Centre checks on banks' cyber fraud readiness
The government on Tuesday took stock of the preparedness of the banks and other financial institutions in tackling the challenges arising from cybersecurity in the financial services sector and increasing digital payment frauds. The government has already suspended seven million mobile numbers on account of suspicious transactions, financial services secretary Vivek Joshi said.

Cash may still be king despite pick up in digital transactions

Even as post COVID pick up in digital transactions has slowdown the demand for cash in the country, a research paper by RBI economists says that cash is still a preferred as savings instrument for its 'store of value' and for precautionary purposes and hence demand for cash would rise as the economy grows the paper said.

Stakeholders discuss strategies to tackle cyber frauds in financial sector
The country’s top policy makers, bureaucrats, bankers and regulators overseeing financial and telecom sector on Tuesday brainstormed the strategy and measures that would be taken in coming days to squarely tackle the menace of increased online financial frauds and cybercrimes in the financial sector. The meeting, chaired by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary Vivek Joshi, resolved to renew focus on facilitating seamless coordination between police, banks and financial entities for real time tracking and blocking of defrauded money.

RBL Bank targets 1.5 per cent RoA by FY26
Private sector lender RBL Bank is targeting 1.4%-1.5% return on assets (RoA) and 14%-15% return on equity (RoE) by FY26 end as against 1% RoA and 8.4% RoE during Q2FY24, the bank’s management said in investor meetings.

RBL Bank eyes to open 226 new branches in 3 years
Mumbai: RBL Bank is planning to add 226 branches in the next three years in a bid to grow its total business (deposits plus advances) to ₹2.70-lakh crore, or thereabouts from ₹1,55,096 crore as at March-end 2023. By expanding the branch network to 740 by March-end 2026 from 514 as at March-end 2023, the private sector lender will have a footprint in 24 States (20 States as at March-end 2023), 190 districts (142) and four Union Territories (3).

Up to 9% FD interest rate: Which bank offers highest fixed deposit rate for 2-3 year tenure

Fixed deposit is one of the most secure ways to invest part of your money. Bank fixed deposit interest rates paid by different banks vary, you may need to compare rates to obtain the best one. A fixed deposit often yields a greater interest rate than a conventional savings account.

Arcil among investors eyeing IDBI bad loans

Around a dozen investors, including Avenue Capital-backed Asset Reconstruction Company India (Arcil), Aditya Birla ARC, Invent ARC, Omkara ARC, ASREC, UV ARC, Alchemist ARC, Phoenix ARC and Prudent ARC, have expressed preliminary interest in acquiring IDBI Bank's bad loans of ₹8,842 crore.

Will exceed FY24 recovery target of Rs.4700 cr, Ajay Kumar Srivastava , MD And CEO, Indian Overseas Bank

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HSBC hires UBS’s Gautam Anand for role serving India’s rich diaspora
HSBC Holdings Plc hired a senior private banking executive from UBS Group AG where he ran a team serving wealthy Indians who live overseas. Gautam Anand was appointed Global Coordinator for Global India, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe from Dec. 1, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News.  

Additional housing loans for stalled real estate projects to be treated as standard credit

Any additional housing loans for stalled real estate projects that are being revived under a dedicated government scheme can be treated as standard loans, the Reserve Bank of India has told banks.

Up to 10% cashback, unlimited lounge access: HSBC credit cards get facelift
The major facelift on its cards- HSBC Premier Credit Card and HSBC Cash Back Credit Card - elevate the experience for its affluent and wider base of mass credit card holders, said the company in a statement. 
 

Canara Bank plans to transfer credit card portfolio to its subsidiary
Source Credit: Business Standard

State-run lender Canara Bank is planning to transfer its credit card business and other digital product portfolio to its unlisted subsidiary, Canbank Computer Services Ltd (CCSL), the bank informed the stock exchanges on Tuesday.

Jio Finance kicks off lending business with consumer, merchant loans
Mumbai: Jio Finance, the lending arm of Jio Financial Services, has started its lending operations with three products--personal loans, consumer durable loans and merchant trade credit facility.

BharatPe turns Ebitda positive; clocks October 2023 as the first profitable month
Fintech unicorn BharatPe on Tuesday announced that it has turned Ebitda positive in October with annualised revenue crossing Rs 1,500 crore. Without giving out the actual number, BharatPe in a statement said the financial milestone was attributed to consistent growth across all business lines.

Payment solutions provider PhiCommerce raises $10 million
Bengaluru: SaaS-based omnichannel payment solutions provider PhiCommerce has raised $10 million in a new funding round. The round was led by Beenext, a Singapore-based venture capital firm that invests in India and Southeast Asia. Opus Ventures also participated in the round. The funds will be used to drive PhiCommerce’s expansion into international geographies and develop solutions to further its play in the payments ecosystem, said a statement from the payment solutions provider.

Fintechs bet big on credit line on UPI for growth
Bengaluru: Fintechs are confident on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) credit lines picking up. Firms such as Jupiter, EaseBuzz, PayU are betting on bringing a credit card-like payment experience for consumers on UPI, according to company executives. While RuPay credit cards on UPI was the starting point, now new and exiting fintech firms are also enabling the same. “Given the success of UPI and its ubiquity, we strongly believe that credit line on UPI is the right product to democratise credit access in the country. It will also help in boosting growth for merchants and small businesses. We are in active conversations with few banks to build curated products for the consumers,” said Jitendra Gupta, Founder of neo banking start-up Jupiter.

Mcap of BSE-listed firms hits record high of Rs 331 lakh crore; just shy of entering USD 4-trillion club
The combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms hit an all-time high of Rs 331 lakh crore on Tuesday and is just shy of entering the landmark USD 4-trillion club.

Singapore central banker sees private crypto on its way out
Private cryptocurrencies that failed the fundamental tests of financial services will eventually exit the monetary scene, according to Singapore’s central bank chief. That will leave a future monetary system made up of three key components: central bank digital currencies, tokenized bank liabilities and “well-regulated” stablecoins, Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Managing Director Ravi Menon said in Hong Kong on Tuesday. 

Global regulators to assess if more crypto safeguards needed
More measures may be needed to stop blow-ups at complex crypto firms like FTX from destabilising the wider financial system, the global Financial Stability Board (FSB) said on Tuesday.

Union Mutual Fund launches Union Children’s Fund; all you need to know
Union Mutual Fund announced the launch of the Union Children’s Fund, an open-ended equity scheme following a solution-oriented theme.

RBI move on consumer lending is a brake we needed
On November 16, 2023, RBI notified banks to increase the capital buffers for lending to certain forms of unsecured consumer credits, including via credit cards and NBFCs. This comes in light of the high growth seen across consumer lending in the system, along with some concerns being highlighted on higher delinquencies in smaller ticket sized loans. This move by the RBI improves capital buffers and puts caution in action, which bodes well for the asset quality cycle in the medium term, and ensures credit growth is met with higher risk awareness and financial stability.

How Unifi Capital is set to navigate the MF universe
Mumbai: The investment landscape in the country is loaded with a bevy of mutual funds, but there is always space for more. And, many asset management companies (AMCs) are lining up to launch more funds, albeit with different investment strategies and themes. The latest to join the bandwagon is Chennai headquartered Unifi Capital. That is not a name many investors are familiar with. The AMC, though, is one of the biggest players in the portfolio management service (PMS) space but has shied away from the limelight so far.

India to ease capital, disclosure rules for passive funds - sources
India's markets regulator plans to lower capital and disclosure requirements for fund houses that run passive investment schemes, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

MF assets may have hit Rs 50 trillion milestone amid market rally
In November, the Nifty50 index has gained about 4 per cent so far, while smallcap and midcap indices have rallied close to 8 per cent. While the official figures will be released next month, experts say the AUM this month will hit the Rs 50 trillion milestone if the November inflows remain in line with the collection reported last month. In October, the industry garnered net inflows of Rs 80,500 crore.  

Franklin Templeton elevates Rengaraju as CIO
He takes over from Anand Radhakrishnan who will be leaving the firm on January 12 to pursue other opportunities. Rengaraju will report to Sukumar Rajah, Senior Managing Director & Director of Portfolio Management – EME Asian Equity.

Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund launches Baroda BNP Paribas Gold ETF; all you need to know
Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund announced the launch of the Baroda BNP Paribas Gold ETF. The scheme opened for public subscription on November 28, 2023, and will close on November 30, 2023. The scheme re-opens for continuous sale and purchase within five days from the date of allotment.

Axis India Manufacturing Fund, three other NFOs open this week; should you invest?

Four mutual fund NFOs or new fund offers are open for subscription this week. Baroda BNP Paribas Gold ETF, Union Children’s Fund are open for subscription. Axis India Manufacturing Fund and WOC Large & Mid Cap Fund will open for subscription later this week.

Performance of active schemes fuels mutual fund industry momentum

“The industry has a solid track record of delivering alpha on 10-year returns (70-80 per cent of assets under management (AUM) beat the benchmark), with shorter duration performance also on an upswing. The share of AUM outperforming on a five-year basis has improved to 55-60 per cent (from 35-40 per cent in September 2022) and on a three-year basis to 45-50 per cent,” the report noted.

Actively managed equity funds beat benchmark on widespread market rally
Mumbai: After a long gap, the percentage of actively managed equity mutual fund schemes beating their benchmarks has improved due to dispersion in market performance. Nearly 70-80 per cent of actively managed equity funds have outperformed their benchmarks over 10 years, while the share of equity funds beating benchmarks over five years and three years has improved to 55-60 per cent and 45-50 per cent against 35-40 per cent and 35-40 per cent logged last September.

FPIs investment in debt market hits 2-yr high at Rs 12,400 cr in Nov
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have infused about Rs 12,400 crore into the Indian debt markets in November so far, making it the highest inflow in more than two years, on attractive yields offered by the country’s debt.

Companies pay more for debt fundraise as liquidity's tight

Mumbai: Bereft of the extra funds sloshing about within the financial system during the Covid pandemic, top-rated companies are now paying more to raise money through bond markets, with the pricing of issues by even the likes of Reliance Industries reflecting the divergence between sovereign and corporate debt.