RBI issues omnibus framework for recognising SROs for regulated entities
The Reserve Bank on Thursday issued an omnibus framework for recognising Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) for its regulated entities, under which SROs would be required to establish minimum benchmarks for their members. The RBI said SROs enhance the effectiveness of regulations by drawing upon the technical expertise of practitioners and also aid in framing/ fine-tuning regulatory policies by providing inputs on technical and practical aspects.

HDFC Bank: RBI denies Bank's plea to classify old HDFC Bonds as infrastructure debt; HDFC share price in green
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected a request from HDFC Bank to allow it to classify securities worth over ₹1 lakh crore issued by the erstwhile HDFC Ltd as infrastructure bonds, according to a report by Economic Times. The infra classification would have granted regulatory relaxations to the country's largest private sector bank.

While fintech platforms offer immense benefits, they also heighten risk of misuse and fraud: RBI Dy Guv Swaminathan

He emphasised that these new risks must be addressed through robust regulatory frameworks, enhanced cybersecurity measures and increased consumer awareness initiatives.

Robust regulatory frameworks must to check digitalisation risks, says RBI Deputy Governor
 

1 cr customers of rivals using its mobile banking app: ICICI Bank
Mumbai: ICICI Bank on Thursday said 1 crore customers from rival banks are using its interoperable mobile banking application, Imobile Pay.

Banks’ CD ratio to moderate to 75% over FY25-27
Banks are likely to see some relief on the credit-deposit (CD) front as the ratio may to moderate to 75% over FY25-FY27, from nearly 80% in the current fiscal, largely led by a lower credit growth and slightly higher deposit growth, brokerage Emkay Institutional Equities said in a report on Thursday.

All PSBs in India saw decrease in NPAs over last 6 months: Survey
All public sector banks in India showed a reduction in non-performing asset levels over the last six months while only 67 per cent of private sector banks reported a decline during the period, said a FICCI-IBA Bankers’ survey released on Thursday.

HDFC Bank completes Rs 9,553 cr stake sale in education unit HDFC Credila

HDFC Credila will no longer be an arm of the bank. "HDFC Bank has, as of March 19, 2024, sold 14,01,72,180 equity shares of HDFC Credila to the acquirers," said the lender in an exchange filing on Wednesday night.

IOB launches two new gold loan products to address unique needs
 

Opportunities in current mid-cap sell-off: HSBC
Mumbai: HSBC Global Research prefers large-caps but sees opportunities in the current mid-cap sell-off too. The research house remains constructive on the broader market and ruled out any deep sell-off in mid-caps from current levels. It said that mid-cap valuations had come down to the five-year mean and that the mid-cap market breadth had declined to 73 per cent from 90 per cent and above at the beginning of the year (60 per cent being the normal cycle average breadth) — signalling some potential but limited downside. HSBC said the mid-cap premium to large caps had fallen to about 17 per cent from 30 per cent in January, which appears to be in the mid-cycle range.

SBI Card and Titan launch ‘Titan SBI Card’
New Delhi: SBI Card, country’s largest pure play credit card issuer, has partnered Titan Company Ltd (Titan) to launch ‘Titan SBI Card’. This one-of-its-kind shopping credit card is designed for addressing the consumers’ aspirational spending needs. With features that include cashbacks, Titan gift vouchers and Reward Points, cardholders can avail exclusive benefits of over ₹ 2,00,000 worth per annum., according to SBI Card.

Retail pools continue to display stable performance across asset classes, says ICRA
ICRA-rated securitised pools have shown healthy performance, with collection efficiencies ranging from 92 per cent to 107 per cent across all asset classes in FY2024 so far. This, ICRA said, was aided by a favourable operating environment, rigorous collection efforts, and adoption of digitised processes. Housing Loans (HL) and Loans Against Property (LAP) pools have showcased steady collections in FY2024 so far. This can be attributed to the critical nature of the underlying collateral for the borrowers and advances in online collection methods.

RedBus eyes 25% growth; will partner with NBFCs to provide microfinancing to bus operators
New Delhi: Following a period of post-pandemic recovery, RedBus, the world’s leading online bus ticketing platform, is ready to shift gears. The company has outlined an ambitious growth strategy with significant expansion plans for 2025, fuelled by a steady 25 per cent increase in revenue over the past year. “This growth is driven by positive signs across the industry,” said Prakash Sangam, CEO of RedBus. “Bus occupancy rates are exceeding a healthy 77 per cent, and we’re seeing a significant surge, well over 20 per cent, in people choosing online platforms like RedBus to book their bus travel,” he said.

Dvara KGFS raises $14.4 m debt from Impact Investment Exchange
 

Ex-Paytm employees run 22 startups worth over Rs 10,000 cr
While the 44 startups of the Flipkart ‘mafia’ generally dominate the headlines, a smaller group of Paytm’s former employees, who have quit the fintech major to launch 22 startups over the years, has hit a collective valuation of Rs 10,668 crore, according to a report from Private Circle.

Paytm UPI: Transaction decline to continue till new customers are added
The Reserve Bank of India had mandated Paytm to shift existing users to a new handle after the Paytm Payments Bank was asked to stop transactions after March 15.
 

Cashfree Payments launches product solution to cut fraudulent transactions

Cashfree’s ‘RiskShield’ enables customers to add limits on the frequency and cumulative sum of transactions that an individual customer is permitted to pay on a periodic basis.

PB Fintech to set up payment aggregator subsidiary
PolicyBazaar promoter PB Fintech Limited has decided to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to carry out the business of a payment aggregator. The proposal received the nod of the Board of PB Fintech on Wednesday.  To be christened as ‘PB Pay Private Limited’, this subsidiary would be a non banking finance company (NBFC) and carry on the business of payment aggregator—domestic and/or cross border or both, as may be permitted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Retik Finance (RETIK) steer altcoin rally as Bitcoin (BTC) targets $90,000 pre-halving
The recent surge in the cryptocurrency market has seen the emergence of an altcoin rally, with Bitcoin (BTC) leading the charge towards a target of $90,000 before the halving event. Driving this altcoin rally are Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Retik Finance (RETIK), two cryptocurrencies that have captured the attention of investors worldwide. As Bitcoin continues its ascent, SHIB and RETIK have emerged as standout performers, steering the momentum of the broader altcoin market.

These ELSS mutual funds gave over 20 percent annualised returns in the past five years. Check details
The power of compounding is so potent that it is often referred to as magic. From doyens of investing such as Benjamin Graham to contemporary market gurus, all and sundry laud the power of compounding.

Mutual funds get GST notices for exit load
The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) has sent show-cause notices to a number of mutual fund (MF) companies in recent weeks, seeking to recover a tidy sum from them as goods and service tax (GST) on exit-load charges. According to an official source, the amount being sought to be recovered from the MF firms could be over Rs 150 crore.

SEBI directs AMFI to stop inflows into overseas schemes of MFs from April 1
Mumbai: Capital market regulator SEBI has directed the Association of Mutual Funds to stop inflows into overseas exchange traded funds from April 1 as it is approaching the overall limit of $1 billion set by the RBI. In January 2022, SEBI stopped mutual fund houses from taking fresh subscriptions in schemes investing in overseas stocks. After the recent fall in overseas market, it eased with the strict overall industry cap of $7 billion.

PE & VC investments fall to $2.2 bn in Feb as big-ticket deals dry up
Mumbai: Private equity and venture capital investments declined to $2.2 billion in February, 39 per cent down when compared with the year-ago period’s $3.7 billion, a report said on Thursday. On a month-on-month basis PE, VC investments have witnessed a decline of 67 per cent. The number of deals were higher at 120 transactions in February, as compared to 86 deals in January and 57 in February 2023, the report by industry lobby group IVCA and consultancy firm EY said. “This is the second lowest monthly total for PE/VC investments since February 2021. We remain cautiously optimistic as the election super cycle unfolds in India and globally, with many large economies going to the polls in 2024,” the consultancy firm’s partner Vivek Soni said.

Indian lenders to chase corporate bonds as new investment rules kick in, treasury officials say
Indian banks will gravitate towards corporate bonds they intend to hold until maturity once new central bank rules kick in next month, as yields are currently elevated and the investments would be spared from market-linked markdowns, treasury officials said.

Bank of England keeps key interest rate steady
The decision was widely anticipated in financial markets and comes a day after the US Federal Reserve also left its key interest rate unchanged. But unlike the Fed, the Bank of England gave few explicit indications that it was getting ready for a series of interest rate reductions in the months to come.