The banking industry could witness another round of prime lending rate hikes beginning next week, a top Indian Banks' Association official said on Wednesday.
It was a protest which held a mirror to the government of a state taking pride in its commitment to democracy, gender equality and social indices.One person, who in his employed days had known governments and political parties at close quarters, told me that public perception of how the Kerala government handled the ASHA workers' strike had been terrible, reports Shyam G Menon.
However, the likely impact of strike may not be much excluding few areas, said SBI.
More than 200,000 bank officers began a one-day strike on Friday to demand a wage increase, a move unions said would halt banking operations.
Foreign banks operating in India want the Reserve Bank of India to prepare a vision document on policy changes they can expect after March 2009.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 1991 budget unshackled India's economy, significantly enhancing the economic prospects for hundreds of millions of Indians, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gita Gopinath said on Friday.
The Indian economy is recovering from the slowdown in momentum witnessed in the September quarter, driven by strong festival activity and a sustained upswing in rural demand, according to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin released on Tuesday. An article on the 'State of the Economy' in the December bulletin noted that the global economy continues to exhibit resilience with steady growth and moderating inflation.
The United Forum of Bank Employees Unions (UFBEU) representing about 9.5 lakh (950,000) bank employees across the country, has given a two-day nation-wide bank strike call on August 6 and 7 in support of their expedite settlement of wage revision demands.
The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on Friday asked Reserve Bank to allow home-grown banks to set up intermediate holding companies for raising capital for their insurance, asset management and allied businesses.
Interest subsidy to cost Rs 200 cr for the government.
Acknowledging that the credit delivery system is not functioning as expected, RBI has constituted two committees as directed by the ministry.
Thousands of public sector bank employees across the country now have reason to rejoice.
The Centre is planning to raise the ceiling on foreign equity holding in public sector banks to enable them to mop up the required capital for meeting higher capital requirements and to fund growth.
Bank unions on Thursday called for a nationwide strike on August 24 to protest the 'negative attitude' of the Indian Bank Association over employees' wage revision.
Banks all over the country will observe a day's strike on August 24 in protest against the delay in settlement of wage negotiations.
Indian Banks' Association on Thursday said banks cannot lower their lending and deposit rates any further under the current scenario.
On the heels of Delhi Consumer Court imposing Rs 55 lakh fine on ICICI Bank for the excesses committed by its recovery agents, the Indian Banking Association has asked all the banks to follow the industry code of conduct with regard to collection of bad debts.
Credit card spending in September recorded strong growth of 25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), marking the highest increase in six months. Even as many banks saw higher slippages during the July-September quarter of 2024-25, spending growth exceeded 20 per cent for the first time since February. According to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), September spending reached Rs 1.76 trillion, compared to Rs 1.42 trillion in the same period a year ago. In August 2024, credit card spending was Rs 1.68 trillion.
Public sector banks have asked the Centre to intervene as talks with bank unions for allowing half of their employees a second chance to opt for pension instead of provident fund have reached a deadlock.
Banks have urged the Reserve Bank of India to allow time till July to implement the proposed base-rate model, which was introduced by the apex bank early this month to bring in transparency in the lending.
Banks may approach the government to further strengthen the Securitisation Act, which apparently got diluted with the waiver of a provision requiring defaulters to deposit 75 per cent of the loan
Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 26,533 crore from the Indian equity market this month so far owing to increasing allocations to China, concerns over muted corporate earnings and elevated valuation of domestic stocks. While the sell-off continues, the quantum of net outflows has significantly reduced compared to October, when Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) withdrew Rs 94,017 crore ($11.2 billion) on a net basis.
After two weeks of buying, FPIs turned net sellers in Indian equities this week, with a net withdrawal of Rs 976 crore amid a strengthening US dollar and steady rise in US 10-year bond yields, impacting investor sentiment. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) began the week on a positive note, investing Rs 3,126 crore in equities during the first two trading sessions (December 16-20).
Banks and staff unions had settled on a 17.5 per cent salary hike, to benefit about 702,000 public sector employees, besides agreeing to make 332,000 serving and retired employees eligible for pension.
Besides wage revision and compassionate appointment, the UFBU is also demanding provision of one more option for pension.
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."
'It has remained around 38 per cent over the past four to five quarters.'
C H Venkatachalam, convener, United Forum of Bank Unions, the umbrella body of the nine unions, said due to the failure of Thursday's talk between Indian Banks Association and UFBU before the chief labour commissioner, they have decided to go ahead with the strike. IBA is yet to resolve issues regarding wage revision and the pension option.
The difference between what the banks play in the US and India is not that of soccer and football but rugby and football. SVB also has a unique character. But when risks are mispriced, the fallout could be very similar, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Bankers have decided to fight back against 'arbitrary arrests' and 'harassment' by probe agencies.
The United Forum of Bank Employees Union has taken this decision of going on strike after failure of talks with the Indian Banks Association on May 11, C H Venkatachalam, convenor of UFBU, said.
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