All about liquidity management: Keep call money rate close to repo rate
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has called a bankers’ meeting this week to discuss its liquidity management framework. The subject of discussion — just a week before the RBI’s first bi-monthly monetary policy for 2025-26 (FY26) — has sparked intense speculation in the market. Bond dealers and treasury managers are wondering whether the central bank is considering new instruments to manage liquidity.

Banks increasingly selling retail loan accounts showing signs of incipient stress to ARCs
Banks are increasingly selling retail loan accounts showing signs of incipient stress to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) in order to avoid the impact of provisioning on their bottomline should they turn non-performing down the line. This is underscored by the fact that Crisil recently noted an increase in the proportion of low-vintage (or Special Mention Account/SMA) borrowers, as reflected in its rated Security Receipt (SR) portfolio, from 5 per cent in FY2023 to 25 per cent in FY2024. This is driving the recoveries up.

As deposit tightness persists, banks turned to debt market to fuel growth in FY25
As deposit mobilisation pressure persisted, banks turned to raising record funds via debt capital market in FY25, experts say. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, banks’ CD issuances reached all-time high of Rs 10.58 lakh crore in FY25, while yields on CDs increased marginally from 7.49 per cent to 7.52 per cent. “Till date, banks have raised an aggregate of Rs 1.32 lakh crore from the debt capital market compared, with infra bonds accounting for 71 per cent share...In FY26, similar levels of issuance is anticipated based on the quantum of deposits sourced and the prevailing prices in the capital markets,” said Sanjay Agarwal, senior director at CAREEdge Ratings.

Banking liquidity hits three-month low of Rs 13K crore
The liquidity deficit in the banking system fell to Rs 13,000 crore on Thursday, its lowest since December 16. Experts say the worst of the liquidity deficit may be over and expect it to turn surplus in the first quarter. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted a five-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction with a notified amount of Rs 1 lakh crore on Friday, which received bids worth Rs 38,423 crore only, reflecting low demand for funds from banks.

Banks’ CD issuances hit all time high in March
The issuance of Certificates of Deposit (CDs) by banks surged to an all-time high in March as lenders jostled to raise funds amid tight liquidity. Banks raised Rs 2.06 lakh crore through CDs during the month, 62% higher than the Rs 1.27 lakh crore raised in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to data from Primedatabase. On an annual basis, CD issuances also hit a record high, with banks raising Rs 13.05 lakh crore in FY2025 — nearly 37% more than the Rs 9.57 lakh crore raised in the previous financial year.

Mcap of 8 of top-10 most-valued firms climbs Rs 88,085.89 crore; HDFC Bank biggest gainer
The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most-valued firms climbed Rs 88,085.89 crore last week, with HDFC Bank leading the pack of gainers, in line with an optimistic trend in equities. Last week, the BSE benchmark gauge climbed 509.41 points, or 0.66 per cent.

PNB ups repo-linked lending rate by 10 basis points
Mumbai: Punjab National Bank has decided to up its Repo-Linked Lending Rate (RLLR) from 9 per cent to 9.10 per cent with effect from April 1, 2025, in the backdrop of liquidity tightness in the banking system and deposit growth lagging credit growth.

Karur Vysya Bank inaugurates 46 branches in FY 2024-25
Chennai: Karur Vysya Bank has established 46 branches, taking the overall network to 888 branches during the financial year 2024-25, the bank said. The Tamil Nadu-based lender recently inaugurated a branch in Kumbakonam, Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore and in Alapakkam, Chennai. "During the financial year 2024-25, the bank added 46 branches across the country. The branches would cater to basic banking transactions and also specific needs of customers, including the entire spectrum of banking products and financial services across retail, institutional and consumer lending," the bank said in a release on Sunday.

Banking needs a mindset of continuity, perpetuity: Uday Kotak

Mumbai :  The US could face “unintended consequences” of taking an aggressive stance against the world, Uday Kotak, founder and non-executive director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said at the Mint Investment Summit and Awards 2025, where he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Kotak also touched upon challenges facing the banking sector, and his role as non-executive director at the private bank.

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Corrections help adjust stretched equity valuations: Oisharya Das
The domestic wealth management industry is undergoing significant changes due to global uncertainty, market fluctuations, rising competition, and evolving client needs, says OISHARYA DAS, chief executive officer — private banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank. In an email interview with Samie Modak, Das discusses how these changes are influencing business strategies, client relationships, and investment approaches.

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RBI allowing banks to charge for ATM withdrawals 'institutionalised extraction': TN CM Stalin
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday flayed the RBI's decision allowing banks to charge for ATM withdrawals beyond the monthly limit and said this will make people withdraw more than they need and alleged "this is not digitisation, it is institutionalised extraction."

48% of BFSI companies flag data security as a priority when deploying AI: Survey
New Delhi: Nearly half (48 per cent) of banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies flagged data security as their top concern for AI implementation, a survey conducted by global data solutions provider Hitachi's subsidiary Hitachi Vantara found.

Fitch Ratings affirms SBI, BoB’s long-term issuer default rating at ‘BBB-’
Mumbai: Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term issuer default rating of (IDR) of State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) and its wholly-owned subsidiary BoB New Zealand Ltd at ‘BBB-’. The outlook on these ratings is ‘Stable’.

RBI to shift focus on growth over inflation in April policy meeting, cut repo rate by 25 bps: Care Edge

"We expect the policy statement to have a dovish undertone, even while remaining cautious about global developments," the report stated. The upcoming monetary policy meeting in April takes place amid a significant moderation in headline inflation over recent months, aided by lower food inflation. In February, the RBI unanimously lowered the repo rate by 25 basis points from 6.5 per cent to 6.25 per cent, in what was the first rate cut in about 5 years since Covid.

RCap lenders withdraw petition against IndusInd International Holdings at NCLAT
New Delhi: Lenders of debt-ridden Reliance Capital have withdrawn petition filed against IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) before appellate tribunal NCLAT. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Reliance Capital has informed NCLAT that the resolution plan was completely implemented by IIHL with the transfer of complete payment amounts in terms of the resolution plan. The CoC sought permission of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal to withdraw its appeal filed against the NCLT order, in consideration of the completion of the implementation of the resolution plan by IIHL.

India's banking sector loan growth to stay between 12-14% in FY26: Report
 

7 major rules changing from April 1, 2025: Know how these rules will impact your pocket
Citizens across will be impacted by some financial and regulatory developments that take effect on April 1, 2025. Here's a detailed summary of all the changes you can anticipate, including the introduction of the Unified Pension Scheme, modifications to the tax slabs, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Post-pandemic payments landscape: Digital payments surge, but some gaps remain; cash comes back too

New Delhi: Digital payments saw a major push amid the first Covid-19 induced lockdown in 2020, as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) experienced explosive growth, transforming the digital payments landscape in India. Between 2020 and 2024, UPI has witnessed dramatic traction, soaring from 2.23 billion transactions in December 2020 to 16.73 billion in December 2024, a growth of over 651 per cent.

Why crypto exchanges get hacked? And not exchanges like NSE, BSE
A significant shock happened on February 22, 2025, to the crypto industry; the largest exchange hack in history took place. Bybit, a crypto exchange, suffered a staggering $1.5 billion breach at the hands of the notorious Lazarus Group, a cybercrime syndicate linked to North Korea. This is just the latest in a long line of high-profile crypto heists. In 2021, hackers drained $610 million from Poly Network. In 2022, the Ronin Network attack saw $540 million in cryptocurrencies vanish. The list of cyberattacks in the crypto industry is extensive, leaving many to wonder:

Flexi-Cap Funds in times, good and bad
After commencing a discussion on Flexi Cap Funds in the last column, let us now turn the spotlight on some of the larger funds from this category and how they have performed over time frames of 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years. These include HDFC Flexi Cap Fund, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, Kotak Flexi Cap Fund and SBI Flexi Cap Fund. 

SIP accounts: The 20% leak in the mutual fund bucket, shows data
 

FPIs put in Rs 30,927 cr in equities in last 6 trading sessions of FY25
New Delhi: Foreign investors have infused nearly Rs 30,927 crore in the Indian equity markets in the last six trading sessions of the month primarily due to attractive valuations, appreciation in the rupee and improvement in macroeconomic indicators. The re-emergence of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) as buyers contributed to a smart recovery of about 6 per cent in benchmark index Nifty, reflecting renewed confidence in the market.

This latest infusion has also helped reduce the overall outflow for March to Rs 3,973 crore, according to data from the depositories. In comparison to previous months, this marks a significant improvement, as FPIs had pulled out Rs 34,574 crore in February and Rs 78,027 crore in January.