Banking and Financial Updates for 18 October 2021

 

 18.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Bank of India cuts home, vehicle loan rates : State-run Bank of India on Sunday announced a cut in its interest rates on home and vehicle loans by 35 basis point and 50 basis points, respectively. With this cut, the interest rate on home loans starts at 6.50 per cent against earlier 6.85 per cent, and at 6.85 per cent against 7.35 per cent prior on vehicle loans, the bank said in a release. This special rate, which is effective from October 18, 2021, till December 31, 2021, is available for customers applying for fresh loans and also for those seeking transfer of loans, it said. - Economic Times

🍒 Bank of Baroda launches centralised agri-loans processing units : Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Saturday launched centralised agri-loans processing units across 16 Zonal Offices. Christened as the Centre for Agriculture Marketing and Processing (CAMP), the unit is a dedicated credit delivery model with a focus on financing non-traditional agricultural products and handling agri-marketing activities, the public sector bank said in a statement. - Business Line

🍒 NARCL: Bad bank to soon bring more directors on board : The National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) better known as bad bank will soon bring more directors on board for better corporate governance. The move aims to ensure fair representation of shareholders as well, sources close to the developments informed. In the beginning of this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had given licence to the ₹6,000 crore NARCL led by public sector banks with 51 per cent stake in the entity. There would be shareholders' representation from the private sector banks' side, which will have 49 per cent, sources said. Besides, the central bank of India has asked NARCL to submit details of the full board soon, sources added. - Live Mint

🍒 Sundaram Finance to look at co-lending to add more asset classes: MD Rajiv Lochan : Sundaram Finance that built a lending business by financing truck purchases is preparing for the next phase of growth by funding more asset classes amid a possible boom in rural incomes and the government's infrastructure projects, its chief executive said. While its traditional way of doing business like physical interaction and verification of customers' credit worthiness is unconventional, it would leverage digital, technology and data without compromising on its ethos of safety and customer orientation. - Economic Times

🍒 Gold imports jump multi-fold to USD 24 bn in Apr-Sep : Gold imports, which have a bearing on the current account deficit, zoomed to about USD 24 billion during April-September 2021 due to higher demand in the country, according to data from the Commerce Ministry. Imports of the yellow metal was USD 6.8 billion in the corresponding period last year, the data showed. Gold imports during September this year too rose to USD 5.11 billion as against USD 601.4 million in the same month last year. - Economic Times

🍒 Finance Ministry to seek Cabinet nod for setting up company to monetise land assets of privatisation-bound CPSEs : The finance ministry will soon move the Cabinet to seek approval for setting up a company for transfer and subsequent monetisation of land and non-core assets of privatisation-bound CPSEs, an official said. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) in the form of a company would be set up to hold these assets which would be monetised to fetch value to the exchequer, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said. - Economic Times

🍒 HDFC Bank Q2 net up 17.6% on robust interest income : Private sector lender HDFC Bank’s standalone net profit increased 17.6 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal supported by a robust growth in net interest income. For the quarter ended September 30, the bank reported net profit of ₹8,834.3 crore against ₹7,513.11 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.Net interest income grew 12.1 per cent to ₹17,684.4 crore (₹15,776.4 crore). Core net interest margin was at 4.1 per cent. Other income was up 21.5 per cent at ₹7,400.8 crore (₹6,092.5 crore). Provisions and contingencies increased 6 per cent to ₹3,924.7 crore (₹3,703.5 crore). “Total provisions for the current quarter included contingent provisions of approximately ₹1,200 crore,” HDFC Bank said in a statement on Saturday. - Business Line

🍒 Bond yields trend higher despite softer inflation : Benchmark yield closed marginally higher this week despite positive inflation data even as rising crude prices, higher US treasury yields and domestic liquidity factor take precedence. During the monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) halted the G-SAP programme while saying it would increase the quantum of VRRR auctions to Rs6 lakh crore by December. The central bank last week conducted an 8-day Variable Rate Reverse Repo auction in which the cut-off yield came in at 3.9 per cent.  - Business Line

🍒 Outward remittances under LRS rose 31% : Outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for individuals rose about 31 per cent year-on-year (yoy) in July 2021 to $1.31 billion, mainly on the back of increase in expenses towards studies and travel, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. The remittances were $995.16 million in the year ago period. - Business Line

🍒 Life insurance sees good growth, claims fall post second wave : The life insurance industry is slowly coming back to normal after facing a high claim burden in the first five months of the current fiscal following the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The industry is doing well. With every passing month, business is improving. Private sector life insurance companies are doing well and public sector bank-led banca companies are doing especially well,” said Rushabh Gandhi, Deputy CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance. - Business Line

🍒 FPIs turn net sellers in capital markets in Oct so far, pull out net Rs 1,472 crore : Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have turned net sellers in the capital markets in October so far, reversing the trend of net investments in the previous two months, due to depreciation in the rupee and global factors, experts said.  According to the depositories' data, FPIs have pulled out Rs 1,472 crore from capital markets on a net basis in the current month so far. A trend reversal was witnessed in the debt segment in October from the big buying in the previous two months when FPIs had invested Rs 13,363 crore in September and Rs 14,376.2 crore in August. In October so far, they pulled out Rs 1,698 crore. "This trend reversal in debt investment is due to the INR depreciation in October," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services. - Business Line

🍒 Gold ETFs attract Rs 446 crore in September : Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted Rs 446 crore in September and inflow may continue in coming months due to strong demand on the back of festival season in the country.  The was sharply higher than the net inflow of ₹24 crore recorded in the previous month. In July, the category saw a net withdrawal of ₹61.5 crore,data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. With this, gold ETF category has received a net inflow of ₹3,515 crore so far. The segment witnessed just one month of net outflows, which was in July. - Business Line

🍒 Mcap of eight of top-10 most valued firms jump over ₹ 1.52 lakh crore : Eight of the top-10 most valued companies together added ₹ 1,52,355.03 crore in market valuation last week, with HDFC Bank and State Bank of India emerging as the biggest gainers. Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex rallied 1,246.89 points or 2.07 per cent. The benchmark went past the 61,000-mark for the first time ever on Thursday. Leading the gainers' chart, HDFC Bank's valuation jumped ₹ 46,348.47 crore to ₹ 9,33,559.01 crore. - Business Line.

Banking and Financial News Update for 14 October 2021

14.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 PNB reduces gold loan interest rates: : Punjab National Bank (PNB) has announced that it has reduced interest rates on loans against gold jewellery and Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) by 145 basis points (bps); this is part of its festive season offerings. According to a press release issued by PNB, the bank is now offering loans against Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) at 7.20% and loans against gold jewellery at 7.30%. "Additionally, PNB has slashed the home loan rate which now starts from 6.60%, while customers can avail car loans starting from 7.15% and personal loans from 8.95%," stated the release. - Economic Times

🍒 Dish TV board cites rules, rejects YES Bank's demands to hold EGM : The board of Dish TV Ltd (DTL) rejected on Wednesday, YES Bank's demand to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to consider resolutions, citing regulatory limitations and absence of prior approvals from the government and lenders. Private lender YES Bank, which holds 25.93 per cent stake stake in DTL, had sought the removal of DTL directors Jawahar Lal Goel and others, and appointment of the bank's own nominees. - Business Standard.

🍒 Shivalik Small Finance Bank partners with Go Digit Insurance : Shivalik Small Finance Bank on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership with Bengaluru-based insurtech company, Go Digit General Insurance, to provide an array of instant, easy-to-understand insurance products through the bank’s network of branches across India. This will include health insurance plans, motor insurance, and home and shop insurance. This partnership will enable over 4.5 lakh customers of Shivalik Small Finance Bank to instantly access and purchase from Digit’s list of offerings, through paperless processes, in real time. - Business Line

🍒 Government announces conversion of two G-Secs into six FRBs : The government on Wednesday announced the conversion or switch of two Government Securities (G-Secs), both maturing in 2022 and aggregating ₹36,000 crore (face value) into six floating rate bonds (FRBs) maturing between 2028 and 2034. Thus, the government does not have to redeem the aforementioned G-Secs on their maturity dates — April 13, 2022 (for the security carrying 5.09 per cent coupon rate) and August 02, 2022 (for the security carrying 8.08 per cent coupon rate). Redemption pressure on the government is alleviated to the extent of the face value of the securities being converted or switched. - Business Line

🍒 Mobikwik sees ‘BNPL’ as its fastest growing business segment : IPO-bound One Mobikwik Systems (Mobikwik) sees it’s ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ product — which enjoys higher margins — as a major growth driver and it’s fastest growing business segment in the days to come, said Co-founder Upasana Taku. This digital financial services firm is also aiming to launch its ₹1,900 crore initial public offering (IPO) by this month end, Taku told BusinessLine in an interview. - Business LIne

🍒 PhonePe and NBBL partner to launch ClickPay : Digital payment platform PhonePe has, in association with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL), launched ClickPay for its customers. ClickPay is a unique payment link that enables customers to make recurring online bill payments (electricity, water, gas, loan, etc) and removes the need to remember tedious account details associated with each biller or service. This link sent by the biller will lead the customer directly to the payment page, fetching the bill amount instantly. - Business Line

🍒 Shriram Housing gets ₹300-cr equity capital from parent firm : Shriram Housing Finance Ltd (SHFL) on Wednesday said it has received the second round of equity capital infusion of ₹300 crore from parent company, Shriram City Union Finance (Shriram City). With this round, the total equity infusion in FY22 stands at ₹500 crore, SHFL said in a statement. The current infusion will increase Shriram City’s holding in SHFL from 81 per cent to 85.02 per cent. SHFL is an affordable housing finance company with Assets Under Management (AUM) of about ₹4,000 crore as of June 2021. - Business Line

🍒 U GRO Capital and Kinara Capital enter into strategic co-origination partnership : U GRO Capital and Kinara Capital have entered into a strategic co-origination partnership to offer collateral-free business loans to small business entrepreneurs in India. Together, both companies plan to disburse ₹100 crores by the end of FY22 to MSMEs in manufacturing, trading and services sectors, per a joint statement. “Available financing for MSMEs will range from ₹1 lakh to ₹30 lakh with tenure ranging from 12–60 months. “Financing can be availed for working capital and asset purchase directly from Kinara Capital, and women-led businesses receive an automatic, upfront discount with the HerVikas program,” according to the statement. - Business Line

🍒 RBI imposes monetary penalty on The Sahyadri Sahakari Bank : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 13 imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 3 lakh on Mumbai-based The Sahyadri Sahakari Bank Limited over non-compliance with RBI directions on Frauds - Classification and Reporting, the central bank said in a release. The inspection report of the bank with the bank's position as of March 31, 2019, revealed the bank had not transferred unclaimed amounts in accounts for more than ten years to Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEA Fund). Further, the bank had reported frauds to RBI with an inordinate delay. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Banks' loan growth picks up pace at 3-5%, asset quality stress to remain elevated in Q2 : As the economy revives post deadly second wave of COVID-19, backed by festive demand and season, banks have started seeing growth in their loan disbursals.  In the second quarter of FY22, data released by lenders reveal the loan growth has been around 3-5 percent on a sequential basis. India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, saw a 4.4 percent sequential growth in its loans and advances. Its outstanding advances were at Rs 11,98,500 crore in the September quarter as compared to Rs 11,47,700 crore in the June quarter of FY22. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Rupee recovers 15 paise to close at 75.37 against US dollar : The rupee on Wednesday rebounded by 15 paise to close at 75.37 (provisional) against the US dollar following a rally in domestic equities and weak American currency in the overseas markets. In addition, lower crude prices also supported the rupee sentiment, forex deals said. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened strong at 75.29 against the greenback. During the session, the domestic unit swung between 75.19 and 75.51. On Tuesday, the rupee had closed at 75.52 against the dollar

🍒 M-cap of BSE-listed companies at fresh record high of over Rs 270.73 lakh crore ; Helped by the ongoing rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies has reached a fresh record high of Rs 2,70,73,296.03 crore on Wednesday. Rallying for the fifth straight session on Wednesday, the 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 452.74 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at its all-time closing high of 60,737.05. During the day, it rallied 552.32 points to its intra-day all-time high of 60,836.63. In five trading days, the BSE benchmark index has gained 1,547.32 points. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Sensex, Nifty up nearly 1% after fresh highs, Nifty tops 18,100 : At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was trading at 60,748.56, up 464.25 points or 0.77 per cent, near its new all-time high of 60,755.70. It recorded an intraday low of 60,452.29. The Nifty 50, after recording a fresh high of 18,162.90, was trading at 18,156.85, up 164.90 points or 0.92 per cent. It recorded an intraday low of 18,050.75. Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, Powergrid and Tata Consumer were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Maruti, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever, Coal India and Eicher Motor were the top laggards.

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 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 and Financial Updates for September 29, 2021

 29.09.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Indian Bank onboarded as partner bank for offline-online collection of treasury : Public sector Indian Bank on Tuesday said it has become the official partner bank for the collection of offline and online treasury for the Integrated Financial and Human Resources Management System. The Integrated Financial and Human Resources Management System is a portal developed by the government of Tamil Nadu to integrate human resources and finance related services providing a comprehensive management system, Indian Bank said in a bank statement. - Economic times

🍒 Centre starts talks with RBI to kick off bank privatisation process : The government is set to initiate consultations with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to devise a new security clearance framework for screening potential bidders of public sector banks (PSBs) as it kick-starts the privatisation process, beginning with the strategic divestment of IDBI Bank. As the government is moving ahead with strategic divestment of IDBI Bank and is looking to privatise two PSBs, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is looking to put in place an appropriate framework as the potential buyers will have to meet the RBI’s fit and proper criteria, said an official. - Business Standard

🍒 Banks, big tech companies, fintech can collaborate to further financial services: Standard Chartered Bank MD Zarin Daruwala : Banks, big technology companies and fintech can collaborate for better customer acquisition and use analytics for an informed credit decision, Standard Chartered Bank MD Zarin Daruwala said on Tuesday. "It is about co-existence that to my mind, will evolve in the next few years," Daruwala said while speaking at a fintech webinar. The payment tech companies and fintech cater to the very low friction customer base and they feel very comfortable using it (their services), she said. "But having said that, the banks are also upping their ante. They are using cloud computing in a big way," she added. - Economic Times

🍒 FinTech regulation should be more entity-based than activity-based: RBI deputy governor : With FinTech and Big Tech players increasing emerging as competitors to incumbent banks, the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday batted for lenders saying that banks are at the centre of the payments system as they work as a bridge between the depositors and borrowers. Without naming the Google and Equitas tie up to garner deposits, T Rabi Sankar, RBI deputy governor while speaking at the Global FinTech Fest also said that entities other than banks are not allowed to directly deal in deposits. “Banks are uniquely placed to provide this service because they can create money and credit and thereby act as liquidity providers to the economy,” said T Rabi Sankar, deputy governor, RBI. - Economic Times

🍒 Data privacy should not be compromised in using fintech: FM : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said there should be no compromise on data privacy and safeguard of client data with an increasing number of Indians now using digital mode of payment. Addressing the fintech industry, the minister said the value of digital transactions jumped to Rs 6 lakh crore in January-August 2021 from Rs 4 lakh crore and Rs 2 lakh crore in 2020 and 2019, respectively. "Data privacy is one of the things which is very important and it is an issue on which there can be a lot of contentious views. However, basic respect for privacy...as the guiding principle is well appreciated. - Economic times

🍒 Yes bank scam: HC rejects bail pleas of Rana Kapoor’s wife, daughters ; The Bombay High Court Tuesday rejected bail pleas filed by jailed banker Rana Kapoor’s wife Bindu Kapoor and their daughters Roshini and Radha Kapoor Khanna in a case of alleged fraud caused to Yes Bank Ltd (YBL). Kapoor is the cofounder of YBL who was arrested in the said matter in March, 2020. Justice Bharati Dangre, after hearing all the parties had posted the matter today for the pronouncement of the order. The court gave an oral in the said matter. - Economic times

🍒 ICICI Bank faces intermittent downtime on payment stack : Private lender ICICI Bank on Tuesday faced intermittent issues in its digital delivery for a few hours with some users taking to social media to complain about problems in processing transactions. While it could not be ascertained what was the glitch, it was fixed in a few hours.  Prior to the lender fixing the issue, bank users complained that they were unable to access either their net-banking or the mobile app. Some other users also complained about failure in UPI related transactions. - Economic times

🍒 DHFL lenders set to mark ₹37,400 crore recovery this week, the biggest among NPAs this fiscal : Lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) are set to log recoveries of ₹37,400 crore this week, as Piramal Capital and Housing Finance's (PCHF) acquisition of Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) should be completed this month itself, multiple people aware of the deal told ET. Banks will get a mix of upfront cash and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) due in seven years to complete what is billed as the biggest recovery of stressed loans this fiscal. - Economic times

🍒 Insurance cos hope for a hike in PMJJBY premium : Life insurance companies have pitched for a re-pricing of the government’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana.  According to calculations, the premium would have to be fixed at a little over ₹400 per annum per policy from the current ₹330. - Business Line

🍒 NPCI, YES Bank launch RuPay On-the-Go : The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has partnered with YES Bank to launch a contactless payments solutions --- RuPay On-the-Go. This was launched on Tuesday in association with fintech infrastructure partner, Neokred, and manufacturing partner- Seshaasai at the Global Fintech Festival 2021. “RuPay On-the-Go will allow customers to make small and large value transactions from the accessories they wear every day. This innovative wearable payment solution would redefine the contactless payments space by eliminating the need to carry a physical card and enabling instantaneous payments with a simple ‘Tap, pay, go’ mechanism,” said a statement. - Business Line

🍒 NFRA Chief’s term ends on Thursday; no clarity yet on successor, second term : National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) Chairperson Rangachari Sridharan is expected to demit office on Thursday with his three-year tenure coming to an end on September 30. There is still no clarity on whether he will get reappointed although the rules provide for such a step, official sources said. The “competent authority” is yet to take the final call, they added, noting that the matter has to go to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for approval. Over 70 persons including bureaucrats, chartered accountants and retired judges have applied for the post, it is learnt. - Business Line

🍒 Muthoot Finance launches AI-powered virtual assistant 'Mattu' : Muthoot Finance has joined hands with Senseforth.ai, a leader in Conversational AI technology to launch ‘Mattu’, an AI-powered virtual assistant. Available on the website and mobile app, the intelligent assistant enables users to apply for various kinds of loans, address concerns, and perform transactions like checking account balance, paying gold loan interest, availing loan top-ups, making part payments and much more. - Business Line

🍒 SEBI tightens risk management rules for mutual funds : India's market regulator on Monday tightened risk management rules for mutual funds,including specifying guidelines to identify, measure and report various risks, in an effort to protect the interest of investors in a fast-growing industry. The new rules mandate the appointment of a chief risk officer, creation of risk management committees and maintaining metrics such as investment risk, liquidity risk and credit risk for each scheme, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said. - Business Line

🍒 Bond market sees signals of normalisation in RBI move on 7-day reverse repo : In what is being interpreted as a normalisation signal by the bond market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday let the cut-off for the 7-day variable rate reverse repo at 3.99 per cent, or the existing repo rate. RBI accepts excess overnight liquidity from banks at 3.35 per cent, its reverse repo rate. But it also conducts a separate variable rate auction for a longer period under its variable rate reverse repo window. Ideally, the rate should be closer to the reverse repo rate, but the latest cut off touches the repo rate of 4 per cent. - Business Standard

🍒 FinMin officials pitch for better sovereign rating outlook with Moody's : Finance Ministry officials and representatives of rating agency Moody's on Tuesday discussed economic growth prospects, during which India pitched for an upgrade in its sovereign rating outlook. Sources said the meeting was attended by Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian and other officers from the Department of Economic Affairs and Moody's analyst. The meeting is a precursor to Moody's annual sovereign rating action. - Business Standard

🍒 Banks put loans worth over Rs 10,000 crore on sale in Q2 : Fifteen banks have placed bad loans worth a total Rs 10,201 crore on sale to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) so far during Q2FY22, data compiled by FE showed. The assets on the block include some large accounts as well as some loans to small businesses where exposure is under Rs 50 crore. Lenders have been looking to offload some retail and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loans as also some larger non-performing assets (NPAs) where they expect quick resolutions through an auction process. Some of the large assets which are at various stages of the auction process include JBF Industries, Imagicaaworld Entertainment, JBF Petrochemicals, Sew Infrastructure and IVRCL Chengapalli Tollways. - Financial express

🍒 ICICI Bank, SBI customers complain of digital outage in internet, mobile banking channels : Some customers of private sector lender, ICICI Bank and country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on September 28 reported digital outages in the internet and mobile banking platforms. According to the downdetector, a website that tracks digital outages, the outage happened between around 8 AM to 11 AM. Around 217 ICICI Bank customers reported problems with internet banking. According to the website, some customers of the State Bank of India (SBI) too reported problems with internet banking channels. The problems appear to have been resolved at the time of filing this story. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 LIC seeks to appoint CFO before its mega IPO planned in 2021/22 : State-backed Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) is seeking to appoint a chief financial officer, according to a notification on its website, ahead of an initial public offering slated before the end of the fiscal year. The move to hire a CFO follows a decision to re-designate LIC's top job to chief executive officer from chairman earlier this year. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Suryoday Small Finance Bank to discontinue ATM services from October 1 : Suryoday Small Finance Bank will discontinue its ATM services from October 1. The bank on its website said, "due to operational reasons, Suryoday Bank ATMs will be discontinued w.e.f. 1st Oct 2021." However, one can continue to use their Suryoday Bank ATM/Debit Card at any other Bank’s ATM for your cash withdrawal requirements, it added. - moneycontrol.

🍒 Sensex, Nifty down 1% amid volatility : The BSE was trading near the day’s low of 59,305.65 at 59,325.43, down 752.45 points or 1.25 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 60,288.44. The Nifty 50 was trading at 17659.45, down 195.65 points or 1.1 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 17,912.8 and a low of 17,654.05. Powergrid, NTPC, Coal India, IOC and ONGC were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Bharti Airtel, Divi’s Lab, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were the top losers.

🍒 Rupee inches 8 paise higher to 73.75 against US dollar in early trade : At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 73.79 against the dollar, then edged higher to 73.75, up 8 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the rupee had settled at 73.83 against the US dollar.

🍒 Gold rate today falls further, near lowest in 6 months; silver rates slump : Gold prices weakened further today in Indian markets amid a slide in global rates. On MCX, gold futures were down 0.52% to near six-month low of ₹45,828 per 10 gram while silver rates dropped 1.3% to ₹59,843 per kg.

Banking and Financial News For September 23, 2021

 

 Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Bank of India to raise up to Rs 1,800 cr in capital via tier-II bonds : Public sector lender Bank of India (BoI) plans raise upto Rs 1,800 crore in capital through tier-II bonds in order to meet regulatory norms, and for business growth. Meanwhile, rating agency Crisil upgraded the lender's tier-I bonds from "AA-" to "AA", reflecting the lender's improved capital ratios and greater ability to make future coupon payments. The BoI stock closed 0.4 per cent lower at Rs 54.5 per share on BSE. - Business Standard

🍒 India likely to block Chinese investment in LIC's IPO ; India wants to block Chinese investors from buying shares in Life Insurance Corp (LIC), which is due to go public, four senior government officials and a banker told Reuters, underscoring tensions between the two nations. State-owned LIC is considered a strategic asset, commanding more than 60 per cent of India's life insurance market withmore than $500 billion assets. While the government plans to allow foreign investors to participate in what is likely to be the country's biggest-ever IPO worth a potential $12.2 billion, the sources said it is cautious of Chinese ownership, the sources said. - Business Line

🍒 Axis Bank commits Rs 30,000 cr till FY26 towards sustainable lending : The country's third largest private sector lender Axis Bank has committed Rs 30,000 crore lending till fiscal year 2025-26 under its sustainable financing framework, a senior official said. These commitments are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), supporting India's commitments under the Paris Agreement. "As part of its commitments, the bank has set a target of incremental lending of Rs 30,000 crore over the next 5 years, under wholesale banking towards pertinent sectors included in its Sustainable Financing Framework (SFF)," Rajesh Dahiya, Executive Director (Corporate Centre), Axis Bank told PTI. - Economic times

🍒 Depositors of 21 failed cooperative banks including PMC to get deposit insurance cover : Depositors of 21 failed cooperative banks including PMC Bank will now get deposit insurance cover of upto Rs 5 lakh from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). Depositors of Kapol cooperative bank, Rupee cooperative bank and several other cooperative banks have been asked to submit depositor claims within 45 days. The DICGC (Amendment) Act, 2021 came into force with effect from September 1, 2021 for banks insured under DICGC Act, 1961. As per the amendment, DICGC will pay the depositors of the insured banks, upto Rs 5 lakh within 90 days of claim submission. - Economics times

🍒 Your auto-debit from debit/credit card may fail from next month if not approved : Do you use your debit/credit card or mobile wallet for recurring auto-debit payments? If yes, then you should know that from October 1 onwards, as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks and other financial institutions will have to ask customers to provide additional factor authentication if the auto-debit mandate for the payment is above Rs 5,000. - Economic times

🍒 Lenders hire specialist agencies to analyse default probability of borrowers : Risk-averse lenders wary of large exposures in the post-Covid era are hiring consultants and specialist agencies to analyse the default potential of all proposals in excess of Rs 500 crore.  Lenders want to ensure that they have a clear perspective of the borrower’s future default risks and cash flow situation in light of peculiar challenges brought about by the pandemic. “The pandemic has disrupted cash flows of businesses in a significant way, and since large value loan proposals are on the rise, we thought it prudent to hire agencies and check the company’s default risk and default probability,” said a lender that has hired one such agency. “These agencies are checking the total debt, debt-service coverage ratio, cash flows and various other metrics to determine whether they will be able to service debt obligations.” - Economic times

🍒 Beware of trojan malware attack, MeitY warns customers of 27 major banks : Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) on Tuesday notified that customers of nearly 27 Indian banks including major public and private banks are at the risk of attack from a new banking trojan malware masquerading as income-tax refund related link. The victims first receive an SMS link to a phishing website, disguised as the Income Tax Department website, they are then asked to fill in a few personal details before being sent a malicious APK file to be downloaded to complete verification. On opening the app, the victim is asked to grant permissions to access SMS, call logs and contacts. - Business Line

🍒 ‘Automation may lead to slack in labour market’ : Governor Shaktikanta Das said a major challenge to inclusiveness in the post-pandemic world would come from the fillip to automation provided by the pandemic even as he underscored the need to guard against any emergence of digital divide as digitisation gains speed. “Greater automation would lead to overall productivity gain, but it may also lead to slack in the labour market. Such a scenario calls for significant skilling/ training of our workforce. “We also need to guard against any emergence of digital divide as digitisation gains speed after the pandemic,” said Das at the 48th National Management Convention of the All India Management Association (AIMA). - Business Line

🍒 Finance Ministry extends Uday Kotak's term as IL&FS Chairman by six months : The Finance Ministry has now paved the way for Uday Kotak, Managing Director & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank to remain chairman of the Board of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) for six more months. The Department of financial services (DFS) in the Finance Ministry has now extended by six months (from October 3, 2021 to April 2 next year) the existing exemption accorded to Kotak Mahindra Bank regarding its MD& CEO Kotak serving as a non-executive director in IL&FS. This finance ministry move comes on the recommendation of the Reserve Bank of India. - Business Line

🍒 Federal Bank partners OneCard for mobile-first credit card : Federal Bank on Wednesday announced a tie-up with OneCard for a mobile-first credit card that targets the country’s young, tech-savvy population. It will target young working professionals aged 23-35, primarily representing the millennials and Gen Z, it said in a statement. - Business Standard

🍒 Federal Bank partners with Ashok Leyland for vehicle finance : Federal Bank on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ashok Leyland, which will enable the two to offer customised financial solutions to their customers. “The bank will work towards catering to the customers’ needs through commercial vehicle loans with easy monthly repayment plans best suited for the customers. Moreover, the bank will leverage technology for enhancing customer experience,” Federal Bank said in a statement. - Business Line

🍒 ZestMoney raises $50 mn from Australia’s Zip : ZestMoney has raised $50 million from the global Buy Now Pay Later provider Zip Co Ltd.  This is part of a larger Series C fundraise which will see participation from existing investors. Zip will acquire a minority shareholding in the company and a board seat as part of the investment.   - Business Line

🍒 After CEO's exit, Ujjivan SFB trying to get the house in order : Ujjivan Small Finance Bank is seeking to get its house in order after the sudden announcement of the exit of its Managing Director and CEO Nitin Chugh last month, and the old order is likely to make a comeback at the lender. Three independent directors including BA Nambiar – Chair Designate, Ujjivan SFB, Rajni Mishra – Chair of Risk Committee, and Ravichandran Venkataraman – Chair of Nomination and Remuneration Committee, are a part of the RBI approved Special Committee of Directors to oversee the operations and administration of the bank, Samit Ghosh – Common Director on Ujjivan SFB and Ujjivan Financial Services told BusinessLine in a message. He, however, did not respond to requests to speak further on the bank. - Busines Line

🍒 RBI must deal more with consumers, review rules impacting them: CUTS talks : At an online discussion organised by Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) International on the issue of evaluating consumer welfare in digital payments, several industry stalwarts discussed the way forward for India's banking regulator. “The Reserve Bank of India needs to engage with consumers and clearly explain the rationale and impact of its regulations,” said Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chair, Planning Commission of India. - Business Standard

🍒 FinMin suggests restarting decades-old apprenticeship scheme in railways : The Finance Ministry has recommended the railways restart a 94-year-old apprenticeship scheme, which was discontinued in 2015, to "catch the talent young" and tailor them to meet the requirements of the rail transport sector. - Business Standard

🍒 Bank officers' union extends support to 'Bharat Bandh' by farmers on Sep 27 : The All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AlBOC) on Wednesday extended its support to the 'Bhrat Bandh' called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha on September 27. AIBOC requested the government to re-open dialogue with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on their demands and rescind the three contentious farm laws. - Business Standard

🍒 Govt sets up asset management company for bad bank :  The government has set up India Debt Resolution Company Ltd (IDRCL), an asset management company that will work in tandem with the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) to clean up bad loans, showed documents. It has been set up with a paid-up capital of ₹80.5 lakh on an authorized capital of ₹50 crore. Arvind Sadashiv Mokashi has been appointed on the board as State Bank of India’s (SBI) nominee director and other directors are Narayan Keelveedhi Seshadri and Anilraj Chellan. - Live Mint

🍒 RBL Bank MD Vishwavir Ahuja gets nearly all votes at AGM for 4th term : An overwhelming 99.94 per cent of RBL Bank shareholders have approved the reappointment of Vishwavir Ahuja as the managing director and chief executive for the fourth term beginning June this year. Ahuja joined the bank in 2010 from Bank of America and has been the force behind the successful listing of the lender in August 2016 and driving its balance sheet by mani-fold. Though the board had in January this year cleared his fourth three-year term till June 2024, the Reserve Bank in June had only cleared his reappointment for only one year beginning June 2021. - Economic times

🍒 IDFC Shareholders Reject Vinod Rai's Reappointment To Board : Shareholders of IDFC Ltd. rejected a resolution to appoint Vinod Rai as non-independent, non-executive director on the company's board. At IDFC's annual general meeting on Wednesday, 62.3% of the shareholders who participated voted against the proposal, with only 37.7% in favour, according to disclosures to the stock exchanges. Rai is currently the non-executive chairman of IDFC and his term as an independent director ended on July 30. In May, the nomination and remuneration committee and IDFC's board had approved Rai's appointment as non-executive, non-independent director till May 2023. Rai had already completed two terms as independent director. - Bloomberg quint

🍒 CRISIL upgrades Bank of India’s Tier-I Bonds rating : CRISIL Ratings has upgraded its rating on the Tier-I bonds (under Basel III) of Bank of India (BoI) to ‘AA/Stable’ from ‘AA-/Stable’. The credit rating agency has also assigned its ‘AA+/Stable’ rating to the public sector bank’s ₹1,800 crore Tier-II bonds (under Basel III). The upgrade in the rating of Tier-I bonds (under Basel III) factors in improved position of BoI to make future coupon payments, supported by an adjustment of accumulated losses with share premium account, and the improved capital ratios, CRISIL said in a statement. - Business Line

🍒 FDI equity inflows up 112% to $20.42 billion in April-July period: Govt data : Foreign direct investments into the country more than doubled to $20.42 billion during the April-July period of the current fiscal, the commerce and industry ministry said on Wednesday. Total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow rose to $27.37 billion during the first four months of 2021-22. In the year-ago period, the same was at $16.92 billion. Total FDI comprises equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital. "FDI equity inflows grew by 112 per cent in the first four months of 2021-22 ($20.42 billion) compared to the year ago period ($9.61 billion)," the ministry said in a release. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Gold rate today falls, down ₹10,000 from record highs, silver rises ;:Gold prices struggled in Indian markets today ahead of Fed rate decision. On MCX, gold futures prices were slightly lower at ₹46,633 per 10 gram while silver rates rose 0.7%. In the previous session, gold had jumped 0.7% while silver had surged 1.2%. Gold prices have been volatile in India this year after hitting a record high of ₹52,200 last year. - Live Mint

🍒 Sensex, Nifty end flat amid volatility : The BSE Sensex closed at 58,927.33, down 77.94 points or 0.13 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 59,178.44 and a low of 58,878.38. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,546.65, down 15.35 points or 0.09 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 17,610.45 and a low of 17,524.00. Coal India, Tech Mahindra, Hindalco, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Nestle India, HDFC, ICICI Bank, ONGC and HDFC Bank were the top losers.

🍒 Rupee slumps 26 paise to 73.87 against US dollar : At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 73.70 and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.66 and a low of 73.93 against the US dollar in day trade. The local unit finally settled at 73.87 a dollar, down 26 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 73.61 against the US dollar. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent higher at 93.22.