The government on Wednesday decided to speed up the process for appointment of merchant bankers for its Rs 400 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) divestment plan.
Bankers, who spoke to PTI, point to the above indicators and aver the Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to hike reverse repo and repo rates this month.
Party treasurer Ajay Maken has claimed that "democracy will be over if the action of probe agencies goes unchecked" and said the Congress has full faith in the judiciary.
Notwithstanding the ongoing decline in equity markets week after week, August has proven to be the most successful since December for initial public offerings (IPOs). In August of this year, six companies have collectively raised approximately Rs 4,269 crore through IPOs.
Investment bankers have dismissed the capital market regulator Sebi's concerns over near-zero fee for managing public sector issues.
The benchmark Nifty and Sensex could see another 8-10 per cent from the current levels, said HDFC Securities in its outlook for equity markets in 2024. The brokerage said that the market movement in the next year will not be linear, and there will be more volatility. When asked about the market reaction to the General Elections in 2024, Dhiraj Relli, managing director and CEO of HDFC Securities, said more than the outcome of the elections, the market movement in the next three to four months will decide the market trajectory post elections.
A cut in the CRR will help banks release their funds stuck with the RBI on which they do not get any interest from the regulator.
At a time when the role of corporate boards is once again under the scanner, independent directors on the Paytm Payments Bank board have indicated that red flags were raised over regulatory issues but they may have been late in doing so. "As independent directors, we asked questions and monitored responses to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many changes were made on compliances. "Obviously, in retrospect, it was not found to be enough," said one of the independent directors on the condition of anonymity.
The Supreme Court's decision to allow borrowers a chance to be heard before their accounts are flagged as fraudulent by lenders is expected to result in several cases being reopened where the borrower is aggrieved because of such classification, bankers said. Still, the reopening of cases would not be automatic. A borrower who is aggrieved by the 'fraud' classification will have to approach the bank and consequently, the bank will take the necessary steps so that the apex court's order is followed in letter and spirit, they said.
Global private equity (PE) firms are successfully offloading large equity stakes in domestic companies in the open market, taking advantage of buoyant conditions. Strong domestic liquidity support and an upward trending market have underpinned over a dozen PE exits worth $2.5 billion, data compiled by Business Standard shows. The figures exclude PE exits during maiden share sales and shares sold by strategic investors, such as SoftBank and Ant Group in new-age companies.
'Lending to Mr Mallya was the bankers' season ticket to corridors of power and glamour. Borrowing from them was like a favour Mallya did to them,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The initial public offering (IPO) market has seen some momentum of late with robust responses to recent issues. However, only some have been able to ride the wave. So far in 2023, 23 companies have let their approval granted by the markets regulator - the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) - lapse.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram is slated to meet bankers on November 18, to review performance of PSU banks and discuss ways of augmenting their capital by Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) in the next 5-6 years.
Relaxation in KYC guidelines has helped meet the target but this could lead to money laundering and financial malfeasance, it is feared.
Since December 2018, monetary policy has been eased substantially by RBI with policy rates being cut by 75 bps and policy outlook being changed to 'accommodative'.
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.
The meeting was also attended by State Bank of India Chairman O P Bhatt and Indian Banks Association and Bank of India Chairman T S Narayanaswami.
Consensus remained elusive on a common BRICS currency as business leaders from the five-bloc nations debated the pivotal issue at a business forum on the periphery of a summit of the five-member bloc being hosted here by South Africa. In their two addresses at the Summit so far, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have made no or scant references to the issue either. "The BRICS Business Forum discussed the international payments system in detail. "Participants also debated the question of whether a BRICS currency is possible or desirable, with strong views expressed both for and against and little consensus reached," Sim Tshabalala, chief executive of Standard Bank Group, told several hundred captains of industry from the partner countries and over 40 other nations across the globe at the Summit.
Fundraising through qualified institutional placement (QIP) has revived this year, led by commercial banks, after a lacklustre 2022. According to data compiled by Prime Database, Indian companies have raised Rs 53,070 crore in 2023 so far, of which seven banks - Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of India, Federal Bank, IDFC First Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and J&K Bank - account for Rs 21,290 crore, or about 40 per cent. If other financial institutions are included, the figure surges to Rs 26,690 crore.
Jaitley also asked banks to take steps to ensure smooth credit flow to projects.
The government plans to sell 5 per cent of its stake in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation through the further or follow-on public offering which at current prices can fetch up to Rs 13,500 crore (Rs 135 billion).
The Pakistan government on Tuesday did not retain Ijaz Butt as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and appointed Zaka Ashraf.
Other bankers who attended the meeting at Mint Street included SBI chairman-cum-managing director O P Bhatt, ICICI chief executive and MD Chanda Kochhar, Standard Chartered's India head Neeraj Swaroop and HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri, among others.
The Hinduja group is learnt to be looking at alternative means of financing, including private credit, to fund its Rs 9,661 crore all-cash offer to acquire Reliance Capital. The regulator, Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India (Irdai), had earlier rejected the collateral offered by the group to raise funds. The Hinduja group was in talks with Barclays, JPMorgan, Cerberus Capital Management and Apollo Global Management to raise up to $850 million.
Bankers are expecting a further fall in interest rates, due to ample liquidity in the banking system.
The plan of action ranges from drawdown of loans to seeking additional guarantees, to even recalling some of the loans, if the situation so warrants.
Sekhar, a managing partner at venture capital and private equity firm FA Technology Ventures, was arrested in December 2009.
Select bankers will meet RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn, who is in-charge of the monetary policy department, and other central bank officials on July 12.
The 28-year-old executive manager of individual sales at Dubai Commercial Bank, identified only as RA, is also charged with forging official electronic documents to cover his trail, local media reports in Dubai said.
Expect rate rise pause, amid market expectations to the contrary.
The shift to a shorter T+3 settlement cycle for initial public offerings (IPOs) will be a big test of the domestic market structure, requiring players in the ecosystem to work harder to meet the squeezed timelines, according to industry insiders. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has announced that the transition to the T+3 cycle will be voluntary starting next month and mandatory from December 1. The new mechanism will necessitate quicker confirmations from banks and speedy verification of permanent account numbers (PANs) for all applicants.
The biggest challenge was the large government borrowings that are likely next year to finance the government's fiscal deficit, bankers said at the Business Standard Banking Round Table in Mumbai on Tuesday. According to initial estimates put out by the government, the fiscal deficit will be 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product.
RBI Governor would like to wait till Budget before taking any action on rate front.
Deepak Gupta grows chemical-free food and wants farmers to go back to the practices they once knew but have forgotten, says Aditi Phadnis.
A consortium of bankers that will fund the Ruias' bid for Hutchison's 67 per cent equity stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd will begin "due diligence" on the company in the next few days
There hasn't been any dramatic moment in the first act (the Budget) but nobody would complain. It's par for the course as long as the figures don't change in the main Budget, which will be presented after general elections.
In a meeting with Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan on Monday, bankers expressed concerns that interest rates had not shown signs of softening despite ample liquidity and overnight rates being at close to 1 per cent levels.
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