Shares of state-owned bank stocks were under pressure on Monday due to muted deposit and credit growth numbers reported by these lenders in the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25 (FY25). The Nifty PSU Bank index was down 4 per cent, with Union Bank of India emerging as the biggest loser as its shares fell 7.5 per cent to close at Rs 114.7, followed by a 5.7 per cent drop in shares of Bank of Baroda (BoB) to Rs 228 and a 4.7 per cent slide in shares of Bank of India to Rs 99.8 on the National Stock Exchange.
The company's IPO -- the first by a private bank in a decade -- was oversubscribed a staggering 69.62 times.
As regards mid-caps and small-caps, analysts suggest investors buy only those stocks of those companies where there is earnings visibility for at least a few quarters and where the valuations have become reasonable.
UK fashion retailer Superdry on Wednesday said it will sell its intellectual property assets in South Asia to Reliance Retail for 40 million pounds (Rs 402 crore) through a joint venture. Superdry, whose fashion line mostly includes sweatshirts, hoodies and jackets, will own 24 per cent of the joint venture while Reliance Retail, India's largest retailer, will have the remaining 76 per cent. Under the agreement, Superdry's brand IP assets in South Asia will be permanently transferred to the new JV entity.
'There has been a change in the advances mix, with the share of corporate loans decreasing.'
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) latest order on unsecured loans is set to hit the banking sector's growth in the near-term, cautioned analysts, as they see banks slowing down on aggressive retail lending. Besides, cost of funds for non-banking finance companies (NBFC) is expected to inch up as banks will pass on higher capital charge to NBFCs. "We believe the fallout of the RBI action will be mainly on growth, given the rising dependence on unsecured retail loans and lending to NBFCs for growth.
FDs are not advisable for long-term wealth creation as their post-inflation, post-tax returns are not very attractive.
The cost of deposits is on the rise, but banks can't raise interest rate on close to 60% of their loan books, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'Opportunity is there in each segment of the market. There is opportunity in affordable and specifically governed by government initiatives as well as for housing for all.'
'The expeditious enactment of labour codes and strategic measures to bridge the skills jobs gap are critical.'
As the fight for deposits intensifies, the cost of money will rise and the margin will be under further pressure, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) on Monday announced forming a 60:40 joint venture with Rahul Mishra brand RM, which will create and own a new brand that would encompass courtier's ready to wear business. The new brand would grow both vertically and horizontally in the fields of accessories, footwear, home, beauty, and jewellery for a worldwide audience, said a joint statement. Rahul Mishra will lead the creative direction of the new brand as creative director, it added.
It is 10 years since Bandhan Financial Services became the first microfinance institution (MFI) to receive the universal bank licence. A year later, in 2015, it started operations. Bandhan's entry into banking was seen as a vote of confidence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the country's microfinance sector. Subsequently, the RBI awarded small finance bank licences to nine MFIs.
M&M was the biggest loser in the Sensex chart, falling 6.39 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, ITC, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank and RIL. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, L&T and Infosys were among the winners, rising up to 2.10 per cent.
The NCMC facilitates convenient travel while integrating last-mile connectivity, a must in India's extensive landscape. It enables travellers to pay for a cross-section of needs, including toll tax, retail shopping, and withdrawing money.
Reliance Retail, the country's leading retailer which owns iconic British toy brand Hamleys and home-grown toy brand Rowan, has entered into a joint venture with a Haryana-based firm for local manufacturing to meet the growing demand. The company has entered into a joint venture with Sonipat, Haryana-based Circle E Retail to vertically integrate its toy business. "We also had a JV with Circle E retail for toy manufacturing for vertical integration for our toys retailing business," said Reliance Retail CFO Dinesh Taluja during an earnings call last week.
Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) will pick a 40 per cent minority stake in renowned fashion designer Manish Malhotra's MM Styles Pvt Ltd, for an undisclosed sum, the two companies said on Friday. This is the first external investment for the brand, which had so far been privately held by the designer. The strategic partnership is aimed at accelerating the 16-year-old couture house's growth plans in India and across the globe, they said in a joint statement.
'The impact of CEO transition is fairly even for stocks, with about half (53 per cent) of the events not producing any change in the relative performance of the stock.'
It won't be easy for the banking sector to better its performance every quarter, predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'It is nice that the banking system is in good shape.' 'It is a little early to call it too good because I think it was too bad in the past.'
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.
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.
Private sector lenders have been communicating to their customers about their strong capital positions but it has not put depositors at ease.
The strike notices were given by workers' unions of various sectors such as coal, steel, oil, telecom, postal, income tax, copper, banks and insurance.
Credit card issuers saw significant erosion of their card base during the July-September quarter as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) norms mandated deactivation of cards that have been inactive for a year. The second quarter of the current financial year saw outstanding cards-in-force decline by 2.55 million to 77.7 million. Prior to this, the industry, on an average, was witnessing a net addition of over 1.5 million credit cards a month as players became aggressive on the unsecured lending business after the pandemic.
Reliance Retail has bought a 25.8 per cent stake in Dunzo, India's leading quick commerce player, for $200 million (around Rs 1,488 crore) as it looks to expand its presence in online grocery delivery business. Dunzo has raised $240 million (about Rs 1,787 crore) in its latest funding round that was led by Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) - the retail arm of Reliance Industries, the two firms said in a statement. Existing investors Lightbox, Lightrock, 3L Capital and Alteria Capital also participated in the funding round.
To educate customers on the modus operandi of financial fraudsters and share inputs on safe banking habits, banks are now coming up with awareness campaigns aimed at preventing customers from falling into the trap of fraudsters.
Analysts believe that investors should look at stocks that hit 52-week lows only if they have a dividend paying track record, are debt-free and have sound fundamentals.
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 drop in net interest margin will separate the men from the boys, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
A day after the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee hiked the policy repo rate by 50 basis points (bps), several commercial banks, including ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda, raised their external benchmark-linked loan rates by an equal amount on Thursday. HDFC, the country's largest mortgage lender, too, increased its interest rates on housing loans by another 50 bps. In total, it has raised rates by 85 bps since May 4, when the RBI had increased the repo rate by 40 bps in an off-cycle meeting.
Banking technology start-up Zeta is the latest entrant to the unicorn club after raising $250 million in its Series C round from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Sodexo participated as an additional minority investor in the round. Founded by serial entrepreneur and billionaire Bhavin Thurakia, the startup is now valued at $1.4 billion. It is the 14th company this year to cross the $1 billion valuation mark after Meesho, Cred, Pharmeasy, ShareChat, Moglix and others.
If the banks throw caution to the winds for building loan books, the hydra-headed bad loans may resurface and spoil the party, warns Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
MakeMyTrip, RBL Bank, Inox wind and IRCTC are among the firms that have made it to the Fortune Next 500 list of Indian companies.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
A total of 25 companies raised Rs 28,220 crore during the financial year.
India may adopt norms similar to the US Federal Reserve model, which regulates conglomerate-led banks in the country.
Around 75 per cent, or 372 stocks, that are part of the BSE500 are trading at least 10 per cent below their all-time high levels, despite the index hitting a record high 20,515 points on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday, surpassing its previous high of 20,390 touched in March 12. The index, which accounts for 93 per cent of BSE listed companies' market capitalisation, has gained 8 per cent from its recent low of 18,983, touched on April 19. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 6 per cent over the same period, but is still nearly 4.5 per cent away from its all-time high of 52,517 that it hit on February 16.
Nearly two million e-mandates for recurring payments have been registered with banks and card networks after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made it mandatory from October 1 to take prior consent of a customer before debiting her account, sources in know of the matter said. Industry estimates peg the recurring transactions at approximately 2.5 per cent of the total volume of transactions, and about 1.5 per cent in terms of value. Of these, around 75 per cent of domestic recurring transactions, and about 85 per cent international recurring payments are below Rs 5,000.
