Money and Credit

Class 10 Economics

On one side are the depositors who keep their money in the banks and on the other side are the borrowers who take loans from these banks.

Money as Medium of Exchange

The use of money spans a very large part of our everyday life. A person holding money can easily exchange it for any commodity or service that he or she might want. Thus everyone prefers to receive payments in money and then exchange the money for things that they want.

In a barter system where goods are directly exchanged without the use of money, double coincidence of wants is an essential feature. In contrast, in an economy where money is in use, money by providing the crucial intermediate step eliminates the need for double coincidence of wants.

Since money acts as an intermediate in the exchange process, it is called a medium of exchange.

Modern Forms of Money

Money is something that can act as a medium of exchange in transactions. Before the introduction of coins, a variety of objects was used as money. For example, since the very early ages, Indians used grains and cattle as money. Thereafter came the use of metallic coins — gold, silver, copper coins — a phase which continued well into the last century.

Modern forms of money include currency (paper notes and coins), and deposits with banks.

Currency

Modern forms of money include currency — paper notes and coins. Unlike the things that were used as money earlier, modern currency is not made of precious metal such as gold, silver and copper. And unlike grain and cattle, they are neither of everyday use. The modern currency is without any use of its own.

It is accepted as a medium of exchange because the currency is authorised by the government of the country. In India, the Reserve Bank of India issues currency notes on behalf of the central government. As per Indian law, no other individual or organisation is allowed to issue currency. Moreover, the law legalises the use of rupee as a medium of payment that cannot be refused in settling transactions in India. No individual in India can legally refuse a payment made in rupees. Hence, the rupee is widely accepted as a medium of exchange.

Deposits with Banks

The other form in which people hold money is as deposits with banks. At a point of time, people need only some currency for their day-to-day needs.

They deposit the extra cash with the banks by opening a bank account in their name. Banks accept the deposits and also pay an amount as interest on the deposits. In this way people’s money is safe with the banks and it earns an amount as interest. People also have the provision to withdraw the money as and when they require. Since the deposits in the bank accounts can be withdrawn on demand, these deposits are called demand deposits.

Loan Activities of Banks

Banks keep only a small proportion of their deposits as cash with themselves. This is kept as provision to pay the depositors who might come to withdraw money from the bank on any given day. Since, on any particular day, only some of its many depositors come to withdraw cash, the bank is able to manage with this cash.

Banks use the major portion of the deposits to extend loans. There is a huge demand for loans for various economic activities. Banks make use of the deposits to meet the loan requirements of the people. In this way, banks mediate between those who have surplus funds (the depositors) and those who are in need of these funds (the borrowers). Banks charge a higher interest rate on loans than what they offer on deposits. The difference between what is charged from borrowers and what is paid to depositors is their main source of income.

Credit

A large number of transactions in our day-to-day activities involve credit in some form or the other. Credit (loan) refers to an agreement in which the lender supplies the borrower with money, goods or services in return for the promise of future payment.

In rural areas, the main demand for credit is for crop production. Crop production involves considerable costs on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, water, electricity, repair of equipment, etc. There is a minimum stretch of three to four months between the time when the farmers buy these inputs and when they sell the crop. Farmers usually take crop loans at the beginning of the season and repay the loan after harvest. Repayment of the loan is crucially dependent on the income from farming.

Terms of Credit

Every loan agreement specifies an interest rate which the borrower must pay to the lender along with the repayment of the principal. In addition, lenders may demand collateral (security) against loans.

Collateral is an asset that the borrower owns (such as land, building, vehicle, live stocks, deposits with banks) and uses this as a guarantee to a lender until the loan is repaid. If the borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender has the right to sell the asset or collateral to obtain payment. Property such as land titles, deposits with banks, livestock are some common examples of collateral used for borrowing.

Interest rate, collateral and documentation requirement, and the mode of repayment together comprise what is called the terms of credit.

Formal Sector Credit in India

The various types of loans can be grouped as formal sector loans and informal sector loans. Among the former are loans from banks and cooperatives. The informal lenders include moneylenders, traders, employers, relatives and friends, etc.

The Reserve Bank of India supervises the functioning of formal sources of loans. For instance, the banks maintain a minimum cash balance out of the deposits they receive. The RBI monitors the banks in actually maintaining cash balance. Similarly, the RBI sees that the banks give loans not just to profit-making businesses and traders but also to small cultivators, small scale industries, to small borrowers etc.

Compared to the formal lenders, most of the informal lenders charge a much higher interest on loans. Thus, the cost to the borrower of informal loans is much higher. Higher cost of borrowing means a larger part of the earnings of the borrowers is used to repay the loan. Hence, borrowers have less income left for themselves.