RBI penalises DCB Bank and Tamilnad Mercantile Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central bank of the country has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 63.60 lakh on DCB Bank and RS 1.31 crore on Tamilnad Mercantile Bank.

India can sustain 8% growth, even higher: RBI
Mumbai: India can sustain 8 per cent annual GDP growth and the conducive macroeconomic configuration may become a launching pad for a step-up in the country’s growth trajectory, said an article on the ‘State of Economy’ in the central bank’s March Bulletin published on Tuesday.

Banks’ certificate of deposit issuances surge 25%
Mumbai: Fund mobilisation by Banks through Certificate of Deposit (CD) issuances surged 25 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to ₹7.89-lakh crore during the financial year so far (up to March 8), per RBI data. This comes in the backdrop of deposit growth lagging credit growth. Banks had mopped up ₹6.33-lakh crore via CD issuances a year ago.

Monetary policy has to remain in a risk minimisation mode: RBI bulletin
“Even as inflation is on the ebb with broadbased softening of core inflation, the repetitive incidence of short amplitude food price pressures deters a swifter fall in headline inflation towards the target of 4 per cent,” said RBI officials, including MD Patra, Deputy Governor, in the article “State of the Economy”.

BFSI sector may face headwinds
The RBI wasn’t giving us false warnings when it woke up to systemic risks associated with reckless uncollateralised retail lending by banks and NBFCs. Following the initial regulatory tightening starting in November 2023 it was predictable that the intensity would increase.

Ujjivan SFB raises fixed deposit rates, offers up to 9% interest for senior citizens. Check latest FD rates here
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) has announced a significant revision in its fixed deposit (FD) interest rates, aiming to attract more customers and strengthen its deposit base. The revised rates, effective from March 7, 2024, offer attractive returns for regular customers, Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) and Non-Resident External (NRE) accounts, as well as senior citizens.

Credit growth in FY25 may decline by up to 100 bps
The credit growth is likely to slow down in the next financial year as banks look to go slow on retail loans in response to the Reserve Bank of India’ (RBI) measures aimed at curbing the expansion of retail credit.

Senior Citizen Fixed Deposits offering up to 8.25% interest rates – Check the FD rates of 15 banks
Senior citizen fixed deposits (FDs), specifically tailored for individuals aged 60 and above, offer attractive interest rates and various benefits. However, before diving into this investment avenue, it’s crucial to understand the nuances and considerations associated with senior citizen fixed deposits.

Bank of India cuts home loan rates by 15 bps to 8.3 per cent till Mar 31
Public sector lender Bank of India on Tuesday announced a reduction in new home loan rates to 8.3 per cent from 8.45 per cent and fully waived off processing fees as a limited period offer till the end of this month. The bank claimed that at 8.3 per cent, it has the lowest rate among its peers.

Growing CASA deposits biggest challenge for small banks: ESAF SFB chief
Mobilising low-cost current account, savings account (CASA) deposits continues to be the biggest challenge for small lenders, ESAF Small Finance Bank (ESAF SFB) managing director and CEO K Paul Thomas tells FE.

HDFC Bank raises Rs 2,910 cr via infrastructure bonds for funding projects

The issue size was Rs 1,000 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 2,000 crore, debt market sources said. These bonds carry an “AAA” rating from CRISIL. The money raised through infrastructure bonds is excluded from liquidity norms, i.e., they do not attract Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) norms.

HR, technology integration key challenge for Fincare-AU SFB merger

Jaipur-headquartered AU SFB predominantly serves the North Indian region, and Bengaluru-based Fincare SFB commands a substantial footprint in Southern India, with more than 130 branches and 15,000 employees. The two financial entities currently operate on different technology platforms.
 

Exim Bank extends $23 mn line of credit to Guyana for aircraft procurement

An agreement was signed on March 15 between Guyana's senior minister in the office of the President with responsibility for finance and the public service, Ashni K Singh, and the policy bank's deputy general manager Sanjay Lamba in the presence of High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Amit Telang.

Citibank to launch digital payments product Spring in India in Q2
Mumbai: Citibank plans to launch its digital payments acceptance product ‘Spring by Citi’ in India in the second quarter of this year (April-June), Vineeth Subramanyam, managing director and global head of Spring by Citi said in an interview.

SoftBank India elevates Sarthak Misra to partner role
SoftBank India has recently promoted Sarthak Misra, who previously served as an investment director, to the position of partner, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Japanese investment firm, known for its focus on technology ventures, communicated this to its portfolio companies in India on Tuesday.

SBI Card declares interim dividend of ₹2.50/share for FY24
SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card) on March 19 declared an interim dividend of ₹2.50 per equity share for FY23-24, it said in a filing with the exchanges. This came after the credit card issuer conducted its board meeting earlier the same day.

Torrent Investment seeks refund of deposit money for RCap resolution
Torrent Investments has sought a refund of the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of ₹75 crore, deposited as part of the resolution process for Reliance Capital. However, the same could be delayed due to ongoing judicial proceedings, sources told businessline.

Jio Financial Services invests Rs 40 cr in leasing arm JLSL
Jio Financial Services on Tuesday said it has invested Rs 40 crore in its wholly-owned subsidiary Jio Leasing Services Ltd (JLSL) which has been formed for undertaking leasing of movable assets activity.

Manappuram Finance to raises Rs 6,000 crore capital through NCDs in FY25

This is the fundraise plan for the financial year 2024-25.

Bajaj Finance rises 2% in weak market; BNP Paribas sees up to 35% upside

Brokerage firm BNP Paribas India initiated coverage on the stock with outperform rating and a target price of Rs 9,040 (5x FY26E P/BVPS) and marks it as a preferred BFSI pick. In the past three days, the stock rallied nearly 4 per cent. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.9 per cent at 72,056 at 03:01 pm.

IFCI board okays to raise Rs 500 cr from govt via issuance of equity shares

"12,39,77,188 number of Equity Shares will be issued for an amount aggregating up to Rs 500 crore," IFCI said in a regulatory filing.

Reform the UPI system: We need sustainable digital payments infrastructure
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), set up in 2016, has revolutionized payment practices in India. The number of transactions and amount transacted during February 2024 were 12.1 billion and ₹18.3 trillion, respectively. Such a large-scale shift to digital payments was unthinkable in an emerging economy like India till a few years ago. What is praiseworthy is the trust earned by this payment mode from millions of people, a large fraction of whom are not tech-savvy. UPI transactions have crossed 80% of the total digital payments through various modes in the country.

Uncrowned cash. Alternative payments drive 58% of e-commerce: Report
Bengaluru: The e-commerce sector is witnessing a growth in the use of alternative payment methods, which accounted for nearly 58 per cent in 2023, according to a report by data and analytics company GlobalData. Mobile and digital wallets have eclipsed traditional payment modes, according to the report. Use of cash has fallen significantly, with an increase in preference for Amazon Pay, Google Pay and card payments, among other alternative options.

Credit on UPI stuck due to fee structure, low adoption
A lack of clarity on the interchange fee structure, and lower adoption among smaller merchants has weighed on credit through unified payments interface volumes (UPI), say experts.

Cryptoverse: AI tokens outpace record-breaking Bitcoin
The artificial intelligence boom has hit the crypto market with a bang. Coins linked to AI-focused crypto projects have jumped alongside tech stocks like Nvidia, driven by insatiable investor appetite for applications like machine-learning. The rise of many AI crypto tokens has outpaced even that of bitcoin over the past year as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has surged to record levels.

Mutual funds: Investment in these 5 aggressive hybrid schemes doubled in the past 5 years; check list here
Prior to investing in a mutual fund, investors tend to examine the past returns and compare them against the similar schemes in the same category. The mutual fund schemes which tend to deliver high returns for several years in a row are believed to be more lucrative vis-à-vis the ones which fail to deliver high returns.

MF stress test data has only limited value for retail investors
At the behest of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), starting March 15, small and mid-cap equity mutual funds have begun to disclose monthly data on liquidity stress tests of their portfolios. The first set of disclosures reveal that, in the event of sudden redemption pressures impacting 50 per cent of their assets, small-cap funds may take one to 60 days to liquidate their holdings. To sell 25 per cent, they estimate 0.22 to 30 days. Mid-cap funds have pegged the number of days for liquidating half their portfolios at 0.09 to 34 days and for 25 per cent at 0.05 to 12 days. As expected, the disclosures broadly show that funds with significant large-cap or cash holdings may take fewer days to cash out. But it is difficult to make much of the data beyond this.

Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC promoters sell 11.5% stake; shares fall 3.3%
 

Trustees of CIG Realty Fund move SAT against Sebi order
Mumbai: The Trustees of CIG Realty Fund on Tuesday moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal challenging an order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in December that barred them from accessing the capital markets. 

Bond issues to increase in FY25, lending rates to ease only from H2: India Ratings
Mumbai: The Indian economy is in the middle of coordinated tightening on the fiscal, monetary, liquidity and regulatory fronts--the aggregate impact of which will be felt in FY25. While fiscal and regulatory tightening will continue, monetary conditions starting with the banking system liquidity to begin to ease from H2 FY25, according to India Ratings.

Indian bond yields flattish, focus shifts to Fed rate decision, guidance
Indian government bond yields were little changed on Tuesday after a record state debt issuance went through without any major disruption, while focus shifted to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and guidance on Wednesday.

NaBFID considers $4.8 billion worth of bond sale to double loan disbursements