Manojit Saha &Amp; Subrata Panda

Stories by Manojit Saha &Amp; Subrata Panda

How RBI's bar on Mastercard impacts Indian banks

How RBI's bar on Mastercard impacts Indian banks

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2021

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) move to ban Mastercard from issuing new cards for not complying with the local data storage guidelines may hit five private banks, a non-bank lender, and a major card-issuing company. The impact is expected to be felt for a few months as these players transition to other card networks. According to Nomura Research, RBL Bank, YES Bank, and Bajaj Finserv are the ones most impacted by the ban as all their credit card schemes are allied to Mastercard. Among others, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank have 35-40 per cent of their credit card schemes tied to Mastercard, the report said.

Digital payment transactions recover; UPI hits record high

Digital payment transactions recover; UPI hits record high

Rediff.com   2 Jul 2021

Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the flagship payments platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), touched a record high both in terms of volume and value of transactions in June after a slump in April and May. The platform recorded 2.8 billion transactions worth Rs 5.47 trillion in June, up 10.6 per cent in volume terms and 11.56 per cent in value terms over May. This is in sync with the opening up of the economy as Covid cases gradually came down from its peak in mid-May and lockdowns were eased in various places.

'RBI has given us 120 days to operationalise SFB'

'RBI has given us 120 days to operationalise SFB'

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2021

Only when we are part of the same family, which will happen down the line, then, of course, we will give them (PMC depositors) all the assurance and the comfort.'

HDFC Bank plans mega infra revamp to tackle outages

HDFC Bank plans mega infra revamp to tackle outages

Rediff.com   25 Jun 2021

After facing multiple outages that irked the regulator, the country's largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, is revamping its technology infrastructure by making large scale investments, wherein it is bringing new talent, getting into cloud-native stacks, a shift from the traditional monolithic IT infrastructures, and working with strategic partners for better products and services. The bank management is clear that it will do whatever it takes in line with its growth path to ramp up its technology infrastructure.

'Covid-related death claims are a concern'

'Covid-related death claims are a concern'

Rediff.com   24 Jun 2021

'The overall death claims have gone up.'

Vedanta arm is paying almost nothing for Videocon group: NCLT

Vedanta arm is paying almost nothing for Videocon group: NCLT

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2021

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the resolution plan of Twin Star Technologies -- a promoter entity of the Vedanta Resources group -- for the Videocon group. But it has pointed out that the successful resolution applicant is "paying almost nothing" as the amount offered is only 4.15 per cent of total outstanding claim. It noted the hair cut for all the creditors is 95.85 per cent and suggested to both committee of creditors (CoC) and the successful applicant an increase in the payout.

Should RBI print money and finance govt's fiscal deficit?

Should RBI print money and finance govt's fiscal deficit?

Rediff.com   15 Jun 2021

Experts disagree with the idea and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has the sole right to print money, is not comfortable with it as well.

Another proof that 2nd Covid wave is creating havoc

Another proof that 2nd Covid wave is creating havoc

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2021

Auto-debit payment bounces have gone up for the second consecutive month in May, emphasising the stress building up due to a halt in economic activities as authorities lock down various parts of the country to stop the spread of the virus in the second wave. According to the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) data, in May, of the 85.7 million transactions initiated, 35.91 per cent, or 30.8 million transactions, failed.

Piramal Group's resolution plan for beleaguered DHFL gets NCLT nod

Piramal Group's resolution plan for beleaguered DHFL gets NCLT nod

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2021

The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday approved Piramal Group's resolution plan for the beleaguered Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), which has been reeling from the insolvency process since 2019. The plan put forward by Piramal Group, which has offered to pay Rs 37,250 crore, has been approved by the committee of creditors (CoC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Banks report loan fraud worth Rs 5 trn; SBI's amount largest

Banks report loan fraud worth Rs 5 trn; SBI's amount largest

Rediff.com   2 Jun 2021

Banks operating in India reported fraud of Rs 4.92 trillion as on March 31, 2021, which represents nearly 4.5 per cent of the total bank credit, showed Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, which was sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Saurabh Pandhare. The data showed 90 banks and financial institutions reported a total of 45,613 cases of loan fraud till March 31, 2021. State Bank of India - the country's largest lender - reported the highest amount of loans as fraud - Rs 78,072 crore as on March 31, 2021.

How PSBs plan to restructure loans of up to Rs 25 cr

How PSBs plan to restructure loans of up to Rs 25 cr

Rediff.com   31 May 2021

Public sector banks, including the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), have come out with a templated approach for restructuring retail and small business loans of up to Rs 25 crore under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Covid restructuring package 2.0. They have also come out with standardised products to make funds available to business entities for improving healthcare infrastructure and to individuals for meeting Covid treatment expenses. Business loans have been divided into three categories.

Stable rupee is bad news for foreign currency deposits

Stable rupee is bad news for foreign currency deposits

Rediff.com   27 May 2021

The flow of deposits from non-resident Indians (NRIs) hit a four-year low in the financial year 2020-21 mainly due to contraction in foreign currency deposits, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows. Total NRI deposits during FY21 were $7.3 billion as compared to $8.6 billion in FY20 - the lowest since 2016-17, when such deposits had contracted by $12.3 billion. Indian banks have three kinds of deposit accounts where NRIs or PIOs (persons of Indian origin) can park their funds: non-resident external-rupee account (NRE); non-resident ordinary rupee account (NRO); and foreign currency non-resident bank account (FCNR [B]).

Covid effect: Banks prefer govt bonds to giving loans

Covid effect: Banks prefer govt bonds to giving loans

Rediff.com   20 May 2021

Record liquidity infusion by the central bank in the banking system during the financial year 2020-21 amid sluggish economic activity resulted in banks investing more in safe government papers than in extending loans, data from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. This trend has not been seen in nearly two decades, barring 2016 - the year of demonetisation.

Why Citi is exiting India

Why Citi is exiting India

Rediff.com   10 May 2021

The Indian regulatory framework forced Citi to hibernate -- contrary to the claim that it never sleeps!

ULIPs remain popular despite tax tweak

ULIPs remain popular despite tax tweak

Rediff.com   5 May 2021

These products are extremely transparent and are the lowest charged products in the insurance space. The policyholder has to only pay the fund management charge. Hence, from the cost side, ULIPs are very competitive.

Modi era: Private banks grow; PSBs don't

Modi era: Private banks grow; PSBs don't

Rediff.com   28 Apr 2021

Since 2014, the public sector banks' branch network in rural and semi urban has grown by a mere 4,000 while for private sector banks, it doubled from 9,673 to 18,437.

'Father of banking reforms', M Narasimham, passes away

'Father of banking reforms', M Narasimham, passes away

Rediff.com   21 Apr 2021

New-generation private sector banks such as ICICI, HDFC, Axis, Kotak etcetera owe their existence to the recommendations of the first Narasimham Committee.

HDFC Bank readies plan to tackle frequent outages

HDFC Bank readies plan to tackle frequent outages

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

The bank has decided to embark on a 'Technology Transformation agenda' to provide its customers smoother, faster, and better banking experience.

The 2nd wave: Insurers brace for rise in Covid-19 policy claims

The 2nd wave: Insurers brace for rise in Covid-19 policy claims

Rediff.com   19 Apr 2021

The unprecedented rise in Covid-19 infections in the country, which many are terming as the second wave, has also resulted in a rise in Covid-related claims for general and health insurance companies as hospitalisations have gone up. The insurers have received more than a million Covid-related claims as of April, 2021. According to the data compiled by General Insurance Council, the reported claims total 1.014 million, amounting to more than Rs 14,800 crore.

You will soon be able to withdraw cash from digital wallets

You will soon be able to withdraw cash from digital wallets

Rediff.com   8 Apr 2021

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday proposed to make interoperability mandatory for digital payments firms. It also allowed users to withdraw cash from e-wallets and fintech companies to process RTGS and NEFT transactions. The RBI expressed dissatisfaction over prepaid payment instruments' (PPIs') failure to migrate towards full-KYC (know your customer) PPIs, and therefore interoperability, even two years after guidelines were issued.