Exchange and deposit facility of ₹2000 banknotes at RBI offices temporarily unavailable on April 1
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the facility for exchanging and depositing ₹2000 banknotes will not be available on April 1 at 19 of its issuing offices. The central bank cited operations associated with the annual closing of accounts as the reason for this temporary suspension.

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 .

The RBI is turning 90
Oblivious to the other meaning of the date, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was set up on April 1, 1935 because the financial year starts then. So it is celebrating its 90th, well, what? Birthday or anniversary?

HDFC Bank appoints Sumant Rampal as mortgage business head
Bengaluru: HDFC Bank has announced the appointment of Sumant Rampal as Group Head of Mortgage Business, in the place of Arvind Kapil.  According to the bank’s stock exchange disclosure, Sumant Rampal has been with the bank for over 24 years. He has worked in various business domains, such as corporate banking, emerging corporate groups and business banking verticals.

Banks to remain closed for 14 days in April 2024; Check the full list of bank holidays here
Bank Holidays April 2024: Banks will remain closed for a total of 14 days in  the month of April including public holidays, regional holidays, and regular closures on Sundays, second and fourth Saturdays, as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holiday list. April also includes festivals like Id-Ul-Fitr, Ram Navami and Baisakhi. 

Axis Bank customers rattled by spate of fraudulent international purchases on credit cards, lender plays down concerns
Axis Bank, one of India's leading private sector lenders, is facing a wave of customer complaints regarding unauthorised transactions on their credit cards, prompting concerns about potential data breaches. However, the bank has denied any such breach and attributed the incidents to a limited of cases of fraud, as per an ET report.

Heads up, credit card holders: New rules take effect in April
The start of a new financial year typically introduces alterations in financial rules and policies, and credit cards are not exempt. Below is an overview of key credit card-related updates taking effect from April 1, 2024:

How can you transfer money from a credit card to a bank account?

Transferring money from your credit card to bank account using e-wallet
You can use e-wallets such as Freecharge, MobiKwik, etc. to transfer funds from your credit card account to your bank account. Given below are the steps you will have to follow to initiate the process:

TCS on overseas credit card spend unlikely from Monday
The plan to bring overseas credit-card spend above a threshold under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) and a 20% tax-collected-at-source (TCS) is unlikely to be implemented from April 1, as the government is inclined to defer it again till the elections are over, sources from the government and banks told FE on condition of anonymity.

GNPA ratio of scheduled commercial banks projected to improve to 2.1-2.4 pc by FY25 end: CareEdge
Mumbai: With improving asset quality, the GNPA (gross non-performing asset) ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) is projected to improve from the expected 2.5-2.7 per cent in FY24 to 2.1-2.4 per cent by FY25 end, according to CareEdge Ratings.

Last year, RBI cracked the whip on a credit binge. The results are in
Mumbai: After repeated warnings about a risky credit binge, the central bank cracked the whip in November. Now, the results are showing.

Sundaram Finance to raise funds of ₹16,750 crore via NCDs
Bengaluru: The board of Sundaram Finance Ltd. has approved the proposal to raise funds up to ₹16,750 crore during FY 2024-25 by issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis in one or more tranches.  In addition, the company’s stock exchange disclosure revealed that its additional director Anuradha Rao has been appointed as Independent Director on the board for a term of five consecutive years with effect from April 1, 2024.

NBFC major L&T Finance Holdings receives approval for name change from RoC

Mumbai-headquartered L&T Finance, formerly known as L&T Finance Holdings, is a leading non-banking financial company (NBFC), offering a range of financial products and services.

Indian travellers in UAE can now make UPI payment using PhonePe – Know how it works
If you are travelling to UAE  and you have a PhonePe App then making payment digitally becomes a lot more easier now. This is because PhonePe users will now have the option of making UPI payments at the NEOPAY terminals. They have to simply scan the QR code at Mashreq’s NEOPAY terminals, enter the amount – Voila! the payment is done in a matter of seconds.

Fintech startup funding up by 48% in Q1 2024; raising $429 million between January-March 15: Report
Funding winter in India's tech startup ecosystem persisted between January- March 15 this year, with only $1.6 billion injected--a 51% decline, according to Tracxn report. The tech startups received $3.2 billion of funding in the same period last year.

ICICI Securities delisting: A course correction better late than never
The delisting of ICICI Securities (I-Sec) has been approved by over two-thirds of its public shareholders facilitating its transition into a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank. Notably, the listing in April 2018 did not yield any material benefit to the parent bank. Thus, the move seems like a course correction.

Kedar Deshpande resigns as ICICI Securities’ Head – Retail Distribution
ICICI Securities on Friday announced that Kedar Deshpande, Head – Retail Distribution, has tendered his resignation from the services of the company. The resignation, it added, will take effect from the close of business hours on April 12, 2024. 

NSE revises lot size of derivative contracts for 54 largecap, midcap and 75 SME stocks; Details here
National Stock Exchange, on March 28, issued a circular announcing revisions in the market lot sizes of derivative contracts for 54 individual stocks among the 182 stocks with such contracts.

Bitcoin gained 150% in FY24, to remain in positive trajectory in FY25: Experts
The fiscal year 2024 has been a remarkable year for Bitcoin as it stood out as a shining star by surging over 150% in the past twelve months, outpacing stalwarts like Nifty50 and Gold, which saw gains of nearly 30% and 11%, respectively.

Mutual fund investors have a reason to cheer as the accounts won't get blocked on breaching March 31 deadline
When the deadline to get the fresh KYC (Know Your Customer) was only 72 hours away, the mandate to get a fresh KYC done in order to continue operating mutual fund folios was done away with, albeit for  the current investors.

AMCs outline riders to exit small, midcap MFs in case of market crisis
The policies for small and midcap schemes were prepared by MF trustees following directives from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) earlier this month. Amid concerns of excessive froth, the regulator called for additional measures to protect investors in small and midcap schemes.

PGIM India Mutual Fund launches PGIM India Retirement Fund; all you need to know
PGIM India Mutual Fund announced the launch of the PGIM India Retirement Fund. The scheme opened for public subscription on March 26, 2024, and will close on April 09, 2024. The scheme re-opens for ongoing subscription and redemption within five business days from the date of allotment of units.

Mutual funds: 6 best multi-cap funds to invest in 2024; check list here
Numerous investors are curious about multi-cap mutual funds and their potential to generate long-term wealth. To determine which multi-cap funds can offer the highest returns and add appropriate value to an investment portfolio, it’s crucial to grasp the nature of these funds and understand why so many investors are eager to invest a portion of their earnings in them.

Canara Bank to dilute 13% stake in MF subsidiary via IPO
Mumbai: Canara Bank’s board has accorded approval for initiating the process of diluting a part of its stake by listing its subsidiary, Canara Robeco Asset Management Company Ltd (CRAMC), on the stock exchange through an initial public offering (IPO). CRAMC is Canara Bank’s joint venture with Orix Corporation, Japan, with the bank holding a 51 per cent stake.

AIFs want to know extent of exclusion for equity play now
Mumbai: Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) are seeking clarification from the central bank on the exclusion of equity shares from the definition of downstream investments. The industry wants to know whether the exclusion applies only to investments in equity shares or also includes private equity and venture capital investments in the form of compulsorily convertible instruments.
 

Best mutual funds: These top performing equity funds gave over 40 per cent return in fiscal 2024
As the financial year (FY) comes to a close, mutual fund investors are assessing the returns on the investments they made . Those investors who invested heavily in small and mid-cap funds have earned high returns, and even the blue-chip stocks rose significantly, with Nifty50 jumping 30 percent in fiscal 2024.

FY25 outlook positive for FPI inflows, but likely to see short-term volatility, say experts
The Foreign portfolio Investors investments into Indian securities and other financial instruments during FY24 stood at record ₹339,066 crore, as per NSDL data. While FY22 and FY23 had seen net outflows, the overseas flows into India during FY24 were at least 26% higher than ₹267,101 crore seen during FY21. 

Edelweiss invests ₹775 cr in Prateek Realtors and Suruchi properties
Mumbai: Delhi-based Prateek Realtors has raised ₹325 crore and Bengaluru-based Suruchi Properties ₹450 crore debt from Edelweiss Special Situations Fund at 18-20%, continuing with the trend of big investments by private credit funds into the real estate sector.

VC funding at normal levels: Vertex Ventures
Venture capital funding may have come down from the highs seen in 2021, but the current levels are ‘normal’, Piyush Kharbanda, general partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, said. The bigger problem, according to Kharbanda, is the mismatch between the expectations of startups and venture capitalists.

HSBC completes sale of Canadian unit to Royal Bank of Canada
HSBC Holdings said it completed the C$13.5 billion ($9.96 billion) sale of its Canadian unit, HSBC Bank Canada, to Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) on Thursday. The transaction will result in the recognition of an estimated gain of $4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024, HSBC said in a statement on Friday.