India's exports are unlikely to get an immediate boost from a depreciating rupee, which touched an all-time low on Monday, driven by rising commodity prices. The rupee fell to 76.97 against the dollar earlier in the day, settling 1.05 per cent weaker than the previous close. Oil prices soared to their highest since 2008 on Monday at $139 per barrel, after the US and European allies explored a Russian oil import ban, while delays in the potential return of Iranian crude oil to global markets increased supply fears.
Dubai-based billionaire BR Shetty has sued Bank of Baroda (BoB) and audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) in a New York court, accusing them of ignoring fictitious and fraudulent transactions that resulted in NMC Healthcare going bankrupt. Shetty is seeking $8 billion in damages in the suit that also names the top management of NMC Healthcare, and Netherlands-based Credit Europe Bank. A top NMC Healthcare official confirmed the development to Business Standard and said despite several meetings, senior BoB officials in India did not take remedial steps for fear of getting involved in an international ponzi scheme perpetrated by then senior management officials.
In the biggest consolidation exercise in the banking space, the government on Friday announced four major mergers of public sector banks, bringing down their total number to 12 from 27 in 2017, a move aimed at making state-owned lenders global sized banks.
Javier Ceppi, tournament director of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be hosted by India next year, expressed his happiness about the way things were moving ahead in the preparation of the tournament.
A head of its meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can take some solace from the softening food commodity prices. However, the events surrounding the last few weeks show that the fall may not be uniform across all commodities, and cereals like wheat and rice could be the outliers. A Reuters report said that local wheat prices jumped to a record Rs 23,547 per tonne on Wednesday. That is a 12 per cent rise from the recent lows that followed the government's surprise ban on exports on May 14.
One-sponsor-one-fund rule may set off merger as Amundi seen sponsoring two funds following buyout.
The cases pertain to State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Andhra Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Overseas Bank, Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank, Dena Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Central Bank of India, Union Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra and Bank of India.
Retail inflation hit an eight-month high of 6.07 per cent in February, remaining above the RBI's comfort level for the second month in a row, while wholesale price-based inflation soared to 13.11 per cent on account of hardening of crude oil and non-food item prices, government data showed on Monday. The previous high for retail inflation was 6.26 per cent in June 2021. The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation, which is taken into account by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) while deciding its monetary policy, rose mainly because of costlier food items, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Analysts caution against volatility and recommend buying stocks of companies that are on strong fundamental footing that have been beaten down badly in the recent carnage.
Public sector lender Bank of India has moved to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against Future Retail Ltd and a moratorium over the assets of the Kishore Biyani-led debt-ridden firm. Besides, Bank of India (BOI), the lead banker of a consortium of banks that lent money to Future Retail Ltd (FRL), also suggested the insolvency tribunal appoint Vijay Kumar V Iyer as the interim professional of the company. Meanwhile FRL, in a regulatory filing, said it has been served and received a copy of the petition and is in the "process of taking legal advice".
The ministry of finance on Tuesday clarified that public sector banks (PSBs) have intimated they are not going to raise bank charges in the near future in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ministry's statement comes after several media reports citing steep increase in service charges by certain PSBs surfaced. No service charge is applicable on the 60.04 crore Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) accounts, including 41.13 crore Jan Dhan accounts opened by the poor segments of the society, as per the statement.
Banking and financial stocks got more than their fair share of foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows in February. Overseas investors pumped in $3.56 billion into domestic equities last month. Of this $1.96 billion went into financial stocks, data analysed by Edelweiss shows. "The sector now has 34.8 per cent of FPI assets, up from 33.8 per cent in January.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your stockmarket queries.
Since January 2021, the inflation rate in health has stood in the range of 6.08-8.44 per cent.
Piramal Enterprises' bid for debt-ridden DHFL received the most votes from lenders at the close of the voting process on Friday, sources said. Piramal Enterprises' bid received 94 per cent votes as compared to 45 per cent for the US-based Oaktree Capital. Voting was done on various parameters, including qualitative and quantitative.
However, it may still not change its stance on the policy rate as inflationary pressures are coming from high commodity prices.
Besides, the Australian regulator had issued licence to the bank, paving the way for it to open an office there, Bank of Baroda chairman and managing director M D Mallya said.
The biggest headwind to the consumption story in FY23 is a sharp decline in government subsidies on food, fertiliser and fuel, and overall decline in revenue expenditure net of interest payments. This, analysts say, will adversely impact purchasing power of households at the lower end of the income pyramid, translating into lower spending on consumer goods and services.
The branch managers have come out of their glass cabins and the sellers' market has transformed into a buyers' market, but there is no end to the harassment of customers, asserts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
NPA problem to continue for next 2-3 quarters: banks to FinMin
If the banks throw caution to the winds for building loan books, the hydra-headed bad loans may resurface and spoil the party, warns Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Corporation Bank is the biggest beneficiary of this round of capital infusion with Rs 9,086 crore of funding, followed by Allahabad Bank with Rs 6,896 crore.
Almost a month ago, Spain's World Cup winning captain Carles Puyol launched tickets for FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Emerging markets such as India have always run higher inflation rates than developed economies such as the US and countries of Western Europe. But for the first time in the past 30 years, the US reported a higher consumer price inflation (CPI) rate than India in five consecutive months. The US reported a CPI rate of 7.5 per cent in January 2022 against 6.01 per cent in India and analysts expect the trend to continue for at least a few months more
The finance ministry on Wednesday allowed all private sector banks to participate in government-related business, like collection of taxes. pension payments and small savings schemes. At the moment, only few large private sector are allowed to conduct government-related business.
For the fiscal ended 2021, the group has made a loss of Rs 5,943 crore on sales of Rs 11,723 crore, a drop of 66 per cent over fiscal 2020. The group's total debt was up by 7 per cent to Rs 20,742 crore.
Before taking such loans, compare the interest rates charged by various players, advises Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Loans for Indian airlines have dried up as banks have become cautious to lend to the sector.
Fit-again India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is attempting to make his comeback by taking part in the D Y Patil T20 tournament, starting in Mumbai, on Monday. Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also on their road to recovery after sustaining injuries.
Amendments would be required in the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 for privatisation, sources said.
The Reserve Bank on Monday superseded the boards of Srei Infrastructure Finance as well as Srei Equipment Finance, citing concerns over governance and payment defaults, and decided to refer the two NBFCs for resolution under the insolvency law. This is only the second time in as many years that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is referring entities for the resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) after taking first ever such step in the case of DHFL back in 2019. Superseding the boards of the crisis-hit Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL), the RBI has appointed Rajneesh Sharma, former Chief General Manager of Bank of Baroda as the administrator to manage the affairs of the two companies.
Hardik suffered an acute lower back injury five months ago and underwent a surgery in London, following which he has been rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Hardik Pandya hit four towering sixes and ran swiftly between the wickets at the DY Patil T20 Cup as chief selector MSK Prasad closely monitored his fitness.
Why are investors gung-ho about State Bank? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
State-run Bank of Baroda and Oriental Bank of Commerce are among those facing scrutiny.
Armed with court order, a consortium of lenders led by SBI can now sell certain real estate properties and securities belonging to fugitive Vijay Mallya to recover loans turned bad with failure of Kingfisher Airlines. A consortium of 11 banks that gave Mallya loans, led by State Bank of India (SBI), had approached a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court seeking restoration of his properties seized by the Enforcement Directorate. The special PMLA court in Mumbai on Tuesday allowed the restoration of properties worth Rs 5,646.54 crore to banks.
We'll need to wait a couple of years to see how many restructured loans turn bad and whether some banks fall victim to their obsession for growth, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
A forensic probe has been ordered into alleged irregularities by the department of financial services.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
There is no direct impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on India in terms of bilateral trade but a surge in oil prices poses considerable risk to the economy, an analyst report said on Friday. International oil prices which have surged past $100 per barrel "pose risks to external stability and currency movement," a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report said. Russia has launched military operations against Ukraine, stoking fears of significant disruption in the region, including loss of life. The West is ramping up financial sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine.
The interest rate offered by PSBs like SBI, BoB and BoI hover around 8.9 per cent-10.50 per cent. For private banks, the range is between 10.49 per cent and 12 per cent.