:00:00. > :00:20.Raghuram Rajan makes his swan song as head of the Indian Reserve Bank.
:00:21. > :00:23.He's been dubbed the "rockstar" central banker for curbing India's
:00:24. > :00:29.run-away inflation, but who will replace him?
:00:30. > :00:31.And is high-street banking on its last legs?
:00:32. > :00:33.We'll take a look at the technologies set
:00:34. > :00:42.to revolutionise the way we move our money.
:00:43. > :00:47.Also in the programme, we'll cross live to Asia to hear
:00:48. > :00:49.about China's latest set of inflation figures.
:00:50. > :00:55.We start in India where today Raghuram Rajan will make his last
:00:56. > :00:58.policy decision as governor of the Indian central bank.
:00:59. > :01:00.It's not often that policymakers are described as rock stars,
:01:01. > :01:03.and Mr Rajan will be a very difficult act to follow.
:01:04. > :01:06.When he took over as head of the central bank in 2013,
:01:07. > :01:08.India was suffering from rampant double-digit inflation
:01:09. > :01:10.and a currency that experienced sharp falls on a daily basis.
:01:11. > :01:13.Mr Rajan brought India in line with modern economies by adopting
:01:14. > :01:25.Since then prices are much more stable.
:01:26. > :01:27.The latest data shows the Indian inflation rate
:01:28. > :01:38.When Mr Rajan steps down in early September, his successor will be one
:01:39. > :01:40.of the key policymakers responsible for the fastest growing major
:01:41. > :01:52.Sameer Hashmi joins us from outside the Indian central bank.
:01:53. > :02:01.Nice to see you. It is quite an important day. Let's start with any
:02:02. > :02:11.decision they are likely to make it the central bank today. -- at. In
:02:12. > :02:15.less than an hour's time we will find out what Rajan's last decision
:02:16. > :02:18.is as far as monetary policy is concerned. Given what has happened
:02:19. > :02:24.in the last couple of months, Rajan has been vocal that inflation is a
:02:25. > :02:28.big worry for India, and he will not cut rates until the reserve bank of
:02:29. > :02:33.India, the central bank, is sure it is in the comfort zone, as they
:02:34. > :02:38.describe it. No surprises expected given it is Mr Rajan's last policy
:02:39. > :02:43.and during his tenure his focus has been keeping inflation low. It looks
:02:44. > :02:48.unlikely there will be rate cuts. So just explain, are we any clearer as
:02:49. > :02:51.to why he is going? There was controversy about the fact that he
:02:52. > :03:00.decided not to continue, and who might fill his shoes? Well, Mr
:03:01. > :03:04.Rajan, his three-year term comes to an end in September and the rule
:03:05. > :03:08.allows the Indian central bank governor to get a two-year
:03:09. > :03:12.extension. The Indian government, headed by Narendra Modi, there were
:03:13. > :03:16.voices in the government which were not in favour of Mr Rajan
:03:17. > :03:19.continuing. Now, there are various reasons for that, some are
:03:20. > :03:24.political, some feel that he was not doing a good enough job, some
:03:25. > :03:29.thought he kept interest rates too high. One of the key reasons or
:03:30. > :03:34.perceptions here is Mr Rajan is a very candid intellectual who does
:03:35. > :03:37.not shy away from speaking his mind. He has criticised many policies
:03:38. > :03:43.initiated by Narendra Modi's government and many think that is
:03:44. > :03:48.what went against him because the government does not want a central
:03:49. > :03:51.bank governor who speaks his mind, criticise decisions and even issues
:03:52. > :03:56.that doesn't fall in the domain of the Indian central bank. That is one
:03:57. > :03:59.key reason why the government is not keen to give him an extension and
:04:00. > :04:04.that is why Mr Rajan decided to quit. As far as York question, that
:04:05. > :04:08.is the million dollar question -- your question. The government is
:04:09. > :04:13.expected to announce it in the next couple of days. Some of the leading
:04:14. > :04:18.contenders include the former chief economist of the International
:04:19. > :04:24.Monetary Fund, there is also the chief economic adviser to India. The
:04:25. > :04:28.thinking is the government wants to replace Mr Rajan with the person who
:04:29. > :04:32.has global credentials so that it sends out the right message to the
:04:33. > :04:36.investors and the business community at large. Super. We will watch with
:04:37. > :04:38.interest. For now, thank you. It's not just central banking
:04:39. > :04:40.making the headlines. Today we receive the findings
:04:41. > :04:42.of a two-year investigation into competition in the UK
:04:43. > :04:44.commercial and consumer banking The country's watchdog is expected
:04:45. > :04:47.to highlight the role of technology in providing alternatives
:04:48. > :04:49.to traditional high street banks. Mondo Bank is a smartphone based
:04:50. > :04:51.current account provider. The company is set to receive
:04:52. > :04:54.its banking license later this year. With me is Paul Rippon,
:04:55. > :05:11.the company's deputy Chief Good morning, Paul. I would imagine
:05:12. > :05:15.this report coming out today is music to your ears, the fact they
:05:16. > :05:18.are likely to say that the main players on the high-street have to
:05:19. > :05:22.do more to increase their technology. Yes, the report out
:05:23. > :05:27.later today I am sure will give the big banks are big kick and I think
:05:28. > :05:32.that is very appropriate indeed. Yes, you are right. It is all about
:05:33. > :05:36.messages of transparency and also it is about these things, you know,
:05:37. > :05:40.smart phones. Three out of four of us are using them every day and it
:05:41. > :05:44.is about time banking took advantage of the fantastic power in these
:05:45. > :05:48.things. You have worked in banking for many years, worked for quite a
:05:49. > :05:52.couple of high street players and building societies. It is funny,
:05:53. > :05:56.because the smart device in Africa or India is the way to do banking,
:05:57. > :05:59.when many don't have access to a high-street bank. It is in all
:06:00. > :06:06.developed economies like the UK where we are far behind. You think
:06:07. > :06:08.so but already there is change. At Mondo Bank we're already seeing
:06:09. > :06:14.people with their fingers. Instead of with their feet. We have got
:06:15. > :06:19.about 200,000 people already that have said they want to hear and to
:06:20. > :06:23.know more about it. It is very exciting. I think change is
:06:24. > :06:28.happening already. Change is happening for few but not for the
:06:29. > :06:31.vast majority of people who use banks in the UK, and this report is
:06:32. > :06:35.basically going to criticise the main players in the industry to say
:06:36. > :06:38.they are not doing enough, not transparent enough, not telling us
:06:39. > :06:43.enough about when we are being charged and what we are being
:06:44. > :06:47.charged. Do you think high-street players will listen? I do believe
:06:48. > :06:54.they will listen. How long they will take to do anything about it is
:06:55. > :06:58.another thing entirely. About half of people, for example, use
:06:59. > :07:05.overdrafts, and I believe that is where this report will particularly
:07:06. > :07:11.focus on. Half people use an overdraft, I use mine, they can be
:07:12. > :07:14.quite expensive, and this is about time that phones are used and banks
:07:15. > :07:17.can make it much clearer. I think that is very good news but you are
:07:18. > :07:24.right that it will take a long time. It might take a long time and for
:07:25. > :07:31.those of us who are technophobes, using a phone to do my banking is
:07:32. > :07:35.scary, I won't put all my money and decisions on a smart device. Well,
:07:36. > :07:40.you know what, that is what these... They are incredibly powerful, and
:07:41. > :07:43.that is the job, so companies like Mondo, we are trying to make the
:07:44. > :07:47.experience magical, so you shouldn't need to do the hard work. That is
:07:48. > :07:51.one of the problems with banking at the moment. You have to do all the
:07:52. > :07:56.hard work. So let's make it feel like magic. And why shouldn't it be?
:07:57. > :07:59.Banking is magic, that is the first time I have heard that on this
:08:00. > :08:02.programme. Thanks very much for coming on. Let's move on.
:08:03. > :08:05.In the last few hours, we've received the latest inflation
:08:06. > :08:17.Lovely to see you. What's it like, good, bad or other? Nothing, it
:08:18. > :08:24.wasn't really that exciting. It goes to show that the cost of living in
:08:25. > :08:29.China rose by 1.8% in July from year ago levels because of rising
:08:30. > :08:32.vegetable prices in some areas. They were focusing on the producer price
:08:33. > :08:38.index, measuring cost of goods at factory gate, which fell 17% year on
:08:39. > :08:42.year last month and Chinese PDI has been negative for more than four
:08:43. > :08:45.years. Narrowing declines over the last couple of months have fuelled
:08:46. > :08:49.hopes the economy could be reaching the bottom of a painful slowdown and
:08:50. > :08:53.analysts has said the improvement in the PPI should benefit the corporate
:08:54. > :08:57.sector's profitability but it will also mainly help state-owned
:08:58. > :09:01.enterprises which dominate heavy industry. Well, this twin
:09:02. > :09:04.development coming out today, Sally, comes out of trade figures on
:09:05. > :09:11.Monday, which revealed exporter fallen nearly 4.5%, suggesting world
:09:12. > :09:16.demand is weakening, while the 12.5% tumble in imports is a reminder that
:09:17. > :09:23.China's economy is indeed slowing down. And this highlights that the
:09:24. > :09:28.strategy to improve the -- domestic consumption has failed to offset the
:09:29. > :09:32.marked slowdown in the mainland's traditional economic driver, so
:09:33. > :09:34.going forward still the major challenge of growth for the Chinese
:09:35. > :09:40.economy. All right, thank you so much. Let's quickly look at markets,
:09:41. > :09:44.so you have a sense of how it is going. Four days of gains for Japan.
:09:45. > :09:53.That is not right across the board. Oil is just down below $45 a barrel.
:09:54. > :09:55.I will see you very soon. We will talk you through the papers very
:09:56. > :10:09.soon. Say -- stay with us. Sally will be joining the very
:10:10. > :10:12.shortly to have a look at the papers around the world but first I want to
:10:13. > :10:14.bring you some news that has come from the housing charity,