Abhijit Lele

Stories by Abhijit Lele

M&A financing the new frontier for banks, but RBI's watching

M&A financing the new frontier for banks, but RBI's watching

Rediff.com   26 Nov 2025

Mint Road's proposals on banks' M&A funding are cautious even as entrants root for more elbow room, and weigh business models.

It's time to get started, put money in deals: M&A financing opens up

It's time to get started, put money in deals: M&A financing opens up

Rediff.com   15 Sep 2025

Last fortnight, State Bank of India Chairman C S Setty lifted the veil on a subject long spoken of in corporate corridors: Why can't our banks finance mergers and acquisitions (M&As)? Change is in the air: Indian Banks' Association (of which Setty is the chairman) is to "make a formal request" to Mint Road to make way for it. Thus far the exclusive turf of foreign banks even though its funding remains offshore - as in, it's not on these entities rupee-book (and a few select shadow banks) - a most lucrative segment in the investment banking suite, M&As, will be homeward-bound.

Tax cut may bolster credit growth in H2

Tax cut may bolster credit growth in H2

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2025

After a subdued first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26), banks are now betting big on the festive season, rolling out attractive loan offers to boost credit growth in the second half of the current financial year (H2FY26) - a trend likely to be further accentuated by the second-order effects of the good services tax (GST) cuts.

India Inc meeting capex need with own cash, says SBI chief C S Setty

India Inc meeting capex need with own cash, says SBI chief C S Setty

Rediff.com   26 Aug 2025

India Inc, which is sitting on cash balances of 13.5 trillion, is using the funds to meet capital expenditure as well as brownfield expansion, resulting in 'anaemic' demand for bank loans, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman CS Setty said at an event on Monday. He added that a slowdown in corporate credit is mainly due to lack of demand.

Why PSBs are raising home loan rates

Why PSBs are raising home loan rates

Rediff.com   25 Aug 2025

Some public sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, and Bank of India, are increasing the spread on home loans for new customers to protect margins.

Bank asset quality: Slippages rise 26% in Q1 on stress in unsecured loans

Bank asset quality: Slippages rise 26% in Q1 on stress in unsecured loans

Rediff.com   21 Aug 2025

Commercial banks in India reported 26 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in slippages at Rs 63,000 crore during the first quarter ended June 2025 (Q1FY26). This was predominantly due to stress in microfinance and unsecured retail portfolios of select lenders.

India May Wait Out Trump Tariffs

India May Wait Out Trump Tariffs

Rediff.com   8 Aug 2025

'Just as we cannot surrender the interests of our farmers and dairy industry, Trump is also looking for markets for the produce of the farmers in the Midwest, which are his support base.'

SBI eyes spot among world's top 10 banks by market value in 5 years

SBI eyes spot among world's top 10 banks by market value in 5 years

Rediff.com   24 Jul 2025

Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) is looking to be among 10 top global banks in market capitalisation terms in the next five years, chairman CS Setty said on Wednesday. "The scope for value creation for the stakeholders is potentially very high. So the larger ambition is if the market supports whether we can be part of the top 10 global banks in terms of the market capitalisation (five years)," he said after listing of shares issued under Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) at NSE.

Why The Bankruptcy Code Needs A Makeover

Why The Bankruptcy Code Needs A Makeover

Rediff.com   23 Jul 2025

The famous 'tareekh pe tareekh' dialogue from the Hindi movie Damini captures where we are now.

SBI eyes Rs 25,000 crore via record QIP, sets floor at 2.5% discount

SBI eyes Rs 25,000 crore via record QIP, sets floor at 2.5% discount

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2025

State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender in the country, has launched a share sale to institutional investors to raise upto Rs 25,000 crore, the biggest qualified institutional placement (QIP) so far by an Indian firm, and has set a floor price of Rs 811.05, which is at a 2.5 per cent discount on Wednesday's closing price.

Trump Effect: Study Loan Surge to Ease in FY26

Trump Effect: Study Loan Surge to Ease in FY26

Rediff.com   11 Jul 2025

Education loan growth is set to halve this fiscal (FY26) because disbursements for the US decelerate following a raft of policy changes there.

Govt urges banks to close inoperative Jan Dhan accounts

Govt urges banks to close inoperative Jan Dhan accounts

Rediff.com   7 Jul 2025

State-owned banks have received guidance from the government to close Jan Dhan accounts whose beneficiaries are unwilling to keep them active, amid rising instances of such accounts being misused by fraudsters as mule accounts to defraud people, people aware of the development said.

'Bank Of Baroda Is Well Capitalised'

'Bank Of Baroda Is Well Capitalised'

Rediff.com   24 May 2025

'Bank has enabling provision to raise capital up to Rs 7,500 crore over a longer period of time.'

Cautious state-run banks expect 11-13% credit growth in FY26

Cautious state-run banks expect 11-13% credit growth in FY26

Rediff.com   20 May 2025

Despite sharp interest rate cuts expected in this financial year amid easy liquidity conditions, state-run banks are treading cautiously on their loan growth projections for FY26. Most large banks are projecting loan growth at 11-13 per cent, almost similar to the previous financial year.

'Yes Bank has solved the asset quality problem'

'Yes Bank has solved the asset quality problem'

Rediff.com   17 May 2025

'Now we have one of the best asset qualities in the industry.'

IndusInd's risk handling under lens: Moody's

IndusInd's risk handling under lens: Moody's

Rediff.com   24 Apr 2025

Global Rating agency Moody's on Wednesday said it was reviewing IndusInd Bank's risk management capabilities, and its leadership transition, with the private sector lender grappling with accounting lapses pertaining to its derivatives transactions. "The financial impact of the derivatives losses is quite manageable considering IndusInd Bank's strong capital.

Q4 result preview: Banks' net profit likely fell 4% on NIM pressure

Q4 result preview: Banks' net profit likely fell 4% on NIM pressure

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2025

Net profit of 19 listed banks is likely to decline by 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for the quarter ended March (Q4FY25) mainly due to pressure on net interest margins (NIM) as a result of rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to analysts' estimates. Additionally, loan growth is expected to further slowdown amid low demand in certain secured products, stress in the unsecured segment, and a high cost to deposit (CD) ratio across the system.

Securitisation volumes see a slump sequentially in Q4FY25, says ICRA

Securitisation volumes see a slump sequentially in Q4FY25, says ICRA

Rediff.com   14 Apr 2025

Securitisation - sale of loans to investors - by lenders, including banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), crossed Rs 50,000 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 2025 (Q4F25). This is a tad higher than Rs 48,000 crore during the same period of FY24.

PSBs share in loans rises sharply in FY25

PSBs share in loans rises sharply in FY25

Rediff.com   10 Apr 2025

The pace of loan growth among public sector banks (PSBs) has seen a surge in the financial year 2024-25, and this is an exception to the overall moderation in bank credit during FY25. PSU banks' share in incremental credit rose to 57.3 per cent in March from 51.7 per cent a year ago, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Report (April 2025).

Credit-deposit growth gap likely to dip sharply in FY26: India Ratings

Credit-deposit growth gap likely to dip sharply in FY26: India Ratings

Rediff.com   17 Mar 2025

The gap between credit and deposit growth in the banking system is expected to decline sharply to 80 basis points (bps) in the next financial year from an average of 386 bps over the FY22-Q3FY25 period, according to rating agency India Ratings. This would be against the backdrop of sharp moderation in the incremental loan deposit ratio (LDR) of the Indian banking system to 85 per cent in February 2025 from 117-118 per cent in the same month of 2024.