Explain the Indian Financial Systems.

The term "finance" in our simple understanding it is perceived as equivalent to 'Money'. We read about Money and banking in Economics, about Monetary Theory and Practice and about "Public Finance". But finance exactly is not money; it is the source of providing funds for a particular activity. Thus public finance does not mean the money with the Government, but it refers to sources of raising revenue for the activities and functions of a Government. Here some of the definitions of the word 'finance’ both as a source and as an activity i.e. as a noun and a verb.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition defines the term as under-

1:"The science of the management of money and other assets.";
2: "The management of money, banking, investments, and credit. ";
3: "finances Monetary resources; funds, especially those of a government or corporate body"
4: "The supplying of funds or capital."

 Finance as a function (i.e. verb) is defined by the same dictionary as under-

1:"To provide or raise the funds or capital for": financed a new car
2: "To supply funds to": financing a daughter through law school.
3: "To furnish credit to".

Another English Dictionary, "WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997Princeton University " defines the term as under-

1:"the commercial activity of providing funds and capital"

2: "the branch of economics that studies the management of money and other assets"
3: "the management of money and credit and banking and investments"

The same dictionary also defines the term as a function in similar words as under-

1: "obtain or provide money for;" "Can we finance the addition to our home?"
2:"sell or provide on credit"

All definitions listed above refer to finance as a source of funding an activity. In this respect providing or securing finance by itself is a distinct activity or function, which results in Financial Management, Financial Services and Financial Institutions. Finance therefore represents the resources by way funds needed for a particular activity. We thus speak of 'finance' only in relation to a proposed activity. Finance goes with commerce, business, banking etc. Finance is also referred to as "Funds" or "Capital", when referring to the financial needs of a corporate body. When we study finance as a subject for generalizing its profile and attributes, we distinguish between 'personal finance" and "corporate finance" i.e. resources needed personally by an individual for his family and individual needs and resources needed by a business organization to carry on its functions intended for the achievement of its corporate goals.

INDIAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

 The economic development of a nation is reflected by the progress of the various economic units, broadly classified into corporate sector, government and household sector.  While performing their activities these units will be placed in a surplus/deficit / balanced budgetary situations.

There are areas or people with surplus funds and there are those with a deficit.  A financial system or financial sector functions as an intermediary and facilitates the flow of funds from the areas of surplus to the areas of deficit.  A Financial System is a composition of various institutions, markets, regulations and laws, practices, money manager, analysts, transactions and claims and liabilities.

Financial System;

The word "system", in the term "financial system", implies a set of complex and closely connected or interlined institutions, agents, practices, markets, transactions, claims, and liabilities in the economy.  The financial system is concerned about money, credit and finance-the three terms are intimately related yet are somewhat different from each other. Indian financial system consists of financial market, financial instruments and financial intermediation. These are briefly discussed below;

FINANCIAL MARKETS

A Financial Market can be defined as the market in which financial assets are created or transferred. As against a real transaction that involves exchange of money for real goods or services, a financial transaction involves creation or transfer of a financial asset. Financial Assets or Financial Instruments represents a claim to the payment of a sum of money sometime in the future and /or periodic payment in the form of interest or dividend.

Money Market- The money market ifs a wholesale debt market for low-risk, highly-liquid, short-term instrument.  Funds are available in this market for periods ranging from a single day up to a year.  This market is dominated mostly by government, banks and financial institutions.

Capital Market - The capital market is designed to finance the long-term investments.  The transactions taking place in this market will be for periods over a year.

FOREX Market - The FOREX market deals with the multicurrency requirements, which are met by the exchange of currencies.  Depending on the exchange rate that is applicable, the transfer of funds takes place in this market.  This is one of the most developed and integrated market across the globe.

Credit Market- Credit market is a place where banks, FIs and NBFCs purvey short, medium and long-term loans to corporate and individuals.

Constituents of a Financial System

FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION

Having designed the instrument, the issuer should then ensure that these financial assets reach the ultimate investor in order to garner the requisite amount.  When the borrower of funds approaches the financial market to raise funds, mere issue of securities will not suffice.  Adequate information of the issue, issuer and the security should be passed on to take place.  There should be a proper channel within the financial system to ensure such transfer. To serve this purpose, financial intermediaries came into existence. Financial intermediation in the organized sector is conducted by a wide range of institutions functioning under the overall surveillance of the Reserve Bank of India. In the initial stages, the role of the intermediary was mostly related to ensure transfer of funds from the lender to the borrower.  This service was offered by banks, FIs, brokers, and dealers.  However, as the financial system widened along with the developments taking place in the financial markets, the scope of its operations also widened. Some of the important intermediaries operating ink the financial markets include; investment bankers, underwriters, stock exchanges, registrars, depositories, custodians, portfolio managers, mutual funds, financial advertisers financial consultants, primary dealers, satellite dealers, self regulatory organizations, etc. Though the markets are different, there may be a few intermediaries offering their services in move than one market e.g. underwriter.  However, the services offered by them vary from one market to another.

Intermediary	Market	Role
Stock Exchange	Capital Market	Secondary Market to securities
Investment Bankers	Capital Market, Credit Market	Corporate advisory services, Issue of securities
Underwriters	Capital Market, Money Market	Subscribe to unsubscribed portion of securities
Registrars, Depositories, Custodians	Capital Market	Issue securities to the investors on behalf of the company and handle share transfer activity
Primary Dealers Satellite Dealers	Money Market	Market making in government securities
Forex Dealers	Forex Market	Ensure exchange ink currencies

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Money Market Instruments

The money market can be defined as a market for short-term money and financial assets that are near substitutes for money. The term short-term means generally a period up to one year and near substitutes to money is used to denote any financial asset which can be quickly converted into money with minimum transaction cost.

Some of the important money market instruments are briefly discussed below;

1.Call/Notice-Money
2.Treasur-Bills
3.Term-Money
4.Certificate of Deposit
5.Commercial Papers

1. Call /Notice-Money Market

Call/Notice money is the money borrowed or lent on demand for a very short period. When money is borrowed or lent for a day, it is known as Call (Overnight) Money. Intervening holidays and/or Sunday are excluded for this purpose. Thus money, borrowed on a day and repaid on the next working day, (irrespective of the number of intervening holidays) is "Call Money". When money is borrowed or lent for more than a day and up to 14 days, it is "Notice Money". No collateral security is required to cover these transactions.

2. Inter-Bank Term Money

Inter-bank market for deposits of maturity beyond 14 days is referred to as the term money market. The entry restrictions are the same as those for Call/Notice Money except that, as per existing regulations, the specified entities are not allowed to lend beyond 14 days.

3. Treasury Bills.

Treasury Bills are short term (up to one year) borrowing instruments of the union government. It is an IOU of the Government. It is a promise by the Government to pay a stated sum after expiry of the stated period from the date of issue (14/91/182/364 days i.e. less than one year). They are issued at a discount to the face value, and on maturity the face value is paid to the holder. The rate of discount and the corresponding issue price are determined at each auction.

4. Certificate of Deposits

Certificates of Deposit (CDs) is a negotiable money market instrument and issued in dematerialized form or as a Usance Promissory Note, for funds deposited at a bank or other eligible financial institution for a specified time period. Guidelines for issue of CDs are presently governed by various directives issued by the Reserve Bank of India, as amended from time to time. CDs can be issued by (i) scheduled commercial banks excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Local Area Banks (LABs); and (ii) select all-India Financial Institutions that have been permitted by RBI to raise short-term resources within the umbrella limit fixed by RBI. Banks have the freedom to issue CDs depending on their requirements. An FI may issue CDs within the overall umbrella limit fixed by RBI, i.e., issue of CD together with other instruments viz., term money, term deposits, commercial papers and interoperate deposits should not exceed 100 per cent of its net owned funds, as per the latest audited balance sheet.

5. Commercial Paper

CP is a note in evidence of the debt obligation of the issuer. On issuing commercial paper the debt obligation is transformed into an instrument. CP is thus an unsecured promissory note privately placed with investors at a discount rate to face value determined by market forces. CP is freely negotiable by endorsement and delivery. A company shall be eligible to issue CP provided - (a) the tangible net worth of the company, as per the latest audited balance sheet, is not less than Rs. 4 crore; (b) the working capital (fund-based) limit of the company from the banking system is not less than Rs.4 crore and (c) the borrowal account of the company is classified as a Standard Asset by the financing bank/s. The minimum maturity period of CP is 7 days. The minimum credit rating shall be P-2 of CRISIL or such equivalent rating by other agencies. (for more details visit www.indianmba.com faculty column)

Capital Market Instruments

The capital market generally consists of the following long term period i.e., more than one year period, financial instruments; In the equity segment Equity shares, preference shares, convertible preference shares, non-convertible preference shares etc and in the debt segment debentures, zero coupon bonds, deep discount bonds etc.

Hybrid Instruments

Hybrid instruments have both the features of equity and debenture. This kind of instruments is called as hybrid instruments. Examples are convertible debentures, warrants etc.

Conclusion

In India money market is regulated by Reserve bank of India (www.rbi.org.in) and Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) [www.sebi.gov.in ] regulates capital market. Capital market consists of primary market and secondary market. All Initial Public Offerings comes under the primary market and all secondary market transactions deals in secondary market. Secondary market refers to a market where securities are traded after being initially offered to the public in the primary market and/or listed on the Stock Exchange. Secondary market comprises of equity markets and the debt markets. In the secondary market transactions BSE and NSE plays a great role in exchange of capital market instruments.

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 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Liquid Assets

In business, economics or investment, market liquidity is an asset's ability to be sold without causing a significant movement in the price and with minimum loss of value. Money, or cash, is the most liquid asset, and can be used immediately to perform economic actions like buying, selling, or paying debt, meeting immediate wants and needs. However, currencies, even major currencies, can suffer loss of market liquidity in large liquidation events. For instance, scenarios considering a major dump of US dollar bonds by China, Saudi Arabia, or Japan (each of which holds trillions of dollars in such bonds) would certainly affect the market liquidity of the US dollar and US dollar denominated assets. There is no asset whatsoever that can be sold with no effect on the market.

An act of exchange of a less liquid asset with a more liquid asset is called liquidation. Liquidity also refers both to a business's ability to meet its payment obligations, in terms of possessing sufficient liquid assets, and to such assets themselves.

Liquidity is defined formally in many accounting regimes and has in recent years been more strictly defined. For instance, the US Federal Reserve intends to apply quantitative liquidity requirements based on Basel III liquidity rules as of fiscal 2012. Bank directors will also be required to know of, and approve, major liquidity risks personally. Other rules require diversifying counterparty risk and portfolio stress testing against extreme scenarios, which tend to identify unusual market liquidity conditions and avoid investments that are particularly vulnerable to sudden liquidity shifts.

Overview

A liquid asset has some or all of the following features. It can be sold rapidly, with minimal loss of value, any time within market hours. The essential characteristic of a liquid market is that there are always ready and willing buyers and sellers. Another elegant definition of liquidity is the probability that the next trade is executed at a price equal to the last one. A market may be considered deeply liquid if there are ready and willing buyers and sellers in large quantities. This is related to market depth that can be measured as the units that can be sold or bought for a given price impact. The opposite is that of market breadth measured as the price impact per unit of liquidity.

An illiquid asset is an asset which is not readily salable due to uncertainty about its value or the lack of a market in which it is regularly traded. The mortgage-related assets which resulted in the subprime mortgage crisis are examples of illiquid assets, as their value is not readily determinable despite being secured by real property. Another example is an asset such as a large block of stock, the sale of which affects the market value.

The liquidity of a product can be measured as how often it is bought and sold; this is known as volume. Often investments in liquid markets such as the stock market or futures markets are considered to be more liquid than investments such as real estate, based on their ability to be converted quickly. Some assets with liquid secondary markets may be more advantageous to own, so buyers are willing to pay a higher price for the asset than for comparable assets without a liquid secondary market. The liquidity discount is the reduced promised yield or expected return for such assets, like the difference between newly issued U.S. Treasury bonds compared to off the run treasuries with the same term remaining until maturity. Buyers know that other investors are not willing to buy off-the-run so the newly issued bonds have a lower yield and higher price.

Speculators and market makers are key contributors to the liquidity of a market, or asset. Speculators and market makers are individuals or institutions that seek to profit from anticipated increases or decreases in a particular market price. By doing this, they provide the capital needed to facilitate the liquidity. The risk of illiquidity need not apply only to individual investments: whole portfolios are subject to market risk. Financial institutions and asset managers that oversee portfolios are subject to what is called "structural" and "contingent" liquidity risk. Structural liquidity risk, sometimes called funding liquidity risk, is the risk associated with funding asset portfolios in the normal course of business. Contingent liquidity risk is the risk associated with finding additional funds or replacing maturing liabilities under potential, future stressed market conditions. When a central bank tries to influence the liquidity (supply) of money, this process is known as open market operations.

The effect of market liquidity on asset values

The market liquidity of assets affects their prices and expected returns. Theory and empirical evidence suggests that investors require higher return on assets with lower market liquidity to compensate them for the higher cost of trading these assets. That is, for an asset with given cash flow, the higher its market liquidity, the higher its price and the lower is its expected return. In addition, risk-averse investors require higher expected return if the asset’s market-liquidity risk is greater. This risk involves the exposure of the asset return to shocks in overall market liquidity, the exposure of the asset own liquidity to shocks in market liquidity and the effect of market return on the asset’s own liquidity. Here too, the higher the liquidity risk, the higher the expected return on the asset or the lower is its price.

Futures

In the futures markets, there is no assurance that a liquid market may exist for offsetting a commodity contract at all times. Some future contracts and specific delivery months tend to have increasingly more trading activity and have higher liquidity than others. The most useful indicators of liquidity for these contracts are the trading volume and open interest.

There is also dark liquidity, referring to transactions that occur off-exchange and are therefore not visible to investors until after the transaction is complete. It does not contribute to public price discovery.

Banking

In banking, liquidity is the ability to meet obligations when they come due without incurring unacceptable losses. Managing liquidity is a daily process requiring bankers to monitor and project cash flows to ensure adequate liquidity is maintained. Maintaining a balance between short-term assets and short-term liabilities is critical. For an individual bank, clients' deposits are its primary liabilities (in the sense that the bank is meant to give back all client deposits on demand), whereas reserves and loans are its primary assets (in the sense that these loans are owed to the bank, not by the bank). The investment portfolio represents a smaller portion of assets, and serves as the primary source of liquidity. Investment securities can be liquidated to satisfy deposit withdrawals and increased loan demand. Banks have several additional options for generating liquidity, such as selling loans, borrowing from other banks, borrowing from a central bank, such as the US Federal Reserve bank, and raising additional capital. In a worst case scenario, depositors may demand their funds when the bank is unable to generate adequate cash without incurring substantial financial losses. In severe cases, this may result in a bank run. Most banks are subject to legally-mandated requirements intended to help banks avoid a liquidity crisis.

Banks can generally maintain as much liquidity as desired because bank deposits are insured by governments in most developed countries. A lack of liquidity can be remedied by raising deposit rates and effectively marketing deposit products. However, an important measure of a bank's value and success is the cost of liquidity. A bank can attract significant liquid funds. Lower costs generate stronger profits, more stability, and more confidence among depositors, investors, and regulators.

In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset. Simply stated, assets represent value of ownership that can be converted into cash (although cash itself is also considered an asset).

The balance sheet of a firm records the monetary value of the assets owned by the firm. It is money and other valuables belonging to an individual or business. Two major asset classes are tangible assets and intangible assets. Tangible assets contain various subclasses, including current assets and fixed assets. Current assets include inventory, while fixed assets include such items as buildings and equipment.

Intangible assets are nonphysical resources and rights that have a value to the firm because they give the firm some kind of advantage in the market place. Examples of intangible assets are goodwill, copyrights, trademarks, patents and computer programs, and financial assets, including such items as accounts receivable, bonds and stocks.

Formal definition

·         An asset is a resource controlled by the entity as a result of past events or transactions and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity  (Framework Par 49a).

Asset characteristics

Probably the most accepted accounting definition of asset is the one used by the International Accounting Standards Board.  The following is a quotation from the IFRS Framework: "An asset is a resource controlled by the enterprise as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the enterprise."

This means that:

·         The probable present benefit involves a capacity, singly or in combination with other assets, in the case of profit oriented enterprises, to contribute directly or indirectly to future net cash flows, and, in the case of not-for-profit organizations, to provide services;

·         The entity can control access to the benefit;

·         The transaction or event giving rise to the entity's right to, or control of, the benefit has already occurred.

Employees are not considered to be assets, like machinery is, even though they are capable of generating future economic benefits. This is because an entity does not have sufficient control over its employees to satisfy the Framework's definition of an asset.

Similarly, in economics an asset is any form in which wealth can be held.

Assets in accounting

In the financial accounting sense of the term, it is not necessary to be able to legally enforce the asset's benefit for qualifying a resource as being an asset, provided the entity can control its use by other means.

The accounting equation is the mathematical structure of the balance sheet. It relates assets, liabilities, and owner's equity:

Assets = Liabilities + Capital (where Capital for a corporation equals Owner's Equity)

Liabilities = Assets - Capital

Capital = Assets - Liabilities

That is, the total value of a firms Assets are always equal to the combined value of its "equity" and "liabilities."

Assets are listed on the balance sheet. In a company's balance sheet certain divisions are required by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which vary from country to country.^[8] Assets can be divided into e.g. current assets and fixed assets, often with further subdivisions such as cash, receivables and inventory.

Assets are formally controlled and managed within larger organizations via the use of asset tracking tools. These monitor the purchasing, upgrading, servicing, licensing, disposal etc., of both physical and non-physical assets.

Current assets

Main article: Current asset

Current assets are cash and other assets expected to be converted to cash or consumed either in a year or in the operating cycle (whichever is longer), without disturbing the normal operations of a business. These assets are continually turned over in the course of a business during normal business activity. There are 5 major items included into current assets:

1. Cash and cash equivalents — it is the most liquid asset, which includes currency, deposit accounts, and negotiable instruments (e.g., money orders, cheque, bank drafts).
2. Short-term investments — include securities bought and held for sale in the near future to generate income on short-term price differences (trading securities).
3. Receivables — usually reported as net of allowance for noncollectable accounts.
4. Inventory — trading these assets is a normal business of a company. The inventory value reported on the balance sheet is usually the historical cost or fair market value, whichever is lower. This is known as the "lower of cost or market" rule.
5. Prepaid expenses — these are expenses paid in cash and recorded as assets before they are used or consumed (common examples are insurance or office supplies). See also adjusting entries.

Marketable securities Securities that can be converted into cash quickly at a reasonable price

The phrase net current assets (also called working capital) is often used and refers to the total of current assets less the total of current liabilities.

Long-term investments

Often referred to simply as "investments". Long-term investments are to be held for many years and are not intended to be disposed of in the near future. This group usually consists of three types of investments:

1.     Investments in securities such as bonds, common stock, or long-term notes.

2.     Investments in fixed assets not used in operations (e.g., land held for sale).

3.     Investments in special funds (e.g. sinking funds or pension funds).

Different forms of insurance may also be treated as long term investments.

Fixed assets

Main article: Fixed asset

Also referred to as PPE (property, plant, and equipment), these are purchased for continued and long-term use in earning profit in a business. This group includes as an asset land, buildings, machinery, furniture, tools, IT equipment, e.g., laptops, and certain wasting resources e.g., timberland and minerals. They are written off against profits over their anticipated life by charging depreciation expenses (with exception of land assets). Accumulated depreciation is shown in the face of the balance sheet or in the notes. Asset is important factor in balance sheet

These are also called capital assets in management accounting.

Intangible assets

Main article: Intangible asset

Intangible assets lack of physical substance and usually are very hard to evaluate. They include patents, copyrights, franchises, goodwill, trademarks, trade names, etc. These assets are (according to US GAAP) amortized to expense over 5 to 40 years with the exception of goodwill.

Websites are treated differently in different countries and may fall under either tangible or intangible assets.

Tangible assets

Tangible assets are those that have a physical substance, such as currencies, buildings, real estate, vehicles, inventories, equipment, and precious metals

Comparison : current assets , liquid assets and absolute liquid assets

Current assets	Liquid assets	Absolute liquid assets
Stocks
Prepaid expenses
Debtors	Debtors
Bills receivable	Bills receivable
Cash in hand	Cash in hand	Cash in hand
Cash at bank	Cash at bank	Cash at bank
Accrued incomes	Accrued incomes	Accrued incomes
Loans and advances (short term)	Loans and advances (short term)	Loans and advances (short term)
Trade investments (short term)	Trade investments (short term)	Trade investments (short term)

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