10.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News

10.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 BoI puts on hold branch expansion plan as customers prefer digital banking : Bank of India (BoI) has put its branch expansion plan on hold for now in the backdrop of increased digitalisation of transactions on account of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the need to maintain a healthy cost to income (C-I) ratio. The Mumbai-headquartered public sector bank saw a 143 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in mobile banking users (to 45.21 lakh as at September-end 2020) and 17 per cent YoY increase in internet banking users (to 71.63 lakh). Following an increase in the usage of alternative delivery channels, the Bank is gradually rationalising its branch and ATM network. - Business Line

🍒 DRT slaps Rs 5 lakh penalty on Bank of India for compromising loan recovery : A Debt Recovery Tribunal here imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Bank of India for allowing withdrawal of a plea filed to recover over Rs 2.25 crore from its borrowers. The tribunal also observed that the lender entered into a compromise to recover Rs 31.2 lakh against the loan amount.The Presiding Officer of the DRT-1, Ahmedabad, Vinay Goel came down hard on the bank for sacrificing Rs 2.25 crore of taxpayers'' money while making compromise with the borrowers.In an order dated October 28 that was made available online Saturday, the tribunal also noted that the letter of acknowledgement of debt submitted to it by the bank was forged, which the bank said it filled up in a bona fide manner as the original letter was not traceable.The tribunal also questioned the bank as to why it accepted the property as collateral security which has value of Rs 18 lakh to grant loan of Rs 1.25 crore and not took action against its officials who recommended the property, and the valuer who recommended such property as collateral security.To justify its withdrawal plea, the bank had told the tribunal that the three auctions conducted by it to sell the mortgaged land with a valuation of Rs 18 lakh had failed.The tribunal raised serious questions over the process to sanction loan to the respondent borrower Krishna Tea Traders and three others, and said that the approach of the bank was against the spirit of the Reserve Bank of India guidelines. - Outlook

🍒 HDFC cuts retail prime lending rate by 10bps : Home loans are set to get cheaper as mortgage financier Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd has cut its Retail Prime Lending Rate by 10 basis points. “HDFC reduces its Retail Prime Lending Rate (RPLR) on housing loans, on which its Adjustable Rate Home Loans (ARHL) are benchmarked, by 10 basis points, with effect from November 10,” it said in a statement on Monday, adding that it will benefit all existing HDFC retail home loan customers. - Business Line

🍒 SBI to raise share of financial inclusion to 20% by March 2022 : State Bank of India (SBI) expects to raise the share of the newly created business vertical — financial inclusion and micro-markets (FI&MM) — from the current 12 per cent to 20 per cent by March 2022. The emphasis will be on enhancing income-generation work (deposits and loans) at around 8,000 branches under the FI&MM vertical. This will be completed once customer servicing — currently handled by the branches — is shifted to the business correspondents (BC) network to bring down the cost-to-income (C/I) ratio.SBI had recently created a separate FI&MM vertical within the bank with an exclusive focus on rural and semi-urban areas to improve customer experience in the hinterland. - Business Standard

🍒 Microfinance industry sees 31% rise in loan portfolio at Rs 2.36 lakh crore in FY20: Report : India's microfinance industry registered a 31 per cent jump in its loan portfolio to Rs 2.36 lakh crore for 2019-20 and expects to post a moderate growth of about 15 per cent in the current financial year, an industry report said on Monday. Despite the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the last quarter of the financial year 2019-20, the country's microfinance industry grew 31 per cent, industry representative Sa-Dhan said.According to Sa-Dhan's 'Bharat Microfinance Report 2020', the industry's loan portfolio outstanding as on March 31, 2020, had stood at Rs 2,36,427 crore.The year-on-year growth of loan outstanding in 2019-20 was 31 per cent, which is substantially lower than the growth of 41 per cent in 2018-19. - economic times

🍒 Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Q2 profit up marginally at Rs 96 cr : Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Saturday reported a marginal rise in net profit at Rs 96 crore for September quarter as provisions spiked. The bank posted a net profit of Rs 93 crore in the same quarter a year ago. In June quarter, the profit was Rs 55 crore.Total income during July-September 2020-21 increased to Rs 818.01 crore from Rs 729.36 crore in the year-ago period on the back of healthy interest income.Core income or the interest income increased 15.2 per cent to Rs 753.61 crore from Rs 654.33 crore in the same quarter of 2019-20. Net interest income grew 21 per cent to Rs 470 crore. However, income from other sources fell to Rs 64.40 crore from Rs 75.03 crore. - Business Line

🍒 Bank of Maharashtra cuts repo-linked lending rate by 15 basis points to 6.90% : State-owned Bank of Maharashtra has reduced its repo linked lending rate (RLLR) by 15 basis points to 6.90 per cent. The lender's retail and MSME loans are linked to RLLR. The new rates are effective from November 7. "Reduction in RLLR makes our home loan, car loan, gold loan, education loan, personal loan along with MSME loans more attractive and affordable," bank's executive director Hemant Tamta said in a release. Earlier ahead of the festive season, the bank had also announced processing fee waiver on home, car and gold loans. With this downward revision in RLLR, home loan rates start at 6.95 per cent (0.05 per cent concession to woman and defence personal), car loan rates start at 7.55 per cent and gold loan rates at 7.35 per cent, the bank said. Bank of Baroda also reduced its RLLR by 15 basis points (bps) to 6.85 per cent from November 1.- Business Line

🍒 Karnataka Bank launches National Common Mobility Debit card : Karnataka Bank Ltd has launched National Common Mobility Debit Card. A press release by the bank said on Monday that this Rupay card is a contactless debit-cum-prepaid and interoperable transport card.It said that the users can make payments without inserting the card at PoS terminals. Payments can be made at toll plazas, metro transits, parking lots, retail outlets and smart cities with the help of this card. The card’s wallet supports small-ticket size offline payments through the value stored in the card, it said.Quoting Mahabaleshwara MS, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, it said that this card is expected to change the banking paradigm in retail payments by its unique features of ‘tap and go’ and ‘offline wallet’ payments.- Business Line

🍒 Bank of India Refuses to Share Under RTI Information on Rs57,275 Crore Bad Loans Written Off and 23% Recovery in Past 8 Years : The way public sector banks (PSBs) are giving flimsy excuses for denying information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on bad loans, loan write off and names of big defaulters, whose defaults are Rs100 crore and more, one could safely say that the public information officers (PIOs) of these PSBs have mastered the art of evasion to a fault. Take for example, Bank of India, which refused to share any information on loan write offs over the past eight years by giving an excuse that it would 'disproportionately divert its resources'! Notwithstanding, Pune-based RTI activist Vivek Velankar, went on to study BoI's annual reports, which yielded the information in black and white, that the lender wrote off Rs57,275 crore and recovered just 23% or Rs13,560 crore over the past eight years. - Moneylife

🍒 Former SBI chairman P G Kakodkar passes away : Former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) P G Kakodkar died in Panaji on Sunday following a cardiac arrest. The family sources stated that 83-year-old former banker passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest.He was also on the Managing Committee of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI).Kakodkar joined SBI as a probationary assistant in the year 1957 and retired as chairman of the bank on March 31, 1997.During his tenure as chairman of the SBI, he was instrumental in the bank achieving several milestones.He is credited with the entry of the bank into the global capital markets by its GDR issue.He also served as chairman of Goa Public Service Commission from 1997 to 1999. - Live Mint

🍒 PMC depositors move Delhi HC, seek higher withdrawal limit for all emergencies : Depositors of the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) have filed a plea with the Delhi High Court seeking higher withdrawal limit for all financial emergencies. In June this year, the RBI had announced that the withdrawal limit for PMC Bank account holders has been increased to ?5 lakh but only after producing medical documents.Claims of only 13 out of 300 applicants were accepted by the RBI under the stipulated ‘financial emergencies’. It has also pleaded for compensation for the families of over 60 depositors who lost their lives due to lack of availability of funds. The matter is set to be heard on November 10. - Business Line

🍒 Banks await clarity from RBI on current account opening norms : Banks are awaiting more clarity from the Reserve Bank of India on its current account circular but domestic lenders believe it is a good move that will ensure a comprehensive relationship with customers. “There are a lot of issues on which banks have sought clarity from the RBI regarding the issue of current accounts. The Indian Banks’ Association is working on the issue,” said two persons familiar with the development. - Business Line

🍒 Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti AXA General for car insurance : Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Bharti AXA General Insurance to offer comprehensive car insurance to the payments bank’s customers. The Smart Drive Private Car Insurance offers financial protection against damage to the vehicle due to accident, theft, and natural and man-made disasters. Airtel Payments Bank’s customers can purchase the Bharti AXA’s car insurance policy within five minutes using a paperless, secure, and quick process through the Airtel Thanks app. Currently, the country’s first payments bank has over 3 crore customers. - Business Line

🍒 Paytm aims to disburse ?1,000 crore in loans by March 2021 : Paytm today announced that it will be expanding its collateral-free loans of up to ?5 lakh at a low interest rate and daily repayment flexibility customised for micro-merchants in a bid to extend financial support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The digital financial services platform is aiming to disburse ?1,000 crore in loans by March 2021. Bhavesh Gupta, CEO - Paytm Lending, said, “With our collateral-free instant loans, we are trying to help kirana stores and other small business owners who have been left behind by the traditional banking sector and do not have easy access to loans and credit. Going forward, we will especially focus on EDC merchants and provide higher loan amount based on their EDC transactions.”- Business Line

🍒 Banking sector stress expected to drop following collection boost, income improves in Q2 : The domestic banking sector continued to show improvement in the net interest income (NII) in the September quarter helped by falling interest expenses, according to ETIG's analysis of the quarterly financials of a sample of 27 listed banks. The sample's NII rose sequentially for the second consecutive quarter to Rs 1.3 lakh crore compared with Rs 1.2 lakh crore in the previous quarter. NII had fallen sequentially by 2% to Rs 1 lakh crore in the March quarter following a nationwide lockdown in the last week of March to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. - economic times

🍒 Loan growth continues to remain tepid: RBI data : Indian banking system loan growth continues to be tepid even as some pockets like loans to retail and medium sized firms picked up in September. Bank loans rose 5.1 per cent ( year-on-year) to Rs 102.2 lakh crore as of October 23, according to the latest RBI data. Overall loan growth has remained below the 6 per cent mark ever since the economy went into a lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic.Several regulatory and policy measures, easing liquidity conditions, lowering of policy rates and the easing of lockdown conditions have helped revive credit demand in certain sectors. Loans to medium enterprises rose 14 per cent, loans against shares and securities rose around 20 per cent, according to the latest data on sectoral deployment of bank credit until September. - economic times

🍒 15th Finance Commission submits final report for FY22-26 to President Kovind : The NK Singh-led 15th Finance Commission (FC) presented its final report for the five fiscal years from 2021-22 to 2025-26 to President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday, according to an official statement. The report titled ‘Finance Commission in Covid Times’, contained four volumes each pertaining to an area of the terms of reference of the FC, the statement said. -economic times

🍒 Concentration of MF equity investment worries investors : The lack of depth in the stock market and tough regulations have forced mutual funds to bet big on top market-cap companies, putting crores of investors’ money at risk. In fact, the top 10 market-cap companies have attracted 36 per cent or ?4.28 lakh crore of the overall equity asset under management of mutual funds of ?11.83 lakh crore, as of September end. - Business Line

🍒 Sensex, Nifty hit new highs; rally likely to continue as global uncertainties taper : On Monday, the Sensex closed with gains of 704 points, or 1.68 per cent, at 42,597. The wider index Nifty rose 197 points, or 1.61 per cent, to close at 12,461. It took less than eight months for the Sensex and Nifty to recoup from a historical loss suffered since the market crash in March. 

🍒 Rupee rises 4 paise against US dollar : The rupee surrendered most of its early gains to trade just 4 paise higher at 74.04 against the US dollar in late afternoon trade on Monday. At the interbank foreign exchange (forex), the domestic currency opened sharply higher at 73.95 a dollar and gained further strength to touch a high of 73.83. Shares of IndusInd Bank hit an over 7-month high of Rs 777.80, up 5% on the BSE today. The stock of the bank was trading higher for the 6 straight trading session and has rallied 33% during the period. It was quoting at its highest level since March 13, 2020

09.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News

09.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Fresh investment demand from corporates is some time away, says SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara : Although corporates have started utilising their working capital limits on the back of a very clear trend for demand revival in the economy, any fresh investment demand from corporates is some time away, State Bank of India chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said on Saturday. “My sense is from the next financial year we (economy) will be nearer to the normal,” Khara said addressing the annual general meeting of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. He said in October all the high-frequency indicators were portraying a very positive scenario. “I think partly it is also attributed to the fact that there is a lot of Covid fatigue. Everybody would like to get into the mainstream economic activity as soon as possible. That is also one of the reasons for the kind of enthusiasm seen in the economy. Earlier, we have felt that it is pent up demand, which is there from the consumers. But, I think now the way indicators are showing, there is a very clear trend for the demands,” the SBI chief said through video-conferencing.He said in October all the high-frequency indicators were portraying a very positive scenario. “I think partly it is also attributed to the fact that there is a lot of Covid fatigue. Everybody would like to get into the mainstream economic activity as soon as possible. That is also one of the reasons for the kind of enthusiasm seen in the economy. Earlier, we have felt that it is pent up demand, which is there from the consumers. But, I think now the way indicators are showing, there is a very clear trend for the demands,” the SBI chief said through video-conferencing. - financial express

🍒 Indian Overseas Bank seeks about Rs 1,000 cr capital support from government : Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has sought a capital support of about Rs 1,000 crore from the government in order to create buffer for any exigency, a top official of the bank said. The state-owned lender, which has posted profit for the last three consecutive quarters, expects to continue the trend in the remaining part of the current fiscal year with increased focus on recovery and business pick up.For September quarter, the bank posted a profit of Rs 148 crore as compared to a net loss of Rs 2,254 crore in the same period a year ago. Net profit in the quarter grew 22.3 per cent from Rs 121 crore in April-June."We expect the trend to continue and book profit quarter after quarter aided by prospects of better recovery. There will be no question of going back," IOB Managing Director P P Sengupta told PTI.Asked about capital needs, he said, "we want our profit to strengthen our capital. That is our internal aim and we are marching towards that goal. As a prudent measure, we have sought some capital support, let us see how much we get. We want to keep capital as buffer for any exigency or contingency." - Economic Times

🍒 Lakshmi Vilas Bank makes its stance clear to Clix group on Religare deposit case : Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reached out to the Clix Group with “all the documents” on its contingent liability related to Religare Finvest deposits, instruments the bank had set off against unpaid loans given to private firms of the erstwhile Religare promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh. Clix wanted Lakshi Vilas to make full provisions against the liability amounting to Rs 794 crore ahead of the proposed merger. The bank holds a contingent provision of Rs 200 crore, which is not included in tier I/tier II capital calculations. Hence, Clix wanted it to provide the balance Rs 594 crore. “We have submitted all the documents justifying our stance as to why making full provision is not necessary. We are the rightful owner of the money,” a senior bank official told ET. The bank has taken legal opinion on the matter and believes the appropriation is lawful and tenable, requiring no further provisions. - economic times

🍒 Less than half of ₹8,000-crore Covid claims filed so far have been settled : Seventy-seven year old Asesh Prasad Ghosh died after a three-day battle with Covid at one of the premier city-based private hospitals. His total bill for three days added up to nearly ₹3 lakh, with the ICU room charges and ventilator alone costing his family a whopping ₹88,000 a day. Luckily, he was under his son’s corporate health insurance cover and got back nearly 90 per cent of the total claims. But having an insurance policy may not be enough to ensure that you get fully covered, and there have been instances where patients have received only 50-70 per cent of their claims. Insurance companies on their part have clarified that they would only be able to honour claims to the extent that they are “reasonable and customary”, indicating that they may not be able to honour claims that are “unreasonable” arising primarily due to overbilling by hospitals. - Business Line

🍒 Closely monitoring inventory, asking builders to start selling: PNB Housing : With economic activity gradually improving post lockdown, PNB Housing Finance is closely monitoring the inventory levels of builders and asking them to start selling as demand for home loans is nearly getting back to normal, its MD and CEO Hardayal Prasad said. "Economic activity is still at a low ebb, but it has started picking up. The economic activity in certain areas is obviously returning back to pre-Covid days, I would say. When we talk to the builders and our sales team and people who are on the ground, who go and talk to the consumers and prospective borrowers, there are green shoots that we are seeing everywhere," Prasad told PTI in an interview. "The kind of enquiries that we used to get at one point of time, we are already almost at about 80-85 per cent of the pre-Covid level," he added. - Business Standard

🍒 Early-stage VC firm Inflexor aims to close Rs 500-crore fund by March : Early-stage venture capital firm Inflexor Ventures aims to close its Rs 500-crore fund by March next year, and the proceeds will be invested in about 25 companies over the next few years, a top executive said. Inflexor Technology Fund, which was set up by the founders of the erstwhile Parampara Fund, had made the first close of the Rs 500 crore fund in August this year, at Rs 230 crore.Speaking to PTI, Inflexor Ventures Managing Partner Venkat Vallabhaneni said the latest fund is focussed on technologies that are making a deep impact on the society. "Mostly, we invest in early-stage companies that are making some revenue and have customers. Generally, we enter with a Rs 5-7 crore cheque and after that we stay with the company through their growth," he said adding that there is a follow-on funding of up to Rs 15-20 crore based on performance, growth and capital requirements. - - Business Standard'

🍒 M-cap of nine of top-10 most valued firms zooms over Rs 2.30 lakh crore : The combined market valuation of nine of the top-10 most valued companies zoomed by Rs 2,30,219.82 crore last week, with HDFC twins leading the pack. During the last week, Sensex soared 2,278.99 points or 5.75 per cent.Barring Reliance Industries Ltd, the country''s most valued firm, all nine companies witnessed rise in their market valuation for the trading week closed on Friday. The market capitalisation of HDFC Bank jumped by Rs 68,430.18 crore to Rs 7,19,948.29 crore, emerging as the biggest gainer among the most valued companies. - financial express

🍒 CII writes to finance ministry, suggests ECLGS scheme for stressed sectors : The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has written to the finance ministry, urging to explore an Emergency Loan Credit Guarantee Scheme to support the stressed sectors and argued that prolonged strain on employment-intensive sectors could impede economic recovery. The industry chamber on Sunday said it has recommended this intervention to assist the stressed segments, primarily in the service sectors like hospitality, tourism aviation and retail, as this would not have any impact on the fiscal deficit this year but will provide the much needed liquidity to these sectors which employ a large number of people. "CII appreciates the revenue constraints faced by the government and its impact on the widening fiscal deficit. This intervention, similar to what has been done for the MSMEs will be a win-win for all," Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General CII, said. - economic times.

08.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

08.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Economy expected to bounce back from next fiscal: SBI chairman : The country's economy, which has shown resilience to come out from a downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to bounce back from the next fiscal, State Bank of India chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said on Saturday. There will be a "paradigm shift" which will lead to a more matured economy" with economic players learning to contain costs, he said. Addressing the virtual annual general meeting of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Khara said, "The economy is expected to bounce back from the next fiscal starting from April 2021. The next normal will see a paradigm shift and some of them will be permanent." Khara said the economy had shown "resilience to come out from the downturn" and some positive traction was witnessed towards the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal. - Economic times

🍒 Canara Bank cuts MCLRs by 0.05-0.15 pc for various tenors from Nov 7 : State-owned Canara Bank on Friday said it has cut the marginal cost of fund based lending rates (MCLR) by 0.05-0.15 per cent with effect from November 7. The one-year MCLR -- the benchmark for most of the consumer loans -- has been reduced by 0.05 per cent to 7.35 per cent from 7.40 per cent currently, Canara Bank said in a regulatory filing.The six-month MCLR too has been lowered by a similar quantum to 7.30 per cent. Among others, the overnight and one-month MCLRs are cut by 0.15 per cent each to 6.80 per cent, while the three-month MCLR stands revised to 6.95 per cent, against 7.10 per cent. The new rates will come to effect from November 7, 2020, Canara Bank said. On Thursday, Indian Overseas Bank had announced to cut the one, two and three-year MCLRs by 0.05 per cent each to 7.45 per cent. The overnight and one-month MCLR will be priced at 6.85 per cent each from 7.05 per cent and 7.35 per cent, respectively, at present. The new rates will come to effect from November 10, 2020, Indian Overseas Bank had said. - Business Line

🍒 Bank of Maharashtra cuts Repo Linked Lending Rate to 6.90 per cent : Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has cut its Repo Linked Lending Rate (RLLR) to 6.90 per cent from 7.05 per cent earlier. The Pune-headquartered public sector bank, in a statement, said customers availing home loan, car loan, education loan, personal loan along with MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) loan products can benefit following the 15 basis points RLLR cut, with effect from November 7. - Business Line

🍒 Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Q2 profit up marginally at Rs 96 cr : Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Saturday reported a marginal rise in net profit at Rs 96 crore for September quarter as provisions spiked.The bank posted a net profit of Rs 93 crore in the same quarter a year ago. In June quarter, the profit was Rs 55 crore. Total income during July-September 2020-21 increased to Rs 818.01 crore from Rs 729.36 crore in the year-ago period on the back of healthy interest income. Core income or the interest income increased 15.2 per cent to Rs 753.61 crore from Rs 654.33 crore in the same quarter of 2019-20. Net interest income grew 21 per cent to Rs 470 crore. - Business Line

🍒 Significant progress in proposed merger with Clix Group: Lakshmi Vilas Bank : Lakshmi Vilas Bank said that it has made "significant progress" with Clix Group for the proposed merger of the two. The bank also said that it has completed a minor incremental due diligence this week as requested by Clix Group. "Now, the respective sides are in the process of a workable and mutually acceptable framework," the bank announced Saturday. Meanwhile, the ailing private sector lender has seen its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) turning negative (-2.85%) for the first time while its tier 1 capital has been in the negative zone since March. Tier 1 capital was a negative 4.85% at the end of September against the minimum requirement of 8.875%. If the proposed merger of Clix Capital Service and Clix Finance India into the bank goes through, the issue of capital would be addressed. - Economic Times

🍒 Lakshmi Vilas Bank posts net loss of Rs 396.99 crore for Q2FY21 : The Lakshmi Vilas Bank on November 7 posted a net loss of Rs 396.99 crore during the quarter ending September 2020. The bank extended its net loss of Rs 357.17 crore from the second quarter of the previous financial year. Net interest margin shrunk to 1.37 percent for Q2FY21 against 1.47 percent for same period the previous year, the bank said in an exchange filing. Operating loss narrowed to Rs 5.66 crore against Rs 40.37 crore for Q2 the previous year. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 World Bank cautions against fake credit, debit cards with its name, logo : The World Bank on Friday cautioned the public against fraudulent issuance of debit and credit cards carrying its name and logo. The advisory came after its attention was drawn to such fraudulent issuance of debit/credit cards in India, according to the multilateral lending agency. "The World Bank Group does not issue debit/credit cards. The Bank Group has no involvement with individuals/groups who have issued these fake cards, and would like to caution the public to be wary of such fraudulent practices," it said in the advisory. "Please feel free to visit the World Bank's website www.worldbank.org to clarify about World Bank's programs and policies," it added. - Business Standard

🍒 Over 11 lakh MSMEs registered on Udyam online system since July: Govt : Over 11 lakh MSMEs have registered on the new online system of Udyam Registration launched in July, the government said on Saturday. Out of these, 3.72 lakh enterprises have registered under manufacturing category whereas 6.31 lakh enterprises under service sector. The share of micro enterprises is 93.17 per cent whereas small and medium enterprises are 5.62 per cent and 1.21 per cent, respectively. - moneycontrol.

🍒 Huge deviation in Bank Nifty and Nifty likely to narrow by December-end : Bank Nifty continues to act as a trailblazer, rallying by 12 percent during the week. The recent structure suggests that it has more room on the upside with the presence of a series of bullish anchor columns and positive follow-through. We expect, the leadership index to retrace 2/3 (i.e. 27,170) of its January-March 2020 decline. Ratio of Bank Nifty/Nifty since October month has seen the formation of bullish anchor columns followed with positive follow-through on P&F charts, implying strength & outperformance of banks against the benchmark Nifty. As per our pattern projection, the ratio can move higher towards 2.29 levels. Positive crossover is observed in XO zone. We believe a huge deviation between BankNifty and Nifty (in play for the most part of 2020), is likely to narrow down by year-end. Comparative out-performance and improved internal structure of the Indian markets are likely to attract positive traction. - Moneycontrol..

*🙏🏻 Forwarded as received🙏🏻*

06.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

06.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Bank of Baroda rolls out free counselling for 8,000 employees : Bank of Baroda announced that it has rolled out free and anonymous psychological counselling for 8000 odd employees on a pilot basis. The public-sector bank has a total of 84,000 employees nationally. The program will cover all employees in the Mumbai zone. Prakash Vir Rathi, general manager (human resource management), in a phone call with ET said that the coronavirus pandemic had raised stress levels among employees. The employee assistance program was aimed at alleviating stress among the bank’s employees, especially younger employees. Around 60% of the bank’s employees are aged between 18-35 years. “They often face peer pressure, career and ambition issues, relationship / adjustment issues, etc. In such cases, expert counselling shall be of immense help in providing timely support to them for their emotional worries," said Rathi. -economic times

🍒 Loan moratorium case: Facing great difficulties with interim order on NPAs, says RBI to SC : The Reserve Bank of India told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it is facing “great difficulties” with the court’s interim order against declaring as non-performing assets (NPAs) accounts found perfectly good till August 31, 2020. On September 3, the apex court had, as an interim measure considering the hardships of the pandemic and moratorium, directed that “accounts which were not declared NPA till August 31, 2020 shall not be declared NPA till further orders”. - Business Line

🍒 RBI allows co-origination of PSL loans by banks and NBFCs : Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased norms to allow co-origination of priority sector loans by banks and non banking finance companies (NBFCs). The new RBI norms also allow co-origination of norms by housing finance companies and follows the central bank's announcement regarding the same after the monetary policy review last month. The RBI hopes that the co-lending model (CLM), will improve the flow of credit to the unserved and underserved sector of the economy at an affordable cost, considering the lower cost of funds from banks and greater reach of the NBFCs. -economic times

🍒 ICICI Bank's millennial branches to host entertainment shows as part of new offering : The country's second-largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Thursday launched a special offering for the millennial segment, with features like exclusive branches that will host entertainment events. The country is poised for a demographic dividend, which will see millions of youth join the workforce, its executive director Anup Bagchi said, adding there are 40 million 'progressive' millennials who will contribute significantly to the economy and banking in the years to come. He said after extensive research, the bank has launched the mobile-first, personalised and experiential-led banking platform christened 'Mine' for this segment. -economic times

🍒 HDFC Bank appoints Ramesh Lakshminarayanan as its new CIO : Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Thursday said it has hired Ramesh Lakshminarayanan as its next chief information officer (CIO). The appointment comes nearly four months after the resignation of its the then CIO Munish Mittal to pursue higher education in the UK after spending over 25 years at the bank. This is also the first major hiring the bank has announced under its new chief executive and managing director Sashidhar Jagdishan. Lakshminarayanan joins from rating agency Crisil, where he was serving as the chief technology and information officer, HDFC Bank said in a statement, adding that he has also had stints with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Citibank and ABN Amro Bank. -economic times

🍒 Indian banks see revival in loan growth but concerns linger : Indian banks are loosening their purse strings and lending more as pent-up demand surfaces in the Indian festive season, though growth is still nearly half that seen last year. Several lenders including State Bank of India, the country's largest lender and HDFC Bank, India's most valuable bank by market capitalisation saw demand for housing and vehicle loans return to near pre-pandemic levels in the quarter ended September. "Now that the loan moratorium is over and we have a clearer view about repayments, we're feeling more comfortable about lending both on unsecured as well as secured retail loans," said the head of retail banking at a public sector bank, who asked not to be identified as the lender has yet to report its results. -economic times

🍒 Muthoot Capital posts ₹16-cr net profit in Q2 : Muthoot Capital Services Ltd has posted a net profit of ₹15.7 crore in Q2 of FY21 against a 14 crore in the same quarter last year. The total income for the quarter touched ₹143.7 crore. With economic growthstarting tonormalise, the company disbursed two-wheeler loans amounting to ₹106.1 crore only and had a total disbursement of ₹116.1 crore during the quarter. Total AUM reached ₹2,269 crore at the end of the quarter, including the assigned portfolio of ₹34 crore. For the same quarter last year, the company had a total disbursement of ₹487.8 crore, and AUM at the end of same quarter last year was at ₹2,760 crore. During the same quarter last year, the company reported a total revenue of ₹145 crore. - Business Line

🍒 NPCI allows WhatsApp to go live on UPI : The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has given approval for WhatsApp to ‘go live’ on UPI in the multi-bank model. “WhatsApp can expand its UPI user base in a graded manner, starting with a maximum registered user base of 2 crore in UPI,” NPCI said in a statement on Thursday. The announcement came soon after NPCI also issued a cap of 30 per cent of total volume of transactions processed in UPI, applicable on all Third Party App Providers (TPAPs) with effect from January 1, 2021. WhatsApp has been running pilots of its payment service – WhatsApp Pay – but till now it had not received permission to run it on a full scale due to concerns over data localisation.. - Business Line

🍒 RBI to conduct ₹20,000-crore OMO : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, said it will continue to conduct Open Market Operation (OMO) purchase auctions of ₹20,000 crore, as well as OMOs in State Development Loans (SDL), along with other operations. The central bank will be notifying the details of these operations separately. The aforementioned measures – based on an ongoing assessment of liquidity conditions – are aimed at supporting market sentiment and assuring adequate liquidity all along the yield curve, RBI said. As part of these measures, the Reserve Bank has decided to conduct OMOs involving a simultaneous purchase and sale of Government Securities (G-Secs) for an aggregate amount of ₹10,000 crore each on November 12, 2020. - Business Line

🍒 NPCI puts 30% cap on volume for all third-party apps offering UPI : The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has decided to put a 30 per cent volume cap for third-party applications offering UPI. “With UPI reaching 200 crore transactions a month and with potential for future growth, it has issued a cap of 30 per cent of total volume of transactions processed in UPI, applicable on all Third Party App Providers (TPAPs). This will be with effect from January 1, 2021,” NPCI said in a statement on Thursday. This will help to address the risks and protect the UPI ecosystem as it further scales up, NPCI further said. The move comes after UPI transactions crossed the 200-crore mark in October, amounting to 207.16 crore payments worth ₹3.86-lakh crore. “The existing TPAPs exceeding the specified cap will have a period of two years from January 2021 to comply with the same in a phased manner,” it said. - Business Line

🍒 Aditya Birla Capital Q2 net marginally up at Rs 264 cr : Aditya Birla Capital on Thursday reported a 3 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 264 crore for the second quarter ended September. The company’s net profit stood at Rs 256 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The net profit jumped 33 per cent quarter-on-quarter from Rs 198 crore for first quarter ended June, marking a move towards normalcy and growth, with continued resilience across businesses, the company said. - Business Line

🍒 GST collection, power consumption show recovery: Ex-RBI chief C Rangarajan : Former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) C Rangarajan on Thursday said the decline in the growth of the economy triggered by COVID-19 was like a coma that stays for a short period. Rangarajan, also the former Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman, said this during 'SICCI-360' organised here by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "(Normally) Coma lasts for several years (in medical terms). But there are people who come out of it in a shorter period. This is a coma which is short-lived. The point is as you (gradually) lift the lockdown, I expect the economic activity to pick up," he said. - economic times

🍒 Provision of SARFAESI Act empowering DMs to attach secured assets of borrowers directory: SC : In a relief to banks and financial institutions (FIs), the Supreme Court Thursday held that a provision of the SARFAESI Act empowering District Magistrates to take possession of secured assets of defaulting borrowers within 60 days period for handing them over to the lending FIs was “directory” and not “mandatory” in nature as banks cannot be made to suffer for the delay on the part of the government officers. Section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act mandates District Magistrate to deliver possession of a secured asset within 30 days, extendable to an aggregate of 60 days upon reasons recorded in writing, to banks. - economic times

🍒 SBI shares surge about 7% as brokerages upgrade stock, increase target price : Shares of State Bank of India on Thursday surged as much as 7% as many brokerages upgraded the stock and increased its target price after the lender reported better than expected earnings. SBI gained as much as 6.8%, to hit a high of Rs220.95 on BSE. At 9.50am, the scrip was trading at Rs218.15 on BSE, up 5.4% from its previous close.SBI reported a 52% year-on-year (y-o-y)jump in net profit in the September quarter to Rs4,574 crore backed by robust growth in retail loans and lower provisions for bad loans. "SBI’s current core valuation is lower than other state banks, which is unwarranted, given SBI’s strong deposit franchise, market leadership in home loans and strong traction in retail disbursals. We revise our earnings to build higher NIM and fees," said Elara Capital in a note to its investors. - Live Mint

🍒 Pay adequate compensation to shareholders during mergers, IRDAI tells insurers : Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on November 5 said that in merger cases between two insurers, adequate compensation must be paid to shareholders of the acquired insurers. In draft guidelines on compensation payable during insurers' mergers, IRDAI said that shareholders of acquired insurer will be eligible for compensation.Here, IRDAI said that the residual value of the assets shall be the total quantum available for payment of compensation. - moneycontrol.

🍒 Gold prices rise for fourth straight day to Rs 51,532/10 gm, silver soars Rs 1,556/kg : Gold prices surged for the fourth straight day by Rs 226 to Rs 51,532 per 10 gram in the Mumbai retail market on a sharp decline in US dollar and positive global cues, but the gains were capped by a stronger rupee. The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 47,203 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 51,532 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 38,649 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices climbed by Rs 1,556 to Rs 62,799 per kg from its closing on November 4.

🍒 Sensex surges 724 pts; SBI up 5 per cent : After a strong start, the 30-share BSE index maintained its upward trajectory throughout the session to close at 41,340.16, up 724.02 points or 1.78 per cent. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty zoomed 211.80 points or 1.78 per cent to finish at 12,120.30. All Sensex components closed in the green.SBI was the top gainer, soaring over 5 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and HCL Tech.

🍒 Rupee settles 40 paise higher at 74.36 against dollar : The rupee strengthened by 40 paise to close at 74.36 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday amid indications of Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential elections. Traders said positive domestic equities and a weak American currency overseas also supported the local unit. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 74.35 against the US dollar, and finally closed at 74.36, registering a rise of 40 paise over its previous close

 *🙏🏻 Forwarded as received🙏🏻*

05.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

05.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 SBI Q2 results: Profit surges 52% YoY to Rs 4,574 crore, beats Street estimates : Top lender State Bank of India (SBI) reported a 51.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit for the quarter ended September at Rs 4,574.16 crore. The bank had reported a net profit of Rs 3,011.73 crore in the same quarter a year ago. An ET Now poll had projected the profit figure at Rs 4,400 crore.Its total income came in at Rs 75,341.80 crore, up 3.42 per cent from Rs 72,850.78 crore a year ago. The bank’s net interest income (NII) for the quarter rose 14.56 per cent to Rs 28,181 crore, while net interest margins (NIMs) came in at 3.34 per cent, compared with 3.22 per cent a year ago.It earned interest to the tune of Rs 66,814.11 crore compared with Rs 64,312.39 crore a year ago.The bank's gross NPAs came in at 5.28 per cent against 5.44 per cent in the preceding quarter and 7.19 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. Net NPAs for the quarter stood at 1.59 per cent against 1.86 per cent in the June quarter and 2.79 per cent a year ago. - economic times

🍒 SBI Q2: Improvement in disbursements, strong deposit traction are positive signs ; Significant improvement in retail loan disbursements, ramp-up in provisions, good traction in deposits, and strong capital ratios (about ₹20,000-crore capital was raised during the September quarter) are heartening trends from State Bank of India’s latest September quarter results. However, actual slippages (if not for the Supreme Court order on asset classification standstill) for the September quarter, persisting stress in the bank’s agriculture loan book, expected restructuring, slippages in the second half, and a sizeable SMA1 (payments overdue by 31-60 days) and SMA2 (overdue by 61-90 days) book suggest more pain ahead for the bank’s asset quality. - Business Line

🍒 SBI warns bad debt can worsen even as its profit beats estimates : State Bank of India warned that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic would lead to more bad debt, even as the nation’s largest lender reported better-than-expected profit after setting aside fewer provisions for problem loans. The bank’s net income jumped 52% to 45.7 billion rupees ($610 million) for the three months to September, beating the 36.9 billion rupee average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. While its bad loan ratio fell slightly to 5.28%, from 5.44% at the end of June, SBI expects a further 200 billion rupees of loans to sour over the next six months as the pandemic continues to impacts borrowers. This would result in 600 billion rupees of problem loans, or 2.5% of its loan book, at the end of March 2021. “Going forward we might see some kind of stress in small and medium enterprises, and in the agriculture sector,” Chairman Dinesh Khara said during a post-earnings call. - Business Standard

🍒 Bank of Baroda rolls out well-being programme for its employees : Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Wednesday said it has introduced an ‘Employee Assistance Program’ to help its employees to deal with their personal problems and professional issues through psychological counselling and consulting. The public sector bank, in a statement, said it has taken the first step in addressing the issues and upkeeping employees’ emotional well-being by introducing this program initially as a pilot project in Mumbai Zone and its corporate office. - Business Line

🍒 RBI Guv Shaktikanta Das chaired SAARC FINANCE Governors’ Group, member nations discussed current initiatives : Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and other central bank governors in the South East Asian nations vowed to work in tandem to fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. At the 40th meeting of the SAARC FINANCE Governors’ Group, held Wednesday, they reaffirmed their commitment to continued co-operation and sharing of central bank experiences.Das chaired the meeting and highlighted the close partnership and co-operation among the member countries. The group took stock of the macroeconomic situation in the SAARC region; discussed the current initiatives by the member countries. - economic times

🍒 RBI imposes penalty totalling Rs 15 lakh on two co-operative banks : The RBI on Wednesday said it has imposed penalty totalling Rs 15 lakh on two co-operative banks, including Millath Co-operative Bank, Davangere (Karnataka) for non-compliance with directions issued by it. A penalty of Rs 10 lakh has been imposed on Millath Co-operative Bank for "non-adherence/violation of all inclusive directions and other directions imposed on the bank", the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement. In another statement, it said a monetary penalty of Rs 5 lakh has been imposed on The Thiruvaikuntam Co-operative Urban Bank Limited, Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu) for contravention of the directions issued by RBI on prohibition of loans and advances to directors. - economic times

🍒 Interest on interest waiver: Banks start crediting accounts; FinMin issues additional FAQs : Banks have started refunding borrowers the compound interest charged on specified loan accounts during the moratorium period. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had asked all lending institutions, including non-banking financial companies, to ensure that the scheme of waiver of interest on interest for loans up to Rs 2 crore for the six-month moratorium period is implemented by November 5. "Dear customer credited COVID-19 Relief ex-gratia of ... on November 3 to your account," a message from a public sector bank to a customer said.- economic times

🍒 SBI Card along with Paytm launch credit cards : SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card) on Wednesday said it has launched credit cards in partnership with the digital payment platform Paytm. Available in two variants, Paytm SBI Card and Paytm SBI Card SELECT, the product has been launched on the Visa platform. This launch is in line with SBI Card's endeavour to offer customers tailored products which bring maximum value in line with spending needs and to encourage digital forms of payments for a safe and enhanced customer experience, SBI Card said in a release.- economic times

🍒 Yes Bank case: High Court rejects bail pleas of Wadhawans : The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected bail applications of Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), in the Yes Bank fraud case, holding that procedures were followed when a chargesheet was filed. Justice S V Kotwal rejected the arguments made by the Wadhawan brothers' lawyers, senior advocates Amit Desai and A M Singhvi, that the CBI failed to follow procedure while filing a chargesheet in the case. The Wadhawans had sought 'default bail', claiming that the Central Bureau of Investigation, the prosecuting agency, had not complied with the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) while filing a chargesheet in a special CBI court here. A default bail is given when procedural aspects, such as filing chargesheet within the stipulated period, are not followed. - economic times

🍒 ‘Shriram Life Insurance to develop credit appraisal procedure’ : To maintain the quality of its credit portfolio amid falling interest rates and market volatility, Shriram Life Insurance is developing a credit appraisal procedure. “We are doing quite well in terms of assets under management and overall size of the book. We have focussed very much on the quality of the credit portfolio, and are also developing a credit appraisal procedure so that we scan our portfolio on a regular basis,” said Ajit Banerjee, Chief Investment Officer, Shriram Life Insurance. - Business Line

🍒 I-T refunds worth Rs 1.29 lakh cr issued to 39.49 lakh taxpayers : The Income Tax department has issued refunds worth over Rs 1.29 lakh crore to more than 39 lakh taxpayers so far this fiscal. This includes Personal Income Tax (PIT) refunds amounting to Rs 34,820 crore and corporate tax refunds aggregating to Rs 94,370 crore during this period. "CBDT issues refunds of over Rs 1,29,190 crore to more than 39.49 lakh taxpayers between 1st April, 2020 to 3rd November, 2020. Income tax refunds of Rs 34,820 crore have been issued in 37,55,428 cases & corporate tax refunds of Rs 94,370 crore have been issued in 1,93,059 cases,” Income Tax department said in a tweet. - economic times

🍒 46% people borrowed money to run their households during Covid times, reveals Home Credit India research : With job losses and pay cuts across industries during the Covid-19 pandemic, the lower middle-income group has been affected severely, says the findings of research from Home Credit India, a local arm of the international consumer finance provider with operations spanning over Europe and Asia. Home Credit India conducted a research across 7 cities to understand the borrowing patterns of people during the Covid lockdown. The pandemic has led to a shift in perspective towards loans and borrowing preferences, the research said. - Business Line

🍒 Banks offer competitive rates to woo home buyers : Competitive home loan rates by banks could further boost the demand for home loans. Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank, which is offering one of the lowest interest rates, is keen on acquiring good quality customers in the home loan segment. “Our cost of funds has gone down apart from the policy rates. We have very competitive cost of funds. Also, home loan is one of the best asset categories. It is a relatively safer, long-term product,” said Shanti Ekambaram, Group President, Consumer Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank. Speaking to BusinessLine, she said there is a lot of demand across the spectrum as “deals being offered by the eco-system as a whole are very interesting”. “We are seeing a lot of demand across the top five to six metros,” she said. - Business Line

🍒 Rs 1,800-cr fund infusion in pipeline; to be used to repay high-cost borrowings: PNB Housing CEO : With about Rs 1,800 crore equity fund raise in the pipeline, PNB Housing Finance plans to repay its high-cost borrowings and will ask its lenders to sweeten the lending rates as the firm is working consistently to improve profitability parameters besides enhancing the value proposition for the investors, its MD and CEO Hardayal Prasad said. PNB Housing Finance’s board has okayed to raise up to Rs 1,800 crore through a preferential or rights of shares. Of this, promoter Punjab National Bank (PNB) has already given its nod to infuse Rs 600 crore. Prasad said there is a large number of investors, of whom almost 84-85 per cent are institutional investors, who are all interested in the company. “But, we are also getting inquiries from many other players who feel that they have the ability to invest in the company directly. So, as far as the interest of our investors are concerned, it is high for the company and the franchise that has been built,” Prasad told PTI in an interview. He added that there is a strong retail book and second-highest deposit book also. “There is a massive amount of interest in the company.” - financial express

🍒 Credit cost for MFIs to rise to 6-7% in two years as loans remain unpaid : With about 12 per cent of their customers not having repaid loans till end of August, the credit costs of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) could rise to 6-7 per cent over two years from 1.5 per cent in FY20, according to Icra. The rating agency said 12 per cent of borrowers of 21 entities with collective assets under management (AUM) of around Rs 54,213 crore availed a complete moratorium during April-August 2020.Consequently, near-term delinquencies (30+ days past due) are expected to increase to double digits. They would remain at these levels for a few months as it will be difficult for such borrowers to clear their dues. However, the rise in credit costs could be lower at 6-7 per cent (spread over two years FY2021-FY2022; 1.5 per cent in FY2020). Entities with a higher share of such borrowers may face higher credit costs, said Supreeta Nijjar, Vice President and Sector Head, Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA. - Business Standard

🍒 PMC Bank trying to use the escape hatch used by tiny cooperative banks : Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank’s (PMC) proposal to convert deposits into equity is not a novel idea, but certainly the most visible one. Although not reported anywhere, every year depositors of one or two tiny cooperative banks undergo this fate. In most cases, deposits are converted into subordinated debts, to be serviced over at least 10 years, or the banks are merged with other cooperative banks and deposits beyond a certain amount are converted into equity with a deep discount. Both the options are done after getting consent from the depositors. The harassed depositors prefer the debt route as liquidating the equity is next to impossible. Besides, if the merged entity incurs loss, which is more often than not, then the equity holders have to bear the loss too. This erodes their deposits even further. But with a deposit base of more than Rs 11,600 crore, PMC is not a small cooperative bank. And therefore, PMC’s conversion to equity has attracted public attention. - Business Standard

🍒 Indian private banks shed Covid-19 woes, net profit rises by 159% : Indian private banks seem to have weathered the severe economic shocks inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic, at least for now. Backed by a steady rise in net interest income (NII) and contraction in provisions, private banks posted 159 per cent growth (year-on-year) in net profit at Rs 18,814 crore in the second quarter (Q2) ended July-September 2020-21 (Q2FY21). While the asset quality held up during Q2, the real picture is masked by the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) directive that accounts not declared non-performing assets (NPAs) as of August 31 should not be classified as such until further orders. The NII in the September quarter rose 15 per cent to Rs 52,101 crore in Q2FY21, while provisions and contingencies declined 4.2 per cent to Rs 18,414, according to a Business Standard analysis of 17 listed private lenders.- Business Standard

🍒 SBI’s asset quality numbers warrant a closer look : Country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has received applications for loan restructuring to the tune of Rs 6,495 crore in October, the bank said while announcing its second quarter results. Overall restructuring numbers could go up as customers have time till December to apply for the one-time loan recast for Covid-linked stressed assets. The total estimated slippages in Q2 (July-September) is Rs 14,388 crore, the bank said. But, if one includes the loans that are not tagged as bad following a recent interim Supreme Court order, the total fresh slippages in Q2 would stand at over Rs 17,144 crore. Overall gross NPAs also have stayed at elevated levels if one takes into account the portion of bad loans excluded under Supreme Court’s interim order. - moneycontrol.com

🍒 Gold recycling hits 8-year-high on record prices : High gold prices pushed the recycling of the yellow metal to an eight-year-high of 41 tonnes in the September quarter, with both consumers and some of the distressed jewellers recycling their inventory to meet immediate cash requirements. Average gold prices jumped 37 per cent in the September quarter to ₹45,640 per 10 grams, against ₹33,329 logged in the same period last year. In fact, prices jumped 65 per cent from ₹27,861 logged in 2018, according to the World Gold Council data. - Business Line

🍒 Gold prices remain flat at Rs 51,306 per 10 gram; silver falls by Rs 1,007 a kg : Gold prices were steady at Rs 51,306 per 10 gram in the Mumbai retail market on a sharp fall in rupee and weak global cues. The precious metal traded lower amid growing worries over the possibility of the contested US election outcome and firm dollar. The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 46,996 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 51,306 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 38,480 plus GST in the retail market. The gold/silver ratio currently stands at 83.77 to 1, which means the amount of silver required to buy one ounce of gold. Silver prices declined Rs 1,007 to Rs 61,243 per kg from its closing on November 3.

🍒 Sensex rallies 355 pts; Nifty reclaims 11,900 : Rising for the third straight session, the Sensex rallied 355 points on Wednesday following gains in Reliance Industries, Infosys and Kotak Bank amid a positive trend in global markets ahead of the outcome of the US presidential elections. After a volatile session, the 30-share BSE index ended 355.01 points or 0.88 per cent higher at 40,616.14. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 95 points or 0.80 per cent to 11,908.50. IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 5 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Kotak Bank and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, HDFC, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, NTPC and L&T were among the laggards.

🍒 Rupee falls to over 2-month low of 74.66 amidst tight US vote : Most emerging market shares scored small gains while currencies were broadly weaker on hints of a tight race, sparking a bout of volatility across financial markets. The partially convertible rupee was at 74.66/67 per dollar at 0506 GMT versus its previous close of 74.40. The unit touched 74.78 earlier in the session, its weakest since August 24. Traders said they expect the rupee to weaken further with the unit having hit a low of 75.0550 in the overnight spot non-deliverable forward