All agency banks dealing with govt transactions to remain open on March 31: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday requested all agency banks dealing with government business to keep their branches open on March 31, 2024. The last day of the current financial year (2023-24) falls on a Sunday.

RBI orders Agency Banks to facilitate government transactions on March 31
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked Agency Banks to keep all their branches dealing with government business open on March 31, 2024 (Sunday). This follows the Government of India’s request to keep all branches of the banks dealing with Government receipts and payments open for transactions on the said day to account for all the Government transactions relating to receipts and payments in the FY24 itself.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh to raise ₹12,000 crore each thru auction on Thursday
Mumbai: After 16 States and one Union Territory successfully mopped up ₹50,206 crore via auction of State Government Securities (SGS) on March 19, two States – Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh – have decided to raise ₹12,000 crore each on March 21.

YES Bank sells stressed loans to Prudent ARC for Rs 203 crore
YES Bank said it has sold stressed loan of Katerra India to Prudent ARC for a cash consideration of Rs 203.40 crore, according to an exchange filing late Tuesday.

NCLAT directs PSBs to not take coercive action against IL&FS, its board
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has directed 11 public sector lenders not to take coercive action against IL&FS and its group companies till its next hearing on May 14. A two-member NCLAT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan also issued notices to the banks, along with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), directing them to file a reply.

High credit-deposit ratio in HDFC Bank only temporary: Chairman
The high credit-to-deposit ratio in the banking industry was not out of sync with India’s rising economic growth profile, HDFC Bank chairman Atanu Chakraborty said. The country’s second largest bank is looking to mobilise more savings from various parts of the country and strata of society, he said. The proposed five-day workweek for bank branches won’t impact the system “terribly” as it would accelerate automation, Chakraborty told Prasanta Sahu. Edited Excerpts

RBI approves re-designation KVS Manian, Shanti Ekambaram as MD, Deputy MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Wednesday announced that the Reserve Bank of India has approved the re-designation of KVS Manian as Joint Managing Director, and Shanti Ekambaram, Whole-time Directors of the Bank, as Deputy Managing Director, with effect from March 19, 2024. 

HDFC Bank completes Rs 9,552-crore stake sale in HDFC Credila
HDFC Bank said on Wednesday it has completed the sale of its stake in education finance arm HDFC Credila for Rs 9,553 crore to private equity firms BPEA EQT and ChrysCapital. After the deal, HDFC Credila will cease to be a subsidiary of the bank.

Good news for homebuyers! Bank of India cuts home loan rates by 15 bps. Check details here
Bank of India cuts home loan rates: Bank of India (BOI),  a leading public sector bank, has lowered its new home loan rates to 8.3% from 8.45% and removed processing fees until the end of this month. They boast the lowest rate among competitors. SBI and HDFC Bank, leading the industry, offer rates starting at 8.4%. The offer is valid until March 31.

Spotlight. Arvind Kapil: The retail specialist has a new task
Earlier this week, when Poonawalla Fincorp announced that Arvind Kapil is the company’s new MD & CEO, it caught many by surprise. Except for a select group at HDFC Bank, industry executives in the banking sector say the move was barely anticipated, especially after he recently completed his silver jubilee at HDFC Bank. 

Nabard projects Rs 2,43,093 crore credit potential for Bihar in 2024-25
The likely estimate has been made taking into account the Reserve Bank of India's priority sector-based guidelines, Central and state government policies and policies for sustainable agriculture and rural development.

MDR continues to suppress RuPay credit card growth
Notwithstanding the concerted push from the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the UPI-linked RuPay credit card has been stifled by lower adoption among merchants. 

Explained: How to make payments using credit on UPI

How does UPI credit work for you?

Neutral rate: There’s no need for a ‘pole star’ to guide RBI’s policy
The pole star, also referred to as North Star, has been synonymous with surety or precision and has been relied upon by humans since time immemorial. In essence, there is no effect of the Earth’s rotation on the angle of vision between our planet and the pole star, giving the impression that it does not move as the night passes.

CreditAccess Grameen receives tax demand of Rs 46.03 crore for AY 2022-23 from Income Tax Department
CreditAccess Grameen, a microfinance company, on Wednesday, announced that it has received a demand order from the Income Tax Department, Ministry of Finance, Government of India on March 19, 2024, seeking additional tax demand of Rs 46.03 crore for AY 2022-23. “We hereby inform you that the company has received Demand Order from the Income Tax Department, Ministry of Finance, Government of India on March 19, 2024, seeking additional tax demand of Rs 46.03 crore for AY 2022-23 under Section 143(3) read with section 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961,” the company stated in a regulatory filing. 

PolicyBazaar’s parent PB Fintech to form a payment aggregator subsidiary
PolicyBazaar’s promoter PB Fintech on Wednesday said its board has approved the incorporation of a wholly-owned subsidiary for payment aggregator business. 

Fintech Q3 loan disbursement value jumps 46%
Fintech loan disbursements rose 12% year-on-year (YoY) to 2.5 crore in October-December, a report by the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) showed on Wednesday. The disbursement value rose 46% to Rs 33,922 crore for the quarter under review.

Bitget implements zero fee for BTC and ETH spot trading to celebrate crypto milestones
Bitget, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, is thrilled to announce the launch of a zero-fee trading campaign for BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT spot trading pairs, effective from March 20, 2024, 0:00 (UTC+8).

MFs miss out on small wonders, and highs
Even as the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI, a benchmark index for smallcap funds, has appreciated significantly in the past one-year and three-year periods, a large number of smallcap schemes have underperformed.

Peak market returns a thing of past: Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC's Patil
With peak returns in the markets already behind, Mahesh Patil, chief investment officer at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC expects a subdued 10-12% return for investors in 2024. 

Reduce liquidity risk in smallcap, midcap funds with asset allocation
The results of the stress tests conducted by mutual fund houses in their mid and smallcap funds show that liquidity risk is higher in the latter category.
 

Indian REITs seek equity classification for greater investor acceptance
Indian real estate investment trusts seek to be classified as equity and included in the equity indices as they look for more acceptability among the expanding investing class, according to the Indian REITs Association, the newly minted apex body for the sector.

Defunct SVB Group to sell Indian subsidiary to First Citizens Bancshares
The bankrupt parent company of Silicon Valley Bank plans to sell its entire stake in Indian subsidiary SVB Global Services India to lender First Citizens Bancshares, it said in a filing on Wednesday.