Unsecured lending moves preemptive, in interest of sustainability: Shaktikanta Das
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the recent tightening of norms on unsecured lending is a preemptive and targeted move in the interest of sustainability. Addressing the annual FIBAC event here, he said the RBI excluded certain sections like loans for house and vehicle purchase, and also the ones availed by small businesses, because of the advantage on the growth front they have.

Tougher unsecured loan norms a preemptive move, in interest of sustainability: RBI Guv
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the central bank’s tougher stance on unsecured loans earlier this month is a “preemptive” move in the interest of sustainability.

Higher risk weights a pre-emptive measure for sustainable lending: RBI Das
Mumbai: The recent mandate to increase risk weights for unsecured consumer loans by banks and NBFCs is a precautionary measure taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure sustainable lending, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

RBI Guv Das flags increasing interconnectivity between banks and NBFCs
Flagging increasing connectivity between banks and NBFCs, Reserve Bank of India's Governor, Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said banks must constantly evaluate their exposure to NBFCs and exposure of individual NBFCs to multiple banks.

Crypto road map ready, G20 backs finance track agenda: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said a road map for dealing with crypto assets, with provisions for “tailor-made measures” to mitigate risks specific to emerging markets and developing economies, has been broadly endorsed by the G20 grouping.

Jio Financial Services seeks RBI approval to convert as CIC from NBFC

According to the exchange notification, "This is to inform that as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (while granting its approval  for change in the shareholding pattern and control of the company pursuant to the demerger of the Financial Services Business from Reliance Industries Limited into the Company), the company has submitted the application for conversion of the company from NBFC to CIC."  

IDBI Bank share sale unlikely before 2024 general elections: Sources
The Indian government will likely complete the sale of its majority stake in IDBI Bank only after the country's general elections in mid-2024, said three sources aware of the matter, stretching out a process that began in October 2022.

SBI expects 2-3 bps NIM moderation after RBI diktat on risk weights
State Bank of India’s (SBI) net interest margin (NIM) will likely moderate by a “maximum” of 2 basis points (bps)-3 bps in Q3FY24 due to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) circular on hike in risk weights for consumer consumption loans, Chairman Dinesh Khara told reporters here today on the sidelines on FIBAC 2023.

SBI's unsecured lending to see moderation after RBI's tightening: Chairman
SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on Wednesday said there will be "moderation" in the bank's unsecured lending portfolio following the Reserve Bank of India's tightening of norms. He said the impact of higher risk weights will have a 0.02-0.03 per cent impact on its net interest margins in the December quarter, but a better picture will emerge in the next quarter.

Will increase interest rates if cost of funds rises: SBI Chairman
Mumbai: State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Dinesh Khara on Wednesday said the RBI’s move to raise risk weights on consumer credit, credit card dues and lending to NBFCs may result in an increase in the interest rates by the bank. “If at all my costs of funds are going up, I will certainly increase the interest rates. RWA (risk weighted assets) means that the capital allocation goes up and there is a capital cost. So, naturally it will have an impact,” Khara told reporters without quantifying the percentage increase in the interest rates.

India's banking liquidity deficit at near 5-year high, to narrow next week
India's banking system liquidity deficit widened on Tuesday to the highest in nearly five years on monthly goods and services tax payments, but economists are hopeful the gap will narrow next week.

Not much impact on margins after RBI hikes risk weight on unsecured lending: RBL Bank
Despite having the highest credit card portfolio in terms of retail assets at over 42 per cent, private sector lender RBL Bank does not see much impact on its margins after the RBI increased the risk weight on unsecured lending. Following a massive rise in unsecured lending and delinquencies, the Reserve Bank on November 16 tightened the norms for unsecured consumer credit, asking banks and NBFCs to assign a higher risk weight.

Lenders facing known and unknown challenges, need agile responses: Bank chiefs

Mumbai: Risks emerging from the misuse of technology, challenges to transition to financing sectors that are fighting climate change and increasing geopolitical complexities are the three main worries dominating banking today, CEOs at top lenders said. The solutions in some cases require regulatory intervention to ensure the risks do not turn systemic, they said at the FICCI-IBA banking conference.

IOB to sell Rs 457-crore MSME NPAs, eyes 60% recovery

Mumbai: Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has put a ₹457- crore portfolio of non-performing assets (NPAs) from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on sale The bank expects a minimum of 60% recovery with half of it in cash, documents accessed by ET showed.

StanChart GBS to move all of its 16,000 employees in Chennai to a new integrated campus by 2025
Standard Chartered Global Business Services India (StanChart GBS), a part of the UK’s Standard Chartered group, will move all of its 16,000 employees from four locations, including Haddows Road, in Chennai to a new integrated 7.40 lakh sq ft facility at the DLF Downtown by 2025. This means the sprawling 4.4 acre No. 1 Haddows Road property where StanChart GBS has been functioning for the last 23 years will be up for sale. By 2025, StanChart GBS India is all set to consolidate its existing offices in Chennai into one future-centric workspace, Neeraj Sinha, Chennai site lead and Head- Global Finance Services, Standard Chartered GBS India, told businessline. He did not give the investment in the new campus, which will become the largest office of StanChart across the globe.

Nabard withdraws Rs 5,000 cr bond issue over high yield bids for coupon

The state-owned company had invited bids for bonds maturing in three years. The issue had a base size of Rs 2,000 crore and a greenshoe option of Rs 3,000 crore.  

Credit card spends rise 38%, hit all-time high
Credit card spends rose 38.3% year-on-year(y-o-y) to an all-time high of Rs 1.8 trillion in October aided by strong festival season spends.

Explained: The pros and cons of linking RuPay Credit Card to UPI
Source Credit: Vikas Tripathi, Business Standard

New Delhi: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-operated digital transaction platforms, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay, play integral roles in India's cashless economy push. In June 2022, RBI allowed individuals to link their credit cards to UPI, enabling payments by just scanning QR codes.

Unsecured retail loans' growth to ease in FY24: Crisil Ratings
Mumbai: Unsecured retail loans are likely to see slower growth of 20-30% compared to 45% last year, as non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) alter their strategies due to the recent regulatory measures issued by the Reserve Bank Of India, said Crisil Ratings.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das asks NBFC-MFIs to be judicious in using flexibility on interest rates
Stating that some Non Banking Finance Company-Microfinance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs) are making wider net interest margins, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday asked entities to be "judicious" in using the flexibility on the interest rates they charge from borrowers. Speaking at the annual Fibac event, Das said the microlending segment serves marginalised clientele and has emerged as an important financial conduit to foster financial inclusion.

Kfin Tech bets big on overseas opportunities
Mumbai: Kfin Technologies bets big on financial services opportunities in the overseas markets and expects the alternate investment industry and data aggregator business to be a major driver in India. Sreekanth Nadella, CEO, KFin Technologies told businessline that the company manages assets worth $500 billion of mutual funds and about $100 billion from AIF in India.

Cost of funds to rise 12-14 bps, to increase market borrowing: L&T Finance MD
Mumbai: Cost of funds for L&T Finance Holdings could increase by 12-14 bps due to the Reserve Bank of India’s recent move to increase risk weights on unsecured consumer loans, said MD and CEO Dinanath Dubhashi.

NBFCs likely to see assets growth moderating to 16-18 pc in FY24: CRISIL
India's NBFC sector is expected to record a moderate growth of 16-18 per cent in the current fiscal because of relatively slower expansion on unsecured retail loans due to the recent regulatory measures issued by the RBI, CRISIL Ratings said on Wednesday. Assets Under Management (AUM) of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) are set to log a healthy 14-17 per cent growth next fiscal on the back of continued strong credit demand across retail loan segments, it said in a release.

GMR arm raises Rs 2,475 crore to refinance debt

JP Morgan, Tata Cleantech Capital, Aditya Birla Finance, ICICI Bank and India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) have provided a ₹2,475 crore debt facility to GMR Goa International Airport Ltd (GGIAL), a special purpose vehicle of GMR Airports Ltd set up to build and operate the new airport in Goa, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Fedbank Financial Services: Promising franchise at a decent valuation
 

UPI limit: Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, Amazon Pay daily UPI transaction limit
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is now more popular than ever in India. With constant push from NCPI and banks, UPI adoption across India has made it easier for merchants and customers to make even the smallest payments without cash. Easy user interface of popular UPI apps such as Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, Amazon Pay and others have also helped to increase the reliance on UPI in India. Although people use UPI throughout the day, do you know that there is a limit on the amount that you can transact via UPI in a day?

Fintechs to recalibrate business models
Fintechs are expected to recalibrate their business models in order to mitigate the impact of the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular on unsecured personal loans, say experts.

North India leads in fraud credit applications, banks concerned over credit appraisal process of FinTechs

Borrowers from Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh top the list of fraudulent loan applicants. According to a white paper by credit bureau Experian, in this segment, millennials and postgraduates have a very high incidence of application fraud, and this is the highest for loans below Rs 50,000.

SBI-backed payment aggregator Cashfree unveils first no-code KYC link

What KYC Link Offers?

PhonePe’s Indus Appstore to go live in next two-three months
PhonePe’s Indus Appstore will go live in the next two to three months, said Akash Dongre, co-founder & CPO. The mobile app marketplace wants to cater to India’s diverse population for which it has invited Android app developers to publish their applications on the platform, and will charge a zero per cent fee on in-app purchases.

In companies with high quality growth, valuation is not a concern: Richard Liu, JM Financial
Richard Liu, MD-Institutional Equities Research, JM Financial Institutional Securities, says “the way a lot of businesses are going about doing their business planning is that the endeavour is actually to grow faster than the GDP of the country. There are many categories of consumption, which are able to do that. If you are able to do that sustainably and profitably, that is where you have the winners.”

CDSL becomes first depository to register 10 crore Demat accounts
Central Depository Services (India) Ltd on Wednesday announced the crossing of another milestone as more than 10 crore (100 million) demat accounts were registered with the platform.

Institutions raise stakes in ICICI Securities ahead of delisting

Mumbai: Foreign and domestic institutional investors have raised their stakes in ICICI Securities, the investment banking and broking arm of ICICI Bank, in the past three months after the company announced delisting plans in June.

NSE, West Bengal government sign MoU to facilitate fundraising for SMEs in the State
In a significant development, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has forged a strategic partnership with the Government of West Bengal, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday.

Binance CEO CZ violations jaw-dropping blow, but crypto will thrive
CZ’s departure from Binance will trigger some short-term volatility in the cryptocurrency market, but crypto will continue to thrive as more institutional money pours in, predicts the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management and fintech organisations.

The sudden downfall of the crypto titan behind Binance
 

40:40:20 allocation balances both risk and reward: Rahul Singh of Tata Mutual Fund

The year is drawing to a close and the stock market is at the crossroads. On one side uncertainties are looming, but on the other unbridled optimism is driving investors' confidence. ETMutualFunds spoke to Rahul Singh, CIO - Equities, Tata Mutual Fund, to make sense of what is happening in the market. "When we enter a year it is always interesting and challenging. I have not seen any year where we are entering in January and we say that markets will give 20-25%. Every year we enter with the same emotion," says Singh, who was in Delhi recently. "What we have to do is to see what makes sense, how do we change our portfolio, how do we remain sensible in that scenario," he adds.

Edited interview.

How can you reduce portfolio overlap in mutual funds?

Many investors buy multiple equity schemes without the knowledge of significant potential portfolio overlaps, largely negating the diversification intent. While it is not possible to eliminate overlaps completely, there are ways and means to reduce their likelihood and reach the diversification goal.

US yields slip, despite data, as market sees rate cuts next year
Treasury yields pared early losses on Wednesday after rather strong initial jobless claims data unsettled a market that expects the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates around June next year as the U.S. economy slows.

$6-billion influx! Flows to Indian bonds set for highest in 6 years ahead of global index inclusion
Foreign inflows to Indian bonds this year are poised to reach the highest since 2017, as investors lap up local debt before the nation’s entry into global indexes.

Likely entry into Bloomberg index fuels bond volatility

Mumbai: Speculation over the possible inclusion of Indian government securities on Bloomberg's global bond index has imparted volatility to the domestic debt market, causing the 10-year benchmark yield to swing close to a tenth of a percentage point.

Citigroup’s top Saudi banker Carmen Haddad takes vice chairman role
Citigroup Inc. named Carmen Haddad, one of the firm’s most senior bankers in the Middle East, to a vice chairman role as the firm looks to deepen its business in the region. As Citigroup’s country officer for Saudi Arabia, Haddad helped lead the US bank’s efforts to re-establish a presence in the Kingdom in recent years, according to a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg. Haddad will now be vice chairman of Middle East wealth and banking, the memo said.