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.
Sashidhar Jagdishan, managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Bank, the largest private-sector lender of the country, has just completed his first term. The period October 2020-October 2023 was a roller coaster, and the second one, which started on October 27, could be more interesting as the lender absorbs the impact of the merger of HDFC, which was integrated on July 1, and moves to the next growth phase. Soon after he took over the reins from Aditya Puri on October 27, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) debarred HDFC Bank from enrolling new credit card customers and launching new products under the Digital 2.0 programme due to repeated outages on its mobile-banking and internet-banking platforms.
Here are five things that fraudsters are likely to say or do that should set the alarm bells ringing in your head.
"We will raise Rs 300 crore via bonds of two-, three- and five-year tenures. This will be our maiden bond issuance and is part of our effort to widen funding sources," says Vimal Bhandari, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Arka Fincap. The firm, a subsidiary of Kirloskar Oil, is only five years old and small (assets of around Rs 5,000 crore with an "AA" rating), but the response to this float will be closely watched: It would be the first by a non-banking finance company (NBFC) after Mint Road upped the risk weights on bank exposures to them by 25 percentage points. The move by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has caught NBFCs off guard even though the issue had been flagged by Governor Shaktikanta Das with their corner-room occupants (and that of banks) in July and August 2023 - on consumer credit and the dependency on bank borrowings.
While Visa and Mastercard slug it out for leadership, analysts say RuPay has the potential to cause disruption and eat into their market share.
Do not panic if you have a poor credit score. Do not live with the fear of having an important loan rejectd by the lender because of a poor credit score. Here's the solution for your woes
Credit cards are not inherently bad. If used responsibly, they can be a saviour in times of need.
If you ever face a situation where your card transaction is declined, it is advisable to call your bank and check with them for the cause. In most cases, unless it's a fraudulent issue, the problems will be resolved on the phone.
Axis Bank on Wednesday said it has completed the acquisition of Citibank's retail business in India for a final cash consideration of Rs 11,603 crore. The sale excludes Citi's institutional client businesses in India. The third-largest private sector bank said the acquisition, announced first in March last year, will not necessitate any new capital requirements and stressed that the attrition numbers on customers are much better than expected.
This is not for the first time that the customers of the bank have faced service outage. In fact, the bank has been penalised by the Reserve bank of India (RBI) for two major outages in the past. In December, the RBI temporarily barred HDFC Bank from launching new digital banking initiatives and issuing new credit cards after taking a serious view of service outages at the lender over the last two years.
In India, it is not easy to fight it out with the large banks which are nimble-footed and technology-savvy and are continuously innovating on the retail turf with newer products for customer acquisition.
The suspected security breach happened through a malware in the systems of Hitachi Payments Services, which serves ATM network of Yes Bank
In a note to customers, the country's largest lender State Bank of India said, 'Interest shall continue to accrue on the outstanding portion of the term Loan during the moratorium period'. The accrued interest will be collected by the lender in the form of additional EMIs from those borrowers who opt for the three-month moratorium.
An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. Errors in your CIBIL credit report can become costly mistakes if you do not rectify them in time. So next time you get your CIBIL report, do not just see the score and tuck it away.
India recorded 50,035 cases of cyber crime in 2020, an 11.8 per cent surge in such offences over the previous year, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week once again cautioned bank customers of fraud, including those in Know-Your-Customer (KYC) cases. In fact, certain frauds have become more prevalent than others, and being aware of them is the first step towards protect yourself. Mayur Joshi, chief executive officer, Indiaforensic.com, a company engaged in the prevention, detection, and investigation of frauds says, "It is necessary to learn, to read about these scams."
Deals from online travel portals, in partnership with credit cards, are good.
The sale will be quicker if an Indian private bank buys it; it will take longer for regulatory clearances if a foreign bank or an NBFC buys it, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Customers using mobile wallets, prepaid payments cards, and paper vouchers such as Sodexo have been absolved of liability for fraud if it is reported within three days.
HDFC Bank on Tuesday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed an external IT firm for carrying out a special audit of its IT infrastructure in the aftermath of repeated service outages at the country's largest private sector lender over the past two years. "RBI has appointed an external professional IT firm for carrying out a special audit of the entire IT infrastructure of the bank under Section 30 (1-B) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949..., at the cost of the Bank under Section 30 (1-C) of the Act.
To push digital transactions in rural and semi-urban areas, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday issued a framework allowing offline payments up to Rs 200 per transaction, subject to an overall limit of Rs 2,000. An offline digital payment means a transaction that does not require internet or telecom connectivity. Under the offline mode, payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets, and mobile devices.
In DigiLocker, a user can get different government departments to issue documents in digital format. At present, there are 117 such issuers. You can get PAN, Aadhaar, vehicle fitness certificate, vehicle tax receipt, class ten and twelve mark sheets, driving licence, caste certificate, ration card, birth certificate, college degrees and diplomas, marriage certificate, and many more.
If the credit card limit is exceeded, it is your problem. And, that is true even if the card is stolen.
Those who have been handed the pink slip shouldn't make too many loan queries, advises Raj Khosla.
Almost all banks that issue contactless cards provide users with a 100 per cent liability cover.
The Indian regulatory framework forced Citi to hibernate -- contrary to the claim that it never sleeps!
If variation is over 50 points, write to the bank and bureau immediately to correct the discrepancy
Use a "virtual credit card" for every online transaction when you can't pay cash on delivery.
The need to maintain people's confidence in digital banking resulted in the action against HDFC Bank for service outages, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday and exhorted lenders to invest more on the technology front.
Just like optimum blood pressure, sugar and the likes are the measure of your physical health, a good CIBIL score is a measure of your financial health and you must do the needful to keep your CIBIL score at a satisfactory level.
Cheque payments will be safer; the limit for contactless card transactions hiked.
How should you, as a consumer, be prepared for a rate cut, if any? Read on to find out more.
Middle class Indians have grown up with the belief that living on credit is essentially a bad thing. You are in trouble if you think the same, cautions Rajiv Raj
If you are raring to go this festive season, here are a few tried and tested tips to help you avoid online shopping pitfalls.
The draft rules underline security parameters that digital wallet companies, such as Paytm, FreeCharge and Mobikwik, will have to follow
Be extra careful while using credit cards because there is a risk of misuse
The move is aimed at making transmission of securities in both dematerialised and physical modes more efficient and investor friendly.
It can if your debit card belongs to a PSU bank
One small interest rate hike of one-quarter of a percentage point is unlikely to have much impact on your budget
