Dev Chatterjee, Abhijit Lele

Stories by Dev Chatterjee, Abhijit Lele

'Demand for home loans is rising steadily'

'Demand for home loans is rising steadily'

Rediff.com   19 Dec 2020

'We tightened our risk frameworks once the Covid crisis started.' 'We are slowly lightening this as we see economic activity pick up, salaries getting restored, and people getting back into jobs.'

'After Covid, demand will be back with a vengeance'

'After Covid, demand will be back with a vengeance'

Rediff.com   11 Dec 2020

'When there is unlocking, there is demand revival.' 'This is going to be the main growth engine in this kind of an economic scenario.'

Sale of Reliance Capital's assets gets resounding response

Sale of Reliance Capital's assets gets resounding response

Rediff.com   3 Dec 2020

Blackstone, KKR, and Bain Capital, among others, are in the race for its general insurance arm, and Bandhan Bank, Bain, and Dabur Investments have shown interest for RCap's 51 per cent stake in the life insurance business.

Tata, Birla, Bajaj, and Piramal Group may lead race for bank licence

Tata, Birla, Bajaj, and Piramal Group may lead race for bank licence

Rediff.com   1 Dec 2020

NBFCs with a proven track record, supported by the brand values of reputed corporate, can play a key role in bringing the benefits of banking and economy to the underserved and newer segments of India.

The bank branch is dead; long live the branch

The bank branch is dead; long live the branch

Rediff.com   22 Nov 2020

Banks now ride on what is defined as a "banking outlet". This is a fixed-point service unit, manned by either the bank's staff or its business correspondent (BC), where all kinds of services - acceptance of deposits, encashment of cheques, cash withdrawal or lending of money - are provided for a minimum of four hours per day, for at least five days a week. Banks are now turning to reposition the manner in which they acquire customers, report Abhijit Lele and Raghu Mohan.

Peeved Piramal says will quit race for DHFL over Adani's 11th-hour bid

Peeved Piramal says will quit race for DHFL over Adani's 11th-hour bid

Rediff.com   17 Nov 2020

Adani, which had earlier bid only for the wholesale book, now want all of DHFL's assets and has pipped both Oaktree and Piramal by bidding higher than each of them.

Covid-19: Zero cash flows force India Inc to sell assets

Covid-19: Zero cash flows force India Inc to sell assets

Rediff.com   22 Oct 2020

Not just mid- and small-sized firms, even big ones will either sell group companies or stakes in their listed entities to tide over crisis; more sell-offs seen in coming months.

Kalrock to invest Rs 1K crore as Jet readies to take wings

Kalrock to invest Rs 1K crore as Jet readies to take wings

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2020

The winning bid attracted over 99 per cent votes, with lenders overwhelmingly voting for a revival instead of recovery through liquidation.

How SBI plans to keep YONO ahead of the curve

How SBI plans to keep YONO ahead of the curve

Rediff.com   13 Oct 2020

Apart from fulfilling banking services, one can access more than 100 e-commerce sites, book tickets, and even pay for small value groceries through the app. The bank is now proposing to allow other banks to use this to serve their own customers.

Will PNB acquire beleaguered Lakshmi Vilas Bank?

Will PNB acquire beleaguered Lakshmi Vilas Bank?

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2020

PNB has rich experience in the integration of commercial banks.

How Lakshmi Vilas Bank eroded its wealth amid controversy and losses

How Lakshmi Vilas Bank eroded its wealth amid controversy and losses

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2020

It has been a year since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) initiated prompt corrective action (PCA), an exercise that puts weak banks under central bank scrutiny, against the 94-year-old Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB). But recently, this low-profile Chennai-headquartered bank found itself attracting some unwonted publicity when 60 per cent of its shareholders voted against a proposal to re-appoint seven directors, including one of the promoters, K R Pradeep (who holds around 2 per cent), and the company's managing director & chief executive officer S Sundar.

SBI Caps, JM Financial to sell Reliance Capital assets

SBI Caps, JM Financial to sell Reliance Capital assets

Rediff.com   2 Oct 2020

The key assets put on the block include its entire stake in Reliance General Insurance Company, the third-largest private sector insurer, and a 49 per cent stake in Reliance Nippon Life Insurance, a joint venture with Nippon Life, which is among the top five private-sector insurance companies.

Home, auto loan inquiry back to 2019 level

Home, auto loan inquiry back to 2019 level

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2020

The public sector lenders saw the biggest rebound in inquiries in July and August 2020, most likely because they were early in recommencing operations than their private and finance counterparts.

SBI, 25 other major Indian banks figure in suspicious transactions list

SBI, 25 other major Indian banks figure in suspicious transactions list

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2020

Banks say they themselves red-flagged the transactions to RBI. It must be noted that these transactions are not outright evidence of fraud or proof of nefarious activities.

'2 years is fair time for companies to come out of pain'

'2 years is fair time for companies to come out of pain'

Rediff.com   17 Sep 2020

'The economy is expected to bounce back and things are expected to recover faster than what we previously thought.'

RBI's priority lending norms may not mean quick relief for start-ups

RBI's priority lending norms may not mean quick relief for start-ups

Rediff.com   14 Sep 2020

Seed and early-stage start-ups are high-risk businesses, rarely have collateral and only 1 in 10 of them makes it to becoming a viable company.

Challenges that Dinesh Khara, the new SBI chief faces

Challenges that Dinesh Khara, the new SBI chief faces

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2020

Relations with the government, the bank's majority owner, are a tricky issue for all SBI chiefs, and, like all his predecessors, Khara will be closely watched for his equations with the finance ministry representative on the SBI board.

The real story behind Adani-Mumbai Airport deal

The real story behind Adani-Mumbai Airport deal

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2020

What made the tide turn in favour of the Adani group was the Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down airports the world over, including Mumbai. There was no cash flow and the firm started defaulting on salaries July onwards.

Govt banks to invoke personal guarantee of defaulters

Govt banks to invoke personal guarantee of defaulters

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2020

Finance ministry advises banks to invoke personal guarantees of all promoters whose companies have gone to NCLT for debt resolution.

RBI rejects BoB's plan to send Anil Ambani firms to NCLT

RBI rejects BoB's plan to send Anil Ambani firms to NCLT

Rediff.com   31 Aug 2020

The RBI rejection is a second blow to BoB - the lead bank of both companies -- after a Delhi high court order on August 18 stayed a move by BoB and the entire consortium of lenders to classify these accounts as fraud, restraining them from taking any other coercive action till the next hearing.