Net profit of 19 listed banks is likely to decline by 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for the quarter ended March (Q4FY25) mainly due to pressure on net interest margins (NIM) as a result of rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to analysts' estimates. Additionally, loan growth is expected to further slowdown amid low demand in certain secured products, stress in the unsecured segment, and a high cost to deposit (CD) ratio across the system.
The country's forex reserves increased by $305 million to $654.27 billion during the week ended March 14, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves rose by $15.27 billion to $653.97 billion and registered the sharpest weekly rise in two years.
HDFC Bank on Sunday said that it will "pursue all lawful remedies" to recover public funds and address the retaliatory actions taken by the Mehta family of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical (LKMM) Trust, which has filed a complaint against the bank's managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) Sashidhar Jagdishan alleging financial fraud.
Fair trade regulator CCI on Tuesday cleared Bajaj Group's proposed acquisition of a 26 per cent stake each in its insurance joint ventures, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, from its partner Allianz SE for a total of Rs 24,180 crore. "The proposed combination involves acquisition of 26 per cent paid-up equity share capital of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Ltd (BALIC) and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd (BAGIC) by Bajaj Finserv Ltd (BFS), Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd (BHIL) and Jamnalal Sons Pvt Ltd (JSPL) from Allianz SE," the regulator said in a release.
The pace of loan growth among public sector banks (PSBs) has seen a surge in the financial year 2024-25, and this is an exception to the overall moderation in bank credit during FY25. PSU banks' share in incremental credit rose to 57.3 per cent in March from 51.7 per cent a year ago, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Report (April 2025).
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."
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sought granular data from select non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) on their loan book growth. The details sought are on the outstanding product-wise portfolio and the annualised interest charged on them. The annualised interest slabs mentioned are as follows: less than 10 per cent, 10-20 per cent, 20-30 per cent, 30-40 per cent, 40-50 per cent, and above 50 per cent.
'The larger and more opaque this shadow economy becomes, especially online, the greater the risk to India's national security.'
RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J has asked banks to follow KYC guidelines with both "precision and empathy", failing which regulatory actions will be taken against them by the central bank. Addressing a Conference of Directors of Private Sector Banks here on Monday, the Deputy Governor also expressed concern that in many cases, customer grievance mechanisms, including the Internal Ombudsman structure, are treated more as a formality than as a robust, effective resource.
Amid liquidity tightness in the banking system, certificate of deposit (CD) rates topped 8 per cent for some smaller banks, with rates remaining on the higher side for derivatives loss-hit IndusInd Bank. On Thursday, CSB Bank raised Rs 100 crore via one-year CDs at 8.5 per cent, while Utkarsh Small Finance Bank issued three-month CDs at 8.05 per cent to raise Rs 50 crore.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel climbed nearly 1 per cent after it posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits. However, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC and Power Grid were among the laggards.
India's forex reserves increased by $1.57 billion to $677.83 billion for the week ended April 11, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. This is the sixth consecutive week of a rise in the kitty.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday searched locations in Karnataka, including educational institutions linked to state Home Minister G Parameshwara, as part of a probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actor Ranya Rao and others. The ED sources said an educational trust is suspected to have "diverted" funds and made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual. The sources claimed the trust is linked to Parameshwara and the "influential" individual is a politically exposed person. The searches found there were no supporting vouchers or documentation to "substantiate" this payment (for credit card bill payment), they said.
Sir Osborne Smith was the first governor of the Reserve Bank, serving from April 1, 1935, to June 30, 1937.
In an eventful week ahead, stock markets may face volatile trends before the RBI's interest rate decision and the US inflation data announcements, as investors continue to assess the broader implications of US tariffs on global economy and inflation, analysts said. Investors fear that a full-blown trade war will impact global trade and economic growth, according to market experts.
Payments banks have urged the Union finance ministry to increase their deposit limit for each account to Rs 5 lakh, according to a source who participated in a meeting, chaired by the Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, in New Delhi. At present, they can accept deposits of up to Rs 2 lakh.
Global brokerage CLSA has lowered its target price for IndusInd Bank from Rs 1,200 to Rs 900 while maintaining an outperform rating on the stock after the private lender disclosed a net worth hit of Rs 1,500 crore due to an accounting gap. The revised price target still implies an upside of 34 per cent from current levels.
State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Infosys, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and NTPC were among the biggest laggards among Sensex shares. Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and ITC were among the gainers.
The co-operative banking sector is well regulated, and a few cases of restrictions being imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should not paint a negative picture of the entire sector, said Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) secretary Ajay Seth on Monday. "Co-operative banks in the country are generally quite robust, and the RBI takes regulatory action whenever issues arise.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
With rising credit demand, cleaner balance sheets, and renewed investor confidence, banks are positioned at the forefront of the market rally. From major players like ICICI and HDFC to broader policy shifts, there's much driving this momentum.
The RBI added roughly 3 tonnes in 2025, taking its gold reserves to 879 tonnes as of January 31, 2025.
The Reserve Bank is unlikely to ease the benchmark policy rate during 2024 given the uncertainty over food inflation, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman C S Setty has said. The US Federal Reserve's first cut in interest rates in more than four years is expected soon, triggering central banks in other economies to follow suit. "On the rate front, a lot of central banks are taking independent calls.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray has asked his party workers to temporarily halt the agitation demanding the use of Marathi language in banks and other establishments. Thackeray said the agitation has been successful in raising awareness about the issue and that the government should now implement the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) norms on the use of local languages. He warned that the MNS will take action if the government fails to ensure the law is followed.
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has issued a Rs 611 crore show cause notice to Paytm's parent company and linked entities for "contravention" of the FEMA on various counts.
This marks a 67% increase from the Rs 2,537 crore lost in scams in 2022-2023.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J criticised some non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for lax loan appraisal practices and charging excessive interest rates, even as he acknowledged the sector's rapid expansion over the past decade, especially in recent years. "Unfortunately, some NBFCs seem to believe they can operate with weak underwriting in the pursuit of fast growth while levying excessive and unsustainable interest rates - sometimes disguised as upfront or processing fees - followed by aggressive recovery methods in case of default," Swaminathan said at the conference of NBFCs in Chennai last month.
Private consumption is back driven by festive spending, and the medium-term economic outlook remains bullish as the innate strength of the macro-fundamentals reasserts itself, the Reserve Bank Bulletin said on Wednesday. Global economic activity remained resilient during Q4:2024 amidst fragile confidence and rising protectionism, said an article on 'State of the Economy' published in the November Bulletin.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 1.5 crore in cash from the premises of a chit fund company owned by Gokulam Gopalan, one of the producers of the Malayalam movie "L2: Empuraan", in connection with foreign exchange law violations. The searches were conducted at locations in Kozhikode, Kerala and Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The ED alleged that the company collected subscription to chit funds from persons residing outside India without due permission and violated regulations framed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, once hailed as rising stars in India's clean energy sector, are now facing serious regulatory action.
IndusInd Bank on Tuesday fire fought the fallout of a Rs 2,100 crore discrepancy in accounting, saying it has enough reserves and capital to cover for it, but the management's assurance failed to arrest the free fall of shares which tanked over 27 per cent on the bourses. IndusInd Bank CEO and managing director Sumant Kathpalia said that the accounting lapse was noted around September-October last year and the bank gave a preliminary update to the RBI about this last week.
IndusInd Bank on Tuesday fire-fought the fallout of a Rs 2,100 crore discrepancy in accounting, saying it has enough reserves and capital to cover for it, but the management's assurance failed to arrest the free fall of shares which tanked over 27 per cent on the bourses.
S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday retained India's growth forecast at 6.8 per cent for the current fiscal and said it expects the RBI to start cutting interest rates in its October monetary policy review. In the economic outlook of Asia Pacific, S&P Global Ratings also retained its GDP growth forecast for the 2025-26 fiscal at 6.9 per cent and said solid growth in India will allow the Reserve Bank to focus on bringing inflation in line with its target.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday issued a draft framework for alternative authentication mechanism for digital payments, wherein it has mandated that all digital payment transactions would have to be authenticated with an additional factor of authentication (AFA), except small value contactless card payments for up to Rs 5,000 at point of sale terminals, e-mandates for recurring transactions, and small value digital payments through offline mode, among others. Additionally, it has said that all digital payment transactions, other than card present transactions, have to ensure that one of the factors of authentication is dynamically created, i.e., the factor is generated after initiation of payment; is specific to the transaction; and cannot be reused.
With the RBI infusing Rs 7.5 lakh crore in liquidity -- and possibly more in the future -- the short- to medium-term corporate bond market is expected to benefit.
'While investors believe in India's long-term growth story and resilience amid global uncertainty, they see near-term risks around the direction of a global trade war.'
Jio Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jio Financial Services, is likely to delay its maiden bond issue of Rs 3,000 crore, originally scheduled for this month. The decision comes amid expectations of softening yields in April because the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy committee (MPC) is widely expected to cut the policy repo rate by another 25 basis points, sources said.
India's forex reserves dropped by $1.78 billion to $638.7 billion in the week ended February 28, the RBI said on Friday.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Infosys, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies and Tata Steel were the biggest laggards. Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ITC, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were the gainers.
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