The ED carried out searches against two former auditor firms of IL&FS -- BSR and Associates and Deloitte Haskins and Sells -- on Wednesday in connection with its money-laundering probe into alleged financial irregularities at the infrastructure development and finance company, official sources said. The premises linked to the two auditors in Mumbai were searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added. The action came a week after the Supreme Court set aside a Bombay High Court verdict that quashed an SFIO probe against the two companies, both former auditors of IL&FS Financial Services, paving the way for action against them under the Companies Act and allowing the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to take forward its enquiry against them.
Payouts to key management personnel in non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are under the banking regulator's scrutiny. Top industry officials said this is a follow-through on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) circular of April 29, 2022, which asked NBFCs in the "middle" and "upper" layer of its four-tiered scale-based regulatory (SBR) framework to put in place a board-approved compensation policy.
There is nothing to be worried about as bilateral ties are robust with solid foundations. Both are on the same page on the economic and defence/security ties bilaterally and globally and that shall continue irrespective of change in political dispensation in either country, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
Interested parties are concerned about the possibility of 24 domestic banks and six financial institutions converting to equity Rs 1,480 crore worth of zero-coupon debentures to which they subscribed in 2002-03.
Madhabi Puri Buch, the first female chairperson of Sebi, doesn't plan to rest on her laurels in her third and final year in office and has set out an ambitious goal, such as moving towards a same-day and instantaneous settlement cycle for the secondary market.
The Adani family, led by Chairman Gautam Adani, is the most valued first-generation family business at Rs 15.44 trillion.
The Board of Control for cricket in India has cleared the quarterly dues of all its centrally-contracted cricketers and vowed not to let anyone suffer despite the uncertainty triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused financial blowback in other countries. Major cricket boards like England and Australia have indicated that players will have to take pay cuts.
Senior bankers point out that while they will eventually attract qualified professionals, onboarding them takes time.
Officials said Sebi first proposed to the FinMin to amend the relevant provisions in the Sebi Act to discontinue RBI's representation on its board, as it already has adequate presence of government nominees and in its over 25 years of existence the regulator has evolved as an "effective and one of the best in the world".
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, in an impromptu chat with reporters, sided with Sebi, while Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia cited the spat to make a case for setting up a Financial Development and Stability Council (FSDC).
'Das is friendly, but he finally does what he does. The quality of engagement is very good.'
'If their allocation to certain segments have become high due to strong returns over the past three-four years, they should rebalance their portfolios and bring them in line with their long-term asset allocation.'
US's terrible political and economic leadership will ultimately cost the dollar its value. India must act early to avoid being dragged down, suggests R Jagannathan.
Fintech companies believe that the impact of Reserve Bank of India's order last week on unsecured loans will be visible in six to 12 months and prompt them to diversify and strengthen their secured portfolio. Fintechs which source funds through banks or non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are looking at quickly building their secured portfolio options to at least 40 per cent of their total portfolio. "Over the medium to long term, as part of our product strategy, we are evaluating secured products which can be enabled over a digital platform" said Yogi Sadana, the founder of Zype, a lending-focussed fintech.
The 61-year-old MLA from Islampur seat of Maharashtra has been asked to depose before the federal agency in Mumbai on Friday, they said. Patil, a former minister of home and finance, is also the Maharashtra president of the NCP and is a seven-term legislator.
Moody's Investors Service on Thursday downgraded subordinated debt ratings of 11 Indian banks, including SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.
A consortium of shareholders with over 30 per cent stake in cash-strapped Byju's might approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking a management change, if the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled for Friday failed to yield an 'amicable settlement' or faced further delays, sources said. Earlier this month, these shareholders had issued a notice calling for an EGM to address "persistent issues", including a change in management. They will vote for a revamp of the existing board, an exercise which would include asking Byju Raveendran to step down as chief executive officer (CEO) and relinquish his operational role, according to sources.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) February 8 for the first time ever crossed the Rs 7 trillion market capitalisation, as the stock price of state-owned insurer hit a new high of Rs 1,144,45, on rallying 10 per cent on the BSE. The board of directors of the Corporation are scheduled to meet today i.e. February 8, 2024, to consider a proposal for declaration of interim dividend for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The board will also consider and approve the unaudited financial results for the quarter and nine-month period ended on December 31, 2023.
Ramalingam Kalirajan explains the pros and cons of both investment types.
The World Bank's executive board unanimously selected 63-year-old Malpass, who is currently Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs, as the bank's 13th President for a five-year term beginning April 9.
'The stockbroker should have a good balance sheet to support its scale of operations. It should also have proper risk management in terms of margins so that it doesn't go bankrupt during extreme market movements.' 'The broker must have a track record of navigating several market cycles in an ethical and transparent manner.'
Crypto exchanges have been asked to furnish details this month itself.
'We will likely never know why Xi decided not to travel to New Delhi. One possible explanation could be his desire to avoid a meeting with US President Joe Biden.'
A host of factors including the reform measures taken by the government and decline in global oil and commodity prices have led to lower inflation, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
'ESG is actually a concept which cannot be applied effectively in the very short run.'
The 21st meeting of FSDC comes against the backdrop of the economy hitting a six-year low growth rate of 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019-20. Even some of the macroeconomic data for the second quarter does not portray an encouraging picture of the economy.
It also recommended that the RBI accounting year (July-June) may be brought in sync with the fiscal year (April to March) from the financial year 2020-21 as it could reduce the need for interim dividend being paid by the central bank.
PS banks need to pull up their socks to improve cash flows.
RBI Governor cautioned against more volatility.
Several mutual funds (MFs) have recently approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as they renew efforts to increase their overseas investment limit. In June 2022, the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) permitted MFs to invest in foreign stocks within the aggregate mandated limit of $7 billion after a correction in stocks. One of the proposals shared with the RBI is to link MFs' foreign investment limit to the country's foreign exchange reserves.
"We will raise Rs 300 crore via bonds of two-, three- and five-year tenures. This will be our maiden bond issuance and is part of our effort to widen funding sources," says Vimal Bhandari, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Arka Fincap. The firm, a subsidiary of Kirloskar Oil, is only five years old and small (assets of around Rs 5,000 crore with an "AA" rating), but the response to this float will be closely watched: It would be the first by a non-banking finance company (NBFC) after Mint Road upped the risk weights on bank exposures to them by 25 percentage points. The move by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has caught NBFCs off guard even though the issue had been flagged by Governor Shaktikanta Das with their corner-room occupants (and that of banks) in July and August 2023 - on consumer credit and the dependency on bank borrowings.
The self-employed should invest in the National Pension System, a government-backed, low-cost retirement avenue where they can choose the mix of debt and equity that is right for them.
Says market regulator's order is misconceived and not in public interest.
Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) with a lock-in period performed better than the ones that allow investors to withdraw capital at any time. Close-ended schemes had a median return of 5.62 per cent in December, according to data from industry tracker PMSBazaar. The median returns for open-ended schemes were 3.91 per cent
RBI is likely to continue with its tough stance on monetary policy to maintain price and financial stability.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the red flag on cryptocurrencies flying, warning that the next financial crisis can be triggered by private cryptocurrencies if such speculative instruments are allowed to grow.
'If we want faster growth and want greater flow of credit towards the private sector, it's important to have many more of such large entities.'
The additional cash will now give the Centre more headroom for stimulating the economy.
The Financial Stability and Development Council had earlier mandated RBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India to undertake a review of the existing practices followed by banks and brokerage houses in offering wealth management services.
In three separate but similarly-worded orders, Sebi said the default by IL&FS occurred due to "lethargic indifference and needless procrastination and laxity" of the rating agencies.