MASTER MIND FINNASSET: RBI allows IRFs on 91-day T-Bills

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

RBI allows IRFs on 91-day T-Bills

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed interest rate futures (IRFs) trading on 91-day Treasury Bills (T-Bills).

“We have decided to introduce interest rate futures on 91-day Treasury Bills issued by the Government of India,” the central bank said in a release on Monday.

“The 91-day T-Bill is a liquid short-term instrument. Hence, trading in futures on T-bills will give an indication about the interest rate trend at the short of the curve,” said G A Tadas, managing director with IDBI Gilts, a public-sector bond house.

In 2009, RBI allowed IRF trading on 10-year government securities.

“This means we will now have futures at both long and short ends of interest rate curve,” said the head of trading with a foreign bank.

“However, to get clarity on the interest rate curve, futures trading should be available on more instruments, with varying maturities across the curve. It would help build a mature market for interest rate futures,” the official said.

The central bank has allowed cash settlement in futures on T-Bills.

“The contract shall be cash-settled in Indian rupees,” said the release. This feature was not available in futures on the 10-year gilt. Instead, the contract was settled by physical delivery, resulting in the dull offtake of the instrument.

Since the time of inception, volumes have remained thin in IRFs on 10-year gilt as they were considered illiquid by market players. Thus, the introduction of IRFs on Treasury Bills will help develop the market. The central bank had also issued directions regarding the same.

The final settlement price of the contract shall be based on the weighted average price or yield obtained in the weekly auction of the 91-Day Treasury Bills on the date of expiry of the contract.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer - All investments in Mutual Funds and securities are subject to market risks and uncertainty of dividend distributions and the NAV of schemes may go up or down depending upon factors and forces affecting securities markets generally. The past performance of the schemes is not necessarily indicative of the future performance and may not necessarily provide a basis for comparison with other investments. Investors are advised to go through the respective offer documents before making any investment decisions. Prospective client(s) are advised to go through all comparable products in offer before taking any investment decisions. Mutual Funds and securities investments are subject to market risks and there is no assurance or guarantee that the objectives of the fund will be achieved. Information gathered & material used in this document is believed to be from reliable sources. Decisions based on the information provided on this newsletter/document are for your own account and risk.

In the preparation of the material contained in this document, Varun Vaid has used information that is publicly available, including information developed in-house. Some of the material used in the document may have been obtained from members/persons other than the Varun Vaid and which may have been made available to Varun Vaid. Information gathered & material used in this document is believed to be from reliable sources. Varun Vaid however does not warrant the accuracy, reasonableness and/or completeness of any information. For data reference to any third party in this material no such party will assume any liability for the same. Varun Vaid does not in any way through this material solicit any offer for purchase, sale or any financial transaction/commodities/products of any financial instrument dealt in this material. All recipients of this material should before dealing and or transacting in any of the products referred to in this material make their own investigation, seek appropriate professional advice.

Varun Vaid, shall not liable for any loss, damage of any nature, including but not limited to direct, indirect, punitive, special, exemplary, consequential, as also any loss of profit in any way arising from the use of this material in any manner. The recipient alone shall be fully responsible/are liable for any decision taken on the basis of this material. All recipients of this material should before dealing and/or transacting in any of the products referred to in this material make their own investigation, seek appropriate professional advice. The investments discussed in this material may not be suitable for all investors. Any person subscribing to or investigating in any product/financial instruments should do soon the basis of and after verifying the terms attached to such product/financial instrument. Financial products and instruments are subject to market risks and yields may fluctuate depending on various factors affecting capital/debt markets. Please note that past performance of the financial products and instruments does not necessarily indicate the future prospects and performance there of. Such past performance may or may not be sustained in future. Varun Vaid, including persons involved in the preparation or issuance of this material may; (a) from time to time, have long or short positions in, and buy or sell the securities mentioned herein or (b) be engaged in any other transaction involving such securities and earn brokerage or other compensation in the financial instruments/products/commodities discussed here in or act as advisor or lender / borrower in respect of such securities/financial instruments/products/commodities or have other potential conflict of interest with respect to any recommendation and related information and opinions. The said person may have acted upon and/or in a manner contradictory with the information contained here. No part of this material may be duplicated in whole or in part in any form and or redistributed without the prior written consent of Varun Vaid. This material is strictly confidential to the recipient and should not be reproduced or disseminated to anyone else.

Varun Vaid also does not take any responsibility for the contents of the advertisements published. Readers are advised to verify the contents on their own before acting there upon.