the amount of debt being used to support operations and the ability of the firm to service its debt.
• Libor: The London Interbank Offered Rate (or LIBOR) is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the London wholesale money market (or interbank market). The LIBOR rate is published daily by the British Banker’s Association and will be slightly higher than the London Interbank Bid Rate (LIBID), the rate at which banks are prepared to accept deposits.
• Limit Order: An order to buy (sell) securities which specifies the highest (lowest) price at which the order is to be transacted.
• Limited Company: The passive investors in a partnership, who supply most of the capital and have liability limited to the amount of their capital contributions.
• Liquidity: The ability to convert an investment into cash quickly and with little or no loss in value.
• Listing: Quotation of the Initial Public Offering company’s shares on the stock exchange for public trading.
• Listing Date: The date on which Initial Public Offering stocks are first traded on the stock exchange by the public
• Margin Call: A notice to a client that it must provide money to satisfy a minimum margin requirement set by an Exchange or by a bank / broking firm.
• Market Capitalization: The product of the number of the company’s outstanding ordinary shares and the market price of each share.
• Market Maker: A dealer who maintains an inventory in one or more stocks and undertakes to make continuous two-sided quotes.
• Market Order: An order to buy or an order to sell securities which is to be executed at the prevailing market price.
• Money Market: Market in which short-term securities are bought and sold.
• Mutual Fund: A company that invests in and professionally manages a diversified portfolio of securities and sells shares of the portfolio to investors.
• Net Asset Value: The underlying value of a share of stock in a particular mutual fund; also used with preferred stock.
• Offer for Sale: An offer to the public by, or on behalf of, the holders of securities already in issue.
• Offer for Subscription: The offer of new securities to the public by the issuer or by someone on behalf of the issuer.
• Open-end (Mutual) Fund: There is no limit to the number of shares the fund can issue. The fund issues new shares of stock and fills the purchase order with those new shares. Investors buy their shares from, and sell them back to, the mutual fund itself. The share prices are determined by their net asset value.
• Open Offer: An offer to current holders of securities to subscribe for securities whether or not in proportion to their existing holdings.
• Option: A security that gives the holder the right to buy or sell a certain amount of an underlying financial asset at a specified price for a specified period of time.
• Oversubscribed: When an Initial Public Offering has more applications than actual shares available. Investors will often apply for more shares than required in anticipation of only receiving a fraction of the requested number. Investors and underwriters will often look to see if an IPO is oversubscribed as an indication of the public’s perception of the business potential of the IPO company.
• Par Bond: A bond selling at par (i.e. at its face value).
• Par Value: The face value of a security.
• Perpetual Bonds: Bonds which have no maturity date.
• Placing: Obtaining subscriptions for, or the sale of, primary market, where the new securities of issuing companies are initially sold.
• Portfolio: A collection of investment vehicles assembled to meet one or more investment goals.
• Preference Shares: A corporate security that pays a fixed dividend each period. It is senior to ordinary shares but junior to bonds in its claims on corporate income and assets in case of bankruptcy.
• Premium (Warrants): The difference of the market price of a warrant over its intrinsic value.
• Premium Bond: Bond selling above par.
• Present Value: The amount to which a future deposit will discount back to present when it is depreciated in an account paying compound interest.
• Present Value of an Annuity: The amount to which a stream of equal cash flows that occur in equal intervals will discount back to present when it is depreciated in an account paying compound interest.
• Price/Earnings Ratio (P/E): The measure to determine how the market is pricing the company’s common stock. The price/earnings (P/E) ratio relates the company’s earnings per share (EPS) to the market price of its stock.
• Privatization: The sale of government-owned equity in nationalized industry or other commercial enterprises to private investors.
• Prospectus: A detailed report published by the Initial Public Offering company, which includes all terms and conditions, application procedures, IPO prices etc, for the IPO
• Put Option: The right to sell the underlying securities at a specified exercise price on of before a specified expiration date.
• Rate of Return: A percentage showing the amount of investment gain or loss against the initial investment.
• Real Interest Rate: The net interest rate over the inflation rate. The growth rate of purchasing power derived from an investment.
• Redemption Value: The value of a bond when redeemed.
• Reinvestment Value: The rate at which an investor assumes interest payments made on a bond which can be reinvested over the life of that security.
• Relative Strength Index (RSI): A stock’s price that changes over a period of time relative to that of a market index such as the Standard & Poor’s 500, usually measured on a scale from 1 to 100, 1 being the worst and 100 being the best.
• Repurchase Agreement: An arrangement in which a security is sold and later bought back at an agreed price and time.
• Resistance Level: A price at which sellers consistently outnumber buyers, preventing further price rises.
• Return: Amount of investment gain or loss.
• Rights Issue: An offer by way of rights to current holders of securities that allows them to subscribe for securities in proportion to their existing holdings.
• Risk-Averse, Risk-Neutral, Risk-Taking:
  Risk-averse describes an investor who requires greater return in exchange for greater risk.
  Risk-neutral describes an investor who does not require greater return in exchange for greater risk.
  Risk-taking describes an investor who will accept a lower return in exchange for greater risk.
• Senior Bond: A bond that has priority over other bonds in claiming assets and dividends.
• Short Hedge: A transaction that protects the value of an asset held by taking a short position in a futures contract.
• Settlement: Conclusion of a securities transaction when a customer pays a broker/dealer for securities purchased or delivered, securities sold, and receives from the broker the proceeds of a sale.
• Short Position: Investors sell securities in the hope that they will decrease in value and can be bought at a later date for profit.
• Short Selling: The sale of borrowed securities, their eventual repurchase by the short seller at a lower price and their return to the lender.
• Speculation: The process of buying investment vehicles in which the future value and level of expected earnings are highly uncertain.
• Stock Splits: Wholesale changes in the number of shares. For example, a two for one split doubles the number of shares but does not change the share capital.
• Subordinated Bond: An issue that ranks after secured debt, debenture, and other bonds, and after some general creditors in its claim on assets and earnings. Owners of this kind of bond stand last in line among creditors, but before equity holders, when an issuer fails financially.
• Substantial Shareholder: A person acquires an interest in relevant share capital equal to, or exceeding, 10% of the share capital.
• Support Level: A price at which buyers consistently outnumber sellers, preventing further price falls.
• Technical Analysis: A method of evaluating securities by relying on the assumption that market data, such as charts of price, volume, and open interest, can help predict future (usually short-term) market trends. Contrasted with fundamental analysis which involves the study of financial accounts and other information about the company. (It is an attempt to predict movements in security prices from their trading volume history.)
• Time Horizon: The duration of time an investment is intended for.
• Trading Rules: Stipulation of parameters for opening and intra-day quotations, permissible spreads according to the prices of securities available for trading and board lot sizes for each security.
• Trust Deed: A formal document that creates a trust. It states the purpose and terms of the name of the trustees and beneficiaries.
• Underlying Security: The security subject to being purchased or sold upon exercise of the option contract.
• Valuation: Process by which an investor determines the worth of a security using risk and return concept.
• Warrant: An option for a longer period of time giving the buyer the right to buy a number of shares of common stock in company at a specified price for a specified period of time.
• Window Dressing: Financial adjustments made solely for the purpose of accounting presentation, normally at the time of auditing of company accounts.
• Yield (Internal rate of Return): The compound annual rate of return earned by an investment
• Yield to Maturity: The rate of return yield by a bond held to maturity when both compound interest payments and the investor’s capital gain or loss on the security are taken into account.
• Zero Coupon Bond: A bond with no coupon that is sold at a deep discount from par value.

BANKING TERMINOLOGY

Anytime Banking : With introduction of ATMs, Tele-Banking and internet banking, customers can conduct their business anytime of the day and night. The 'Banking Hours' is not a constraint for transacting banking business.

Anywhere Banking : Refers to banking not only by ATMs, Tele-Banking and internet banking, but also to core banking solutions brought in by banks where customer can deposit his money, cheques and also withdraw money from any branch connected with the system. All major banks in India have brought in core banking in their operations to make banking truly anywhere banking.

ATM : ATMs are Automatic Teller Machines, which do the job of a teller in a bank through Computer Network. ATMs are located on the branch premises or off branch premises. ATMs are useful to dispense cash, receive cash, accept cheques, give balances in the accounts and also give mini-statements to the customers.

Bank Ombudsman : Bank Ombudsman is the authority to look into complaints against Banks in the main areas of collection of cheque / bills, issue of demand drafts, non-adherence to prescribed hours of working, failure to honour guarantee / letter of credit commitments, operations in deposit accounts and also in the areas of loans and advances where banks flout directions / instructions of RBI. This Scheme was announced in 1995 and is functioning with new guidelines from 2007. This scheme covers all scheduled banks, the RRBs and co-operative banks.

Bancassurance : Bancassurance refers to the distribution of insurance products and the insurance policies of insurance companies which may be life policies or non-life policies like home insurance - car insurance, medi-policies and others, by banks as corporate agents through their branches located in different parts of the country by charging a fee.

Banker's Lien : Bankers lien is a special right of lien exercised by the bankers, who can retain goods bailed to them as a security for general balance of account. Bankers can have this right in the absence of a contract to the contrary.

Banking : Accepting for the purpose of lending or investment of deposits of money from Public, Repayable on demand or otherwise and withdrawable by cheques, drafts, order, etc.

Basel-II : The Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices, popularity known as Basel Committee, submitted its revised version of norms in June, 2004. Under the revised accord the capital requirement is to be calculated for credit, market and operational risks. The minimum requirement continues to be 8% of capital fund (Tier I & II Capital) Tier II shall continue to be not more than 100% of Tier I Capital.

Brick & Mortar Banking : Brick and Mortar Banking refers to traditional system of banking done only in a fixed branch premises made of brick and mortar. Now there are banking channels like ATM, Internet Banking,tele banking etc.

Business of Banking : Accepting deposits, borrowing money, lending money, investing, dealing in bills, dealing in Foreign Exchange, Hiring Lockers, Opening Safe Custody Accounts, Issuing Letters of Credit, Traveller's Cheques, doing Mutual Fund business, Insurance Business, acting as Trustee or doing any other business which Central Government may notify in the official Gazette.

Bouncing of a cheque : Where an account does not have sufficient balance to honour the cheque issued by the customer , the cheque is returned by the bank with the reason "funds insufficient" or "Exceeds arrangement".This is known as 'Bouncing of a cheque' .

Certificate of Deposit :. Certificate of Deposits are negotiable receipts in bearer form which can be freely traded among investors. This is also a money market instrument,issued for a period ranging from 7 days to f one year .The minimum deposit amount is Rs. 1 lakh and they are transferable by endorsement and delivery.

Cheque : Cheque is a Bill of Exchange drawn on a specified banker ordering the banker to pay a certain sum of money to the drawer of cheque or another person. Money is generally withdrawn by clients by cheques. Cheque is always payable on demand.

Cheque Truncation : Cheque truncation, truncates or stops the flow of cheques through the banking system. Generally truncation takes place at the collecting branch, which sends the electronic image of the cheques to the paying branch through the clearing house and stores the paper cheques with it.

Collecting Banker : Also called receiving banker, who collects on instruments like a cheque, draft or bill of exchange, lodged with himself for the credit of his customer's account.

Consumer Protection Act : It is implemented from 1987 to enforce consumer rights through a simple legal procedure. Banks also are covered under the Act. A consumer can file complaint for deficiency of service with Consumer District Forum for amounts upto Rs.20 Lacs in District Court, and for amounts above Rs.20 Lacs to Rs.1 Crore in State Commission and for amounts above Rs.1 Crore in National Commission.

Co-operative Bank : An association of persons who collectively own and operate a bank for the benefit of consumers / customers, like Saraswat Co-operative Bank or Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank and other such banks.

Co-operative Society : When an association of persons collectively own and operate a unit for the benefit of those using its services like Apna Bazar Co-operative Society or Sahakar Bhandar or a Co-operative Housing Society.

Core Banking Solutions (CBS) : Core Banking Solutions is a buzz word in Indian banking at present, where branches of the bank are connected to a central host and the customers of connected branches can do banking at any breach with core banking facility.

Creditworthiness : It is the capacity of a borrower to repay the loan / advance in time alongwith interest as per agreed terms.

Crossing of Cheques : Crossing refers to drawing two parallel lines across the face of the cheque.A crossed cheque cannot be paid in cash across the counter, and is to be paid through a bank either by transfer, collection or clearing.A general crossing means that cheque can be paid through any bank and a special crossing, where the name of a bank is indicated on the cheque, can be paid only through the named bank.

Current Account : Current account with a bank can be opened generally for business purpose. There are no restrictions on withdrawals in this type of account. No interest is paid in this type of account.

Customer : A person who maintains any type of account with a bank is a bank customer. Consumer Protection Act has a wider definition for consumer as the one who purchases any service for a fee like purchasing a demand draft or a pay order. The term customer is defined differently by Laws, softwares and countries.

Debit Card : A plastic card issued by banks to customers to withdraw money electronically from their accounts. When you purchase things on the basis of Debit Card the amount due is debited immediately to the account . Many banks issue Debit-Cum-ATM Cards.

Debtor : A person who takes some money on loan from another person.

Demand Deposits : Deposits which are withdrawn on demand by customers.E.g. savings bank and current account deposits.

Demat Account : Demat Account concept has revolutionized the capital market of India. When a depository company takes paper shares from an investor and converts them in electronic form through the concerned company, it is called Dematerialization of Shares. These converted Share Certificates in Electronic form are kept in a Demat Account by the Depository Company, like a bank keeps money in a deposit account. Investor can withdraw the shares or purchase more shares through this demat Account.

Dishonour of Cheque : Non-payment of a cheque by the paying banker with a return memo giving reasons for the non-payment.

Debit Card : A plastic card issued by banks to customers to withdraw money electronically from their accounts. When you purchase things on the basis of Debit Card the amount due is debited immediately to the account . Many banks issue Debit-Cum-ATM Cards.

Debtor : A person who takes some money on loan from another person.

Demand Deposits : Deposits which are withdrawn on demand by customers.E.g. savings bank and current account deposits.

Demat Account : Demat Account concept has revolutionized the capital market of India. When a depository company takes paper shares from an investor and converts them in electronic form through the concerned company, it is called Dematerialization of Shares. These converted Share Certificates in Electronic form are kept in a Demat Account by the Depository Company, like a bank keeps money in a deposit account. Investor can withdraw the shares or purchase more shares through this demat Account.

Dishonour of Cheque : Non-payment of a cheque by the paying banker with a return memo giving reasons for the non-payment. 

E-Banking : E-Banking or electronic banking is a form of banking where funds are transferred through exchange of electronic signals between banks and financial institution and customers ATMs, Credit Cards, Debit Cards, International Cards, Internet Banking and new fund transfer devices like SWIFT, RTGS belong to this category.

EFT - (Electronic Fund Transfer) : EFT is a device to facilitate automatic transmission and processing of messages as well as funds from one bank branch to another bank branch and even from one branch of a bank to a branch of another bank. EFT allows transfer of funds electronically with debit and credit to relative accounts.

Either or Survivor : Refers to operation of the account opened in two names with a bank. It means that any one of the account holders have powers to withdraw money from the account, issue cheques, give stop payment instructions etc. In the event of death of one of the account holder, the surviving account holder gets all the powers of operation.

Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce): E-Commerce is the paperless commerce where the exchange of business takes place by Electronic means.

Endorsement : When a Negotiable Instrument contains, on the back of the instrument an endorsement, signed by the holder or payee of an order instrument, transferring the title to the other person, it is called endorsement.

Endorsement in Blank : Where the name of the endorsee or transferee is not mentioned on the instrument.

Endorsement in Full : Where the name of the endorsee or transferee appears on the instrument while making endorsement.

Execution of Documents : Execution of documents is done by putting signature of the person, or affixing his thumb impression or putting signature with stamp or affixing common seal of the company on the documents with or without signatures of directors as per articles of association of the company.

Factoring : Business of buying trade debts at a discount and making a profit when debt is realized and also taking over collection of trade debts at agreed prices.

Foreign Banks : Banks incorporated outside India but operating in India and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),. e..g., Barclays Bank, HSBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, etc.

Forfaiting : In International Trade when an exporter finds it difficult to realize money from the importer, he sells the right to receive money at a discount to a forfaiter, who undertakes inherent political and commercial risks to finance the exporter, of course with assumption of a profit in the venture.

Forgery : when a material alteration is made on a document or a Negotiable Instrument like a cheque, to change the mandate of the drawer, with intention to defraud. 

Garnishee Order : When a Court directs a bank to attach the funds to the credit of customer's account under provisions of Section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

General Lien : A right of the creditors to retain possession of all goods given in security to him by the debtor for any outstanding debt.

Guarantee : A contract between guarantor and beneficiary to ensure performance of a promise or discharge the liability of a third person. If promise is broken or not performed, the guarantor pays contracted amount to the beneficiary.

Holder : Holder means any person entitled in his own name to the possession of the cheque, bill of exchange or promissory note and who is entitled to receive or recover the amount due on it from the parties. For example, if I give a cheque to my friend to withdraw money from my bank,he becomes holder of that cheque. Even if he loses the cheque, he continues to be holder. Finder cannot become the holder.

Holder in due course : A person who receives a Negotiable Instrument for value, before it was due and in good faith, without notice of any defect in it, he is called holder in due course as per Negotiable Instrument Act. In the earlier example if my friend lends some money to me on the basis of the cheque, which I have given to him for encashment, he becomes holder-in-due course.

Hypothecation : Charge against property for an amount of debt where neither ownership nor possession is passed to the creditor. In pledge, possession of property is passed on to the lender but in hypothecation, the property remains with the borrower in trust for the lender. 

Identification : When a person provides a document to a bank or is being identified by a person, who is known to the bank, it is called identification. Banks ask for identification before paying an order cheque or a demand draft across the counter.

Indemnifier : When a person indemnifies or guarantees to make good any loss caused to the lender from his actions or others' actions.

Indemnity : Indemnity is a bond where the indemnifier undertakes to reimburse the beneficiary from any loss arising due to his actions or third party actions.

Insolvent : Insolvent is a person who is unable to pay his debts as they mature, as his liabilities are more than the assets . Civil Courts declare such persons insolvent. Banks do not open accounts of insolvent persons as they cannot enter into contract as per law.

Interest Warrant : When cheque is given by a company or an organization in payment of interest on deposit , it is called interest warrant. Interest warrant has all the characteristics of a cheque.

International Banking : involves more than two nations or countries. If an Indian Bank has branches in different countries like State Bank of India, it is said to do International Banking.

Introduction : Banks are careful in opening any account for a customer as the prospective customer has to be introduced by an existing account holder or a staff member or by any other person known to the bank for opening of account. If bank does not take introduction, it will amount to negligence and will not get protection under law.

JHF Account : Joint Hindu Family Account is account of a firm whose business is carried out by Karta of the Joint family, acting for all the family members.. The family members have common ancestor and generally maintain a common residence and are subject to common social, economic and religious regulations.

Joint Account : When two or more individuals jointly open an account with a bank. 

Karta : Manager of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) who handles the family business. He is usually the eldest male member of the undivided family.

Kiosk Banking : Doing banking from a cubicle from which food, newspapers, tickets etc. are also sold.

KYC Norms : Know your customer norms are imposed by R.B.I. on banks and other financial institutions to ensure that they know their customers and to ensure that customers deal only in legitimate banking operations and not in money laundering or frauds.

Law of Limitation : Limitation Act of 1963 fixes the limitation period of debts and obligations including banks loans and advances. If the period fixed for particular debt or loan expires, one can not file a suit for is recovery, but the fact of the debt or loan is not denied. It is said that law of limitation bars the remedy but does not extinguish the right.

Lease Financing : Financing for the business of renting houses or lands for a specified period of time and also hiring out of an asset for the duration of its economic life. Leasing of a car or heavy machinery for a specific period at specific price is an example.

Letter of Credit : A document issued by importers bank to its branch or agent abroad authorizing the payment of a specified sum to a person named in Letter of Credit (usually exporter from abroad). Letters of Credit are covered by rules framed under Uniform Customs and Practices of Documentary Credits framed by International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.

Limited Companies Accounts : Accounts of companies incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 . A company may be private or public. Liability of the shareholders of a company is generally limited to the face value of shares held by them. 

Mandate : Written authority issued by a customer to another person to act on his behalf, to sign cheques or to operate a bank account.

Material Alteration : Alteration in an instrument so as to alter the character of an instrument for example when date, amount, name of the payee are altered or making a cheque payable to bearer from an order one or opening the crossing on a cheque.

Merchant Banking : When a bank provides to a customer various types of financial services like accepting bills arising out of trade, arranging and providing underwriting, new issues, providing advice, information or assistance on starting new business, acquisitions, mergers and foreign exchange.

Micro Finance: Micro Finance aims at alleviation of poverty and empowerment of weaker sections in India. In micro finance, very small amounts are given as credit to poor in rural, semi-urban and urban areas to enable them to raise their income levels and improve living standards.

Minor Accounts : A minor is a person who has not attained legal age of 18 years. As per Contract Act a minor cannot enter into a contract but as per Negotiable Instrument Act, a minor can draw, negotiate, endorse, receive payment on a Negotiable Instrument so as to bind all the persons, except himself. In order to boost their deposits many banks open minor accounts with some restrictions.

Mobile Banking : With the help of M-Banking or mobile banking customer can check his bank balance, order a demand draft, stop payment of a cheque, request for a cheque book and have information about latest interest rates.

Money Laundering : When a customer uses banking channels to cover up his suspicious and unlawful financial activities, it is called money laundering.

Money Market : Money market is not an organized market like Bombay Stock Exchange but is an informal network of banks, financial institutions who deal in money market instruments of short term like CP, CD and Treasury bills of Government.

Moratorium : R.B.I. imposes moratorium on operations of a bank; if the affairs of the bank are not conducted as per banking norms. After moratorium R.B.I. and Government explore the options of safeguarding the interests of depositors by way of change in management, amalgamation or take over or by other means.

Mortgage : Transfer of an interest in specific immovable property for the purpose of offering a security for taking a loan or advance from another. It may be existing or future debt or performance of an agreement which may create monetary obligation for the transferor (mortgagor).

NABARD : National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development was setup in 1982 under the Act of 1981. NABARD finances and regulates rural financing and also is responsible for development agriculture and rural industries.

Negotiation : In the context of banking, negotiation means an act of transferring or assigning a money instrument from one person to another person in the course of business.

Non-Fund Based Limits : Non-Fund Based Limits are those type of limits where banker does not part with the funds but may have to part with funds in case of default by the borrowers, like guarantees, letter of credit and acceptance facility.

Non-Resident : A person who is not a resident of India is a non-resident.

Non-Resident Accounts : Accounts of non-resident Indian citizens opened and maintained as per R.B.I. Rules.

Notary Public : A Lawyer who is authorized by Government to certify copies of documents .

NPA Account : If interest and instalments and other bank dues are not paid in any loan account within a specified time limit, it is being treated as non-performing assets of a bank. 

Off Balance Sheet Items : Those items which affect the financial position of a business concern, but do not appear in the Balance Sheet E,g guarantees, letters of credit . The mention "off Balance Sheet items" is often found in Auditors Reports or Directors Reports.

Online Banking : Banking through internet site of the bank which is made interactive.

Pass Book : A record of all debit and credit entries in a customer's account. Generally all banks issue pass books to Savings Bank/Current Account Holders.

Personal Identification Number (PIN) : Personal Identification Number is a number which an ATM card holder has to key in before he is authorized to do any banking transaction in a ATM .

Plastic Money : Credit Cards, Debit Cards, ATM Cards and International Cards are considered plastic money as like money they can enable us to get goods and services.

Pledge : A bailment of goods as security for payment of a debt or performance of a promise, e.g pledge of stock by a borrower to a banker for a credit limit. Pledge can be made in movable goods only.

Post-Dated Cheque : A Cheque which bears the date which is subsequent to the date when it is drawn. For example, a cheque drawn on 8th of February, 2007 bears the date of 12th February, 2007.

Power of Attorney : It is a document executed by one person - Donor or Principal, in favour of another person , Donee or Agent - to act on behalf of the former, strictly as per authority given in the document.

Premature Withdrawals : Term deposits like Fixed Deposits, Call Deposits, Short Deposits and Recurring Deposits have to mature on a particular day. When these deposits are sought to be withdrawn before maturity , it is premature withdrawal.

Prime Lending Rate (PLR) : The rate at which banks lend to their best (prime) customers.

Priority Sector Advances : consist of loans and advances to Agriculture, Small Scale Industry, Small Road and Water Transport Operators, Retail Trade, Small Business with limits on investment in equipments, professional and self employed persons, state sponsored organisations for lending to SC/ST, Educational Loans, Housing Finance up to certain limits, self-help groups and consumption loans.

Promissory Note : Promissory Note is a promise / undertaking given by one person in writing to another person, to pay to that person , a certain sum of money on demand or on a future day.

Provisioning : Provisioning is made for the likely loss in the profit and loss account while finalizing accounts of banks. All banks are supposed to make assets classification . and make appropriate provisions for likely losses in their balance sheets.

Public Sector Bank : A bank fully or partly owned by the Government. 

Rescheduling of Payment : Rearranging the repayment of a debt over a longer period than originally agreed upon due to financial difficulties of the borrower.

Restrictive Endorsement : Where endorser desires that instrument is to be paid to particular person only, he restricts further negotiation or transfer by such words as "Pay to Ashok only". Now Ashok cannot negotiate the instrument further.

Right of Appropriation : As per Section 59 of the Indian Contract Act, 1972 while making the payment, a debtor has the right to direct his creditor to appropriate such amount against discharge of some particular debt. If the debtor does not do so, the banker can appropriate the payment to any debt of his customer.

Right of Set-Off : When a banker combines two accounts in the name of the same customer and adjusts the debit balance in one account with the credit balance in other account, it is called right of set-off. For example, debit balance of Rs.50,000/- in overdraft account can be set off against credit balance of Rs.75,000/- in the Savings Bank Account of the same customer, leaving a balance of Rs.25,000/- credit in the savings account.

Safe Custody : When articles of value like jewellery, boxes, shares, debentures, Government bonds, Wills or other documents or articles are given to a bank for safe keeping in its safe vault,it is called safe custody.. Bank charges a fee from its clients for such safe custody.

Savings Bank Account : All banks in India are having the facility of opening savings bank account with a nominal balance. This account is used for personal purposes and not for business purpose and there are certain restrictions on withdrawals from this type of account. Account holder gets nominal interest in this account. 

Teller : Teller is a staff member of a bank who accepts deposits, cashes cheques and performs other banking services for the public.

Underwriting : is an agreement by the underwriter to buy on a fixed date and at a fixed rate, the unsubscribed portion of shares or debentures or other issues. Underwriter gets commission for this agreement.

Universal Banking : When Banks and Financial Institutions are allowed to undertake all types of activities related to banking like acceptance of deposits, granting of advances, investment, issue of credit cards, project finance, venture capital finance, foreign exchange business, insurance etc. it is called Universal Banking. 

Virtual Banking : Virtual banking is also called internet banking, through which financial and banking services are accessed via internet's world wide web. It is called virtual banking because an internet bank has no boundaries of brick and mortar and it exists only on the internet.

Wholesale Banking : Wholesale banking is different from Retail Banking as its focus is on providing for financial needs of industry and institutional clients.