RBI will not exchange Rs 2,000 note on April 1, 2024
The Reserve Bank of India, the central bank of the country, has announced that the facility to exchange Rs 2,000 note will not be available on Monday April 1, 2024, due to operations associated with the Annual Closing of Accounts.

Banks’ see pick up in credit demand from farm, industry and services sector in Feb 2024
Mumbai: Non-food bank credit registered a higher growth of 16.5 per cent year-on-year (yoy) in February 2024 amid healthy credit demand from sectors such as agriculture and allied activities, industry and services. However, personal loans growth moderated due to decelerated growth in vehicle loans and other personal loans, according to RBI’s data on Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit .

Not a long weekend for banks: Banks will remain open on March 30, 31, says RBI; Here are services that will be available
Banks open on March 30, 31: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that all branches of the banks dealing with Government receipts and payments will remain open for transactions on March 30 and March 31 just as any working week day. The offices will have normal working hours. 

It is possible to imagine India striking out into the next decade with a growth rate of 10%: RBI DG Patra

The Deputy Governor emphasised that the Indian economy is at a sweet spot in its evolution.

Bank of India gets Rs 564 cr I-T penalty order
The Income Tax department has levied a penalty of Rs 564.44 crore on Bank of India, the public sector lender said on Thursday.

Bank credit grows 21% in February
Overall bank credit rose nearly 21% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 162.1 trillion as on February 23, the latest data on sectoral deployment of credit released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday showed. Agricultural and allied activities and retail loans drove the growth in credit.

PNB branches to remain open on Sunday for govt dealings
New Delhi: In compliance with the circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India, Punjab National Bank (PNB), the nation’s leading public sector bank, announces that branches dealing with government receipts and payments will remain open for transactions on March 31, 2024 (Sunday) so as to account for all the government transactions in the FY2023-24 itself.

Institutions vote in favour of ISec merger, ICICI Bank says it is in shareholders’ interest
Mumbai: Shareholders of ICICI Securities has approved the proposed merger with parent ICICI Bank. However, the green signal was largely driven by support from institutional investors even as majority retail shareholders voted against the proposal. The voting result showed that 71.89 per cent shareholders voted for the delisting. Of the institutional investors, 83.8 per cent voted positively, swinging the vote in their favour. On the other hand, only 32 per cent of retail shareholders were in favour of the delisting.

ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities issue clarifications over ‘concerted campaign’ against delisting proposal
ICICI Bank clarified on Thursday, March 28 that it is undertaking efforts to reach each out to equity shareholders to explain proposed delisting scheme of ICICI Securities. The outreach has been to explain the e-voting process with the primary objective of maximizing participation in the vote.

Fixed Deposits: Earn up to 8.10% interest on 1-2 year FDs – Check latest rates
Fixed deposits (FDs) have long been a preferred investment avenue for risk-averse investors, offering stability and assured returns. However, navigating the plethora of options can be daunting. We’ll explore when to consider fixed deposits, how to select the right bank, and techniques for comparing interest rates effectively.

Nidhu Saxena named MD & CEO of Bank of Maharashtra
Bank of Maharashtra on Thursday announced the appointment of Nidhu Saxena, Executive Director, Union Bank of India as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO). The appointment, it said, is for a period of three years with effect from the date of assumption of office, that is, from March 27, 2024 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Axis Bank credit card customers allege fraudulent transactions on the social media. Details here
Axis Bank customers have faced fraudulent transactions, as some of them have highlighted their concerns on social media.

Canara Bank to sell a 13% stake in Canara Robeco AMC through IPO

However, the stake sale is subject to regulatory approvals from the Reserve Bank of India and the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Sumant Rampal appointed as head of HDFC Bank's mortgage business

“Based on the recommendation of the Nomination & Remuneration Committee, the Board of Directors of the Bank, at its meeting held today, March 28, 2024, has approved the appointment of Sumant Rampal as Group Head - Mortgage Business with effect from March 28, 2024, in place of Arvind Kapil,” the largest private sector bank informed the exchanges.

Pankaj Dwivedi takes charge as ED at Union Bank of India
Mumbai: Pankaj Dwivedi has taken charge as an Executive Director at Union Bank of India (UBI). Following his appointment, the bank now has four Executive Directors (EDs). Besides Dwivedi, the other EDs are – Nitesh Ranjan, Ramasubramanian S and Sanjay Rudra. A Manimekhalai is helming the bank as MD & CEO.

SBI Customers? Pay more for debit card usage from April 1 – Check full list of charges
The State Bank of India (SBI) has revised the annual maintenance charges for different categories of SBI debit cards, including Classic, Silver, Global, and Contactless, that will take effect on April 1. As per the official website, there will be a revision in the current annual maintenance fees starting next month.

Why RBI is wary of co-branded credit cards
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is tightening its scrutiny of the credit card industry. Recently, it asked Federal Bank and South Indian Bank to stop issuing new co-branded credit cards. Mint explains the regulator’s concerns around such cards.

Banks ready systems for capturing int'l credit card spends under LRS
Last year, the government announced that credit card spends in a foreign currency would be a part of LRS’ annual limit of $250,000. Additionally, cardholders also have to pay tax collected at source (TCS) of up to 20 per cent for foreign transactions made through a credit card. The implementation of the scheme was deferred following representations from industry players.

Credit cards breach the 100 million mark in India, shows RBI data
As of February, the outstanding number of credit cards in the system was 100.60 million, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India showed. In February 2023, the total cards in circulation stood at 99.5 million.
 

Credit cards-in-force cross 10 crore mark in Feb even as spends fall 10%
Cards-in-force crossed the milestone of 10 crore cards outstanding in February, even as spends declined by over 10 per cent in the truncated month, as per data by the Reserve Bank of India.

Kotak Bank acquires Sonata Finance for Rs 537 crore
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Thursday said it has acquired NBFC Sonata Finance Pvt Ltd for Rs 537 crore.

Bajaj Finance rallies on buzz over arms' IPO plan
Source Credit: Business Standard

Bajaj Finance advanced 3.09% to Rs 7,240.35 after the NBFC's subsidiary, Bajaj Housing Finance is anticipated to launch an initial public offering by the end of 2024.

Bajaj Finance surges 13% in 2 weeks; Here's what is fueling the rally

Shares of Bajaj Finance were trading higher for the seventh straight day. In the past two weeks, the stock has rallied 13 per cent.

Mahindra Finance pivoting itself to become the preferred financier for emerging India: Raul Rebello
In this podcast, Raul Rebello, MD & CEO – Designate, Mahindra Finance, provides insights about the NBFC sector and his vision for Mahindra Finance. With over two decades in the BFSI space, Raul has expertise in rural lending, Gold Loans, MSME lending, Agri-Value chain Deposits, Payments and Insurance.

PhonePe users can now make UPI payments in UAE via NEOPAY Terminals
 

Indian stock market holiday: NSE, BSE shut today on account of Good Friday
Stock market holiday: On account of Good Friday 2024, trading at BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange) will remain closed on 29th March 2024 i.e. today. So, the Indian stock market today will remain closed for the entire session and now it will resume trading on Monday at its usual timings. This means, there will be no action taking place at the BSE and NSE today. According to the list of stock market holidays in March 2024, NSE and BSE will remain closed on 29th March 2024 for the Good Friday festival.

T+0 settlement cycle: 90 trades take place in 10 stocks on first day

The first day of the optional T+0 or same day trade settlement cycle witnessed a total of 90 trades in 10 securities that were available for trading in the segment, BSE said on Thursday.

More than half of equity MF schemes fail to beat benchmark

Further, 74 per cent of actively managed mid and small cap funds have underperformed their benchmark of BSE 400 MidSmall Cap Index which was up 44 per cent last year.

VC firm Accel nurtures 8 early stage Indian startups, AI and Industry 5.0 in focus
Leading venture capital firm Accel has announced eight early-stage Indian startups in the third cohort of its accelerator program called Atoms which backs pre-seed ventures building in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Industry 5.0 domains. 

Warburg Pincus exits IDFC First Bank, sells entire stake for Rs 1,195 cr

Warburg Pincus offloaded the shares of IDFC First Bank through its affiliate Cloverdell Investment Ltd on the BSE.
 

Karnataka Bank approves issue of 2.64 crore equity shares to eligible qualified institutional buyers
 

LVMH-backed PE firm sets up India JV with HUL ex-chief Sanjiv Mehta
Private equity firm L Catterton, backed by French luxury group LVMH, has set up an India-focused joint venture partnership with Sanjiv Mehta, former managing director and CEO of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), it said on Thursday. The JV will invest in consumer-sector companies as it increases its India bet.

India’s bond market poised for $30 billion boost: StanChart
India’s bond market will likely see an additional inflow of as much as $30 billion after the nation’s inclusion in a major global index starts in June, according to Standard Chartered Plc.

SBI Card to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore in capital via Tier II bonds

The Gurugram-based unit of State Bank of India (SBI) is also looking to raise Rs 2,000 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to support business growth.

PNB board approves Rs 10,000 crore fundraising in FY25 by issuing bonds
"The Board of Directors of the Bank, in its meeting held today, has approved raising of capital for an amount up to Rs 10,000 Crore through Basel III Compliant Bonds (Additional Tier-I Bonds up to Rs 7,000 Crore and Tier- -II Bonds up to Rs 3,000

Crore), to be raised in one or more tranches during FY 2024-25," PNB said in a regulatory filing.