Modi 3.0 legislative plan: Financial registry, composite insurance, IBC changes on 100-day agenda
The Narendra Modi government, confident of being re-elected, has drawn up a busy legislative plan for its first 100 days, which include creation of a national financial information registry, and key amendments to the insurance and insolvency laws, official sources said.

RBI to bring POS players under license regime
Mumbai: It appears that a new category of licenses is soon to be added in the world of financial services. To tighten the offline payments ecosystem, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to come out with guidelines for issuing licenses to operate in the point of sales (POS) business. Third-party POS operators would have to obtain licenses to function in the space. The move is expected to impact players such as Pine Labs, MSwipe, Paytm and BharatPe to name a few.

Finmin pitches for enhanced KYC, due diligence for merchants, business correspondents
FinMin for enhanced KYC, due diligence for merchants & banking correspondents to check fraud
The Hindu Business Line

Revolut gets in-principle approval from RBI for Prepaid Payment Instruments licence
Revolut India on Friday said it has received an in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) including prepaid cards and prepaid wallets in the country. This enables it to operate as a domestic player in the market, the global fintech firm said in a statement. This approval builds upon the existing licences which Revolut India has successfully obtained from RBI to operate as a Category-II Authorised Money Exchange Dealer (AD II) and to be able to provide multi-currency forex cards and cross-border remittance services, it said.

Banks’ margins to shrink but loan growth, lower credit cost to aid PAT
Banks profitability in seen moderating in Q4 FY24 to around 10 per cent y-o-y, on the back of muted NII (net interest income) growth and further shrinking of margins. Margins are expected to shrink 3-12 bps on quarter due to increase in banks’ cost of funds, decline in credit to deposit ratio, and back-book deposit re-pricing, according to analysts. “Deposit growth has picked-up to 13.5 per cent yoy due to RBI’s nudge on higher systemic LDR. However, such growth has come on the back of high-cost retail and bulk deposits, which coupled with some moderation in LDR and unsecured loan growth, could put pressure on margins in Q4,” Emkay Global Financial said in a note.

Banks to see moderation in NIM in Q4 on tight liquidity condition
Banks are likely to see pressure on their net interest margins (NIM) in the quarter ended March 2024 on account of tight liquidity conditions and higher funding cost. However, the quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline in the NIM – the difference between the interest earned and the interest paid by a bank — will be lesser when compared to the previous two quarters, analysts said.

Credit card holders can now set billing cycle and payment due date
Have you ever struggled to pay a credit card bill if the due date is around the last day of the month? This, typically, happens when one is short of funds in the final days of the month, as the next month’s salary is awaited. Currently, the due date is fixed at the time of issuance of the card and to date there has been no flexibility or option for the cardholder to fix the due date. Now, cardholders will have the option to set their payment due date.

PSBs’ fresh slippages to be lower than private banks: Analysts
Public sector banks (PSBs) are likely to post lower fresh slippage ratio than private banks in FY25, experts say. Slippages essentially denote the fresh  bad loans in a year.

IIFL’s gold book could run down in next 2-3 quarters if RBI’s restrictions prolong: CARE Ratings

“The continuation of the restriction on gold loan segment is expected to have negative impact on the overall liability franchise across segments with moderation in its financial flexibility,” the agency said.

These NBFCs offer FD interest rates upto 8.8 per cent. Check latest rates here
Bajaj Finance raised its fixed deposit (FD) interest rates recently. The NBFC offers interest rate in the range of 7.4 percent to 8.10 percent. When tenure is between 12-14 months, the annual interest is 7.40 percent. Bajaj Finance FDs are rated AAA/Stable financial instruments by Crisil.

Fintech start-up funding drops 57% in Jan-March this year: report
 

Why Samir Arora of Helios Capital is betting on travel and PSU stocks
Samir Arora, founder and fund manager of portfolio management service (PMS) firm Helios Capital Management has often favoured three big investment themes—financials, consumptions and information technology (IT). But now, he is slightly tweaking his bets on these sectors.

Let a hundred flowers bloom: Nikhil Kamath’s approach to life and investing
In a world of neat labels and professions, it is difficult to assign one to Nikhil Kamath. He is the co-founder of India’s largest brokerage, Zerodha. But he is also a hedge fund founder (True Beacon), a prop tech and private equity investor (Gruhas) and a podcaster and influencer (WTF). “I enjoy doing your job these days", he tells this reporter with a chuckle. “I keep questioning people and after an intense four-hour podcast recording with my guests, I get to know a great deal about them," he adds.

Bitcoin ‘halving’ to deal a $10-bn blow to crypto miners
For enthusiasts of Bitcoin, a once-every-four-years software update called the “halving” has long been held as one of the keys to propping up its value.

Tata Mutual Fund launches the Tata Nifty Financial Services Index Fund; all you need to know
Tata Mutual Fund announced the launch of the Tata Nifty Financial Services Index Fund. The scheme opened for public subscription on April 08, 2024, and will close on April 22, 2024. The scheme re-opens for ongoing sale and repurchase on April 30, 2024.

Best mutual funds: These 6 focussed schemes gave over 17 percent annualised returns in past 5 years
If you plan to invest in a mutual fund scheme and are clueless as to where should you invest then you are not alone. It is natural to be in a dilemma over opting for one scheme over the other, particularly when all appear similar, if not the same.

Bandhan Mutual Fund launches Bandhan Innovation Fund; all you need to know
Bandhan Mutual Fund announced the launch of the Bandhan Innovation Fund, an open-ended equity scheme following a sectoral or thematic theme.

Quantum MF asks ICICI Bank to stall ICICI Sec delisting over irregularities

It has asked ICICI Bank to “refrain from taking any further steps or do any act towards implementation of the scheme of merger..failing which we will adopt appropriate legal proceedings including filing applications before the NCLT and other regulatory bodies."

FPIs infuse over ₹13,300 crore in equities in April so far amidst bullish economic outlook
New Delhi: Foreign investors have infused over ₹13,300 crore in Indian equities in the first two weeks of the month owing to a resilient domestic economy with promising growth prospects.