As a result, volumes in the CLBO segment have spurted: the turnover on Friday was Rs 6,378 crore (Rs 63.78 billion), as against Rs 6,680 crore (Rs 66.8 billion) on Thursday.
Banks are being driven to the online CLBO market to meet their funds requirements as funds-flush corporates, mutual funds and insurance companies, including the Life Insurance Corporation, can trade on the CLBO platform but not in the call money market.
The turnover in the CLBO market was higher than in the repo market, continuing the trend set at the beginning of the week. The repo turnover was Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) less than in the CLBO market.
Non-bank lenders are allowed only to lend in the call money market. They have, however, been moving away from the call money market as the Reserve Bank of India is gradually converting the call money into a purely inter-bank market. But companies are allowed to lend and borrow in the CLBO market. Mutual funds and to some extent insurance companies are major lenders in the CLBO market.
CLBO volumes first hit Rs 6,321 crore (Rs 63.21 billion) on November 2 and just over Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) on November 11.
The average daily turnover in the CLBO market went up to Rs 4,829 crore (Rs 48.29 billion) in November from Rs 4,500 crore (Rs 45 billion) in October and from an average daily turnover of Rs 2,157 crore (Rs 21.57 billion) between April and September 2004.
The CLBO platform also affords both lenders and borrowers the opportunity of reversing trades before the end of the contracts.
This gives them the opportunity to take advantage of any sharp movements in rates. In contrast, repo transactions do not allow such reversal of trade mid-way. Loans are taken in the CLBO market on pledging securities and both borrowers and lenders remain anonymous.
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