Ironically, bad loans and non-performing assets are on the rise in public sector banks in India, say sector watchers.
Advice to the new finance minister from former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan: 1. Clean up banks by reviving projects that can be revived after restructuring debt. 2. Improve governance and management at public sector banks. 3. De-risk banking by encouraging risk transfers to non-banks and the market. 4. Reduce the number and weight of government mandates for public sector banks, and for banks more generally.
In a message to public sector banks (PSBs) that only performers will survive, the government, in an unprecedented move, has decided to allocate capital to only nine PSBs.
The return of investor confidence in the equity markets is bringing some of the large companies back to the fund-raising table.
Is the worst over for Indian banks? The past two years saw them ride on treasury trades as deposits soared and credit growth dipped sharply. Gross and net non-performing assets (NPAs) moved south, and the provision coverage ratio (PCR), capital buffers, and profitability indicators are back at pre-pandemic levels. So, what's the plot ahead?
Equity benchmark Sensex climbed 248 points to close at its all-time high on Tuesday, tracking unabated foreign capital inflows amid a positive trend in global markets. After a see-saw session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 248.84 points or 0.40 per cent to settle at 61,872.99 -- surpassing its previous closing peak of 61,795.04 on November 11. During the day, the index witnessed a high of 61,955.96 and a low of 61,436.90.
The stock exchange BSE has called off the merger of its unit at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC), India International Exchange (India INX), with NSE International Exchange (NSE IX), a similar unit floated by rival National Stock Exchange (NSE), according to sources familiar with the development. BSE and NSE had been in discussions for the merger for over a year, but it has yielded no results, they said.
Defending the timing of Yes Bank's moratorium, Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday assured swift resolution to the issues concerning the beleaguered lender. "The resolution (to Yes Bank) will be done very swiftly, it will be done very fast. 30 days which we have given is the outer limit. You will see a very swift action from RBI," Das told reportters in Mumbai.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) record surplus transfer to the government has raised hopes among bond traders that the government might reduce its gross borrowing for the current financial year (2024-25/FY25) by up to Rs 1 trillion. The RBI approved a dividend of Rs 2.11 trillion for the central government for 2023-24, marking an increase of roughly 141 per cent from 2022-23 (FY23). In addition, the contingency risk buffer has been raised to 6.5 per cent from the previous 6 per cent.
The brand name was pledged to 14 lenders, including State Bank of India (SBI), under a debt recast agreement in which loans valuing Rs 6,500 crore were restructured and converted into equity.
Banks are set to sell dud-loans worth Rs 90,000 crore of 22 firms in the first tranche to the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL). It's reason for cheer given that such sales to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) have been poor in recent times. In fiscal 2020, their assets under management (AUM) contracted by 4 per cent; and in fiscal 2021, it fell by another 100 basis points to Rs 1.07 trillion. So, why are we where we are?
The need to allow government shareholding in public sector banks to come down below 51 per cent
While India won't be immune to global spillovers, we need to create the macro preconditions for sustained growth. Policy agility, prudence, and resilience will be key, suggests Sonal Varma.
India does not feature in the top 100 countries on eight of the 10 indicators of the World Bank study.
'Facilitating conversion of well-run NBFCs into banks is urgently needed.'
Given the concerns around trade wars that threaten to jeopardise global capital flows as well, attracting foreign capital needs to be a policy priority, says Neelkanth Mishra.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Tuesday that India's general government debt (comprising both central and state government debt) could exceed 100 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the medium term. It also cautioned that long-term debt sustainability risks are high due to the significant investment required to meet India's climate change mitigation targets. The Indian government, however, disagreed, arguing that risks from sovereign debt are extremely limited as it is predominantly denominated in domestic currency.
Apart from the emotional value attached to buying gold, the yellow metal offers protection against inflation, interest rate spikes, currency and geopolitical risks, says Anamika Pareek.
Bank of Baroda has relatively better position on impaired assets.
Tata Motors, India's largest commercial vehicle maker, is in the process of raising Rs 5,000 crore through a bond issue to refinance the remaining $ 2 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) bridge loan it took to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover.
Ministry considering tax sops for India's first global financial centre, steps to liberalise futures and options markets.
The post-crisis debate on capital account management focuses on matching instruments with vulnerabilities.
India needs foreign exchange buffer reserves to insulate itself from exchange rate volatility as we have "no friends" for swap lines and Japan was the only country that helped during the taper tantrum in 2013, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday. Participating in a virtual event organised by economic think tank NCAER, Rajan said during the taper tantrum in 2013, India asked for swap lines, and only country who helped was Japan. "We need this (foreign exchange) reserve buffer to insulate ourselves because we have no friends.
Loan against gold as a product is catching on fast. Let's keep the momentum going, but aim for sustainable growth. A few bad apples should not ruin the brunch, argues Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Keeping up his tradition of celebrating the festival with soldiers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sir Creek near the Indo-Pak border in Gujarat's Kutch district and offered sweets to jawans.
Stocks such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank are among the top banking picks of analysts for 2017. A decline in cost of funds and treasury gains are expected to help stabilise their net interest margins
Jet Airways owes more than Rs 8,000 crore to a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, which now run the airline, while it has a much larger debt pile by way of accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore and vendor dues of over Rs 10,000 crore and salary dues of over Rs 3,000 crore.
The Reserve Bank of india is likely to tell state-run United Bank of India (UBI), which has seen erosion of capital due to bad loans and higher provisioning to implement prompt corrective action.
'As long as the government owns the banks, bankers will follow signals from politicians as to how to lend.' 'State-owned banks will remain State-owned banks as long as the current dispensation is in power -- and certainly there will be no change if the other chaps get in,' says Mihir S Sharma.
BSE benchmark Sensex plummeted 778 points to close below the 55,500-level on Wednesday following a broad-based selloff in global markets as the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalated. The 30-share BSE index ended 778.38 points or 1.38 per cent lower at 55,468.90. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 187.95 points or 1.12 per cent to 16,605.95.
The Bank suggested reforms in infrastructure sector.
As many as 26 premises are being searched in these cities by the federal agency under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, they said.
The markets may be entering a consolidation phase and are expected to trade sideways for now after a good run in the last few weeks, suggest analysts. In this backdrop, they suggest investors can book profits at the current levels and enter the market again on a decline from a medium-to-long term perspective. Thus far in fiscal 2023-24 (FY24), the S&P BSE Sensex has moved up around 5 per cent to nearly 62,000 levels.
'When you do some job for a few hours, you are hardly earning enough to survive.'
Uttam Prakash Agarwal alleged that Citax and Braich offers were incomplete and did not include firm commitment as to the price, size, timings, confirmation from the banks about availability of the funds.
'We may bite the bullet and draw up plans for privatisation.' 'If that is done now, the sale of the government stake will fetch money; a delay will see erosion in whatever value is left in these banks,' says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The study claims that from its peak of 18 per cent of gross domestic product in 2008, the crony capitalists' wealth is now down to three per cent
The finance minister, in her Budget speech, should focus more on what she is directly responsible for, rather than on programmes where her role is largely supportive, notes Nitin Desai.
Markets closed the day in green on favourable domestic factors,
