RBI approves hike of Rs 2 for financial transactions
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved an increase in ATM interchange fees, raising charges by Rs 2 for financial transactions and Re 1 for non-financial transactions. The revision, effective May 1, is expected to have a greater impact on smaller banks with limited ATM network.

Business correspondents to undergo digital audit, new training models
 

Govt takes serious note of bank unions’ demand for five-day work week, employees hopeful
The long-pending demand of bank unions for a five-day banking per week is now receiving serious attention from the government, including at the level of the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Public sector banks’ dividend rises 33% to ₹27,830 crore in FY24
New Delhi: Dividend payout by public sector banks (PSBs) have risen by 33 per cent to ₹27,830 crore in FY24, indicating significant improvement in financial health of these lenders. PSBs declared a dividend of ₹27,830 crore to shareholders in 2023-24 as against ₹20,964 crore in the previous fiscal, registering an increase of 32.7 per cent, according to the government data. Of ₹27,830 crore total dividend, nearly 65 per cent or ₹18,013 crore was paid to the government towards their shareholding in FY24.

Karur Vysya Bank gets ₹160-cr demand from IT Dept
Mumbai: Karur Vysya Bank said the assessment unit of the Income Tax Department has raised a demand of ₹ 160.33 crore for the AY (assessment year) 2023-24 pertaining to FY (financial year) 2022-23 on account of certain additions and disallowances made.

Ashutosh Khajuria appointed Additional Director on Dhanlaxmi Bank’s board
Mumbai: Dhanlaxmi Bank’s Board of Directors, at its meeting held on Saturday, have approved the appointment of Ashutosh Khajuria as Additional Director an (Non-Executive, Independent) on the Board with.effect from March 22, 2025. The private sector bank, in a regulatory filing, said it will seek approval of its Shareholders for the said appointment. The Bank said Khajuria has over 44 years of experience in various executive roles in the banking sector and financial markets. “He was the Executive Director of Federal Bank Ltd. for 7 years, and also held the positions of Chief Financial Officer, Chief Credit Officer and Head - Treasury of the Bank over the years.

Bank of Baroda launches exclusive app for corporate customers
Mumbai: Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched ‘mDigiNext mobile app’ to exclusively cater to the cash management needs of its corporate customers. BoB’s dedicated cash management services app offers payment functionalities that help businesses manage their working capital and cash flows, which, in turn, will bring in greater efficiencies and facilitate faster execution and ease of operations, the public sector bank said in a statement. The bank said the new app will streamline cash management operations and workflows for corporates. “It provides customers with 24x7 access to essential and advanced financial tools empowering corporates to make swift and informed financial decisions anytime, anywhere,” per the statement.

ICICI Bank may attract $450-million inflows post FTSE, MSCI rejig
ICICI Bank is expected to attract cumulative inflows of $450 million, with its weightage increasing in the FTSE and MSCI indices, according to Abhilash Pagaria, head of Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research.

Senior Citizen Fixed Deposits offering up to 9.1% return in March – Check the latest rates
For senior citizens thinking about opening a fixed deposit account soon, now might be the right time to act, as fixed deposit interest rates could start to drop shortly, following the recent rate cut by the RBI.

IndusInd Bank hires Grant Thornton for forensic check
IndusInd Bank appoints Grant Thornton for fraud checks in accounting discrepancy case: Sources
The Financial Express

How Sanjiv Bajaj plans leadership transition, succession at Bajaj Finserv
Mumbai: Succession planning at Bajaj family’s financial services businesses begins by identifying young leaders and grooming them for years so that they can step up in future, Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director, Bajaj Finserv said.

The best period for India is over the next 15-20 years, says Sanjiv Bajaj
Mumbai: Bajaj Finserv Ltd. expects significant growth in its financial services business over the next 15-20 years, driven by greater penetration of financial products and rising per capita income.

Banks ask gold loan borrowers to settle accounts for loan extension

Mumbai: JV Joseph had taken a gold loan of Rs 5.3 lakh for one year from a nationalised bank’s Kochi branch at an interest rate of 12 per cent a year ago. However, when he received a notice from the bank for repayment of the loan amount on March 1, he was in a fix.

Scoring in their second innings: NBFC entrepreneurs stage a revival
“It’s time that the NBFC (non-banking financial companies) sector comes out of its own shadow as well as that of the banking sector. I am sure that NBFCs will play a significant role in achieving the dream of a $5 trillion economy going forward,” said M Rajeshwar Rao, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in February last year. It was the first ever ringing endorsement of NBFCs from a senior RBI official in a speech dramatically titled by the central bank’s staid standards: ‘No more a shadow (of a) bank’.

Paytm UPI sops hit is just a blip
The Cabinet’s approval of ₹1,500 crore incentives for FY25 to promote low-value unified payments interface (UPI) transactions is a disappointment for investors in One97 Communications Ltd stock—Paytm’s parent.
 

Dahiya’s Disruption 2.0: The PB Fintech promoter is foraying into hospitals
PB Fintech’s Rs 696-crore investment for a 34% stake in PB Healthcare Services, a venture that’s aimed at creating a network of hospitals where costs are tightly controlled, has evoked mixed responses on the Street. The intention is no doubt noble one — to make sure hospitals don’t overcharge patients and that insurers are not cheated. As Chairman & Group CEO of PB Fintech, Yashish Dahiya, explains patients walking into these hospitals will not need to utter the two words: ‘bill’ and ‘claim’.

Fraud detection has to improve to protect banks: BCT Digital CEO

BCT Digital is a fintech, regtech, and sustaintech solutions provider. It recently enhanced its rt360 Early Warning System with the integration of Goods and Services Tax (GST) data. It brings GST non-compliance into sharp focus within the rt360 Credit Monitoring framework. In July last year, the Reserve Bank of India recognised the company’s s rt360 Real-Time Monitoring System. JAYA VAIDYANATHAN, chief executive officer (CEO) of BCT Digital, interacted with Raghu Mohan via email.

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‘The real alpha will still come from mid-caps and small-caps’: Mihir Vora, chief investment officer, TRUST Mutual Fund.

MumbaiLarge caps might deliver historical returns of around 11%, but the real alpha will still come from mid-caps and small-caps, believes Mihir Vora, chief investment officer, TRUSTMutual Fund.  “Iwould lean more toward small-caps than mid-caps,” he said.

Market quicksand: Smallcap mutual funds trapped in deep liquidity mud
 

Why investors should opt for MFCentral for direct MF transactions
The launch of MFCentral.com by CAMS and KFin Technologies (KFinTech), in phases over 2021–2022, was one of the most significant developments for Indian mutual fund (MF) investors in the last 10 years. For the first time, there was a single, user-friendly platform to invest in direct plans (ie zero-commission plans) of 100 per cent of MFs, without the risk of being pushed to buy other high-fee financial products or services. There are seven reasons why I recommend MFCentral to my clients.

Indian equity market witnesses moderation in FPIs' selling pressure with outflows narrowing to Rs 1,794 crore
The Indian equity market has witnessed a moderation in FPIs' selling pressure with the outflows narrowing to Rs 1,794 crore (USD 194 million) last week, buoyed by easing global concerns and growing optimism around a potential de-escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
 

M&A deals rise 26% to $99.9 bn in FY25 on increased PE investments
 

Banks set to make treasury gains in Q4 FY25 as bond yields soften
 

The liquidity conundrum: Rate cuts need right balance in financial system
Last Friday, the yield on the 10-year bond dropped to its lowest level in three years. However, corporate bond yields and certificate of deposit rates have been rising. The spread, or interest rate differential between the repo rate and corporate bond yields, has recently widened to 125 basis points (bps), while the spread between central government securities and corporate/state government bonds has increased from 30–35 bps to 45–55 bps. (One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.) Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. Why is this happening despite a 25 bps rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)? The answer is simple: A liquidity shortage in the Indian financial system.