Exuding confidence in sustaining the tempo of credit growth, public sector bankers said on Wednesday that consolidation in the public sector bank (PSB) space has given them a robust base to scale. The privatisation of PSBs can be done through divestment of government stake to a wider base of investors without haste. There is nothing to worry about at this point (high credit offtake) as underwriting standards and risk management are much better.
Higher for longer' may be the narrative in the developed markets, but interest rates might not stay high for very long in India, with a section of the market expecting rate cuts to begin this year. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 6.5 per cent in the April review - after hiking the policy repo rate in six previous meetings. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das emphasised that the pause was only for the April policy and that the central bank was ready to act if the situation demanded.
The global turmoil in the banking sector has made analysts cautious, who advise that investors stay away from stocks of this sector till the overall sentiment improves. The recent trouble for the banking sector started with the collapse of US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate Capital and Signature Bank. On its part, Moody's Investors Service has also cut its outlook for the US banking system to 'negative' from 'stable', citing the run on deposits at these three banks that led to the collapse of these banking majors in less than a week.
Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance emerged as the biggest gainer by climbing 2.95 per cent. Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel were the other major winners. HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra and Titan were among the laggards.
Against an offer of 4.55 crore shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd, only 4.7 lakh were subscribed, according to information available from the BSE. Adani Enterprises fell almost 20 per cent to below the offer price of its secondary sale as all the seven listed companies of the conglomerate took a beating in the aftermath of Hindenberg Reserach alleged that the group was "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".
Policies to break down the business group format are far more likely to be effective, argues Simon Commander.
It was in Kolar in 2019, during Lok Sabha election campaigning, that he made a remark on the Modi surname for which he was convicted of criminal defamation and stripped of his Parliament membership last month.
Equity indices fell sharply by nearly 2 per cent each, extending their decline for the third day running on Friday, amid an overall bearish trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,020.80 points or 1.73 per cent to settle at 58,098.92. During the day, it tumbled 1,137.77 points or 1.92 per cent to 57,981.95.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended with gains on Wednesday, extending the previous day rally amid lower level of inflation on domestic front and better-than-expected inflation readings from the US. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 144.61 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 62,677.91. During the day, it jumped 301.81 points or 0.48 per cent to 62,835.11.
Polarisation in the performance of Indian banks will persist as many large public sector banks are still saddled with weak assets, high credit costs, and poor earnings, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. It said State Bank of India and leading private sector banks have largely addressed their asset quality challenges, and their profitability is improving more sharply than the banking system. In its Global Banking Outlook-2023 report, S&P said economic recovery is driving credit costs to cyclical low levels and stronger balance sheets and higher demand should boost bank loan growth, but deposit growth will lag.
After securing a euro 150 million Credit line for solar energy finance from a German financial institution, State Bank of India is in talks with european Investment Bank for about euro 200 million to fund climate finance. Recently the country's largest lender obtained euro 150 million in green funding from German government-owned KFW on soft terms and a long repayment period. SBI will use funds to finance solar energy projects.
The BJP declared a total income of Rs 1917.12 crore during 2021-22 and spent Rs 854.467 crore or 44.57 per cent of it.
It won't be easy for the banking sector to better its performance every quarter, predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
UCO Bank mulls AT1 offering to raise Rs 1,000 cr.
Equity benchmarks ended higher on Friday helped by buying in index major Reliance Industries along with fresh foreign fund inflows. Extending its previous day's rally, the 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 203.01 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 59,959.85. During the day, it jumped 376.33 points or 0.62 per cent to 60,133.17.
The first quarter of calendar 2023 will see new faces heading four large public-sector banks -- Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Bank of India.
Benchmark indices ended on a firm note on Friday, extending their previous day's gain, amid continuous foreign fund inflows and a positive trend in the global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 104.92 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 59,793.14. During the day, it jumped 431.58 points or 0.72 per cent to 60,119.80.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended over 1 per cent higher on Friday, helped by heavy buying in Infosys and banking stocks amid a rally in global stock markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 684.64 points or 1.20 per cent to settle at 57,919.97. During the day, it rallied 1,199.79 points or 2.09 per cent to 58,435.12.
Vijay Kumar, the bank manager, was shot inside the premises on Thursday morning and died on the way to hospital.
Ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Monday approved the issuance of the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on November 9.
One of the reasons why the TMC decided not to demand a JPC is that the chairperson and most of its members would be from the BJP, he said, adding JPC means putting the issue under the carpet.
From the Sensex pack, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries were among the major laggards. Bucking the trend, auto stocks Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra closed with gains.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed marginally down in a volatile trade on Friday following profit booking in financials and IT shares amid a weak trend in global equity markets. Snapping its two-day gaining streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 30.81 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 58,191.29. During the day, it fell 370.95 points or 0.63 per cent to 57,851.15.
Equity benchmarks ended lower on Tuesday, putting a break to their seven-day rally, amid weak Asian market cues and mixed trends from European stocks. The 30-share BSE benchmark failed to hold on the early gains and declined 287.70 points or 0.48 per cent to finish at 59,543.96. During the day, it hit a low of 59,489.02 and a high of 60,081.24.
Benchmark indices finished on a weak note on Thursday, extending their previous day's decline amid a negative trend in global equity markets after the US Fed hiked interest rates by 75 basis points. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 69.68 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 60,836.41. During the day, it tanked 420.95 points or 0.69 per cent to 60,485.14.
Equity benchmarks ended lower on Thursday as a fag-end sell-off wiped out early gains, with IT and bank stocks playing spoilsport amid monthly derivatives expiry. After remaining in the positive territory for most part of the trade, the BSE Sensex suddenly came under selling pressure during the last half-hour of the session, declining 310.71 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 58,774.72. During the day, it hit a high of 59,484.35 and a low of 58,666.41.
Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Wednesday, dragged down by losses in banking stocks amid weak global market trends. The 30-share Sensex declined by 168.08 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 59,028.91. During the day, it fell 474.1 points or 0.80 per cent to 58,722.89. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 31.20 points or 0.18 per cent to 17,624.40.
Equity benchmarks bounced back sharply on Friday after facing a heavy drubbing in the previous trade, with the Sensex and Nifty jumping nearly 3 per cent, aided by positive trends from global markets and across-the-board buying. Index majors Reliance Industries and HDFC twins saw robust buying, helping the benchmarks. The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 1,534.16 points or 2.91 per cent to settle at 54,326.39.
State Bank of India (SBI) may carry out a planned Rs 10,000 crore sale of infrastructure bonds in the market this week, with the securities likely to be of 15-year maturity, sources told Business Standard. SBI, the country's largest bank, had last week said its board had approved the issuance of infrastructure bonds in the current fiscal year. It, however, had not mentioned the maturity of the bonds or when the sale would take place.
More shares belonging to companies of the embattled Adani Group have been pledged as security for loans taken by the group's flagship firm, a trustee said. SBICap Trustee in notices to stock exchanges said that a further 0.99 per cent shares in Adani Green Energy Ltd were pledged "for the benefits of the lenders" of Adani Enterprises Ltd. An additional 0.76 per cent shares in Adani Transmission Ltd were also pledged to banks, the trustee said. SBICap, which is a unit of State Bank of India (SBI), however did not give details of the loans taken by Adani Enterprises for which the pledge was created.
Even as competition to garner deposits is intensifying into a tight liquidity and high credit growth scenario, Bank of Baroda (BoB) has hiked deposit rates for the second time in the current quarter. Also, private lender IDBI Bank has come out with a limited period offer on its term deposits. It is offering 7.6 per cent interest rate for a tenor of 700 days, effective from December 2022.
Adani group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. The group has maintained it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty took a beating on Thursday and dropped over 1 per cent each, weighed by selling in index major Reliance Industries, IT and banking stocks amid weak global trends. The BSE Sensex fell 770.48 points or 1.29 per cent to settle at 58,766.59. During the day, it tanked 1,014.5 points or 1.70 per cent to 58,522.57. Similarly, the NSE Nifty declined 216.50 points or 1.22 per cent to close at 17,542.80.
Equity benchmarks declined on Tuesday after a three-day rally, with the Sensex falling 359.33 points amid selling in index majors HDFC, Reliance Industries and Infosys. Investors were cautious ahead of release of GDP data, while a jump in crude oil prices also weighed on market sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex went lower by 359.33 points or 0.64 per cent to settle at 55,566.41.
'It is observed that some of our branches are already losing good balances in their savings deposits as well as fixed deposits, which are maturing, to the other banks.'
The third-quarter financials didn't excite market watchers. But equity investors can still make money if they invest in the right stocks.
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking investigation under the supervision of a sitting apex court judge against the Adani group of companies in light of the allegations made by the US-based Hindenburg Research.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday gave its approval to Jio for the acquisition of Reliance Infratel (RITL). The tribunal asked Jio to deposit Rs 3,720 crore in the State Bank of India (SBI) escrow account to complete the acquisition of RCOM's tower and fibre assets. On November 6, Jio had proposed to deposit Rs 3,720 crore in an escrow account to complete the acquisition of Reliance Infratel which is undergoing an insolvency resolution process.
Benchmark indices ended nearly 1 per cent lower on Wednesday, tracking a weak trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund outflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 509.24 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 56,598.28. During the day, it tanked 621.85 points or 1.08 per cent to 56,485.67. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 148.80 points or 0.87 per cent to end at 16,858.60.
As banks' chase for customers to collect cheap deposits is not fructifying, they are forced to offer inflation-beating real interest rates on fixed deposits now, and state-run banks led by Punjab & Sind Bank tops the chart offering 8-8.50 per cent per annum deposit rate. Banks are forced to offer inflation-beating deposit rates for a tenor ranging from 200 to 800 days as credit growth has been far outpacing deposit mobilization throughout this fiscal, leading to a funding crunch.