'If you give your ID and password to somebody else, how can anybody blame the technology for that problem?'
'The fact remains that as of today, the justice that I deserve is far off, as it shall take time to prove my innocence, and the future seems uncertain presently,' Mehul Choksi tells his employees in a letter.
India's unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end. The time has come for Indian refiners to navigate, creatively, the choppy waters of the post-honeymoon period, and for Indian policymakers to take cognisance of the broader impact on India from the spillover of the Russian crisis - after Washington's warning to transgressors last week. Shipments from Russia to India have averaged over 1.8 million barrels a day since February, according to data from Paris-based market analytics firm Kpler. But much of the crude shipped to India was non-sanctioned because it traded below a price cap set by the US led G-7 nations in December.
The PNB fiasco falls into a family line that involves non-fund limits - read contingent liabilities which are off-books. Harshad Mehta did it with bankers' receipts in 1992. Ketan Parekh exploited the ignorance of bankers who did not know the difference between a cheque and a pay-order. And the RBI blinked when it failed to insist the SWIFT platform be linked to the core banking solution. Raghu Mohan & Abhijit Lele trace the banking mess that was just waiting to happen.
The UK judge who handed down his judgment on Thursday in favour of the extradition of Nirav Modi to face charges of fraud and money laundering in India said he had found no evidence of adverse political influence in the case, as claimed by the diamond merchant's legal team.
Moody's has revised to positive the outlook on the long- term ratings of private sector lenders
Rating agency Fitch on upgraded outlook of 10 financial institutionals, including SBI, ICICI Bank and EXIM Bank of India to 'stable' from 'negative' earlier following revision in the country's outlook.
Over 25,600 cases of banking fraud reported up to December 21, 2017, says Minister RS Prasad.
In the atmosphere created by the reaction to the PNB fraud and RBI's resolution framework, "don't lend, don't resolve" is bound to become the bankers' new mantra, says T T Ram Mohan.
The diamond merchant, who has been behind bars at HMP Wandsworth in south-west London ever since his first bail application was rejected on March 20, can apply for a high court bail appeal at any time until his next remand hearing on April 26.
With the rise in interest rates, bond yields have been on the rise; this will dent banks' treasury profits. Also, many retail borrowers may find it difficult to service their loans when the loan rates rise, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Despite recent developments that have accelerated the impending extradition of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who has been in custody in London's Wandsworth Prison for over two years, the last month has seen his uncle Mehul Choksi dominate the headlines instead with his circus-like exhibition in the Caribbean that has involved red herrings such as a "girlfriend", to whom his wife seemed to have no objection, and possibly concocted stories of being kidnapped and manhandled. Choksi was widely regarded as Modi's Svengali in Mumbai when he returned from Belgium to expand his business. He had fled to Antigua well before news around how Modi finagled thousands of crores from Punjab National Bank (PNB) and other institutions through a series of allegedly coordinated and fraudulent actions involving letters of undertaking, or LoUs.
Modi, a diamond jeweller whose designs have been worn by Hollywood stars, is now believed to be running a new business, which describes itself on the UK's Companies House register as a wholesale trader in watches and jewellery and a retailer of watches and jewellery in specialised stores.
Banks do extensive investigation before declaring an account fraud; they owe it to us as they deal with our money. Why would they try to fix an innocent borrower? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The recent run on the US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the subsequent seizure of its assets by the regulators may have sparked a global wave of risk aversion, particularly for start-ups. However, the Indian banking sector is unlikely to be a victim of any contagion effects, said analysts. he bank, which played a big role in financing start-ups and technology players, faced stress after incurring huge losses on its holdings of US bonds, following the most-aggressive monetary tightening cycle by the Federal Reserve in around four decades.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra secretary Champat Rai said people from all communities have generously donated for the construction of the temple.
The RBI was not party to the decision to demonetize 500 and 1,000-rupee notes, which was taken at the highest level of India's political leadership.
A total of 254 millionaires from India have used the so-called "golden visa" to settle down in the UK through a large investment into the country since the route opened in 2008, according to a new report released by a UK-based anti-corruption charity on Monday. Spotlight on Corruption said that Indians ranked as the seventh nationality of super-rich to have availed of the Tier 1 (Investor) Visa, adding up to 254 between 2008 and 2020. China topped the list at 4,106, followed by Russia (2,526), Hong Kong (692), the United States (685), Pakistan (283) and Kazakhstan (278) ahead of India.
Modi, 46, who had figured in the Forbes' list of richest Indians, has been named in the cheating case on a complaint from the PNB, which alleged that the jewellery firm owner, his brother, wife and Choksi entered into a criminal conspiracy with the officials of the bank and cheated it, causing a "wrongful loss".
Insurer has also made fresh investments since December 2015 quarter when RBI told banks to recognise bad loans
It is nearly after 13 years that a foreign brokerage has resumed holistic coverage on stocks of public sector banks (PSBs). To that extent, Morgan Stanley's report dated March 3, where the analysts have listed their order of preference for PSB stocks, is an indication that the state-owned banks may once again be attracting some interest, thanks to three back-to-back quarters of good results in FY21 so far. "State-owned banks' balance sheets have improved, and bad loans formation should moderate going forward," the analysts note and this is the key reason for them to relook at their stance on PSBs. While State Bank of India (SBI) remains their preferred pick, stocks of Bank of Baroda (BOB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) have been upgraded from 'underweight' to 'equal-weight'. The brokerage maintains its underweight recommendation on Bank of India and Canara Bank.
Punjab National Bank has made a name for itself in recovery of bad loan dues. Usha Ananthasubramanian, managing director and chief executive officer of the government-owned lender, explains how it has achieved this reputation.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Some of the public banks showed improvement; much more still needs to be done
Sanjib Jha, CEO, Coverfox Insurance Broking, answers your health insurance related queries.
'The PCA framework was revised and tightened in April 2017, but there was no discussion in any board meeting. The government does not know the rationale behind revising the framework and how the RBI arrived at it. Similarly, there was no discussion in the board meeting on the revised NPA framework,' said an official.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India will get the largest sum of Rs 8,800 crore as government's capital infusion.
This will be done across five cities - Delhi, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bhopal, and Shillong. Thereafter, it will be scaled up and launched in 100 cities over a period of six months, said a senior government official.
In its RCN issued against a fugitive, the Interpol asks its 192 member countries to arrest or detain the person if spotted in their countries after which extradition or deportation proceedings can begin.
In its FIR filed recently, the CBI has named Khattar and his company Carnation Auto India Limited for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 110 crore to Punjab National Bank.
Country's biggest mortgage lender HDFC on Tuesday announced a festive offer in line with peers like SBI with home loans starting from 6.70 per cent. Last week, SBI as part of festival bonanza offered a concessional home loan rate of 6.70 per cent under its festive offer. This was followed by other lenders like Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda.
We'll need to wait a couple of years to see how many restructured loans turn bad and whether some banks fall victim to their obsession for growth, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The agency on Friday also carried out searches on the premises of the Gitanjali Group at 20 places in Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.
He is set to be produced from custody before Judge Emma Arbuthnot for the first management hearing in the case, during which a broad timeline is expected for his extradition trial.
Exactly a fortnight ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) next monetary policy review, a key market indicator of interest rates - the overnight indexed swap (OIS) - suggests that the central bank may tighten policy by 35 basis points and then refrain from further rate hikes. RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra recently described the OIS as the primary instrument for hedging interest rate risk in India. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI will meet on December 5-7.
UTI's legacy and brand recognition, together with a robust distribution network and access to public sector money, could work in its favour, and help it command a premium
Stock markets are expected to remain under pressure this week due to the overhang of US presidential polls and uncertainty over global growth due to resurging cases of coronavirus, according to analysts.
Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday raised the rating outlook for 18 Indian corporates and banks, including Reliance Industries, Infosys, SBI and Axis Bank, to 'stable' from 'negative'. This follows the upgrade by the US-based rating agency in India's sovereign rating outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' on Tuesday. The agency had affirmed the sovereign rating at 'Baa3'.
Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London concluded that she remains unconvinced that he would not interfere with witnesses or fail to surrender before the court for his trial in May 2020.
Nehal, 41, is charged in a New York Supreme Court indictment with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. said.