Investors should view any bounce-back in bank stocks as an opportunity to exit the pack, analysts suggested, as the worst may not be over yet. The recent quarterly results of HDFC Bank and Axis Bank disappointed the Street, triggering a marketwide selloff by foreign institutional investors, especially in banking counters. While HDFC Bank, which was the anchor for the market correction during the past week, ended 2 per cent higher amid short covering on Wednesday, Axis Bank's shares settled 3 per cent lower.
Even as the high inflation figure for October has ruled out any possibility of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy committee (MPC) in December, a rate cut in February also looks uncertain due to global uncertainties. Economists told Business Standard that unless domestic growth slows markedly, the outlook on rate cut remains unclear. India's headline inflation touched a 14-month high of 6.2 per cent in October, breaching the MPC's upper tolerance band of 6 per cent.
Lenders now use your phone data, utility bill payment records and other non-traditional parameters to determine if you are creditworthy.
The Indian economy is likely to post better than anticipated growth in the second quarter (July-September) owing to robust urban consumption and expansion in services, a Business Standard analysis of high-frequency indicators showed. While gross domestic product growth in the September quarter is expected to come below the 7.8 per cent print in the June quarter due to a favourable base fading, analysts say the print will be much closer to 7 per cent than the 6.5 per cent anticipated earlier. While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had estimated 6.5 per cent growth for July-September, last month Governor Shaktikanta Das said the growth figure would surprise on the upside.
The national selectors on Sunday retained the Indian team, which hammered Bangladesh by 280 runs in the opening Test here, for the second and final match in Kanpur.
Cox & Kings is currently going through the corporate insolvency resolution process. Around 2,500 operational creditors have submitted claims of over Rs 631 crore, 2,440 employees and workman have claimed dues of over Rs 94 crore and other creditors have submitted claims of over Rs 3 crore.
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 rupee remains overvalued against the currencies of India's trading partners, even as it hit record lows against the dollar in August and September. According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) real effective exchange rate (REER) index, the rupee stood at 5.5 per cent above its fair value in August, down from 7.7 per cent in July. This slight easing followed fears of a US recession and the unwinding of yen carry trades, which exerted pressure on the Indian currency.
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Limited has received approvals from the majority of its creditors for a proposed demerger of businesses, marking an important step in the company's plan to split into six independent listed companies. "I am happy to let all of you know that we have received the 52 per cent plus the additional percentage, which is required for us to reach 75 per cent. "We have crossed that threshold as well. Most of the lenders have approved it," a senior Vedanta executive said in a recent bondholder conference call.
Mumbai's young batting star Musheer Khan has been ruled out of the upcoming Irani Cup match after suffering a fracture in the neck, in a road accident on the Yamuna Expressway, on Friday.
Shares of Yes Bank may face selling pressure as the Reserve Bank-mandated three-year lock-in period for individual investors and exchange-traded funds is ending on Monday, according to analysts. The analysts expect distress on the bank counter on Monday as they expect investors, primarily the nine banks led by State Bank, which picked up almost 49 per cent of its stocks in March 2020 for Rs 10 per share -- at a premium of Rs 8 on the face value as part of the RBI bailout, making an exit. Exchange-traded funds are also likely to press the exit button.
A combination of factors, including heavy investments in US Treasury bonds and dollar sales at a healthy profit, facilitated the Indian central bank in transferring a record surplus of Rs 2.11 trillion to the government for 2023-24 (FY24). The RBI's dollar purchases increased in FY24, supported by robust capital inflows endorsing the economy's health.
With concern on food inflation ebbing with the monsoon progressing well, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is warming up to the idea of a change in stance to "neutral" from "withdrawal of accommodation", according to economists. In his speech on Thursday during the annual event of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry-Indian Banks' Association, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said: "The balance between inflation and growth is well-poised."
Even as competition to garner deposits is intensifying into a tight liquidity and high credit growth scenario, Bank of Baroda (BoB) has hiked deposit rates for the second time in the current quarter. Also, private lender IDBI Bank has come out with a limited period offer on its term deposits. It is offering 7.6 per cent interest rate for a tenor of 700 days, effective from December 2022.
NHAI to pay only Rs 175-200 cr as it takes over from concessionaire
Not all public sector banks are back in the black, but their collective net profit for the year is Rs 32,346 crore against a Rs 9,013 crore loss in the previous year, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The arrival of the New Year will see an exciting white-ball showdown with England visiting India for five T20Is and three ODIs.
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.
The coming years could be exciting for Bandhan Bank, IDBI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, and CSB Bank.
Opposing the government's move to merge the country's oldest financial institution with Punjab National Bank, IFCI's employees union on Wednesday proposed a mega merger of IFCI, IDBI, IIBI and IDFC.
'Our unsecured loan is not exactly unsecured. It is backed by cash flow of customers.'
'Currently, our individual first premium would be in the Rs 3,000-Rs 3,200 crore range. We want to take that to about Rs 6,000 crore in three years.'
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.
The drop in net interest margin will separate the men from the boys, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
India's current account deficit (CAD) may dip further in the March quarter of FY24 as pressure from the negative net exports during the January-March period eased to an 11-quarter high. A part of the gross domestic product (GDP) data, net export- which is usually negative for India - captures the difference between exports and imports of both goods and services, while the CAD data, released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), also factors in private transfer receipts.
The central bank gave 11 entities licences to start payments banks.
India's premier pace bowler and vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the fourth Test match against England.
The company will transfer its wallet business, which has over 218 million mobile wallet users, to the newly incorporated entity -- PPBL -- under the payments bank licence awarded to Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of One97 Communications that owns Paytm.
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.
That's the only way to convince those who have money to return to the bank fold, ditching other asset classes, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Conversion of debt of the stressed telecom player Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) into equity could be an option to emerge out of the crisis, lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) have suggested to Department of Telecommunications (DoT). DoT had called senior bank officials on Friday to discuss the stress in the telecom sector arising out of the Supreme Court order last month on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues payable by telecom majors, including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, sources said. The top court has given a time period of 10 years to telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR-related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.
rediffGURU and financial planning expert Colonel Sanjeev Govila (retd) answers your personal finance-related questions.
The Paytm application (app) could potentially face a permanent loss of its integrated mobile wallet feature, currently owned by Paytm Payments Bank (Paytm PB). With the recent crackdown on Paytm PB, sources say getting a fresh wallet licence may get tough for the group. "The Paytm app (One97 Communications) has to apply afresh to the RBI for a licence to operate a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) like a mobile wallet within the Paytm app, as PPI is a regulated entity.
It may be a 'no-go' for banking licences to large industrial houses.
Last August, RBI gave in-principle approval to 11 applicants.
If the earnings in the first quarter of the current financial year are an indication, most banks, particularly those majority-owned by the government, have fared well, reveals Tamal Bandyopadhyay.