Money Market

A money market is a market for borrowing and lending of short-term funds. It deals in funds and financial instruments having a maturity period of one day to one year. It is a mechanism through which short-term funds are loaned or borrowed and through which a large part of financial transactions of a particular country or of the world are cleared.

  It is not a single market but a collection of markets for several instruments like call money market, Commercial bill market etc. The Reserve Bank of India is the most important constituent of Indian money market
In money market the players are :-Government, RBI, DFHI (Discount and finance House of India) Banks, Mutual Funds, Corporate Investors, Provident Funds, PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings), NBFCs (Non-Banking Finance Companies) etc.




STRUCTURE OF INDIAN MONEY MARKET
   

Organised Sector                                              Unorganised Sector
Call and Notice Money Market                                       Indigenous Bankers
Treasury Bill Market                                                          Money Lenders
Commercial Bills                                                               NBFI
Certificate of Deposits
Commercial Papers
Money Market Mutual Funds
The REPO Market
   DFHI



Organised Sector Of Money Market :-

Organised Money Market is not a single market, it consist of number of markets. The most important feature of money market instrument is that it is liquid. It is characterised by high degree of safety of principal. Following are the instruments which are traded in money market

1)        Call And Notice Money Market :-
The market for extremely short-period is referred as call money market. Under call money market, funds are transacted on overnight basis. The participants are mostly banks. Therefore it is also called Inter-Bank Money Market. Under notice money market funds are transacted for 2 days and 14 days period. The lender issues a notice to the borrower 2 to 3 days before the funds are to be paid. On receipt of notice, borrower have to repay the funds.

2)        Treasury Bill Market (T - Bills) :-
This market deals in Treasury Bills of short term duration issued by RBI on behalf of Government of India. At present three types of treasury bills are issued through auctions, namely 91 day, 182 day and364day treasury bills. State government does not issue any treasury bills. Interest is determined by market forces. Treasury bills are available for a minimum amount of Rs. 25,000 and in multiples of Rs. 25,000. Periodic auctions are held for their Issue.
 Commercial Banks, Primary Dealers, Mutual Funds, Corporates, Financial Institutions, Provident or Pension Funds and Insurance Companies can participate in T-bills market.

3)        Commercial Bills :-
Commercial bills are short term, negotiable and self liquidating money market instruments with low risk. A bill of exchange is drawn by a seller on the buyer to make payment within a certain period of time. Generally, the maturity period is of three months. Commercial bill can be resold a number of times during the usance period of bill.

4)        Certificate Of Deposits (CDs) :-
CDs are issued by Commercial banks and development financial institutions. CDs are unsecured, negotiable promissory notes issued at a discount to the face value. The scheme of CDs was introduced in 1989 by RBI. The main purpose was to enable the commercial banks to raise funds from market. At present, the maturity period of CDs ranges from 3 months to 1 year. They are issued in multiples of Rs. 25 lakh subject to a minimum size of Rs. 1 crore. CDs can be issued at discount to face value. They are freely transferable but only after the lock-in-period of 45 days after the date of issue.

5)        Commercial Papers (CP) :-
. Commercial Papers were introduced in January 1990. The Commercial Papers can be issued by listed company which have working capital of not less than Rs. 5 crores. They could be issued in multiple of Rs. 25 lakhs. The minimum size of issue being Rs. 1 crore. At present the maturity period of CPs ranges between 7 days to 1 year. CPs are issued at a discount to its face value and redeemed at its face value.

6)        Money Market Mutual Funds (MMMFs) :-
A Scheme of MMMFs was introduced by RBI in 1992. The goal was to provide an additional short-term avenue to individual investors. In November 1995 RBI made the scheme more flexible. The existing guidelines allow banks, public financial institutions and also private sector institutions to set up MMMFs. The ceiling of Rs. 50 crores on the size of MMMFs stipulated earlier, has been withdrawn. MMMFs are allowed to issue units to corporate enterprises and others on par with other mutual funds. Resources mobilised by MMMFs are now required to be invested in call money, CD, CPs, Commercial Bills arising out of genuine trade transactions, treasury bills and government dated securities having an unexpired maturity upto one year. Since March 7, 2000 MMMFs have been brought under the purview of SEBI regulations. At present there are 3 MMMFs in operation.

7)        The Repo Market ;-
Repo was introduced in December 1992. Repo is a repurchase agreement. It means selling a security under an agreement to repurchase it at a predetermined date and rate. Repo transactions are affected between banks and financial institutions and among bank themselves, RBI also undertake Repo.

8)        Discount And Finance House Of India (DFHI)
In 1988, DFHI was set up by RBI. It is jointly owned by RBI, public sector banks and all India financial institutions which have contributed to its paid up capital.It is playing an important role in developing an active secondary market in Money Market Instruments.

II.      Unorganised Sector Of Money Market :-
The economy on one hand performs through organised sector and on other hand in rural areas there is continuance of unorganised, informal and indigenous sector. The main constituents of unorganised money market are:-

1)       Indigenous Bankers (IBs)
Indigenous bankers are individuals or private firms who receive deposits and give loans and thereby operate as banks. IBs accept deposits as well as lend money. They mostly operate in urban areas, especially in western and southern regions of the country.

2)       Money Lenders (MLs)
They are those whose primary business is money lending. Money lending in India is very popular both in urban and rural areas. Interest rates are generally high. Large amount of loans are given for unproductive purposes.

3)       Non - Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)
They consist of :-
1.        Chit Funds
Chit funds are savings institutions. It has regular members who make periodic subscriptions to the fund. The beneficiary may be selected by drawing of lots. Chit fund is more popular in Kerala and Tamilnadu.
2.       Nidhis :-
Nidhis operate as a kind of mutual benefit for their members only. The loans are given to members at a reasonable rate of interest. Nidhis operate particularly in South India.

3.        Loan Or Finance Companies
Loan companies are found in all parts of the country. Their total capital consists of borrowings, deposits and owned funds. They give loans to retailers, wholesalers, artisans and self employed persons. They offer a high rate of interest along with other incentives to attract deposits. They charge high rate of interest varying from 36% to 48% p.a.

4.        Finance Brokers

They are found in all major urban markets specially in cloth, grain and commodity markets. They act as middlemen between lenders and borrowers. They charge commission for their services.