In a mixed bag for HDFC Bank ahead of the parent HDFC's merger with itself, the Reserve Bank of India has declined to make exceptions on certain aspects, and has offered some leeway on others. The country's largest private sector lender, which is aiming to conclude the merger with the home finance major by July, had written to the central bank seeking certain forbearances after announcing the $40-billion merger in April last year. In an exchange filing this evening, HDFC Bank said it received a response from RBI on Thursday and also said that there are a few pending issues.
Interoperability with other insurance companies - apart from banks, medical centres, among others - would be the eventual goal
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Leading private life insurers HDFC Standard Life, Bajaj Allianz and Birla Sun Life top the list of firms against whom consumers have filed complaints with sectoral regulator Irda for indulging in unfair business practices.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has retained its position as the highest-ranked Indian company on the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list, according to the latest rankings released by the publication. The oil-to-telecom-and-retail conglomerate has been ranked at No.88 on the latest list, down from 86th position in 2024.
Union Bank of India has tied up with HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd to provide bank depositors an insurance cover under group policy with a target to bring in 50,000 customers under risk cover by March.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
Investors will take cues from the December quarter corporate earnings, with blue-chips like Infosys, Reliance Industries scheduled to report their results this week, in addition, inflation data and trading activity of foreign investors will also be crucial in dictating market trends, analysts said.
Life insurers, on the prodding of global reinsurers, are set to hike premiums on term plans because rising mortality after the second wave of the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of settlements. Some will do so next month while others may wait till January. Global reinsurer Munich Re had nudged its insurance partners on the hike in September and insurers have been engaged in negotiations with the reinsurer on the amount of the increase. Term plan prices in India were among the lowest in the world for a long period but in the past couple of years, they have been increased a few times.
Twenty years after India's insurance sector was opened up, unshackling the control of state-owned companies, as many as 50 private players have set up shop. Along with their foreign partners, private players have brought about a sea change in the product offering, distribution and underwriting processes, and services levels. Yet, India's insurance penetration needle has not moved much.
Bharti will move FIPB soon for increasing Axa's stake to 49%
Top Indian private sector lender ICICI Bank, which owns nearly 68 percent of the insurer, is selling up to 181.34 million shares in the IPO.
HDFC Bank, the country's largest private-sector lender, lost to competition wholesale loans of around Rs 50,000 crore after it increased interest rates in May, said Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan in an analyst call. "There were some customers who were offered lower rates by other market participants. "But we decided not to cut back on our rates," he said while addressing analysts after the announcement of the bank's Q1 earnings.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
As the results season kicks in, the quarterly earnings numbers of several blue-chip firms -- such as Infosys and Reliance Industries -- along with global trends and trading activity of foreign investors, will determine equity market movement in the holiday-shortened week ahead, according to analysts. The domestic WPI inflation data for June -- scheduled to be announced on Monday -- will also influence trading sentiments, traders said. Markets will remain closed on Wednesday for Muharram.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
But there are challenges, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
While the proposed new tax regime is optional for taxpayers, the finance minister has said the government eventually wants to do away with all exemptions with a lower tax-rate simplified structure.
Younger people, who usually have a longer investment horizon which allows them to handle the interim volatility, may go for them.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance has posted a 65 per cent growth in premium income at Rs 66 crore (Rs 660 million) during the first half of this fiscal, its CEO Deepak Satwalekar said on Tuesday.
Inflow of more funds is likely to widen the reach of insurance and drive M&A activities in the sector where growth has stalled.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance will hike its capital base by over Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) to about Rs 300 crore (Rs 3,000 million) this fiscal and targets to become the leading private player in the next five years.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd expects a first premium income of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) from individual policies, even as it plans to raise its capital base by Rs 75-80 crore (Rs 750-800 million) in the fiscal 2003-04.
'Margins will be an outcome of that. They will likely remain somewhat range-bound.'
Moving to a new company means losing out on continuity benefits
Gautam Adani-owned Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will replace IT major Wipro in the 30-share BSE Sensex from June 24, according to an official announcement on Friday. This marks the first inclusion of any Adani Group firm in Sensex. The group has 10 listed firms with a combined market valuation surpassing Rs 17 lakh crore.
The average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased by nearly 48 per cent over 6 years due to elevated medical inflation and increased demand for higher coverage policies among policyholders. According to data by online insurance broker PolicyBazaar, the average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased to Rs 26,533 so far in FY24, up 48.22 per cent from Rs 17,900 in FY19.
Amitabh Chaudhry, who will now head the merged entity, will manage assets under management of about Rs 1.10 lakh crore and an employee base of 23,620 after the completion of the deal
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
From April 1, when we buy insurance for a car or take out a health cover, insurance companies can offer a product totally customised for us.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Unit linked insurance plans are probably the hottest selling product for most life insurance companies today.
The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most valued firms surged Rs 1,21,270.83 crore last week, with Reliance Industries becoming the biggest gainer, in line with an outstanding rally in benchmark equity indices. Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,027.54 points or 1.21 per cent. The BSE Sensex hit its record high of 85,978.25 on Friday.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
While a giant, it's a nimble-footed one, and is growing at a speed that even some of its private sector peers find enviable.
Between FY18 and FY24, it doubled its balance sheet. Despite being a late entrant in some segments, it has been able to grab market share, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
India's financial sector is dominated by large government-owned and private-sector banks.
The budget is a responsible and pragmatic one with announcement of several initiatives that should spur growth, says Sanjay Tripathy.
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