Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) - Current Rate and Impact on Economy (2024)

What is Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)?

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is the minimum percentage of its total deposits that it must maintain as cash or cash equivalents with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The cash can either be held by the bank in its own vaults or parked with the RBI, on which it earns no interest. The bank cannot use this reserve to expand credit or to pay off debts.

The RBI uses it as one of the many monetary policy tools at its disposal to manage liquidity pressures and money supply. The RBI periodically reviews and determines the CRR rate. The CRR regulation is applicable only for scheduled commercial banks, but does not apply to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and regional rural banks (RRBs).

What is the Current Cash Reserve Ratio Rate in India?

The current CRR rate is 4.5%. This means that every scheduled commercial bank is required to maintain 4.5% of its net demand and time liabilities (i.e. deposits) with the Reserve Bank of India as cash or cash equivalents. The CRR rate is calculated for a bank on a fortnightly basis, which means that a bank’s compliance with the CRR limit is evaluated after every 14 days.

Did You Know?

The CRR rate was last changed on 4th May, 2022. The CRR rate was increased by 50 basis points from 4% to 4.5%. It has remained unchanged ever since.

How Does Cash Reserve Ratio Work?

CRR is an important monetary policy tool that is used by the RBI to control liquidity. When RBI increases the CRR, banks have less funds to lend. This increases the cost of borrowing as a result of which less money goes into circulation. This can help contain inflation, but may also reduce the pace of economic growth. On the other hand, when CRR is reduced, banks have more funds to lend. This injects more liquidity into the market, thereby increasing the pace of growth.

Currently, the cash balance to be maintained by a bank with RBI needs to be 4.5% of its Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL). This means that for every ₹100 deposited with a bank, ₹4.5 must be parked as cash either in the bank’s vault or with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Objectives of Cash Reserve Ratio

The primary objective of cash reserve ratio is to ensure that commercial banks have sufficient liquidity to meet the cash withdrawal demands of their depositors and other obligations.

Here are some of the other objectives of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR):

• It ensures that a fraction of the bank’s deposits are secured with the RBI to maintain solvency.
• It regulates the cash flow in the economy. The policies decided by the RBI determine how much money will stay in circulation.
• CRR helps keep inflation within limits. For instance, when inflation gets high, RBI increases the CRR to reduce the ability of banks to sanction loans. This results in the reduction of market liquidity, which helps bring down inflation.
• CRR helps during liquidity crunches in the market. During these periods, RBI reduces the CRR so that banks can lend more money to people to stimulate economic growth and revival.

How Does CRR Control Inflation?

RBI uses CRR as a monetary policy tool to control inflation. By increasing CRR, RBI can force banks to park more money with it, which in turn reduces their ability to lend money to borrowers. This increases the cost of borrowing, reduces the supply of money into the markets, and thereby helps bring down inflation.

Why Does the Cash Reserve Ratio Keep on Changing?

The RBI changes CRR from time to time to control inflation and liquidity risks. RBI can change it not only to stay in line with its monetary policy and fiscal goals, but also to ensure that depositors have a safety net, in case there is a sudden surge in demand for funds through withdrawals. It also helps keep banks solvent and prevents a build up of non-performing assets.

Penalties for Non-Maintenance of Cash Reserve Ratio

In the event of failure to comply with RBI’s Cash Reserve Ratio norms, a bank will be penalised as follows:

• If a bank fails to maintain a minimum of 90% of the required Cash Reserve Ratio on all days over a period of 14 days, such that the average CRR during the period falls below the prescribed limit, the following penalty charges will apply:
  • The penalty is only imposed on the amount by which the bank failed to meet the minimum CRR norm for the day
  • On the first day of failing to meet the minimum CRR limit, the bank will be charged 3% p.a. on top of the bank rate i.e. the interest rate charged by the RBI for lending funds to a commercial bank
  • On every subsequent day of failure to meet the RBI’s minimum CRR limit (during that particular fortnight), a fine of 5% p.a. will be applied over and above the bank rate for the day

Example:

Let us understand it better with an example. If the CRR norm for a bank for a particular day was ₹500 Crore and it managed to maintain ₹450 Crore for the day, then the penalty will be applied only on ₹50 Crore (500-450) and not on ₹450 Crore. For the first day, a penalty of 3% p.a. will be applied. But, on every subsequent day, the fine will be increased to 5% p.a. + the bank rate.

Cash Reserve Ratio Formula and Calculation

The calculation for CRR depends on a bank’s net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). In simple words, NDTL can be defined as the total deposits of a bank kept with the public and other banks minus other banks’ deposits. Liabilities that constitute NDTL include current deposits, fixed deposits, gold deposits, cash certificates, demand drafts, and dividends among others.

Formula for Calculating CRR

There is no specific mathematical formula for calculating CRR. It is simply the percentage of a bank’s NDTL that it must hold as cash reserves. Currently, it is 4.5%.

So, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) = Percentage of a bank’s total deposits i.e. NDTL held as cash or cash equivalents

How to Calculate CRR?

Calculating CRR is quite simple. Let’s understand it with an example.

Let’s assume that a bank has ₹500 crore in total deposits. Let us also assume that the CRR is 4.5%.

The minimum Cash Reserve Ratio that the bank must meet is 4.5% of ₹500 Crore = 4.5/100×500 Crore= ₹22.5 Crore

So, the bank will have to hold ₹22.5 Crore as cash in its vault or parked with the RBI. This amount cannot be used by the bank for investment and lending.

What Happens if CRR Increases?

When the RBI increases the cash reserve ratio (CRR), commercial banks are forced to hold a larger percentage of their total deposits as cash with the central bank. As a result, banks have less money available to lend or invest, which can lead to a decrease in the supply of credit in the economy. This can slow down the economy, as it becomes more difficult for individuals and businesses to access credit. But, sometimes the RBI needs to use this strategy to control inflation and oversupply of money.

Effect of Cash Reserve Ratio on Economy

1. Effect on Inflation

CRR is one of the most powerful monetary policy instruments available to the RBI to control inflation and overcirculation of cash.

The Reserve Bank of India enhances the CRR levels that help reduce the amount of money that commercial banks have to lend. In turn, it lessens the money supply in the economy. Although it can temporarily slow down the country’ economy, it is an effective ploy to control inflation.

2. Effect on Interest Rate

When the cash reserve ratio increases, banks reduce the expansion of credit. As a result, this will make people keep more deposits in their bank accounts. It forces banks to increase the rate of interest, thereby discouraging borrowers from applying for credit.

So, with higher interest rates, loan expenses increase, thereby drying up the availability of funds for borrowing.

Difference between Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)

The major differences between Cash Reserve Ratio and Statutory Liquidity ratio are as follows:

Final Word

CRR or Cash Reserve Ratio is the minimum stipulated percentage of deposits that commercial banks must hold with the Reserve Bank of India as cash or cash equivalents. Central Banks use CRR to control the interest rates for lending and for controlling money supply in the markets.

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