ET Explainer: The RBI's liquidity stance and its effect
Reserve Bank of India's liquidity stance has not convinced several experts, including even a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. What is it that the RBI is doing with liquidity, and why is it affecting the market. ET explains:
What is the RBI’s approach towards liquidity management?
The central bank follows a “corridor” liquidity management system – with a ceiling and a floor rate – where the repo rate--the rate at which the RBI injects liquidity--is the policy rate which acts as the ceiling for the corridor, while the reverse repo rate works as the floor of the corridor. The ideal situation is one where call rates move within this corridor which the central bank ensures through its liquidity adjustment facility (LAF). The operating framework of monetary policy aims at aligning the weighted average call rate (WACR) with the policy repo rate through proactive liquidity management to facilitate transmission of repo rate changes through the entire financial system.
How does this work?
Banks try to borrow their shortfall of reserves from the inter-bank market. If reserve requirements like cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio cannot be met in the inter-bank market, then banks borrow funds from the RBI under LAF. If banks are net borrowers under LAF, the system liquidity can be said to be in deficit. Conversely, if banks deposit more than the reserve requirement, then it becomes a net lender to RBI, and the system liquidity can be said to be in surplus.
What are the key drivers of liquidity?
The three
