Japan's Orix Corporation, which was in talks with Reliance Industries (RIL) to sell its 23.87 per cent stake in Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Company (IL&FS), has bowled a googly.
According to sources familiar with the developments, Barclays may review several options, including the sale of its credit card operations in India.
Microfinance companies have been facing a crisis after a crackdown by the Andhra Pradesh government last year in response to allegations they were charging high rates and using coercive recovery practices.
Some banks, including ICICI, want to restructure securitised advances along with other loans. This is being opposed by Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and YES Bank.
Market intermediaries, who are constantly on the lookout for avenues to reduce overhead and compliance costs, have found a new tool.
Bahrain has of late emerged as a regional hub for banking because of low tax rates and easy regulations. At present, 409 banks and financial institutions have operations there.
Freebies do not seem to have attracted many buyers, as both property prices and lending rates continue to remain high.
With the new financial year kicking in and the equity markets showing signs of stability, the government is expected to soon initiate its divestment programme with renewed vigour.
The Manila-based development finance institution has decided not to guarantee loans directed to Andhra Pradesh, where the microfinance activity has fallen sharply due to strict rules introduced by the state government in October last year.
Compared to other emerging markets, accelerated growth in the domestic economy provided greater business opportunities to foreign banks in India, resulting in higher profitability.
Expect rate rise pause, amid market expectations to the contrary.
While there are still some months left before two of the three members retire, the industry is already abuzz with talk that they might get an extension.
Volatility in domestic share market acting as catalyst.
"Companies are looking for longer maturities, typically one year and above (for bulk deposits), while banks want funds for a short tenure," said B A Prabhakar, executive director, Bank of India.
Life Insurance Corporation of India, Housing Development Finance Corporation and State Bank of India together own a little over 45 per cent in IL&FS. The deal is expected to be valued around $2.5 billion.
The finance ministry's plan to offer basic banking licences may find few takers because of doubts over the commercial viability of the proposed business model.
Banks have started putting the brakes on short-term corporate loans.
After introducing the call auction mechanism in Sensex and Nifty stocks, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is mulling extending this to the proposed platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), although with a few changes.
The mega real estate loan scam could delay the initial public offers of over half a dozen real estate developers because of poor investor sentiment, said bankers and analysts tracking the sector.
The new Takeover Code that proposes sweeping changes in the way mergers and acquisitions are done in India is unlikely to get the final regulatory approval in the next couple of months. It is expected that the new set of regulations will be implemented only around the end of the current financial year.
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