Governor Malhotra asks lenders to perform or perish as customer complaints double in last two years
Mumbai: Stating that customer complaints reaching the RBI Ombudsman have soared by 50% annually in the past two years to sniff at a 1-million-mark, Reserve Bank governor Sanjay Malhotra has asked banks and non-banks to improve the quality of services as well as to strengthen their grievance redressal mechanisms in a timely manner, saying “in this age of competition you will not survive for long if you don’t provide quality service.”

Investment bankers to take home hefty bonuses this year
Mumbai: Investment bankers are set to take home hefty bonuses this year despite a subdued quarter. The payout could be 125-150 per cent of annual salary, on average, going up to 200 per cent depending on the bank and individual performance.

RBI guv Sanjay Malhotra asks UCBs to remain operationally resilient
RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra urges urban cooperative banks to regain depositors' trust

RBI’s liquidity moves explained
The Reserve Bank of India has conducted several dollar-rupee buy/sell swap auctions and open market operations since January 2025. These measures help the RBI to manage volatility in the forex market and infuse liquidity into the banking system. These policy actions supplement the interest rate cut announced by the RBI governor in early February. An interest rate cut reduces the cost of borrowing and encourages domestic firms and households to spend more. However, if liquidity in the banking system is inadequate, a rate cut may not be effective as banks’ ability to lend money will be limited.

RBI pumped about ₹15.5 lakh cr into the banking system in the last 2 months: Bulletin
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has injected liquidity – durable and transient – aggregating about ₹15.5 lakh crore into the banking system in the last couple of months to help overcome funds crunch and support credit growth. The tight liquidity situation in the banking system arose due to RBI’s foreign exchange market interventions (sale of dollars, which sucks out rupee liquidity) to curb excessive volatility in the rupee’s movement against the dollar, government tax flow dynamics, currency leakages and foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows.

Banks’ CD issuances touch an all-time high of ₹10.58 lakh crore in FY25
Primary market issuances of Certificate of Deposits (CDs) by banks rose 34 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to reach an all-time high of ₹10.58 lakh crore during FY2024-25 (up to March 7, 2025) as against ₹7.89 lakh crore recorded in the year-ago period amid persisting gap in credit and deposit growth, according to RBI’s latest monthly bulletin.

Urban co-op banks should be mindful of their responsibilities: RBI Governor
Mumbai: While the RBI will continue to support the urban cooperative banking sector in its growth ambitions, the banks need to be mindful of their responsibilities, particularly in view of the trust reposed on them by the depositors, said Governor Sanjay Malhotra. The observation comes in the backdrop of Mumbai-based New India Cooperative Bank (NICB) getting into trouble last month after a ₹122 crore fraud was detected.

Muthoot raises AUM growth target to 40% on gold loan surge
Following a surge in demand for gold loans, Muthoot Finance has raised its assets under management (AUM) growth guidance for the fiscal to 40%, from 25-30% earlier.

Cabinet approves incentive scheme for low-value UPI transactions – Check details
The Union Cabinet on March 19 approved an ‘Incentive Scheme’ for promotion of low-value BHIM-UPI transactions for the financial year 2024-25.

Lendbox outranks Titan and Aditya Birla to become Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing company
Indian peer-to-peer lending platform Lendbox has secured the top spot in the Financial Times and Statista’s ranking of 500 high-growth Asia-Pacific companies. The ranking recognises companies that have demonstrated exceptional revenue growth between 2020 and 2023.

DLAI to rebrand itself to Unified Fintech Forum as it pursues its SRO bid
 

5 Equity Mutual Funds with rising cash holdings amid market volatility
The Indian equity market has witnessed growing turbulence, with steep fluctuations in benchmark indices and sectoral fluctuations. They include persistent geopolitical uncertainty, rising crude oil prices, heavy selling by FIIs and fear of global recession that have created a questionable investment environment.

Venture capital, private equity funds bet big on traditional sectors
According to data from Bain & Co, Pitchbook, Venture Intelligence, VCC Edge and AVCJ, prominent VC funds like PeakXV saw their share in this traditional space go up sharply from 14 per cent in 2023 to 23 per cent in 2024.

Fate of sovereign green bonds likely to be decided after 3 years
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has indicated that it will take a call on the continuation of sovereign green bonds (SGrBs) after three years. These bonds were launched in fiscal year 2022-23 to mobilise resources for green infrastructure.

Nabard, Sidbi raise Rs 14K cr amid demand for short to medium tenor bonds
 

Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady amid economic uncertainty
Washington: The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday, and while its policymakers indicated they still expect to reduce borrowing costs by half a percentage point by the end of this year, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made it clear they would wait for more clarity on Trump administration policies.