Banking sector has witnessed healthy growth in advances in the third quarter of financial year 2026 (Q3FY26) against the same period last year, as the full impact of goods and service tax (GST) rate cuts drove growth. Most of the lenders saw their credit growth outpace the deposit growth in the quarter.
Private-sector lender Federal Bank on Friday announced that New York-based Blackstone will invest Rs 6,196.51 crore in the bank through its affiliate Asia II Topco XIII Pte Ltd via a preferential issue on a private placement basis.
Bajaj Finance's shares fell more than 7 per cent on Tuesday after it trimmed growth guidance for FY26, from 24-25 per cent projected earlier to 22-23 per cent.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) draft guidelines on gold loans, if implemented in their current form, are expected to impact non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and mid-tier banks in the near term, more significantly than larger banks, according to analysts.
Despite state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) reporting an improvement in value of new business (VNB) margin in Q1FY25, analysts believe the growth has not been satisfactory in the context of the insurer's medium-term targets on margins. VNB margin is a measure of profitability of life insurance companies. LIC's VNB margin improved by 20 basis points (bps) to 13.9 per cent in Q1FY25 over the same period last year due to a change in the business mix of the insurer.
Since Sanjay Malhotra took office as governor in December, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has adopted a more accommodative stance, which bodes well for banking and the economy as they navigate a growth slowdown, according to analysts.
Kotak Mahindra Bank's net interest margin is likely to swell after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted its restrictions on the private lender that barred it from issuing fresh credit cards and onboarding new customers through digital mode, brokerages said on Thursday. The bank's net interest margin (NIM) has seen a decline of over 35 basis points (bps) since the restrictions were imposed by the regulator in April 2024.
The outcome of Maharashtra state elections is unlikely to move markets much, said analysts. The markets, they believe, have bigger developments to worry about in the short-to-medium term.
The December meeting of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will start on Wednesday even as there is no clarity on whether Governor Shaktikanta Das, the chair of the panel, will continue in office after his term ends next week. The outcome of the meeting will be announced on Friday by Das at 10 in the morning.
Private banks' net profit grew 26.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 48,982 crore in the first quarter ended June 2024 (Q1FY25) owing to healthy growth in credit and other income. The gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) increased with the end of dispensation granted during the pandemic, according to the data compiled by BS Research Bureau for listed 18 private banks.
Despite the ups and downs, the home financier is able to sustain its spreads and report the same loan growth Q-o-Q; so predictable that analysts sometimes find it boring.
After the latest rout, the American depositary receipt (ADR) premium of HDFC Bank to its local shares has shrunk to nearly zero. Shares of HDFC Bank on Thursday fell 3.1 per cent to Rs 1,490, extending its two-day decline to 11 per cent. Meanwhile, the ADR has slumped over 15 per cent in the past two trading sessions.
Banks such as IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, DCB Bank and Axis Bank which have renewed their focus on secured loans may be, hence, walking on a tightrope.
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
At a time when banks are engaged in a fierce battle to gain market share in the credit card segment, Citibank India has been losing its share, both in terms of outstanding cards and spends in the last few years. Still, average spends on Citi cards are higher than any other Indian bank. Last year, the global banking behemoth announced exit from its consumer banking franchises in 13 markets across Europe, Middle East and Asia, including India, citing lack of scale.
This is a key reason for the finance ministry's objection to fixing the tenure at 100 years, as it is pushing PSBs to be self-dependent and raise funds from the market, reports Hamsini Karthik.
The gains will be gradual as the measure will be executed over 12 months or so.
With slippages increasing every quarter, any derailment on growth or change in customers' repayment behaviour after moratorium may impact the overall asset quality. Correction, though, presents attractive buying opportunities, given the bank's sustained leadership position.
The outstanding credit card base dropped to 77.99 million in August from over 80 million in July, mainly on account of the new norms of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that warrant the deactivation of cards that are inactive for a year. While there was a 2.8 per cent decline in net card additions on a month-on-month (MoM) basis in August, a first in many months, credit card spends slipped 3 per cent on a high base. Still, spends topped the Rs 1-trillion mark for the sixth consecutive month.
Existing bank deposits will continue with past rates until renewed on maturity.
Foreign brokerages said if SBI decide to buy stake in the bank, they should buy it at Rs 1 per share as the net worth is hugely impaired.
The continuing stress faced by corporate India has weakened their debt-servicing capability and this is reflected in the banks' books, as yet-burgeoning bad loans.
Analysts expect banks with a strong deposit franchise to benefit from SBI's rate cut as they too are likely to follow the leader.
While rate cuts may increase churn between banks, these may not boost credit offtake meaningfully.
Telecom companies (Airtel, Vodafone, ABNL-via Idea Cellular), which enjoy larger reach, appear to be better placed among the key companies bagging payments bank licences.
Morgan Stanley removed banking stocks from its model portfolio when it slashed its weighting on the sector by 500 basis points. Several foreign brokerages, such as UBS, JP Morgan, and Credit Suisse, of late, have also become less optimistic about banking stocks.
In an online chat with Rediff.com readers, G Srikanth, partner, GSV Associates, chartered accountants, Chennai and member of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants, answered queries about the new income tax proposals mooted in the Union Budget 2020-2021.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) move to ban Mastercard from issuing new cards for not complying with the local data storage guidelines may hit five private banks, a non-bank lender, and a major card-issuing company. The impact is expected to be felt for a few months as these players transition to other card networks. According to Nomura Research, RBL Bank, YES Bank, and Bajaj Finserv are the ones most impacted by the ban as all their credit card schemes are allied to Mastercard. Among others, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank have 35-40 per cent of their credit card schemes tied to Mastercard, the report said.
Analysts, however, said the timing of the infusion was good.
Axis Bank's acquisition of Citibank's consumer finance business for Rs 12,325 crore - the second biggest deal in the Indian banking sector - is seen as a good deal at a good price. The acquisition enables Axis Bank to close the gap with competition in some key segments such as credit cards. At the same time, there are some key issues that are crucial for the deal's success, apart from the fact that it will take some time for Axis to reap the full harvest of its investment.
Banking stocks, including top ones like State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India, among others, have fallen sharply in the last one month.
Seven Olympic and six Paralympic disciplines were identified for support at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell.
Raghuram Rajan's 'surgery' uncovers more bad loans
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Of the 11 licence holders, only eight remain in the fray as concerns about profitability and rising competition are making them think twice before jumping in.
Ajit Mishra answers reader queries on the stock market.
National record holder Sudha Singh of Railways bettered her own meet mark while winning gold in the women's 3000m steeplechase on the third and penultimate day of the 53rd National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi on Monday.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
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