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☕🥯12.08.2023 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance 

🍒     SBI aims for 1 lakh Customer Service Points by March 2024 : State Bank of India (SBI), the country's biggest lender, aims for 1 lakh Customer Service Points (CSPs) across the country by the end of the current financial year. Currently, SBI manages about 79,000 such CSPs that act as a mini bank by carrying out limited transactions and sourcing business. The bank is poised to improve the entire Financial Inclusion (FI) ecosystem through enhanced product bouquet by extending doorstep banking by way of handheld devices and introducing IRIS scan utility, SBI said in a statement. - economic times

🍒     BoB, Canara, BoM hike lending rates by up to 10 bps : A number of public sector banks, including Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Canara Bank, raised the marginal cost of funds based lending rates (MCLR) by up to 10 basis points even though RBI retained policy rate on Thursday. The move will make EMIs linked to MCLR expensive. The one-year tenor MCLR is the rate against which most consumer loans are tied to. The revised one-year MCLR would be 8.70 per cent as against the existing rate of 8.65 per cent, BoB said in a regulatory filing.  The new rate would be effective from August 12, it said. Canara Bank too raised its MCLR by 5 basis points to 8.70 per cent effective August 12. - Business Line

🍒     Post merger, HDFC Bank chief Sashidhar Jagdishan flags funding risk; says net interest margins to be hit : Funding is the biggest risk to the HDFC Bank and HDFC merger, Sashidhar Jagdishan, the private lender’s MD, said on Friday. HDFC Bank has been on an overdrive to accrue deposits to provide cover for the liabilities arising out of the merger that now includes the finances of the erstwhile mortgage lender. Jagdishan, who was addressing shareholders at the lender’s 29th annual general meeting, also said that net interest margins for the bank will drop September quarter onwards, once the merger impact plays out. - economic times

🍒     Merger to boost fund flows to affordable housing, says HDFC Bank chairman Atanu Chakraborty : The bigger balance sheet of HDFC Bank following its merger with parent Housing Development Financial Corporation (HDFC) will boost fund flow to the affordable housing segment, HDFC Bank chairman Atanu Chakraborty said on August 11. It will also help the bank to fund agriculture and small and medium-sized business in a better way, he said."As a consequence of this merger, the larger balance sheet of the bank would offer to the national economy possibilities of higher credit growth, a larger bouquet of financial products and higher flows into affordable housing, agriculture, MSME etc," Chakraborty said while addressing the bank's annual general meeting in Mumbai. - moneycontrol.

🍒     Pankaj Sharma resigns as Chief Operations Officer of RBL Bank : RBL Bank Limited on Friday announced that the bank's Chief Operations Officer, Pankaj Sharma will be resigning from the position to pursue opportunities outside the bank and the vacant position will be handled by Alok Rastogi, said the bank in its exchange filling. "Post internal discussion held with Mr. Pankaj Sharma, the Bank has accepted his resignation and shall relieve him from his duties with effect from close of business hours on September 20, 2023," said RBL bank in its statement. - economic times

🍒     Suryoday Bank’s Q1FY24 net profit soars 514% to ₹47.6 cr : Suryoday Small Finance Bank’s first quarter net profit soared 514 per cent year-on-year to ₹47.6 crore against ₹7.8 crore in the year ago period on the back of robust growth in other income, healthy growth in net interest income and decline in provisions and contingencies. SSFB’s net interest income was up 27 per cent y-o-y to ₹225 crore (₹177 crore in the year ago quarter). Other income shot up 288 per cent y-o-y to ₹51 crore (₹13.2 crore). Provisions and contingencies declined 22.6 per cent y-o-y to ₹53.7 crore (₹69.3 crore). - Business Line

🍒     Suryoday SFB aims to ramp up commercial vehicle loans, double portfolio size over next few quarters: MD and CEO : Mumbai-based Suryoday Small Finance Bank (SFB) is looking at expanding its commercial loan portfolio over the next few quarters, Managing Director and CEO Baskar Babu Ramachandran said in an interview with Moneycontrol on August 11. "Commercial vehicles have seen good growth in the last few quarters. Currently, our portfolio in this segment stands at Rs 50 crore and we intend to double the same in a few quarters," said Ramachandran. "Also, secured loans is another business where on a monthly basis, we have seen a portfolio of around Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore which we want to grow to Rs 100 crore," Ramachandran added. - moneycontrol.

🍒     Muthoot Finance post 22% rise in net profit at ₹975 crore in Q1 FY24  : Gold loan lender Muthoot Finance has registered a net profit of ₹975 crore in Q1FY24 against ₹802 crore in Q1FY23, an increase of 22 per cent. Loan assets stood at ₹67,639crore compared to ₹56,689 crores in the same quarter last year, registering a growth of 19 per cent. During the quarter, loan assets increased by ₹4,429 crore, a growth of 7 per cent. George Jacob Muthoot, Chairman, said, “Muthoot Finance has continued to deliver a strong performance in Q1 and achieved consolidated loan AUM of ₹76,799 crore. Consolidated profit after tax grew by 27 per cent and stood at ₹1,045 crore. We achieved highest ever consolidated loan assets growth in any Q1 of ₹5,302 crore. Our subsidiaries Muthoot Homefin, and Belstar Microfinance continue to report strong disbursements and as a result the contribution of our subsidiaries to the overall consolidated loan AUM has increased to 12 per cent. Our vision is to remain a leader in gold loan business and at the same time cater to our large customer base with various loan products to meet their varied requirements.” - Business Line

🍒     City Union Bank posts ₹227 cr net profit in Q1 : Old private sector lender City Union Bank (CUB) has reported a profit after tax of ₹227 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, when compared with ₹225 crore in the year-ago quarter. The bank reported a drop in operating profit at ₹414 crore in Q1FY24 against (₹447 crore) . While interest income rose 15 per cent to ₹1,266 crore in June 2023 quarter compared with ₹1,099 crore in June 2022 quarter, the non-interest income dropped to ₹191 crore from ₹218 crore. Total income grew 11 per cent to ₹1,457 crore when compared with ₹1,317 crore. Net interest income fell 23 per cent to ₹523 crore when compared with ₹525 crore. The gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio increased to 4.91 per cent from 4.65 per cent in June 2022 quarter, while net NPA fell to 2.51 per cent from 2.89 per cent in the year-ago quarter. The bank’s return on assets stood at 1.40 per cent against 1.46 per cent. - Business Line

🍒     ESAF post 23% growth in net profit at ₹129.96 crore in Q1 FY24  : ESAF Small Finance Bank Limited has registered a 23 per cent growth in its net profit in Q1 of FY24 at ₹129.96 crore compared to a net profit of ₹105.97 crore during the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year. The operating profit grew 33.46 per cent to ₹300.67 crore from ₹225.29 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year. The net interest income increased by 30.46 per cent to ₹585.45 crores for Q1, underscoring ESAF Bank’s prudent lending practices and interest rate management strategies. - Business Line

🍒     Banks cautious on lending to small businesses despite high demand, lower NPAs: Report  : Lenders are cautious on providing loans to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) segment, despite high demand, availability of analytical data and lower delinquencies, a report said on Thursday. Demand for loans from MSMEs grew 33 per cent in the January-March period of the previous fiscal (Q4, FY23) compared to the year-ago period, but the supply of credit was up by only 11 per cent during the quarter, the report by credit information company Transunion Cibil, in association with Sidbi said. "Credit flow to the MSME sector is slower compared to the increasing demand as lenders follow a cautious approach on commercial lending," the report said. The reluctance of banks is despite the availability of analytical data, which gives more comfort to a lender while taking a decision, and a sharp improvement in asset quality in the segment. - economic times

🍒     India's forex reserves fall $2.41 billion to $601.5 billion as on August 4 : India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $2.41 billion to $601.453 billion for the week ending August 4, latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday. Previously, forex reserves fell by $3.2 billion to $603.87 billion for the week ended on July 28. According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, Foreign currency assets (FCAs) dropped by $1.94 billion to $533.4 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. - economic times

🍒     NCLAT stays insolvency of Coffee Day Global till next hearing on Sep 20 : In a relief to Coffee Day Global Ltd (CDGL), which owns and operates popular Cafe Coffee Day chain, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday stayed an order of NCLT that directed initiation of insolvency proceedings against the company. Passing an interim order, a two-member tribunal of the Chennai bench of the appellate tribunal, issued notices to the Interim Resolution professional and its financial creditor IndusInd Bank and stayed the operations of the order passed by the Bengaluru Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The NCLAT said it has "found that there are arguable points involved in this appeal, therefore, we issue a formal notice to the Respondents who are already on caveat, enabling it to file its reply." - Business Standard

🍒     Manappuram Finance post consolidated net profit at ₹498 crore in Q1 : Manappuram Finance Ltd has reported a consolidated net profit of ₹498 crore in Q1 of FY24, an increase of 20 per cent over the preceding quarter in March 2023. In comparison with the corresponding figure of ₹281.9 crore for Q1FY23, the profit is higher by 76.7 per cent.  The NBFC’s consolidated assets under management (AUM) for Q1 stood at ₹37,086.3 crore, registering an increase of 20.6 per cent over the corresponding quarter of FY23. - Business Line

🍒     India is emerging as global growth engine: RBI Governor : MPC, on Thursday, maintained status quo on the key policy rate citing concerns around elevated food inflation, weather-related disruptions and geo-political issues. However, India is emerging as the new growth engine for the world and is standing out for its resilience and stability, according to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. “The financial sector stability is well maintained. Stability is a public good and market participants and financial institutions have an equal share in preserving financial stability. We look forward to their cooperation in this regard,” Das said. - Business Line

🍒     Bankers’ views on RBI policy : Dinesh Khara, Chairman, State Bank of India : The RBI policy communication is nuanced, and has rightly exercised caution and warranted vigil on the inflation trajectory given the current jump in vegetable prices. With capacity utilisation currently running higher than the long-term trend, the central bank does have the bandwidth to look through the current increase in food prices. On the developmental front, the widening of options in payment systems, the creation of a digital public tech platform, and putting in place a transparent framework for EBLR are enabling provisions for the creation of an efficient and effective market microstructure. - Business Line.

🍒     Bankers’ views on RBI policy : A K Goel, Chairman, Indian Banks’ Association and MD & CEO, Punjab National Bank : Even after the temporary imposition of incremental CRR to absorb surplus liquidity, there will be sufficient liquidity in the system to meet the needs of the economy. It is pertinent to note that excess liquidity beyond a level could put pressure on inflation. It is heartening to note that growth impulses of the economy continue to remain robust and RBI has kept the projection of GDP for FY 24 unchanged at 6.5 per cent. - Business Line.

🍒     Willis Lease Finance Corporation tells NCLT has the right to file a plea against Spicejet : Willis Lease Finance Corporation Friday told the National Company Law Tribunal that it was well within its rights to file an insolvency petition against Spicejet. WLFC said that its service agreement with four operational creditors, read along with the lease agreements and emails from Spicejet acknowledging the debt to WLFC, established its right to file a petition against the airline for failure to pay lease rent and usage charges on 11 engines. - Economic Times

🍒     Kolkata NCLT approves NARCL plan to acquire twin Srei companies under IBC : The Kolkata bench of bankruptcy court today approved the resolution plan submitted by the government-owned National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd for the twin Srei companies that the Kanoria family once owned. This will be the first acquisition of NARCL after it was formed two years ago with the aim to acquire bad loans from Indian banks. NARCL, which gave the highest offer among the three bidders, will now seek approval from the Reserve Bank of India to acquire Srei Equipment Finance and Srei Infrastructure Finance. - economic times

🍒     Market extends losses; Sensex down 366 points, Nifty below 19,450 : The Indian equity market ended lower for the second consecutive session on August 11 amid selling across the sectors barring PSU banks. At close, the Sensex was down 365.53 points, or 0.56 percent, at 65,322.65 and the Nifty ended 114.80 points, or 0.59 percent, lwoer at 19,428.30. After a negative start, the benchmark indices extended the losses as the day progressed. They recovered a bit in the afternoon but failed to build on it and finished the session near the day's low. For the week, the Sensex shed 0.6 percent and the Nifty 0.45 percent. Top losers on the Nifty were IndusInd Bank, NTPC, SBI Life Insurance, Divis Labs and UPL, while gainers included HCL Technologies, Titan Company, Power Grid Corporation, UltraTech Cement and Reliance Industries. - moneycontrol.

🍒     Rupee falls 8 paise to 82.74 against US dollar : The rupee depreciated by 8 paise to 82.74 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, tracking a firm dollar against major rivals overseas. Analysts said, weak sentiment in the domestic equity market and elevated level of crude prices nearing USD 87 per barrel also weighed on the domestic unit.On Thursday, the Reserve Bank of India in its bi-monthly monetary policy review decided to keep key interest rate unchanged, but hinted at tighter policy if food prices drive inflation higher. The American currency regained after US consumer price inflation showed moderation in July, raising hopes that the US Federal Reserve would pause rate hike. - Business Line

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