In mid-March this year, the finance ministry asked state-run banks to review their gold loan portfolio for the two-year period between January 1, 2022, and January 31, 2024. This business had grown at a fast clip. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data has it that it grew 15 per cent to Rs 1 trillion in FY24. Now, in recent times, any kind of exuberance in financial services has seen the authorities swoop down - be it pushing the lines on governance or unsecured credit.
Finance firms in these SEZs likely to get tax breaks.
'Das is friendly, but he finally does what he does. The quality of engagement is very good.'
Banks are in a tight spot as ministry wants them to open ATMs at all rural branches
The Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), the only self-regulatory organisation for financial technology/fintech (SRO-FT) companies, is aiming to secure membership from at least 75 per cent of players across all key fintech categories within the next three years, according to a senior executive. The total number of members in the organisation has increased to 110, up from around 60 when it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an SRO-FT in August.
An executive director of a bank could, for example, be elevated to the post of chairman of a different bank.
Banks have raised concerns over the new international trade settlement in rupee, fearing that facilitation of such a mechanism could result in them facing the ire of economic sanctions by the West, people aware of the matter said. Large banks with overseas operations have sought clarity and assurance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that they will not be targeted with sanctions for facilitating rupee trade with a sanction-hit country such as Russia. The present payment mechanism is a shift from earlier such arrangements, like the one with sanction-hit Iran, which involved banks facilitating settlement of international trade that did not have business in the sanctioned nation.
The regulatory actions, undertaken by the RBI and the government, came hours after finance ministry sources confirmed that SBI was directed to bail out the troubled lender. For the next month, Yes Bank will led by the RBI-appointed administrator Prashant Kumar, an ex-chief financial officer of SBI.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Reserve Bank and the Finance Ministry have "very mature level of consultation" and it wasn't fair to comment on them.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to meet heads of public sector banks (PSBs) next week to review performance of the lenders and progress made by them to support the economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Banks would be urged to sanction loans for productive sectors to accelerate revival of the economy, sources said. According to sources, the two-day meeting would commence on November 17 and undertake a comprehensive review of various segments, progress in government schemes including Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
The remarks came amid reports of mounting tension between the finance ministry and the RBI over the autonomy of monetary policy makers.
RBI had a board meeting recently.
'The dakiyas will be our partners, receiving credit proposals from micro-enterprises at the grassroots level.'
'The committee has been constituted. Different government departments and FSDC members are part of it.'
The highest-ever goods and services tax (GST) evasion has been done by the online money gaming industry.
Lenders in India, comprising banks and finance companies, anticipate robust growth in retail credit during the upcoming festival season, stretching from September to December 2023. This expectation is based on resilient demand, government initiatives, and elections in key states.
For the first time, PSU banks will have a non-executive chairman, giving operational responsibility to managing director and chief executive officer.
While Paytm (One97 Communications) is not completely past regulatory hurdles, its share price has gained in the last month or two. The Paytm handle migration is complete along with FDI clearance necessary for the Payment Aggregator (PA) license. UPI consumer data indicates stable market share, and expansion in partner networks in financial distribution. All this implies Paytm could be set to meet guidance of turning Adjusted Ebitda breakeven by Q4FY25 (ex of UPI-incentives).
The committee's suggestion that existing commercial banks be allowed to hold payment banks as subsidiaries is also seen as unviable by RBI and the finance ministry.
The government has exhausted only 39 per cent of its fiscal deficit target in the first half of FY24.
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
The deportation of Indians from the United States, deaths in the Maha Kumbh stampede and the joint Parliamentary committee report on the Waqf bill were among the issues that led to heated exchanges and some disruptions in an otherwise smooth first part of the Budget session that ended on Thursday.
In its letter, finance ministry has pointed to sections 35, 35A and 36 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, to highlight the powers and functions of the RBI as regulator
It is also considering to hike FDI cap for public sector from 20 per cent to 49 per cent
Real estate developers are hoping that the slew of tax concessions announced in Union Budget 2025, set to take effect this financial year, will spur demand for affordable and mid-segment housing, even as the broader housing market shows signs of fatigue.
The post of chairman and managing director has been split and the government has appointed managing directors and chief executive officers in four banks -- Indian Overseas Bank, United Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Vijaya Bank.
RBI staff tell Governor Urjit Patel that the central bank's image of efficiency and independence has 'gone into smithereens in no time.'
Central Bank of India's 21.5 per cent assets are either bad or have been restructured.
Ahead of the Union Budget, the banking sector, through the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), has made recommendations to the Union finance ministry on direct tax, including removing Section 194N of the Income Tax Act. According to Section 194N, tax deduction at source (TDS) has to be done if a sum or sums withdrawn in cash by a person in a fiscal year exceed Rs 20 lakh if no income-tax return (ITR) has been filed for the three previous assessment years, and Rs 1 crore if ITRs have been filed in all the three previous assessment years.
The central government and the Reserve Bank of India have devised a country-specific plan towards implementation of overseas trade in rupee, people aware of the matter said. To start with, a small number of banks will be allowed to manage cross-border transactions in domestic currency with a particular country. "Small countries that are dollar-deficient have shown interest in doing trade in rupee.
Reserve Bank has lowered interest rates by 0.50 per cent since January 2015.
At a time when the asset quality of state-owned banks is deteriorating, the Reserve Bank of India is also planning harsher penalties for wealthy promoters of wilful defaulters.
The posts of Chairman and MD in the private sector are held separately.
Prices may go up because of higher energy costs, caused by the rise in shipping charges, with commercial vessels taking a longer route to avoid the troubled Red Sea region, the finance ministry said on Monday. Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen are repeatedly attacking ships in the Red Sea. While the global economy is grappling with challenges such as sticky inflation, sluggish growth, and mounting fiscal pressure, India's external sector could face "potential risks" due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions, according to the finance ministry's report on the review of the Indian economy.
Bad loans of PSBs are at Rs 20 trillion. Most of it is, I sense, due to corruption and behest lending. Nobody pays a price for this charade. Not the promoters, the bankers, RBI officials, finance ministry bureaucrats or politicians, points out Debashis Basu.
The probe into selections for banks such as Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank followed the arrest of Syndicate Bank CMD S K Jain for alleged graft.
Startup founders need to sit up and think about how not to take stardom for granted and how not to disappoint their fans who have stood in long queues for those precious selfies with popular entrepreneurs, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
In a draft paper prepared by the RBI seeking public opinion until January 18, the banking regulator has proposed a financial instrument linked to gold to curb the demand of its physical holding.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the Finance Ministry's decision to provide more capital to PSU banks will lower the borrowing cost and increase their capacity to lend, besides promoting investments.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances