The sector seems set for a rally that may be somewhat temporary.
The Reserve Bank on Tuesday asked banks not to levy penalties on customers who don't maintain a minimum balance in any inoperative account as part of a consumer protection initiative.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added another 102 metric tonnes to the domestically held gold in the April-September period, as per a disclosure made on Tuesday. The overall quantity of the precious metal stored in local safes stood at 510.46 metric tonnes as of September 30, which was up from over 408 metric tonnes as on March 31, 2024. The central bank said it added another 32 metric tonnes of gold reserves in the six-month period to take the overall tonnage to 854.73 metric tonnes, as per the half yearly report on management of foreign exchange reserves.
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.
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.
While lenders create a hype around the services offered on digital platforms, customers think otherwise, given that frustration due to the quality of service has only increased, over the years.
FOMO-driven investing is reshaping India's stock market. Swati Saxena explains how social media hype fuels risky bets and how to protect your wealth.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has granted approval to Paytm to onboard new UPI users, subject to the adherence to all procedural guidelines and circulars, according to the company. The move is expected to come as a relief to Paytm, which had suffered a blow following the Reserve Bank of India's restrictions earlier this year on associate company Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) in onboarding new UPI users on the Paytm app. In March, the NPCI gave approval to Paytm to participate in UPI as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP).
Rekha Gupta had the support of the RSS, which actively participated in the Delhi assembly poll campaign to help the BJP win.
This will be the lender's first result after its merger with HDFC Ltd, effective from July 1, and will keep analysts glued to the management's earnings growth guidance for the merged financial behemoth.
Flush with liquidity, banks are eager to lend. And, therein lies the problem, warns Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 52 crore of arrested AAP leader Manish Sisodia, his wife and some other accused in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
The country's most valuable lender HDFC Bank can perhaps no longer claim to be a favourite of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Two data indicators, both somewhat interconnected, point to this - the diminishing premium of HDFC Bank's American depositary receipts (ADRs) compared to local shares, and the ample investment opportunities available to FPIs in the domestic market. The ADR premium has shrunk to below 5 per cent, down from over 30 per cent in March 2021, and even lower than recent levels.
'Barring a temporary blip where stocks fell on verdict day, we are back to all-time highs.'
Flow of money into non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits moderated sharply to $3.23 billion in April 2021-March 2022 from $7.36 billion in the same period of the previous year. Outstanding deposits have also gone down to $139.02 billion at the end of March 2022. This compares to $141.89 billion a year ago, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
Weakness in HDFC Bank's net interest margin (NIM) might have bottomed out in the July-September quarter (Q2-FY24), analysts said on Tuesday, as most of the merger-related one-time adjustments have been done. The bank, they believe, should be able to grow from here on, allowing the stock to reverse its underperformance. "The weak NIM print was not unexpected given the merger and regulatory impact caused by the incremental cash reserve ratio (ICRR; 5-10 bps for the quarter).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred Paytm Payments Bank from most operations, including taking deposits and fund transfers with effect from March 1, 2024. The curbs on the bank come amid several alleged failures such as violations of know-your-customer (KYC) norms. Under such a scenario, here's what works for customers using Paytm Payments Bank, according to the company.
'People who have unaccounted money often park it in unregulated deposit schemes.' 'Curbing illegal deposit-raising activity will also carry forward the government's drive against black money.'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday released draft guidelines for streamlining the onboarding and monitoring of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) operators to counter frauds perpetuated through the ecosystem. Banks and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are required to comply with these directions within three months from the date of issue of the guidelines.
Private sector banks reported a robust profile with healthy growth in net interest income (NII), credit offtake and reduction in provision burden for the fourth quarter ended March 2023 (Q4 of FY23). However, as a pack, their net profit declined by 9.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 25,317 crore in Q4. This is because Axis Bank posted losses due to its one-time hefty charge for the acquisition of Citibank India's consumer business.
Withdrawals from basic savings bank deposit accounts are capped at four a month, including withdrawals via ATMs.
A Rs 525-crore contingency provision during the July-September period led to a 19 per cent fall in IndusInd Bank's share price on Friday (October 25). Contingency provisions are generally made when a lender expects more bad loans in the coming quarters. Shares of the bank on Tuesday (October 29) declined 1.53 per cent to settle at Rs 1,038.2 apiece on the BSE.
Benefiting from higher credit off-take and loan repricing, listed commercial banks are expected to post 43.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in their net profit in the quarter ended June 30 (Q1FY24), analysts have said. Controlled credit costs due to a healthy asset quality profile and a steady treasury book will also support a strong bottom line for the lenders in the first quarter. However, net profit may shrink sequentially, according to analysts' estimates for 13 banks sourced from Bloomberg data.
'We are focused on playing on our strengths, which are technology, and building a large profitable business by working with banks as well as non-banks and NBFCs for loans.'
Rate has remained at 3.5 per cent since March 2003.
Private banks are sitting on unclaimed amount of Rs. 195.9 crore.
When investing in fixed-income products, balancing considerations like safety, liquidity, and income is essential.
'Whether I am optimistic or pessimistic is not the issue; I am just going by the evidence available.' 'The Indian economy and financial sector are now well-placed and very resilient in dealing with any kind of spillover coming from the external world.'
State Bank of India, the nation's largest commercial bank, may cut the interest rates it offers on deposits, Chairman A K Purwar said on Monday.
The Election Commission on Friday virtually made it mandatory for political parties to deposit their funds in banks and not to exceed ceiling limits in financial assistance for candidates to ensure transparency and accountability.
The case for deregulation of the savings bank deposit rate by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is becoming stronger day by day. It is time India returned to a system favoured by most modern economies around the world.
In his complaint, the victim alleged that on September 12, he received a video call from a person claiming to be from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, who told him that his mobile number will be blocked.
To boost the economy, the RBI has taken a slew of measures since September last year, including cuts in the cash reserve ratio and short-term lending (repo) rate, to inject funds into the system and signalled a soft interest rate regime. PSU bankers' meeting is being held in the backdrop of the third quarterly review of monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India.
If they are made accountable, bad loan cases will shrink dramatically, recoveries will rise, and the NCLT process will be more manageable, asserts Debashis Basu.
The Reserve Bank has revoked the deposit-taking status of Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL), the first financial services firm to go for bankruptcy proceedings, and has reclassified it as a non-deposit taking housing finance company, before approving the Piramal group's bid to take over it towards the end of the resolution process. The revelation comes in the June 7 NCLT Mumbai order that has approved the Rs 35,250-crore bid for the once second largest mortage lender by Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, forcing over 65 per cent haircut on the creditors and just Re 1 to its NCD holders to whom it owes more than Rs 45,000-crore. On the 14th page of the 86-page NCLT order by HP Chaturvedi and Ravikumar Duraisamy, it says DHFL no longer is a deposit taking NBFC but a non-deposit taking one.
'As these segments are growing at 25 per cent for the last three years, credit quality has been extremely good.'
The lender's comfortable liquidity position, combined with downward bias in interest rates and slow credit growth expectations in the first three months of this financial year, has allowed it to take this decision.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew Rs 14,790 crore ($1.8 billion) from financial stocks in the first half of August, driven by global risk aversion sparked by US recession fears. Additional factors contributing to the decline in banking stocks included subdued earnings growth in the June quarter, concerns about slowing deposit growth, and stricter liquidity norms imposed by the Reserve Bank of India.
In addition to interest rates, review the fine print for penalties and repayment terms, and select a reputable lender to avoid harsh recovery practices.
Partha Pratim Sengupta, who will be taking charge as the MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank in early November, has his task cut out. The Kolkata-based lender, which converted itself from a microfinance institution to a universal bank, is in its 10th year of operation. The bank was able to cut down the share of the micro loan book over these years.
