Banking and Financial News for 9 October 2021

 09.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 RBI maintains FY22 growth forecast at 9.5%, but scales it down for FY23 : The Reserve Bank of India has retained its growth forecast at 9.5% for FY22 while revising down its inflation forecast to 5.3% (from 5.7% earlier) given the lower than expected food inflation momentum. RBI’s in- house model expects it to ease further in FY’22-23 to 4.5-5.2 per cent. But real GDP growth may be lower at 7.8 per cent in the next fiscal. Inflation pressures are expected to ease in the current quarter. Consumer price indices (CPI) inflation is seen at 5.1% in Q2, 4.5% in Q3 and 5.8% in Q4 of FY22 with risks broadly balanced. It is pegged at 5.3 per cent from 5.7 per cent earlier for FY’22 as a whole. "The CPI headline momentum is moderating with the easing of food prices which, combined with favourable base effects, could bring about a substantial softening in inflation in the near-term," RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said. - Economic Times

🍒 RBI increases IMPS limit to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2 lakh earlier : The Reserve Bank of India has increased the limit of IMPS transaction to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2 lakh earlier for convenience of the consumers. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced that the increased limit for the digital payment mode used for making immediate transfer of money will make it convenient for consumers to transfer higher sums. The RBI has been taking steps to make it easier for consumers to make digital transfers. It had made the RTGS transfers, used for higher value transaction, 24x7. - Economic Times

🍒 RBI moves NCLT against SREI Equipment Finance and SREI Infra : The Reserve Bank of India has taken the Srei Infrastructure Finance and Srei Equipment Finance to the National Company Law Tribunal's Kolkata bench on Friday, a day after the Bombay High Court rejected a writ petition by Srei group promoter Hemant Kanoria against the central bank move to supersede the boards of the company. This is on expected line as the central bank had announced on October 4 that it would take steps to refer the Srei case to the bankruptcy court. - Economic Times

🍒 RBI Guv responds to SBI note about excess liquidity; says banks must do own risk assessment : Two-and-a-half weeks after the country’s largest bank, State Bank of India, flagged risks to banks' margins from excess liquidity and pricing of credit products, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said the lenders have to conduct own risk assessments and price loans accordingly. “I don’t think SBI has flagged this as a complaint. I think SBI has flagged this issue as a concern… which is for banks to take note of. Whatever be the liquidity situation, in any case banks have enough liquidity and RBI has the reverse repo windows open. It is for banks to do their own risk assessment and price their loans accordingly,” Das said at a press conference following RBI’s fourth bimonthly money policy statement for 2021-22. - Economic Times

🍒 RBI says reviewing ATM outage circular after bank’s feedback : The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said that it was reviewing its recent scheme on ATM replenishment whereby the regulator put in place mechanisms to penalise lenders. The central bank deputy governor T Rabi Shankar said that they had received inputs from banks and were in the process of reviewing it. “The idea behind the penalty on outages in ATMs was to ensure that these services are available as much as possible in areas where the attention to ATMs is less, which is largely rural and semi-urban areas,” Shankar said. “We have received various feedback, some positive while some raise concerns. There are issues specific to location (of ATMs). We are trying to take all the feedback and have a review and see how best it can be implemented.” - Economic times

🍒 CBI files charge sheet against Rana Kapoor and associates in Rs 1,700 crore scam : Rana Kapoor, formerly the Managing Director of Yes Bank, and his wife - Bindu Rana Kapoor - have been named in a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Court of Special Judge for CBI Cases, Mumbai The charges against Kapoor include allegations of abuse of power while he was the head of Yes Bank, a case in that matter was registered in March 2020. Kapoor is alleged to have acquired a premium property - mortgaged with the bank - at below market prices. The property was collateral for a Rs 400 crore loan. Reports suggest that Kapoor and his wife bought the place for Rs 378 crore (whose market value was closer to Rs 500 crore) and did not use the proceeds to liquidate the existing loan. - Economic times

🍒 Bank of Maharashtra launches digital lending platform for home, car loans : State-owned Bank of Maharashtra on Friday said it has launched a digital lending platform for its home and car loan customers. The platform will enable prospective retail loan seekers to get loans digitally through a paperless process at the convenience of their place and time of choice, the bank said in a release. The platform is capable of validating KYC, CIBIL and financials of the applicant and provide in-principle approval in hassle free manner, it said. - Economic times

🍒 Gradual unwinding of liquidity measures to support growth, keep inflation under control: Bankers : Terming the Reserve Bank's Friday monetary policy announcement as balanced, bankers said the gradual unwinding of liquidity measures will support growth while keeping inflation under control. The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent and maintained an accommodative policy stance. The RBI also suspended the G-Sec Acquisition Programme (G-SAP) and is proposed to undertake five 14-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions on a fortnightly basis between today and December 3, 2021. - Economic times

🍒 Bandhan Bank's collection efficiency improves sharply : Private sector lender Bandhan Bank said its collection efficiency improved to 90% at the end September from 80% three months back with the easing of lockdowns and fall in number of Covid-19 active cases that offered relief and room for economic recovery. The bank's repayment collection from microfinance vertical, which contributes about a third of its loan portfolio, also improved to 86% from 72% over the same period, the bank said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges. - Economic times

🍒 Forex reserves down by USD 1.169 billion to USD 637.477 billion : The country's foreign exchange reserves dipped by USD 1.169 billion to stand at USD 637.477 billion in the week ended October 1, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week ended September 24, 2021, the reserves had declined by USD 997 million to USD 638.646 billion. The reserves had surged by USD 8.895 billion to a lifetime high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021. During the reporting week ended October 1, 2021, the dip in the forex kitty was on account of a fall in the foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves. - Economic times

🍒 RBI maintains status quo on rates : Amidst uneven growth recovery and concerns over a spike in inflation, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India chose to maintain a status quo on key rates. It also continued with its accommodative stance to support growth. “The MPC voted unanimously to maintain status-quo about policy repo rate and by a majority of 5:1 to maintain the accommodative stance,” said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, who chairs the MPC, adding that the stance remains accommodative to revive and maintain growth. - Business Line

🍒 Maintaining status quo on rates will help further revive economy: Bankers : The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to maintain the status quo on rates would help in a full-fledged economic revival but bankers and market participants are awaiting clear signals on liquidity normalisation. Raj Kiran Rai G, Chairman, Indian Banks’ Association, and Managing Director and CEO, Union Bank, said, “Today’s policy is announced against the back drop of nascent signals of recovery of the domestic economy and mixed cues from the global economy.” - Business Line

🍒 Select NBFCs to now have internal ombudsman on lines of banks: Das : With the objective of upping customer experience, the Reserve Bank on Friday announced an internal ombudsman scheme (IOS) to redress grievances at select non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). The IOS will be on the lines of a similar system adopted at banks and will redress grievances related to deficiencies in service, Governor Shaktikanta Das said, announcing the new measure in the statement on regulatory policies along with the bi-monthly review of the monetary policy. “The increased significance, strength and reach of NBFCs across the country have necessitated having in place better customer experience including grievance redress practices,” he said. - Business Line

🍒 RBI extends three-year SLTRO facility to SFBs : The Reserve Bank of India has extended the three-year special long-term repo operations facility for Small Finance Banks by two months till December-end 2021. This facility, which is available at the repo rate of 4 per cent, aggregating ₹10,000 crore was announced by the central bank in May 2021 to help SFBs provide last mile credit to individuals and small businesses. - Business Line

🍒 Monetary Policy Committee revises FY22 retail inflation projection to 5.3% : The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) revised its retail inflation projection for FY22 downwards to 5.3 per cent against the earlier 5.7 per cent even as it retained its projection for real GDP growth at 9.5 per cent. If the downward revision in retail inflation projection materialises “and growth gathers further momentum”, it could set the stage for a hike in the policy repo rate, say economists. - Business Line

🍒 RBI empanells Dhanlaxmi Bank as Agency Bank ; Thrissur-based Dhanlaxmi Bank has been empanelled as ‘Agency Bank’ by the Reserve Bank of India to undertake general banking businesses of Central and State governments on behalf of the RBI. Dhanlaxmi Bank entered into agreement with the RBI at the Department of Government and Bank Accounts (DGBA), Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai. - Business Line

🍒 PMC Bank at an advanced stage of resolution, says RBI deputy governor : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is examining an application filed by Centrum Financial Services and fintech startup BharatPe for a licence to set up a small finance bank and take over Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, a senior RBI official said on Friday. “I think Centrum and its partner BharatPe have submitted their application for licence and is at an advanced stage of consideration. Once that final licence is approved, we will very shortly be proceeding ahead with the draft scheme and getting the requisite approvals. So, it is in an advanced stage," said Rajeshwar Rao, deputy governor, RBI. - Live Mint

🍒 Pendency of proceedings in cheque bounce cases dampened ease of doing business in India: Supreme Court : The pendency of proceedings in cheque bounce cases and the multiplicity of complaints, in which a cause of action arising from one transaction is litigated, has “dampened” the ease of doing business in India and hindered investments, the Supreme Court said on Friday. The apex court said that the nature of offence under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act, which relates to the dishonour of cheque, is quasi-criminal and the purpose of the enactment is to “provide security” to creditors and instill confidence in the banking system of the country. - Financial Express

🍒 Sensex closes above 60k, Nifty tops 17,800 : After recording an intraday high of 60,212.3, the BSE Sensex at closed 60,059.06, up 381.23 points or 0.64 per cent. It recorded an intraday low of 59,830.93. The Nifty 50 which narrowly missed the 18,000-mark with an intraday high of 17,941.85, closed at 17,895.20, up 104.85 points or 0.59 per cent. It hit an intraday low of 17,840.35 Reliance, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Motors and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Coal India, SBI Life, NTPC, Maruti and Shree Cement were the top losers. 

🍒 Rupee slips below 75/USD level ; The rupee opened on a weak note and fell below the 75 per US dollar level in early trade on Friday as rising crude prices and strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 75, then fell further to 75.15, registering a decline of 36 paise from its last close..

Banking and Financial News Update for October 8, 2021

 Banking and Financial News Updates

*Economic Times*

📝 States to offer up to 25% road tax concession for vehicles purchased after scrapping old ones

📝 Srei Group Promoters move Bombay HC against RBI insolvency action

📝 Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Tech raises fresh capital

📝 Macrotech Developers Q2 sales bookings jump 88% to Rs 2,003 cr

📝 Inox Wind board okays issuance of preference shares worth Rs 1,100 cr to promoters

📝 US oil rises to highest since 2014 amid global energy crunch

📝 Bank credit grows by 6.67 pc; deposits by 9.34 pc

📝 Cabinet approves Rs 4,445 cr to create seven PM MITRA textile parks

📝 Greaves Cotton, eWheelers set up multi-brand EV chains

📝 Tata Steel's output grows 7% in July-September

📝 Govt reduces bank guarantees, allows 100% FDI under automatic route for telcos

📝 Bootstrapped Ozonetel Communications gets first funding in 14 years

📝 kWh Bikes raises $2 million in seed funding from LetsVenture, others

 

*Business Standard*

📝 Centre to revise coal stock norms to avert future crisis

📝 Air India seeks transaction advisors for selling PF trusts securities

📝 US-based Poshmark enters India's booming circular fashion industry

📝 Indian Oil in talks with state transport undertakings for hydrogen projects

📝 Moody's raises rating outlook to stable for 18 Indian companies, banks

📝 Good Glamm Group acquires D2C brand The Moms Co for around Rs 500 cr

📝 TCS' long-standing partnership with SBI extended for another 5 years

📝 Affordable housing loan defaults surge to 7.2%, says rating agency Icra

📝 Sebi asks MFs to direct more trades towards RFQ platform on exchanges

📝 Cabinet approves bonus equal to 78 days' wage for 1.1 mn railway employees

📝 Domestic LPG cylinder price hiked by Rs 15, now costs Rs 899.50 in Delhi

📝 IMF sees inflation subsiding in 2022, supply risks may keep it elevated

*Financial Express*

📝 Udyam portal completes 5 million registrations: MSME Secy

📝 Jio, Bharti may see 5-7% sequential revenue rise, steady margin in Q2: Jefferies

📝 Peak power demand in Delhi inches past that of 2019 and 2020

📝 Treasury Bill cut-off yield rises on expectation of reverse repo hike

📝 Attero Recycling plans public listing in 3 yrs, to double capacity by 2022

📝 Sebi tweaks trading norms for mutual funds on RFQ platform

📝 India’s Covid-19 vaccine tally set to cross 100-crore mark as Serum keeps supplies going

*Mint*

📝 Hindustan Zinc charts $1 bn plan to turn green

📝 AC maker EPACK to raise ₹160 crore from ICICI Ventures

📝 Search for CXO level roles in India grows 80-100% during Sept quarter: Report

📝 US private payrolls pick up in September: ADP report 

📝 Karur Vysya Bank revises MCLR rates with effect from 7 Oct 

📝 Air passenger traffic rises to 6.9 mn in Sep

📝 Equity management platform Qapita raises $15 million in Series A round

📝 LOGOS leases 300,000 sq ft Haryana warehousing space to French firm Geodis

📝 IDBI Bank launches festive offers on home, auto, education loans

📝 IMD predicts fair weather condition this week as Southwest Monsoon retreats

📝 BharatPe forays into Buy Now Pay Later segment with launch of postpe

📝 Tata Power, BluWave-ai join hands for AI automation of real-time electricity ops

Banking and Financial News Update for October 6, 2021

06.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Central Bank of India enters co-lending partnership with lIFL Home Finance : Central Bank of India on Tuesday announced that has entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with IIFL Home Finance.  In its regulatory filing it said, Central Bank of India has entered into a strategic Co-lending Partnership with lIFL Home Finance Ltd to offer SME LAP Loan product under priority sector to MSME borrowers subject to the compliance with the applicable law(s) including the applicable guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India (RBl). - Live Mint.

🍒 State-owned Canara Bank cuts MCLR by up to 15 bps : State-owned Canara Bank on Tuesday announced an up to 15 basis points cut in its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR). The bank has decided to reduce the MCLR for one-year tenor by 10 basis points to 7.25 per cent effective from October 7, Canara Bank said in a regulatory filing. Most of the consumer loans such as personal, auto and home are priced on the basis of the one-year MCLR. The bank has lowered MCLR on overnight and one-month tenors by 0.15 per cent to 6.55 per cent. - Business Line

🍒 HDFC Bank launches festive offers, partners with over 10,000 merchants : Private lender HDFC Bank on Tuesday said that it has partnered with over 10,000 merchants for its Festive Treats 3.0 campaign, a near 10 fold increase from 2020. Customers can choose from 10,000 offers on cards, loans and easy EMIs.  “As India unlocks, we are also trying to spread a little cheer in the lives of people and help the overall national economic good,” said Arvind Kapil, Group Head – Retail Assets, HDFC Bank. “This is reflected in our range of offers spanning Personal loans, Car loans, two-wheeler loans as well as the Business Loan & working capital loans for really small businesses.” - Economic times

🍒 HDFC Bank posts strong loan growth in September quarter : In signs that bank credit growth may be on an uptrend, private lender HDFC Bank said its advances book grew by around 15.4% at the end of the September quarter, proforma numbers released by the bank showed. The lender’s total loans aggregated to Rs 11.98 lakh crore and grew 4.4% sequentially. As per the Bank's internal business classification, retail loans grew by around 13% over September quarter last year and 5.5% over June. Commercial and rural banking loans grew by around 27.5% year-on-year at the end of the September 2021 quarter while other wholesale loans grew by around 6%. HDFC Bank’s total deposits aggregated to Rs 14.06 lakh crore at the end of September 30, 2021, a growth of around 14.4% over September last year. - Economic times

🍒 Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes 1st scheduled private sector bank to collect direct, indirect taxes : Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (KMBL) has received approval from the government for collection of direct and indirect taxes, such as income tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST) etc, through its banking network.  With this, the bank becomes the first scheduled private sector bank to receive approval after the announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allowing all banks to participate in government-related business. - Economic times

🍒 Festive fervour: Credit card spends zoom 54% over last year : Buoyed by the festive season credit card spends are signalling a revival of consumer spending. Indians spend a total of Rs 77,981 crore in August a rise of 54% over last year figures, latest RBI data showed. Spends on credit cards also rose 4% sequentially, when spending in July was recorded at Rs 75119 crore. Before the pandemic hit in February last year, credit card spends were recorded at Rs 62,902 crore. Bankers are hopeful that spends will rise further in October and November. “We are seeing a significant revival on ground, and shows that consumer spending is back, our range of festive offers on credit cards is not just about coming back with a bang but also about spurring India’s consumption story,” said Parag Rao, Group Head - Payments, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking, and IT, HDFC Bank. - Economic times

🍒 IDFC First Bank clocks 10 per cent loan growth in Q2 : IDFC First Bank on Tuesday said it has posted 9.75 per cent growth in advances at Rs 1,17,243 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2021. Gross Funded Assets stood at Rs 1,06,828 crore at the end of the second quarter of 2020-21, it said in a regulatory filing. The bank's deposits also rose 20.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 83,793 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 69,368 crore in the same period a year ago, it said. The bank's low-cost deposits -- current account and saving deposits (CASA) -- stood at 51.9 per cent of the total liabilities during the quarter. - Economic times

🍒 SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd stuck in 5% lower circuit as RBI supersedes co’s Board : The shares of SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) were locked in the 5 per cent lower circuit during the morning trade on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of India superseded the Board of Directors of SIFL and SREI Equipment Finance Limited.  The shares of SIFL opened at ₹8.17, down ₹0.43 or 5 per cent on the BSE as against the previous close of ₹8.60 and were locked in the 5 per cent lower circuit post opening. It was trading at ₹8.20 on the NSE, down ₹0.40 or 4.65 per cent. - Business Line

🍒 IndusInd Bank records 10% loan growth in September : Private sector lender IndusInd Bank on Tuesday said it has posted a 10 per cent growth in advances at ₹2,21,821 crore for the second quarter ended September 30. Net advances stood at ₹2,01,247 crore at the end of the second quarter of the last financial year, IndusInd Bank said in a regulatory filing. The bank's deposits also rose by 21 per cent (year-on-year) to ₹2,75,486 crore in the quarter under review, from ₹2,28,279 crore in the same period a year ago, it said. - Business Line

🍒 Rural insurtech start-up GramCover raises $7 million in Series A funding ; Leading rural insurtech start-up GramCover has raised $7 million through its Series A funding, led by Siana Capital and Inflexor Ventures. Stride Ventures also participated in this round of Series A, the first round of institutional funding led by one or more investors.  Omidyar Network India, Flourish Ventures and Emphasis Ventures (EMVC) have already invested in GramCover. Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor for the funding. GramCover, a tech-enabled insurance marketplace for rural India, has adopted a unique technology-led distribution and servicing model customised for rural India to minimise the inefficiencies and transaction costs involved in protecting people’s assets and families. - Business Line

🍒 Fino Payments Bank gets SEBI nod to float IPO : Fino Payments Bank has received market regulator SEBI’s nod for launching a ₹1,300 crore Initial Public Offering (IPO).  SEBI has issued its observation letter for the proposed IPO. The issuance of observation letter on October 1 implies SEBI go ahead for the IPO. Fino Payments Bank IPO is likely to see fresh issue of equity shares worth ₹300 crore and an Offer for Sale of 15,602,999 equity shares by promoter Fino Paytech Limited (FPL). The payments bank may consider a pre-IPO placement aggregating upto ₹60 crore. - Business Line

🍒 SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd stuck in 5% lower circuit as RBI supersedes co’s Board : The shares of SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) were locked in the 5 per cent lower circuit during the morning trade on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of India superseded the Board of Directors of SIFL and SREI Equipment Finance Limited.  The shares of SIFL opened at ₹8.17, down ₹0.43 or 5 per cent on the BSE as against the previous close of ₹8.60 and were locked in the 5 per cent lower circuit post opening. It was trading at ₹8.20 on the NSE, down ₹0.40 or 4.65 per cent. - business line

🍒 HDFC AMC files paper for 9 passive funds : HDFC Asset Management Company has filed papers with Sebi for launching nine passive funds including exchange-traded funds on Nifty Growth Sectors 15, Nifty IT, Nifty Next 50, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty 100 Low Volatility 30, Nifty 100 Quality 30, Nifty 200 Momentum 30 and NV 20. Being the market leader and one of the early entrants into the asset management business, the fund house has few options to launch a new product on actively managed funds category as per Sebi scheme Categorization and Rationalization of Mutual Fund. - Business line

🍒 IRDAI, Banks Board Bureau in the dock on promotions in insurance sector : All is not well in the government insurance sector with regard to elevation of officials, it seems.  Recently, orders by two different High Courts, in a matter of two months, relating to non-promotion of insurance industry experts, has shocked the sector. In both cases, the court decisions were in favour of the petitioners. In one case, the aggrieved party is Ravi, General Manager, National Insurance Company Ltd. And in the other, it was S.N. Jayasimhan, Joint Director now known as General Manager, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). - Business Stnadard

🍒 Axis Bank economists don't see rate hike in upcoming monetary policy review : Economists at private sector lender Axis Bank do not see the Reserve Bank hike key rates at the policy review later this week to contain mounting inflationary pressures, even though the market as a whole has already priced in a 10-15 bps rise in the reverse repo, according to its Chief Economist Saugata Bhattacharya. The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee has not changed the key policy rates since May 22, 2020, when it had slashed the interest rate to a historic low of 4 per cent in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand. - Live Mint

🍒 Over 1.5 lakh family pensioners are going to benefit: IBA CEO on bank employees family pension revision : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted banks to amortise the additional liability on account of revision in a family pension over five years beginning 2021-22. The banks, the RBI said, will be required to make appropriate disclosures of the accounting policy followed in this regard in the 'Notes to Accounts' to the financial statements. The relaxation follows a request by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) that it would be difficult for some banks to absorb large amounts of liability with regard to revision in the family pension in a single year. - Live Mint

🍒 Bank employees family pension revision: RBI eases norms for banks : The Reserve Bank on Monday permitted banks to amortise the additional liability on account of revision in family pension over five years beginning 2021-22. The banks, the RBI said, will be required to make appropriate disclosures of the accounting policy followed in this regard in the 'Notes to Accounts' to the financial statements. The relaxation follows a request by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) that it would be difficult for some banks to absorb large amounts of liability with regard to revision in the family pension in a single year. - Live Mint

🍒 Rupee Co-op Bank seeks govt intervention to resolve problems : The administrator of the Rupee Cooperative Bank, CA Sudhir Pandit, met Union minister for state for finance & banking Bhagwat Karad, urging him to intervene to resolve issues being faced by the bank.  According to Pandit, although 99% depositors will get a refund of their entire deposits as per the amended Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) Act, high-value depositors with deposits of more than Rs 5 lakh will lose 65% of their deposits if the bank goes into liquidation. “A majority of these depositors are senior citizens and entire liquidity of around Rs 800 crore will be exhausted once deposits below Rs 5 lakh are fully refunded,” he explained. If the bank’s liquidity is exhausted, no other bank will come forward for a merger, he pointed out. - Financial express

🍒 IndusInd Bank share price up 4% on better deposits, advances number ; IndusInd Bank share price added 4 percent intraday on October 5 after the private lender reported better deposits and advances numbers for the September quarter. The net advances rose 10 percent to Rs 2,21,821 crore against Rs 2,01,247 crore in the same quarter last year, IndusInd Bank said in a statement to exchanges. Its deposits grow 21 percent YoY at Rs 2,75,486 crore against Rs 2,28,279 crore. - Moneyconrol.

🍒 Gold prices rise by Rs 288 to Rs 46,682/10 gm on strong demand; Silver up Rs 908 a kg : Gold prices soared by Rs 288 to Rs 46,682 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market on rupee weakness and improving consumer demand. However, weak global cues, tapering fears and rising Treasury yield and dollar index capped the upside.  The price of 10 gram, 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 42,761 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram stood at Rs 46,682 plus GST. The 18-carat gold is quoted at Rs 35,012 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices surged by Rs 908 to Rs 60,905 per kg against its closing price on October 4.

🍒 Rupee slips 13 paise to close at 74.44 against US dollar : The rupee fell 13 paise to close at 74.44 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday weighed down by the strengthening of the greenback in the overseas market and rising crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened on a weak note and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.41 and a low of 74.63 against the US dollar in day trade. The local unit finally settled at 74.44 a dollar, down 13 paise over its previous close.

🍒 Sensex ends 445 points higher and Nifty above 17,800, led by oil-and-gas sector : The BSE Sensex closed at 59,744.88, up 445.56 points or 0.75 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 59,778.87 and a low of 59,127.04. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,822.30, up 131.05 points or 0.74 per cent, near its intraday high of 17,833.45. It hit an intraday low of 17,640.90. ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Coal India, IOC and SBI Life were the top gainers on the Nifty 50, while Cipla, Hindalco, Shree Cement, Sun Pharma and Tata Consumer were the top losers.

Banking and Financial News for October 5, 2021

05.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 RBI grants licence to NARCL: IBA CEO : The Reserve Bank on Monday gave licence to the Rs 6,000 crore National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL), a move that will help kickstart operations of the bad bank. NARCL was incorporated in July in Mumbai following registration with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). "Happy to share #RBI has given License to #NARCL on 4.10.2021. The approval has been accorded under Section 3 of #SARFAESI Act 2002," Indian Banks' Association (IBA) CEO Sunil Mehta tweeted. IBA, entrusted with the task of setting up the bad bank, has put a preliminary board for NARCL in place. - Economic times

🍒 SBI, Indian Navy launch NAV-eCash card : State Bank of India and Indian Navy on Monday launched SBI's NAV-eCash card onboard the country's largest naval aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The card will obviate the difficulties faced by personnel onboard in handling physical cash during deployment of the ship at high seas, the bank said in a release. The infrastructure at naval ships inhibits traditional payment solutions particularly when the ship is in high seas where there is no connectivity. NAV-eCash card, with its dual-chip technology, will facilitate both online as well as offline transactions, the release said. - Economic times

🍒 Bank of Baroda to anchor its app, bob World, as the main bank : Bank of Baroda is planning to position its digital platform bob World centrally as the main bank, added to which all the other banking channels will function. The public sector lender is taking up a strategy similar to what SBI has been trying to do by integrating all its services on its YONO platform. MD & CEO Sanjiv Chadha told TOI that post the pandemic the bank had seen a spike in digital transactions, and that almost twice the number of branch visits were happening on the app. - Economic times

🍒 HSBC executes blockchain-enabled trade transaction for AMNS and UAE's Universal Tube : Foreign lender HSBC on Monday said it has successfully executed a blockchain-enabled live trade finance transaction between ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India and UAE's Universal Tube and Plastic Industries. Benefits of executing such a transaction include enhancing transparency and security for all parties, and reducing document negotiation cycle time to around one day from a week, it said. The transaction reinforces the commercial and operational viability of blockchain as an alternative to conventional exchanges for paper-based documentation, as per a statement from HSBC. - Economic times

🍒 Reserve Bank supersedes boards of Srei Infrastructure, Srei Equipment Finance ; Atmadip Ray The Reserve Bank of India said on Monday it has superseded the board of directors of non-banking financial companies Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd and Srei Equipment Finance Limited due to governance concerns and defaults, adding that it will initiate bankruptcy proceedings against them. Rajneesh Sharma, the former Chief General Manager of the Bank of Baroda, has been appointed the administrator. Last week, a consortium of lenders led by UCO Bank sought central bank directions on pursuing recovery of dues from the Srei Group after loans worth about Rs 30,000 crore to the Kolkata-based financier officially qualified to be moved to the list of non-performing assets (NPA) this quarter. - Economic times

🍒 KVG Bank bags two PFRDA awards : Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) sponsored by Canara Bank Bank has bagged two awards from Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) for significant enrolment under Atal Pension Yojana (APY). P Gopi Krishna, Chairman of KVGB, who received the awards from Supratim Bandopadhyay, Chairman of PFRDA in a summit at Chennai on Monday, said so far the bank has enrolled (cumulative) 2.30 lakh accounts under APY. During 2020-21, the bank enrolled 68,961 accounts against the target of 38,160, he said. - Business Line

🍒 FIDC seeks refinance mechanism for NBFCs : Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has sought a refinancing mechanism for non-banking finance companies and other measures to further credit flow to MSMEs through these shadow banks. In a letter to SIDBI Chairman and Managing Director S Ramann, FIDC has said there is a dire need for an effective refinance mechanism on similar lines as the NHB refinance to ensure diversity and greater regularity in sources of funds to NBFCs. - Business Line

🍒 YES Bank advances edge up 3.6 per cent, deposits rise 30 per cent : Private sector lender YES Bank posted a 3.6 per cent increase in its loans and advances as on September 30, 2021, to Rs 1.72 lakh crore from Rs 1.66 lakh crore a year ago. Of this, gross retail disbursements expanded at a much faster pace and jumped up by 126.6 per cent to Rs 8,531 crore as on September 30, 2021, compared to Rs 3,764 crore a year ago. - Business Line

🍒 Retail and MSMEs likely to see rise in slippages, say bankers : Asset quality of lenders did not see a sharp uptick despite severe economic disruptions due to Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021 on timely regulatory steps like restructuring and liquidity support. Now, owing to the present economic recovery phase, households and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) saw a rise in defaults due to the end of payment moratorium and delayed business payments, said bankers. Rating agency CRISIL has estimated that stressed assets — non-performing assets and restructured loans — in banks’ portfolios could touch 11 per cent by March 2022, up from 9 per cent in March 2021  - Business Line.

🍒 Axis Bank offers 10-15% cashback on Flipkart, Amazon to new customers : Axis Bank has announced mega offers for its new customers of its recently launched ASAP Digital Savings Accounts. Over and above the offers by the back for e-commerce platforms, customers will get flat 10 per cent to 15 per cent cashback at Flipkart and Amazon and up to 45 per cent cashback on more than 30 major brands. The announcement comes as both e-commerce majors are hosting their flagship festive sales - The Big Billion Days and Great Indian Festival. - Live Mint

🍒 Banks launch credit card blitz to target festive spends : Banks are turning upbeat about credit cards as the festival season nears, launching several new cards and dangling offers at a time customers traditionally loosen their purse strings. While lenders remain cautious on unsecured loans, they are making calculated bets on credit cards. Apart from market leaders such as SBI Card and HDFC Bank, which are launching new cards, banks that did not offer credit cards so far are also entering this extremely competitive market. Many lenders are zooming in on their existing customers about whom they have enough historical data. - Live Mint

🍒 Fino Payments Bank gets Sebi nod to float IPO, likely to raise Rs 1,300 crore : Fintech firm Fino Payments Bank has received approval from the capital markets regulator Sebi to go ahead with its initial public offering (IPO). The company had filed its draft papers in July-end this year. The public issue comprises a fresh issue of Rs 300 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 1,56,02,999 equity shares by promoter Fino Paytech Limited. The offer includes a reservation of Rs 3 crore of shares for the company's employees. The company is expected to raise Rs 1,300 crore through IPO, say the market sources. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Karur Vysya Bank share price rises 2% on improved operational numbers : Karur Vysya Bank share price rose 2 percent intraday on October 4 after the bank reported a 6.8 percent jump in its advances at Rs 53,851 crore in the quarter ended September against Rs 50,408 crore in a year ago period. Its deposits were up 7 percent at Rs 65,410 crore versus Rs 61,122 crore and CASA was up 11.9 percent at Rs 23,159 crore versus Rs 20,697 crore, YoY. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 CSB Bank share price surges over 14% on higher deposits, advances : The share price of CSB Bank, formerly Catholic Syrian Bank Limited, surged more than 14 percent intraday on October 4 after the private lender posted a 9.12 percent jump in its September quarter deposits at Rs 19,061.62 crore against Rs 17,468.44 in the year-ago period. The bank's gross advance rose 12.09 percent at Rs 14,304.14 crore against Rs 12,761.80 crore in the same quarter in 2020. - Moneycontrol

🍒 Gold prices slightly dip to Rs 46,394/10 gm on global cues, ETF outflow; silver up Rs 416 a kg : Gold prices marginally eased by Rs 40 to Rs 46,394 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market tracking weak global cues, ETF outflows, firm equity markets and rising treasury yields. However, the downside in the precious metal was capped by rupee depreciation and weakness in the dollar index.  The price of 10 gram, 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 42,497 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram stood at Rs 46,394 plus GST. The 18-carat gold is quoted at Rs 34,796 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices rose by Rs 416 to Rs 59,997 per kg against its closing price on October 1.

🍒 Rupee falls 19 paise to close at 74.31 against US dollar : The rupee tumbled 19 paise to close at 74.31 against the US dollar on Monday as a stronger greenback against key rivals and rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.16 and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.13 and a low of 74.41 against the US dollar in day trade. The local unit finally settled at 74.31 a dollar, down 19 paise over its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 74.12 against the US dollar.

🍒 Sensex, Nifty jump 1% as RIL, pharma, metal stocks shine : The BSE Sensex closed at 59,299.32, up 533.74 points or 0.91 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 59,548.82 and a low of 58,952.11. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,691.25, up 159.20 points or 0.91 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 17,750.90 and a low of 17,581.35. Amidst the broader rally, the BSE Smallcap index touched a fresh all-time high of 28715.93 on Monday. Divi’s Lab, Hindalco, NTPC, Bajaj Finsrv and Tata Motors were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Cipla, Grasim, UPL, IOC and Eicher Motor were the top laggards.

Banking & Financial News Update for October 4, 2021

 

04.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Soma Sankara Prasad likely to be next UCO Bank MD : The government is considering appointing Soma Sankara Prasad, the deputy managing director of State Bank of India, as managing director of Kolkata-based UCO Bank. The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has suggested the name of UCO Bank Managing Director Atul Kumar Goel for heading Punjab National Bank as MD. The managing director position of PNB will fall vacant after the superannuation of S S Mallikarjuna Rao in January. According to sources, since Prasad was in the reserve list when the interview for appointment for managing director of Indian Bank took place earlier this year, he has been recommended to head UCO Bank subject to various clearances including vigilance. - Economic Times

🍒 Covid impact: Term insurance premiums to rise up to 40% as re-insurers push up rates : The term insurance premium is set to rise by anywhere between 15 per cent to 40 per cent after reinsurers tightened underwriting norms in the wake of the Covid-19. While Munich Re has tightened underwriting norms, GIC Re had hiked rates earlier this year. - Business Line

🍒 Federal Bank records 10% loan growth in Q2 : Private sector lender Federal Bank on Sunday said it has posted a 10 per cent growth in advances at Rs 1,37,309 crore for the second quarter ended September 30. Total advances stood at Rs 1,25,209 crore at the end of the second quarter of the last financial year, Federal Bank said in a regulatory filing. The bank's deposits also rose by 10 per cent (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,71,995 crore in the quarter from Rs 1,56,747 crore in the same period a year ago, it said. - Business Standard

🍒 Google halts plans for Google Pay-based banking service: Report : Tech giant Google has stopped working on its Plex service, which aimed to let users do their banking through the Google Pay app, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported. The service was supposed to let users sign up for checking or savings accounts offered by a variety of traditional banks that the user would then manage through the app. Google cancelled the project due to a series of missed deadlines and because an executive who pushed for the project left the company, The Verge reported citing the WSJ as saying. - Business Standard

🍒 RBI grants permission to Emirates NBD bank to open two more branches in India: Goyal : Amid growing business ties between India and UAE, the Reserve Bank of India has granted permission to Emirates NBD, the government-owned bank of UAE, to open two more branches in India, visiting trade minister Piyush Goyal informed the 9th meeting of the High Level Joint Task Force on Investments held in Dubai. "Payment of one company was held up. That has been resolved," Goyal told reporters. - Live Mint

🍒 RBI advises Dhanlaxmi Bank to ensure transparency in nominating directors : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June had advised Dhanlaxmi Bank to ensure transparency in the nomination process of directors and follow the best corporate governance practices. The regulator also directed the bank to expedite and complete the process of appointment of directors. The lender currently has just 5 directors, against the maximum strength of 11. It also has two RBI nominees on the board as additional directors. Dhanlaxmi does not have a chartered accountant on board as director after the tenure of the former chartered accountant-director ended on September 30, 2020. - Financial express

🍒 FPIs net buyers for 2nd consecutive month; invest Rs 26,517 crore in September : Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers for the second month in a row in the Indian market with an investment of Rs 26,517 crore in September. As per depositories' data, FPIs pumped in Rs 13,154 crore into equities and Rs 13,363 crore in the debt segment during September 1-30. The total net investment stood at Rs 26,517 crore. This comes after an investment of Rs 16,459 crore by FPIs in August. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 RBI may again opt for status quo on key policy rate next week, say experts ; Amid rising global commodity prices and the need to contain inflation at home, the Reserve Bank is likely to maintain status quo on interest rates for the eighth time in row in its upcoming bi-monthly monetary policy review later in the week, according to experts. The Reserve Bank had last cut repo rate by 40 basis points in May 2020 to 4 percent to spur demand in the COVID-hit economy. Since then, the RBI has refrained from taking any action on interest rates. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 LIC to file draft IPO papers with Sebi next month : Country's largest insurer LIC is likely to file draft papers with Sebi by November for the largest IPO in country's history, a finance ministry official has said. "We target to bring the IPO within this fiscal and we have set strict timelines. The DRHP would be filed by November," the official told PTI. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Rupee may weaken to 75.50 or 76 by December as oil prices could climb to $90 a barrel : The rupee was fairly volatile for the quarter and saw a front-loaded appreciation mainly on account of the stellar rally in domestic equities and the global risk-on sentiment. As for the October-December quarter, we expect the rupee to broadly hover in a range of 72.80 to 76. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Mcap of eight of top 10 valued companies tumble over Rs 1.80 lakh crore : Eight of the top 10 valued companies together suffered an erosion of Rs 1,80,534.34 crore in their market valuation last week, with IT majors Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys emerging as the biggest laggards. From the top 10 list, only Reliance Industries Limited and State Bank of India emerged as gainers. During the last week, the 30-share BSE benchmark plunged 1,282.89 points, or 2.13 percent. Market benchmarks faced losses for the fourth straight session on Friday. - Moneycontrol.