Somesh Jha &Amp; Abhijit Lele

Stories by Somesh Jha &Amp; Abhijit Lele

Slow progress at debt recovery tribunals irks banks

Slow progress at debt recovery tribunals irks banks

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2019

Lenders send 'SOS' to the finance ministry on the tardy decision making and pile-up of cases at the Debt Recovery Tribunals and its appellate forum the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal.

Jet lenders mull open auction process

Jet lenders mull open auction process

Rediff.com   24 Mar 2019

Bids to be evaluated according to guidelines by the civil aviation ministry, following which a buyer will be selected. Transfer of control to the buyer to be effected by June-end.

Most lenders cool to funding cash-strapped Jet Airways

Most lenders cool to funding cash-strapped Jet Airways

Rediff.com   23 Mar 2019

After a meeting of banks on Friday on ways to make funds available immediately, a source in the know said lenders other than SBI and Punjab National Bank had not come on board so far to chip in with their funds.

Will banks bail out debt-laden Jet Airways?

Will banks bail out debt-laden Jet Airways?

Rediff.com   20 Mar 2019

Switching to a damage-control mode, bankers and government officials claimed that Jet Airways wouldn't fall even if Etihad refuses to back the resolution plan and exits.

Jet's crisis deepens as Etihad, lenders lock horns

Jet's crisis deepens as Etihad, lenders lock horns

Rediff.com   19 Mar 2019

Etihad said it would not participate in the rights issue or infuse fresh funds under the current terms and conditions of the resolution plan

Jet's woes may fly away in a week

Jet's woes may fly away in a week

Rediff.com   17 Mar 2019

Jet and Etihad have already agreed upon a Rs 4,000-crore interim financing plan according to which Etihad will put in Rs 750 crore either on its own or from an offshore or onshore lender, and a matching amount will be provided by the Jet lenders.

RBI removes 3 more banks from PCA framework

RBI removes 3 more banks from PCA framework

Rediff.com   27 Feb 2019

After removing three PSBs - BoI, Mahabank and OBC from the framework, RBI, on Tuesday, took out three commercial banks - Allahabad, Corporation and Dhanlaxmi from the said list.

Why banks are hesitant to lend more to real estate sector

Why banks are hesitant to lend more to real estate sector

Rediff.com   25 Feb 2019

Owing to the risk perception attached with the segment by banks, the residential realty segment has been increasingly relying on non-banking financial companies and housing finance companies to raise debt financing, reports Abhijit Lele.

Bankers say post-recapitalisation, PSBs 4-5 quarters from profitability

Bankers say post-recapitalisation, PSBs 4-5 quarters from profitability

Rediff.com   23 Feb 2019

A key hindrance to a faster turnaround of these banks is the slow progress in the resolution of legacy bad loans and the need to build up provisions against those assets.

Unemployment rises across religions, social groups

Unemployment rises across religions, social groups

Rediff.com   22 Feb 2019

The problem of unemployment is spread across the economy.

RBI rate cut: Banks won't pass full benefits to YOU

RBI rate cut: Banks won't pass full benefits to YOU

Rediff.com   19 Feb 2019

'The effect will be seen two-three quarters down the line.'

Why liquidity will remain constrained till March-end

Why liquidity will remain constrained till March-end

Rediff.com   18 Feb 2019

Although the RBI's open market operations have ensured sufficient system-level liquidity, some sectors are finding liquidity to be a challenge owing to their credit profile.

Another shocking jobs data revealed!

Another shocking jobs data revealed!

Rediff.com   11 Feb 2019

According to NSSO, more than half of India's working-age population is out of labour force. In 2017-18, the youth unemployment rate was in the range 13.6-27.2 per cent.

The blind spot on India's biggest banking whodunit

The blind spot on India's biggest banking whodunit

Rediff.com   8 Feb 2019

The PNB fiasco falls into a family line that involves non-fund limits - read contingent liabilities which are off-books. Harshad Mehta did it with bankers' receipts in 1992. Ketan Parekh exploited the ignorance of bankers who did not know the difference between a cheque and a pay-order. And the RBI blinked when it failed to insist the SWIFT platform be linked to the core banking solution. Raghu Mohan & Abhijit Lele trace the banking mess that was just waiting to happen.

2 members of National Statistical Commission quit over jobs data report

2 members of National Statistical Commission quit over jobs data report

Rediff.com   30 Jan 2019

With the two members quitting, the NSC now has only two members -- Chief Statistician Pravin Srivastava and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

Now job opportunities abroad under govt initiative

Now job opportunities abroad under govt initiative

Rediff.com   29 Jan 2019

A fresh global skill gap study shows how India can tap opportunities in Germany, New Zealand, Qatar, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE and the UK.

New 'secrets' emerge in PNB scam

New 'secrets' emerge in PNB scam

Rediff.com   28 Jan 2019

FinMin finally sacked executive directors K V Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan on January 18. The bank's board, however, had felt they had no criminal intent and it was a case of 'casual oversight'

Why PSBs put Rs 1-trn bad loans on sale

Why PSBs put Rs 1-trn bad loans on sale

Rediff.com   24 Jan 2019

Bankruptcy proceedings are going at a slower pace than what the bankers had envisaged and many cases have gone beyond the 270-day timeline set under the IBC mainly because of litigation.

Deposit rates not to rise soon

Deposit rates not to rise soon

Rediff.com   23 Jan 2019

During the fourth quarter (January-March), banks step up the activity to meet annual targets. This leads to a race to raise funds from markets often by jacking up deposit rates. This time around, the market has not seen such trend yet.

Post restructuring, SBI-led consortium may hold around 40% stake in Jet

Post restructuring, SBI-led consortium may hold around 40% stake in Jet

Rediff.com   17 Jan 2019

The airline has struggled to pay salaries and vendors on time and its Rs 10,963 crore fund and non fund based facilities have now been assigned 'D' rating by ICRA - the seventh rating downgrade since March 2017.