RBI, banks plan new features to boost CBDC transaction
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is working with lenders to introduce new features to popularise the central bank digital currency (CBDC), the so-called e-rupee, according to six people familiar with the matter. Retail CBDC transactions are averaging close to 18,000 a day, way short of the RBI’s one million-a-day target by 2023 end.

RBI approves reappointment of Sandeep Bakhshi as MD & CEO of ICICI Bank Limited
ICICI Bank Limited on Monday said that it has received Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) nod to reappoint Sandeep Bakhshi as Managing Director and CEO, said the lender through its exchange filing.

SBI offers special discounts on home loan rates as festive season kicks in
With the festival season kicking in, State Bank of India (SBI) has begun offering lucrative home loan discounts. Under a unique campaign for home loan borrowers, India's top lender is offering concessions of up to 65 basis points (bps).

IDFC First Bank's MD and CEO V Vaidyanathan to raise stake in bank
Vaidyanathan will use part of the deal’s proceeds to subscribe to the bank’s fresh shares by exercising stock options. His stake in the bank, which was 0.54 per cent at the end of June, will now go up to 1.23 per cent.

RBI approves reappointment of ICICI Bank MD Sandeep Bakhshi for 3 years
The Reserve Bank of India has approved the reappointment of ICICI Bank MD and CEO Sandeep Bakhshi for three years, with effect from October 4. The reappointment tenure will be effective till October 3, 2026, the private sector lender notified the exchanges. The board of directors of the bank had approved the reappointment in October 2022, whereas shareholders approved it at the annual general meeting held on August 30.

Bandhan Bank CCO Sudheer Reddy Gavula resigns, board approves appointment of Amitava Goswami
Private sector lender Bandhan Bank announced that its chief compliance officer (CCO) Sudheer Reddy Gavula has resigned from his position and has decided to explore professional opportunities outside the Bank. “We would like to inform that Sudheer Reddy Gavula, Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of the Bank, appointed under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, has decided to explore professional opportunities outside the Bank and accordingly, has resigned on September 09, 2023,” the bank said in a regulatory filing.

RBI reluctant to make exceptions for IDBI Bank divestment
As the divestment of IDBI Bank moves to the next phase and an asset valuer is set to be appointed in a few weeks, a top-of-the-mind question for potential bidders, people in the banking fraternity and divesting shareholders – namely the Government of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India – is the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort level in taking certain exceptions to ensure closure of the divestment process.

DBS Bank India targets $1 billion SME loan book by December 2025
DBS Bank India, the local arm of global bank DBS, is eyeing an SME loan book of $ 1 billion by the end of December 2025, Divyesh Dalal – MD & Head- Global Transaction Services, has said. DBS India’s SME book —primarily built digitally—is currently at about ₹ 5,000 crore, growing at a CAGR of 40 per cent over the last three years.

How to make e-rupee payments using UPI?
While Central banks around the globe are pondering whether or not to issue digital currencies, Indian banks went ahead and introduced interoperability between the country’s digital payment platform - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). This makes transactions between retail digital rupee wallets compatible with UPI and consequently paving the way for wider adoption of electronic currency.

SRO will give industry recognition, common voice: Fintech players
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das recent suggestion that fintech firms should form a industry self-regulatory organisation (SRO) has been received with a lot of enthusiasm by large industry players. They believe that such a move will bring in much needed recognition to some smaller players and provide a common voice.

Personalisation for biz to be the next big theme: Razorpay’s Shashank Kumar
In a candid chat with businessline, Shashank Kumar, Founder & Managing Director, Razorpay, spoke at length about how the industry has gained from tightening regulations and what the future holds for the company. Ruling out a public offering in the near-term, Kumar is clear that growth won’t be contingent to obtaining an NBFC licence.

Hitachi Payment evaluating M&A opportunities: MD
Hitachi Payment Services is evaluating opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, managing director and cash business chief executive officer Sumil Vikamsey said.

‘Regulators expect fintechs to be more aligned with banks/NBFCs’
Both will have a place and have pros and cons. Credit lines on UPI make credit more accessible to millions who may not have access to card-accepting merchants. But everybody can be underwritten for a credit card, and some like RuPay also have rewards associated with it. Credit card cycles are usually for a month, whereas credit lines, by intent, are approved for 3-36 months and hence provide flexibility to consumers. They’re both launched at the same time, but I don’t believe one will get killed by the other.

What G20 decided on crypto and foreign assets
The joint declaration adopted by G20 leaders at the recently concluded summit in New Delhi covered a host of issues, including digital public infrastructure, gender equality, money laundering and financial sector reforms for strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive global growth.

Crypto exchange Coinbase clarifies discontinuation reports for Indian users, states breach of standards as reason
Coinbase has initiated a move to clarify reports suggesting it was discontinuing services for its Indian users. Earlier reports from TechCrunch had claimed that all services would cease by September 25, prompting some Indian users to withdraw their funds. However, Coinbase has clarified that the notice was aimed at specific users who were found to be in breach of the exchange's updated standards, not all Indian customers, reported Cointelegraph.

August equity MF inflows cross ₹20K cr to hit 5-month high
New Delhi : Equity mutual funds attracted net inflows of ₹20,133.3 crore in August, the highest in five months, up 168.25% over July, according to latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).

Mutual fund SIPs touch record high in Aug, RBI's CRR move impacts debt AUMs: AMFI
Mumbai: Investors poured in a record Rs 15,813 crore in August through systematic investments plans (SIPs) route offered by mutual fund players, an industry body said on Monday. The Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) also said there was a net outflow of Rs 25,872 crore from the income or debt oriented schemes in August.

MF equity inflows hit a 5-month high on fall in market valuation
Mumbai: Inflows into equity schemes have hit a 5-month high of ₹20,246 crore in August against ₹7,626 crore in July as investors pumped in more money with marginal fall in equity valuations. Moreover, six new fund offers had raised ₹5,002 crore through equity schemes last month, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India data released on Monday.

The Rs 100-trillion MF opportunity
It all started about six decades ago when the Unit Trust of India launched the Unit Scheme-1964 scheme or US 64 as it was popularly known. UTI held sway over the mutual funds market for nearly 25 years thereafter before the space was thrown open to other state-owned players. But even after the private sector was allowed entry it took until May, 2014 for the average assets under management (AAUM) to hit the Rs 10-trillion mark. That had probably less to do with the chequered career of US 64 than the low levels of awareness of the stock market. However, over the last decade the value of assets has soared, crossing Rs 46 trillion in July; in the last three years, the industry clocked in a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 20%. Now, given how fast folios are being added and how the stock market is booming, the Rs 50 trillion mark seems just round the corner.

List of equity mutual funds that beat their market benchmarks regularly
In the past year, as the markets have been rocked by unabating volatility, equity diversified funds have proved their mettle. They have efficiently managed the ups and downs caused by factors such as higher interest rates, rupee depreciation, sticky inflation rate, weak global demand, higher valuations and geopolitical issues. Despite the high volatility, 78 out of 149 equity diversified funds have delivered returns higher than their benchmarks on a point-to-point basis. In other words, 52.4% of such funds have generated positive excess returns (fund return, minus the benchmark return). The beta statistic also reveals the ability of such funds in handling volatility.

Axis Mutual Fund unveils its campaign #SochaSamjhaRisk
Axis Mutual Fund has launched of its new advertising campaign #SochaSamjhaRisk. As per the company, the 360-degree campaign is aimed at encouraging investors to understand individual risk appetites with the help of a risk profiler.

Kedaara pours $229 mn into SaaS firm Perfios
New Delhi : Mumbai-based private equity firm Kedaara Capital is investing $229 million (around ₹1,900 crore) in fintech-focussed software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Perfios Software Solutions.

Equity inflows at 5-month high, SIPs hit record again
Net inflows into open-ended equity mutual fund (MF) schemes jumped to a five-month high in August at Rs 20,161 crore. This was almost thrice the figure recorded in the previous month, showed data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on Monday. In July, net inflows stood at Rs 7,505 crore.

Edelweiss Alternatives to raise $500-million climate fund
Edelweiss Alternatives, part of Edelweiss group, on Monday said it has launched its maiden climate fund, which will invest in different ventures related to cleaner climate. The fund will have a corpus of $500 million (Rs 4,150 crore) and a tenure of 10-12 years.

72% of India’s super rich derive wealth from equity markets
Chennai: The sharp rally in equity markets since March 2020 appears to have helped the affluent not just in India, but in other countries as well. In the last three years, until May 2023, a whopping 84 per cent of them noted a growth in their net wealth. This is according to Bloomberg’s Global Wealth Blueprint, which was released recently.

Latest Sovereign Gold Bond tranche open for subscription; Where to buy these bonds, how to invest in SGB online

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the new tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB). The subscription period for SGB Series II will run from September 11–15, 2023. The nominal value of the bond is calculated as Rs 5,923 per gram.