Bank current affairs

🍒    Banks have to be conscious of co lending risks: SBI MD : Banks have to be conscious about the underwriting standards of non banking finance companies (NBFCs) with whom they have co lending partnerships because it could create problems in the future, State Bank of India (SBI) managing director (MD) Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said. Speaking at the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s banking and finance conference Setty said banks will have to carefully assess the portfolios of the NBFCs and micro finance institutions (MFIs) that they are in partnership with as part of their risk management. “The way we manage credit risk, we look at retail, corporate and institutional loans but the wider portfolios in the system are to do with on lending to MFIs and NBFCs is what I am worried about. Do they have the same underwriting risk is what we should be asking,” Setty who is in charge of international banking, global markets & technology said. - economic times

🍒    FinMin asks Sponsor Banks to handhold RRBs for technology adoption : The Finance Ministry on Friday asked Sponsor banks along with NABARD to proactively handhold their respective Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) for facilitating technology adoption so as to enable them to serve their customers more efficiently. Chairing a symposium on Strengthening financial sustainability and operational viability of RRBs at Pune, Vivek Joshi, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS) also urged RRBs to redouble their efforts for achieving the targets fixed in the viability plans within the next one year itself.  Also present were Additional Secretary DFS, Chairman NABARD, CGM RBI, MD/EDs of Sponsor Banks and Chairpersons of RRBs to review the performance of RRBs. - Business Line

🍒    ACRE set to buy out SBI's loans to road company in West Bengal : Ares SSG Capital-backed asset reconstruction company is set to acquire State Bank of India's (SBI) road assets in an all-cash deal after eight-month-long negotiations, said two people aware of the development. An anchor offer by Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprises (ACRE) to SBI for loans to SEW Krishnagar Baharampore Highways in West Bengal has triggered a Swiss challenge auction, the people said. Inviting counter-bids, SBI said in a notice that it has received an anchor offer of ₹111.6 crore against its outstanding loans of ₹187.2 crore to the SEW Krishnagar Baharampore Highways (SKBHL). - economic times

🍒    RBI imposes Rs 2.92 crore penalty on Canara Bank : The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.92 crore on Canara Bank for violation of various norms, including linking interest rates to external benchmark, and opening savings accounts of ineligible entities. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted a statutory inspection for supervisory evaluation of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021. "A scrutiny of the bank was carried out by RBI in July 2020 based on a high-value fraud reported by another bank," the central bank said in a statement. - economic times

🍒    Bank of Baroda hikes FD interest rates by 30 bps; senior citizens to get up to 7.75% rate : Bank of Baroda has increased the interest rates on its fixed deposits (FDs) of up to Rs 2 crore. Following the change, the FD interest rate can go up to 7.25 per cent for the general public. Senior citizens can earn up to 7.75 per cent on fixed deposits in the Bank of Baroda. The revised interest rates on fixed deposits are effective from May 12, 2023. Bank of Baroda offers an interest of 3 per cent interest rate on deposits maturing between seven and 45 days. FDs maturing between 46 and 180 days will earn an interest rate of 4.5 per cent . Bank of Baroda will pay an interest of 4.5 per cent on FDs maturing between 181 and 210 days. - Economic Times

🍒    PNB limits investment in '0 premature withdrawal penalty' Sugam FDs to Rs 10 lakh : Punjab National Bank (PNB) has decided to restrict the maximum amount of investment at Rs 10 lakh per customer under PNB Sugam Fixed Deposit Scheme. “In case of existing Sugam Fixed Deposit a/c holders who mandated for auto-renewal of their FD on maturity, the same shall be done for the mandated tenor at the prevailing rate of interest," the bank said. "However, due to modification of the scheme, the amounts which are more than Rs.10 Lacs at the time of maturity will be renewed under a different fixed deposit scheme of the bank," the bank said. - Economic Times

🍒    IOB reports double-digit rise in net profit in March quarter & FY23 : Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has registered double-digit growth in its net profit for the March quarter and also for the fiscal FY23, helped by strong growth in net Interest income and improvement in asset quality. The board approved the Chennai-headquartered bank’s plan to raise capital to the tune of ₹2,000 crore. For the quarter that ended March 31, 2023, IOB’s net profit rose 18 per cent at ₹650 crore when compared with ₹552 crore in the year-ago quarter. The bank’s operating profit was higher at ₹1882 crore (₹1614 crore) supported by higher income. Total income stood at ₹6622 crore (₹5719 crore). Interest income grew 18 per cent to ₹5192 crore (₹4215 crore). The net interest margin stood at 3.20 per cent (2.41 per cent). - Business Line

🍒    Banks to commence ‘100 Days 100 Pays’ campaign for return of unclaimed deposits : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Friday, said banks will commence a ‘100 Days 100 Pays’ campaign, where they will trace and settle the top 100 unclaimed deposits of every bank in every district within 100 days. The banks will commence the campaign for return of unclaimed deposits from June 1. According to the information available with the RBI, as of the end of February, the total amount of unclaimed deposits transferred to the RBI by Public Sector Banks in respect of deposits that have not been operated for 10 years or more was ₹35,012 crore. The RBI said the ‘100 Days 100 Pays’ campaign will complement its ongoing efforts and initiatives to reduce the quantum of unclaimed deposits in the banking system and return such deposits to their rightful owners/claimants. - Business Line

🍒    EXIM Bank to launch GIFT City trade finance arm by Q3 FY24 : EXIM (Export-Import) Bank is expected to operationalise its proposed GIFT City subsidiary for trade finance by the third quarter of the current financial year, said MD Harsha Bangari on Friday. “The Ministry of Corporate Affairs approval on name came yesterday (Thursday), and the bank will now have to file for incorporation,” said Bangari at a meet to discuss the bank’s FY23 results. EXIM Bank posted a net profit of ₹1,556 crore for FY23, compared to ₹738 crore in the previous year. Incremental slippages in the new book were around 0.3 per cent; however, the gross NPA ratio was at 4.1 per cent owing to one delinquent exposure in Ghana, said Bangari, adding that the account is fully secured under the National Export Insurance Account. - Business Line

🍒    SBI Card to focus on “hyper-personalisation” for improved customer engagement: Rama Mohan Rao Amara : SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd (SBI Card), the country’s largest pure play credit card issuer, will in the next two years focus on “hyper-personalisation” as part of its overall efforts to improve its customer engagement, its MD & CEO Rama Mohan Rao Amara has said. “Hyper personalisation is one area we want to focus. This is a multi-year project that calls for sizeable investment. Definitely this is a major project that we will be pursuing in the next couple of years”, Amara told businessline in an interview, ahead of the company completing its 25 year journey on May 15. - Business Line

🍒    India's forex reserves rises to 11-month high of $595.98 billion : India's foreign exchange reserves saw a rise of $7.196 billion to $$595.98 billion as on May 5, 2023, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday. India's forex reserves reached a 10-month-high of $588.8 billion in the week through April 28, recovering from a drop to $524.5 billion last October, when the rupee hit a record low against the U.S. dollar. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Overall FCA rose by $6.536 billion to $526.021 billion. - Economic Tmes

🍒    DLF reports new sales booking of Rs 15,058 crore during FY 23 : Real estate builder DLF has reported a 40% year-on-year increase in its fourth-quarter net profit to Rs 569 crore, helped by strong demand in the housing segment. New sales bookings during the quarter stood at Rs 8,458 crore, reflecting a 210% y-o-y growth, the company said on Friday. For the full year FY23, new sales stood at a record Rs 15,058 crore, more than double of the previous year. - economic times

🍒    LIC Tech Term online term insurance plan: Features, benefits, eligibility, other details : LIC's New Tech-Term is a 'Pure Risk Premium Life Insurance Plan' which provides financial protection to the insured's family in case of his/her unfortunate demise. Term insurance policies are most suited for working people who have dependents (children, parents) and want to protect themselves against life's uncertainties (death) at a reasonable cost, according to the LIC webiste. - Economic Times

🍒    Carlyle is weighing entry into private credit market in India : Carlyle Group Inc. is in the early stages of exploring an entry into India’s private credit market, joining global firms drawn to the area.  Executives from the US private equity investor’s Hong Kong office have visited India to understand the country’s private lending opportunities in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. - Economic Times

🍒    RBI asks banks to ensure complete transition from LIBOR by July : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told banks and other regulated entities to ensure a complete transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) from July 1. The complete transition from LIBOR is a significant event in the global financial markets which requires continued attention from all stakeholders to mitigate operational risks and ensure an orderly transition, RBI said Friday. The central bank advised banks and financial institutions not to do new LIBOR-linked or the Mumbai Interbank Forward Outright Rate (MIFOR)-linked financial deals. - economic times

🍒    Ujjivan SFB’s Q4 PAT up over two-fold on strong NII growth, recoveries : Ujjivan Small Finance Bank posted a net profit of ₹310 crore for Q4, 2.4 times higher than ₹127 crore in the year-ago period. For FY23, the profit after tax was ₹1,100 crore. Gross loan book of the bank was up 33 per cent y-o-y and 10 per cent q-o-q at ₹24,085 crore on March 31. The bank disbursed loans of ₹20,037 crore during the year, of which ₹6,001 crore was in Q4. There was all-round growth, with the housing and Financial Institutions Group (FIG) crossing quarterly disbursements of ₹400 crore and ₹300 crore, respectively, the bank said in a release. - Business Line

🍒    RBI to join GFIN’s Greenwashing TechSprint to tackle ESG risks : The Reserve Bank of India has opened the application window for all India based firms and innovators to participate in Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN)’s first ever Greenwashing TechSprint. The window will close on  May 21, 2023. RBI will be among the 13 international regulators taking part in GFIN’s Greenwashing TechSprint. The TechSprint will bring together 13 international regulators alongside firms and innovators to address GFIN’s priority on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainable finance. - business Line

🍒    Death by mosquito bite not covered by accident insurance policy, says HC : The death caused by mosquito bite cannot be termed as accident and so no insurance claim can be given under ‘Accident Insurance Policy,’ Calcutta High Court has ruled. A mother, Chitra Mukherjee moved to the High Court after her son and Army man, Chayan Mukherjee, died in the Command Hospital. He was admitted to the hospital after developing certain post-surgical complications arising from a knee injury and was diagnosed with end stage renal disease while undergoing treatment there. Later, he developed high-grade fever with chills and was found to be suffering from Dengue. He succumbed to his illness days later. The mother approached the insurance company for a claim, but it was rejected by on the grounds that the cause of death was ‘non-accidental’ and hence not covered under the policy. - Busines Line

🍒    India Exim Bank sees FY24 loan growth at 12-15% : State-owned export finance institution India Exim Bank expects a 12-15% growth of its loan book in the current financial year, a senior executive said on Friday. "Most of our business is overseas and the geopolitical situation is a little uncertain. Based on this year’s performance, I am quite confident that we will be able to achieve our growth target," said Harsha Bangari, managing director, India Exim Bank. - Live Mint

🍒    Sundaram Home Finance Q4 profit climbs 24% : Sundaram Home Finance reported a 24% jump in its net profit to Rs 65.68 crore for the quarter ended March, compared with Rs 53.05 crore in the year-ago period. Disbursements rose 54% to Rs 1, 222.46 crore, compared with Rs 794.08 crore. For FY23, the net profit rose 29% to Rs 215.81 crore, against Rs 167.70 crore. Disbursements grew 70% to Rs 3,978.41 crore, compared with Rs 2,336.49 crore. Assets under management stood at Rs 11,005 crore, compared with Rs 9,281 crore. - financial express

🍒    ED raids can hit Manappuram Finance hard : The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent investigations against Manappuram Finance managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) VP Nandakumar could lead to a further correction in the share price of the gold loan NBFC, and affect its ability to raise funds, analysts said. - financial express

🍒    RBI cancels certificate of registration of 7 NBFCS, 14 surrender permits : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 12 said it has cancelled permits of seven non-banking finance companies (NBFC). The NBFCs whose certificate of registration was cancelled were Coorg Tea Company, Trimurthi Finvest, East West Finvest India, J.V.Modi Securities, K K Patel Finance, Purvi Finvest, and Genfin Capital Pvt Ltd, according to a press release from the RBI.Further, the release said these companies shall not transact the business of a Non-Banking Financial Institution. - financial express

🍒    Sensex, Nifty extend gains for third straight week ahead of CPI data : The Nifty 50 closed 0.10 per cent higher at 18,314.80, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.20 per cent to 62,027.90. Both benchmarks logged weekly gains of more than 1 per cent. Seven of the 13 major sectoral indexes advanced, with the high weightage financials rising over 0.5 per cent. - Business Line

🍒    Rupee falls 7 paise to 82.16 against US dollar : Falling for the second straight session, the rupee depreciated by 7 paise to 82.16 against the US dollar on Friday, as a strong greenback overseas weighed on investor sentiments. However, a positive trend in domestic equities and unabated foreign fund inflows cushioned the downslide, traders said. Investors were cautious ahead of inflation data due to be released later in the day, they added. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 82.11 against the US currency and closed at 82.16 (provisional), registering a fall of 7 paise over its previous close. - Business line