In a message to public sector banks (PSBs) that only performers will survive, the government, in an unprecedented move, has decided to allocate capital to only nine PSBs.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday came out with revised guidelines for the hiring of lockers under which the liability of banks will be limited to 100 times its annual rent in case of fire, theft, building collapse or frauds by bank employees. As per the revised guidelines, which shall come into effect from January 1, 2022, banks will be required to incorporate a clause in the locker agreement prohibiting the hirer from keeping anything illegal or hazardous in lockers. The RBI said it has reviewed the 'Deposit Locker/Safe Custody Article Facility provided by the banks' after taking into consideration various developments in the area of banking and technology, nature of consumer grievances and also the feedback received from banks and Indian Banks' Association (IBA).
Bandhan Bank is the first bank to be launched in eastern India post Independence.
Privatisation or consolidation into half a dozen large banks might not rescue public sector banks from the crisis they find themselves in.
Banks have reported that banknotes worth Rs 592,613 crore have been issued to the public.
While Dhanlaxmi Bank faces governance issues similar to those in Lakshmi Vilas Bank, the financial profile of the Kerala-based bank is better.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
Modi alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka gave reservations in tenders based on religion, "snatching the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs." But Ambedkar had said there would not be reservation based on religion and there is a bar on giving reservation on the basis of religion in the Constitution, he stressed.
Both new and completed project values as of December 2024 remain below pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.
Issues related to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and bilateral investment treaty between India and the UK are expected to figure during the three-day visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to London from April 8-10, official sources said. The minister will attend a host of meetings, including the India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue, in London.
The asset quality of microfinance portfolios worsened in the quarter ending June 2024 due to the impact of heatwaves on borrowers' incomes and collections, coupled with rumours of loan waivers, according to Sa-Dhan. Jiji Mammen, executive director and chief executive officer of Sa-Dhan, said loans with 90+ days past due (dpd) rose to 1.2 per cent in June 2024, compared to 0.9 per cent in June 2023. The 90+ dpd also increased from 1.16 per cent in March 2024.
Some measures announced in Indradhanush -- a 7-point Modi plan to revamp State-owned banks but not completed -- may be taken up again.
The government has changed the criteria for infusion of capital.
Still the Reserve Bank of India will operate as usual and can provide funds via its overnight repo window, traders also said.
The decision by the Reserve Bank of India to introduce a unified regulatory framework on connected lending for all the regulated entities (RE) is expected to reduce the influence of business conglomerates in the Indian lending space, said bankers and experts. "Connected lending pertains to lending to related parties within the same business group. "While the RBI might appear more agreeable to allowing business conglomerates to own banking licenses, it deems it crucial to bolster regulations that would prevent conglomerate-owned banks from gaming the system," said Shivaji Thapliyal, head of research and lead analyst, YES Securities.
The government has invited applications for the post of deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from interested candidates with at least 25 years of experience and below 60 years of age as on January 15, 2025. One of the deputy governors, Michael Patra's current term will end on 15 January. The last date of submission of applications is November 30, 2024.
'Mumbai main branch (SBI headquarter) has all the data ready-made. It doesn't take even an hour to out the data from the system.'
In a bid to help people who have unclaimed deposits lying with banks, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday directed banks to prominently display such account holders' names on the websites and provide them with a "Find" option to locate the information easily.
An article on 'State of the Economy' in the monthly Bulletin also said the improvement in the outlook for agriculture and the revival of rural spending have turned out to be the bright spots in the evolution of demand conditions. Consumer price inflation ticked up in June 2024 after three consecutive months of moderation as a broad flare-up in vegetable prices halted the overall disinflation that had been underway, it said.
Corporation Bank has posted a 21.16 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 530.83 crore (Rs 5.31 billion) for the financial year ended March 31, 2004 as against Rs 438.11 crore (Rs 4.38 billion) in the previous financial year.
The week's losses wiped out investor wealth worth Rs 18.43 trillion, with the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms now at Rs 441 trillion.
A number of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have tapped into the debt capital market ahead of the festival season to meet increasing credit demand as bank funding slows. On Tuesday, Aptus Value Housing Finance secured Rs 300 crore at an interest rate of 8.75 per cent through bonds maturing in five years. ICICI Home Finance Company turned to the market to raise Rs 275 crore at 7.94 per cent, alongside another Rs 300 crore at 7.95 per cent, through bonds maturing in five and three years, respectively.
'I find the RBI edict to the Kotak Mahindra Bank to reduce Uday Kotak's shareholding very unreasonable,' says Sudhir Bisht.
The meeting is expected to chart a road map for cleaning up their balance sheets and boost credit flows, reports Somesh Jha.
Lending rates have to be sensitive to the policy rate, says RBI.
As a fallout of the dissolution of the administrative board of Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank by the Reserve Bank of India, the Nationalist Congress Party is eager to teach its ally, Congress, a lesson.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will launch the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) nationwide in due course, aiming to transform India's lending sector, similar to how the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) revolutionised the payments ecosystem, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.
In fact, some private sector lenders have decided to skip advertising these altogether.
Corporate bond issuances fell by around 22 per cent in August, despite easing yields as issuers delayed raising funds awaiting the US Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates from this month. Corporates and financial institutions expect yields to fall further and borrowing costs to become cheaper, said market participants. The US Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps in the 17-18 September meeting, marking the start of a downward interest rate cycle.
Private sector lenders have been communicating to their customers about their strong capital positions but it has not put depositors at ease.
IBA has commissioned a study to evaluate the pros and cons of keeping banks shut on Saturdays.
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At the retreat, PSBs had suggested the government cut its stake in these entities to less than 51 per cent over a period of time and empower the boards of individual banks.
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has asked public sector banks to go slow on disbursals of home and other consumption loans to help fight inflation.
The posts of Chairman and MD in the private sector are held separately.
Even under the RTI response, all public sectors banks have washed their hands of any responsibility.
At a time when retrenchment has almost become synonymous with financial companies, state-run Union Bank of India is looking to hire 5,000 people at different levels to support its branch expansion plans.
Credit-to-deposit (CD) ratio of major public sector and private sector banks during the October-December quarter of FY24 inched up as compared to the previous quarter though government-owned lenders reported a lower rate than their private peers. CD ratio is the ratio of the funds that banks lend as compared to the funds raised in the form of deposits. The CD ratio of top public sector banks (PSBs) - State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank - was lower than their private counterparts.
The Arun Jaitley-led finance ministry reiterated banks should act tough on wilful defaulters.
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