Standard Chartered CEO-Asia Jaspal Bindra spoke to Anirudh Laskar and Sidhartha about the bank's plans and his assessment of the situation.
Sixteen years after the stock market scam orchestrated by Harshad S Mehta, the custodian has put up eight apartments in a complex called Madhuli, which is occupied by his family in upscale Worli, for sale.
The move comes a month after three-day terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26 left at least 183 people dead and thousands wounded. A source close to the development told Business Standard that following 26/11, as the terror attacks came to be called, reinsurance rates have hardened in the global markets.
Paresh Parasnis, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company's principal officer and executive director spoke to Shilpy Sinha & Sidhartha about the company's strategy.
With public sector banks reducing interest rates on home loans up to Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million), housing finance companies (HFCs) might be under pressure to follow suit in order to stay competitive.
With the Rs 7,000-crore (Rs 70 billion) refinance window, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will not face any fund crunch, says Sidbi Chairman and Manging Director R M Malla.
Say cost of funds too high to lower lending rates.
At a time when the global banking industry is feeling the pinch of the global credit crunch, Central Bank of India is planning to expand its foreign presence.
Even though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the risk weightage on loans to commercial developers and cut general provisioning for commercial real estate, commercial banks may not start lending to the sector immediately.
At this time of fear and apprehension over jobs, public sector banks are swimming against the tide to go on a hiring spree.
They say liquidity remains a major cause of concern, and the coming quarters could witness a significant rise in non-performing assets. According to them, a robust risk management system, adequate capital infusion and regulatory reforms is crucial if India's economic growth is to remain intact in the medium and long term. Banks are facing immense liquidity pressure, as resources gradually disappear from the system. Banks have also been unwilling to lend each other.
Since November 3, the day the central bank's special window was opened, bids worth Rs 2,775 crore (Rs 27.75 billion) were placed at the auctions against the total outstanding amount of Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) at the fixed rate of 7.5 per cent. "It's a commercial decision of banks to lend money to NBFCs. It implies that banks are still cautious about lending to NBFCs and they might take some more time to start lending normally to us," said an NBFC chief.
In a move to boost liquidity, the government and the Reserve Bank of India are considering a special window to enable banks with farm loan relief scheme arrears, a major factor impacting liquidity, to raise funds. The move will help inject liquidity into the system till Parliament approves the Rs 25,000-crore reimbursement.
"The NBFC gives us greater flexibility in functioning. Retail and broking businesses can be affected by the ups and downs in the market, but private banking does not get affected as high networth individuals continue to get high salaries and earn profits. However, on the individual risk profile, the asset class keeps changing," said Nipun Mehta, head and executive director, SG Private Banking India.
While there is more than one irritant that the bank and the insurer are trying to sort out, sources close to the development said the biggest roadblock is the rights that IAG will enjoy if the proposed venture gets a go-ahead from the SBI board. The issues are likely to be discussed at the board's meeting on Friday.
Banks levy a fee on transactions under core banking solutions.
The government has asked the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority to open the retirement scheme--which has so far been confined to central government employees--to the self-employed and those in the unorganised sector.
With higher interest rates, bankers today said their loan portfolios will grow at a slower pace, partly because of the caution being exercised by lenders themselves.
After years of waiting, finally there seems to be hope for the passage of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, thanks to the Left's withdrawal of support from the government. The passing of the Bill will provide statutory backing to the regulatory agency, enabling it to issue guidelines and allow non-government employees to save for the long-term. PFRDA Chairman D Swarup spoke to Business Standard about the issues involved.
The four Left parties may no longer be allies of the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance, but their concerns on the pension Bill will still be addressed by the government.
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