The committee formed under the Life Insurance Council to review the commission structure in the life insurance sector has recommended capping distributor commissions or deferring them to ease acquisition costs. The recommendations will be sent to the insurance regulator -- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).
The Indian economy is growing at a robust pace, driven by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and the healthy balance sheets of banks, said a Reserve Bank report released on Wednesday.
The rupee slumped 5 per cent in 2025 as persistent capital outflows from foreign investors, alongside heightened dollar demand from importers, making it one of the worst-performing Asian currencies.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its Financial Stability Report (FSR), cautioned that stress tests indicate two scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) may have to dip into their capital conservation buffers (CCBs), unless stakeholders infuse capital, under a scenario involving a gradual slowdown in domestic GDP growth and a moderate rise in inflation, with limited policy easing space available to the central bank.
Asset quality within the non-banking financial sector (NBFCs) deteriorated with the share of stressed assets rising to 5.9 per cent in March 2025 from 3.9 per cent in September 2024, according to the Reserve Bank of India's Financial Stability Report (FSR). Slippage ratios among upper layer NBFCs have been rising, along with an upward trend in loan write-offs.
Indian economy remains a key driver of global growth on the back of sound macroeconomic fundamentals and prudent policies, the Reserve Bank said on Monday. In its bi-annual Financial Stability Report (FSR), the central bank also said elevated economic and trade policy uncertainties are testing the resilience of the global economy and the financial system.
Towards the end of February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the risk weighting on banks loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs; including to microfinance institutions, or MFIs) to 100 - back to its November 2023 position - from 125. It is only a partial relief though. "Higher risk weighting on unsecured lending continues to be in place while the same on bank funding to NBFCs has been done away with. "This is a positive step by RBI," says Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Capital.
The Reserve Bank on Monday said asset quality of banks improved further and their gross non-performing assets (GNPA) or bad loans ratio declined to a 12-year low of 2.6 per cent in September 2024 on the back of falling slippages and steady credit demand. The RBI also flagged concern over a sharp rise in write-offs, especially among private sector banks (PVBs), which could be partly masking worsening asset quality in unsecured lending segment and dilution in underwriting standards.
Widespread use of crypto assets, including stablecoins, can have a negative impact on the macroeconomic and financial stability of a country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday. In its Financial Stability Report (FSR), the banking regulator highlighted that excessive use of crypto assets can reduce effectiveness of monetary policy, worsen fiscal risks, circumvent capital flow management measures, divert resources available for financing the real economy and threaten global financial stability.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
The bad assets or gross NPAs of commercial banks fell to a 12-year low of 2.8 per cent in March 2024 and may go down further to 2.5 per cent by the end of the current fiscal, said the RBI's Financial Stability Report (FSR) released on Thursday. Scheduled Commercial Banks' (SCBs) gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio fell to 2.8 per cent, and the net non-performing assets (NNPA) ratio to 0.6 per cent at the end of March 2024. "The asset quality of SCBs recorded sustained improvement, and their GNPA ratio moderated to a 12-year low in March 2024. Their NNPA ratio too improved to a record low," said the June FSR.
Gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) of banks may rise to 9.8 per cent by March 2022 under a baseline scenario, from 7.48 per cent in March 2021, according to the Financial Stability Report (FSR) released by the Reserve Bank of India. Under a severe stress scenario, GNPA of banks may increase to 11.22 per cent, it added.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday described cryptocurrencies as "clear danger" and said that anything that derives value based on make believe, without any underlying, is just speculation under a sophisticated name. The government is in the process of finalising a consultation paper on cryptocurrencies after gathering inputs from various stakeholders and institutions. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been flagging concerns about cryptocurrencies, which are seen as a highly speculative asset.
Amid the rupee declining against the US dollar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Indian currency is relatively better placed than other global currencies against the greenback. Emerging market currencies have been falling against the dollar amid geopolitical tensions in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, concerns over growth, high global crude prices, sustained inflation and central banks worldwide adopting hawkish monetary policy approach. "We are relatively better placed. We are not a closed economy. We are part of the globalised world.
The RBI on Thursday said banks' gross NPA ratio has fallen to a sever-year low of 5 per cent and the banking system remains sound and well-capitalised. In the 26th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR), the RBI also said the global economy is facing formidable headwinds with recessionary risks looming large. The interplay of multiple shocks has resulted in tightened financial conditions and heightened volatility in financial markets, it pointed out.
This comes against the backdrop of instances of indicative ratings given by agencies, for which there are no written agreements.
Economic activity has regained momentum from late-May after the dent caused by the second wave of COVID-19, and the pandemic's impact on the overall asset quality has been less than expected, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday. However, Das flagged rising data breaches and cyber-attacks as among the risks for the recovering economy, along with others like firming global commodity prices. The governor also said the second wave had a "grievous toll" on the country.
The average time lag between the date of occurrence of a fraud and its detection is 23 months; for large frauds (Rs 100 crore and above), it was 57 months.
The gross non-performing assets of banks may rise to 13.5 per cent by September 2021, from 7.5 per cent in September 2020, under the baseline scenario, according to Financial Stability Report (FSR) released by the Reserve Bank of India.
The recent run on the US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the subsequent seizure of its assets by the regulators may have sparked a global wave of risk aversion, particularly for start-ups. However, the Indian banking sector is unlikely to be a victim of any contagion effects, said analysts. he bank, which played a big role in financing start-ups and technology players, faced stress after incurring huge losses on its holdings of US bonds, following the most-aggressive monetary tightening cycle by the Federal Reserve in around four decades.
The net NPA ratio declined to 3.7 per cent in September 2019 from just below 4 per cent in March 2019, reflecting increased provisioning.
Banks such as IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, DCB Bank and Axis Bank which have renewed their focus on secured loans may be, hence, walking on a tightrope.
India's services sector activities touched the highest mark since April 2011 amid ongoing improvements in demand conditions, even as cost pressures in the service economy remained stubbornly high, a monthly survey said on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 58.9 in May to 59.2 in June -- its highest mark since April 2011. For the eleventh straight month, the services sector witnessed an expansion in output. In Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
It adds that banks could be hiding some of the fraud cases, masking these as bad debt
'We are very watchful about inflation and growth. But the main challenge is economic revival and growth.'
Among the bank groups, under the baseline scenario, public sector banks' gross NPA ratios may increase to 13.2 per cent by September 2020 from 12.7 per cent in September 2019.
A common feature in India is the lag between the occurrence of frauds and the time they are actually reported.
On November 12, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to ring in uniformity in asset classification and income recognition across all lending institutions. Shadow banks, or non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), like commercial banks, are to test non-performing assets (NPAs) on a daily basis and upgrade them to "standard assets" only when interest and principal arrears are settled by borrowers. This is going to create all manner of headaches for shadow banks and their clientele. Says Y S Chakravarti, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), Shriram City Union Finance: "NPA levels will go up, especially of small borrowers.
India's banking system is stable and can withstand global shocks, but there are weak spots like decelerating growth and rising fiscal deficit which need to be addressed, said a Reserve Bank report.
Managing expectations is a challenge for policymakers.
The bi-annual financial stability report noted that failure of an NBFC with the maximum capacity to cause solvency losses to the banking system will lead to a loss of 2.5 per cent of the total tier-I capital of the banking system.
Banks might not have realised the exact implication of risky projects under PPP projects, which were getting implemented under high leverage
Thanks to the recapitalisation by the government and measures taken by the central bank, collapse of any large housing finance company won't pose as big a risk as it had six months ago.
The Reserve Bank on Thursday said the macroeconomic risks to the Indian economy have increased over the last six months due to the fall in growth, external sector developments and subdued performance of the corporate sector.
The government will not bring down its ownership in public banks.
The Reserve Bank on Thursday said Indian companies may find it difficult to repay loans as rising input cost is putting pressure on their profit margins.
The central bank has not set a deadline for banks to conclude the stress-test exercise, but senior bankers opine that some were already looking at this, and will now fast-track it by September-end, when they will have a better picture of their books after the moratorium on the servicing of loans and a 180-day view on the performance of borrowers' accounts.
Loans make money for the lender in the initial years but losses come later when they turn bad.
'The financial sector will be hit even harder than the overall market.' 'The banking sector will eventually be rescued.' 'But it may go into a long downwards spiral before things turn around.' 'Threat or buying opportunity?' asks Devangshu Datta.
PSBs' gross NPA ratio may decline to 12 per cent by March 2019 in the baseline scenario, whereas private banks' gross NPA ratio may decline from 3.7 per cent to 3.2 per cent in March 2019.
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