Mumbai— A working group formed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended extending the trading hours of the call money market from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to better align with the real-time payment ecosystem and improve fund management for banks.
The proposal, led by RBI Executive Director Radha Shyam Ratho, does not suggest changes to trading hours for other markets such as government securities, forex, or interest rate derivatives.
The group’s report noted growing demand—particularly from standalone primary dealers (SPDs)—for longer trading windows and recommended keeping the transaction reporting window open until 7:30 p.m.
The call money market, open only to banks and SPDs, has seen significant growth over the past decade. Annual turnover surged from ₹281.37 lakh crore in 2014–15 to ₹1,324.05 lakh crore in 2024–25, driven primarily by the rise in collateralised transactions.
Collateralised market turnover rose sharply to ₹1,296.62 lakh crore, while uncollateralised call money market turnover declined from ₹36.10 lakh crore to ₹27.42 lakh crore over the same period.
Co-operative banks remain the primary lenders in this market, with SPDs being the main borrowers. (Source: IANS)
