RBI on IIFL Finance, JM Financial: Actions to ensure ethical business practice, analysts say
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seems to be in on a system clean-up mission after its recent orders on companies like IIFL Finance, JM Financial and even Paytm Payments Bank.

Let customers decide: RBI tells card issuers on choice of card network affiliation
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks and non-banks to let their customers decide the authorised card network for the credit cards issued to them. This effectively means that credit card issuers, especially those with a large customer base, will have to enter into tie-ups with multiple card networks.

RBI found deficiency in 67% of IIFL gold loan accounts put up for auction
Mumbai: The recent audit conduced by RBI has found gold loan-to-value ratio deviation in 67 per cent of the gold loan account at IIFL Finance, which has been directed to stop extending fresh gold loan by the banking regulator on Monday.

Fairfax commits $200 million liquidity support to IIFL Finance amidst RBI ban
Mumbai: Fairfax India Holdings Corporation, backed by Prem Watsa and a longstanding investor in IIFL Finance Limited, has announced its commitment to provide liquidity support amidst the recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) embargo, effective March 5, 2024, on the company’s gold loan disbursements.

RBI not against any fintech; they are free to grow: Governor Shaktikanta Das
Narrative that RBI is killing fintech sector not true: Das
The Financial Express

85% of Paytm wallet users unaffected, rest to link apps to banks: RBI Guv

The Reserve Bank of India on January 31 barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in any customer accounts.

RBI approves appointment of BK Divakara as Whole-Time Director of CSB Bank
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of BK Divakara as a Whole-Time Director (Executive Director) of CSB Bank for three years. The private sector bank will seek shareholders approval for this appointment, per CSB Bank’s regulatory filing. Divakara has been Head-Strategy & Corporate Legal at CSB Bank since June 5, 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of CFO from February 5, 2020 to June 4, 2023.

The silent rise of the public sector banker in private bank boards
Mumbai : Public-sector bankers who would hang up their boots at the end of a long career are increasingly joining boards of private-sector banks, which are welcoming these experienced hands to help navigate a demanding compliance landscape.

For the next 3 years, we will continue to be SFB: Ittira Davis, MD & CEO, Ujjivan SFB
Speaking candidly about what lies ahead for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Ittira Davis, MD & CEO, said that in FY25, the bank plans to increase the share of secured loans to 33 per cent and that its NRC has started the search for the next CEO.

Excerpts: 

Yes Bank is sufficiently capitalised for FY25: Prashant Kumar, MD and CEO
From a focus on profitability to how technology will add to efficiencies, Prashant Kumar, MD and CEO, Yes Bank, spoke at length on a range of issues related to the bank in this exclusive interview with businessline.

Edited excerpts: 

DBS Bank says it deducted 27 per cent salary of its CEO Piyush Gupta for tech glitches in 2023
 

New RBI directions expand customer options in credit card network selection
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued guidelines to enhance customer options and flexibility in credit card issuance by card networks.

Explained: You can choose your own credit card network from 6 September
New Delhi: From 6 September, both banks and non-banking financial institutions issuing credit cards must offer customers the option to select from multiple card networks, including RuPay, Amex, Mastercard, Visa and Diners Club at the time of issuance or renewal. 

Buy your car with a credit card, save 4-11% on costs
Imagine buying a car worth ₹12 lakh and getting cashback worth two flight tickets to Singapore. Well, you can make it happen. The only rider is that the purchase has to be made with a credit card. In Ranchi, Gaurav Nishant swiped his plastic for the ₹7 lakh down payment of his car to cash in on the card’s potential rewards. Nishant earned air miles worth ₹50,000-58,000 (see graphic). “I have been using credit cards for nearly nine years now to earn rewards on my spends. It was only natural that I would use a credit card for such a high value expense. It earned me 7-8% rewards," said Nishant.

RBI says banks have to offer customers a choice of credit card network
Let customers decide: RBI tells card issuers on choice of card network affiliation

Visa, MasterCard or RuPay? Soon, you'll get to choose your network
The central bank has decided to give consumers the power to choose between card networks such as Visa or Mastercard, among others, when a new credit card is issued. Existing credit cards, too, can be moved to a different network of the consumer's choice when they come up for renewal.

Jefferies downgrades IIFL Finance, expects RoE hit of 460-480 bps
Brokerage firm Jefferies has downgraded its rating on IIFL Finance following RBI’s directive to the company to stop incremental gold loan sanctions, citing hit on earnings due to rapid unwinding of the profitable gold loan book (32 per cent of AUM), lower co-lending income and potentially higher cost of funds.

8 NBFCs to raise $2 bn through ECB after positive outlook for Indian firms
The NBFCs, which filed for ECB in January with the Reserve of India (RBI), include REC (over $500 million), Tata Motors Finance ($200 million), L&T Finance Holdings ($125 million), and Shriram Finance ($750 million), according to the RBI data.
 

IIFL Finance to receive $200 million liquidity support from Fairfax after RBI ban
India’s IIFL Finance said on Wednesday that top shareholder Fairfax India has agreed to provide up to $200 million in liquidity support to the company, days after the country’s central bank barred the firm from disbursing gold loans, raising liquidity concerns among investors and lenders.

Fiserv Appoints Murali Nair as General Manager of India and South Asia
NYSE-listed Fiserv Inc, a global provider of payments and financial services technology, announced the appointment of Murali Nair as General Manager of India and South Asia.  Nair will oversee all aspects of the Fiserv client franchise in India and across South Asia, driving the delivery of innovative banking and payments solutions used by financial institutions, merchants and consumers in these markets.

Deposit-taking NBFCs shrink on RBI strictures
The increasing regulatory scrutiny on deposit-taking entities of non-banking financial companies, and the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) reluctance in handing out fresh deposit permits has compelled shadow banks to look for alternate sources of funding.

Paytm's UPI transactions drop in February amid regulatory challenges

The share of UPI payments processed by Paytm saw a reduction to less than 11 per cent in February, down from around 11.8 per cent in the previous month. This downward trend reflects a broader decline in Paytm's market share, which stood at 12.8 per cent in August last year.

Google, Walmart gain Indian users after Paytm curbs
Google and Walmart Inc are rapidly gaining customers from India’s Paytm, the fintech pioneer struggling to navigate central bank restrictions and the potential shutdown of a key payments affiliate.

BharatPe may appoint CEO in next 2 months: Rajnish Kumar
BharatPe will likely appoint a permanent chief executive officer in the next two months, says non-executive chairman Rajnish Kumar. The former State Bank of India Chairman tells Ajay Ramanathan that the management at Byjus is making a serious effort to ensure that the company stays afloat. Excerpts:

Bitcoin back on the rise after vaulting to new record
Bitcoin rallied again on Wednesday after retreating briefly from an all-time high it set less than 24 hours earlier, as bulls showed few signs of pulling their bets on the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Bitcoin jumped 5% during the Asian session to an intraday peak of $66,540 in volatile trading, not too far from Tuesday’s record high of $69,202. It was last 4% higher at $65,946.

Bitcoin faces a downfall liquidating over $1.1 billion
After Bitcoin (BTC) reached $69,200, on March 5, 2024, breaking all records, the sudden downfall to $59,700 created a severe leverage wipeout, liquidating over $1.1 billion worth of derivatives trading positions across all digital assets through the past 24 hours. 

ED files charge-sheet against Chinese-origin directors, others in crypto mining ‘app’ case
A charge-sheet has been filed under the anti-money laundering law against 299 entities, including 10 persons of Chinese origin, in an investigation linked to alleged duping of investors in the name of mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins, the Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday.

Ethereum goes beyond the $3,800 mark
With Bitcoin (BTC) setting records in 2024, Ethereum seems to follow a close second, as the cryptocurrency has gone past the $3,800 level. From what it’s understood, the cryptocurrency last clocked its record level in January 2022. 

SEBI should be specific about addressing small-cap risks
SEBI’s (Securities Exchange Board of India’s) missive to the mutual fund industry warning of froth building up in small-cap stocks has come not a day too soon. Euphoria in this segment has been all too evident with small-cap indices delivering returns of 60-70 per cent in the past year compared to a 26 per cent gain in the Nifty 50. The breathless rally has bid up the price-earnings multiple of the Nifty Smallcap 250 Index to 29 times, a stiff premium to the Nifty 50’s 23 times. Enthusiastic retail buying of penny stocks is a sign of a bubble in the making. Small-cap funds have garnered a lion’s share of recent inflows into mutual funds, with their managed assets shooting up by 90 per cent in one year.

Women fund managers handle 12.63% of mutual fund assets: Morningstar

The report said that there has been a sharp uptick of 50 per cent in the assets managed by women, year-on-year (Y-o-Y).

Indian Government Securities inclusion in Bloomberg EM Index to attract $3-4 bn foreign investments
Mumbai: The proposed inclusion of Indian Government Securities (G-Secs) in the Bloomberg Emerging Market (EM) Local Currency Government Index and related indices could attract foreign portfolio investments of about $3-4 billion in these securities, per expert estimates.

Adani Group in discussions to offer $1.2 billion more bonds by June

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate is considering offering another $1.2 billion of dollar bonds by June, people familiar with the matter said, fresh off a note issuance this week that was also part of plans to raise at least $2 billion in mostly new debt this year.