04.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

04.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Bank lending, deposit rates have bottomed out: SBI chief Dinesh Khara : Bank lending rates “have actually bottomed”, and will remain at these levels for a while till the economy recovers, Dinesh Kumar Khara, chairman of the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), told Business Standard in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. Khara said SBI and other banks in the country were aware that the economy required softer rates to continue. “We are very mindful of supporting growth at this point of time.” On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to maintain the "status quo" as far as its policy rate and stance are concerned, said Khara, who took over from Rajnish Kumar as SBI chairman in early October. Unlike Kumar though, Khara is in no hurry to list YONO, SBI’s digital banking application. Rather, he said the bank would evaluate various options for the app, which Kumar once had estimated could be valued at $40-50 billion. - Business Standard

🍒 Canara Bank raises fixed deposit rates by 0.2 per cent : State-owned Canara Bank has raised its rates by 0.2 per cent for fixed deposits having a maturity period of at least two years. With the increase, fixed deposits with tenure of two years but less than three years will now fetch 5.4 per cent from a rate of 5.2 per cent earlier, the bank said in a statement on Thursday. For fixed deposits with tenure of 3-10 years, the interest rate has been increased to 5.5 per cent from 5.3 per cent. Senior citizens are offered 0.50 per cent extra on the revised rates, the statement said. The new rates are effective from November 27. With the latest revision in rates, Canara Bank is offering the highest interest rate for fixed deposits having tenure of 2-10 years among all the other public sector banks, as per the statement. Canara Bank’s rate hike comes just a day before the Reserve Bank of India’s bi-monthly monetary policy announcement. The central bank is expected to keep benchmark policy rate unchanged at 4 per cent. - financial express

🍒 Union Bank of India plans to raise up to ₹6,800 crore : Union Bank of India (UBI), on Thursday, said plans to raise equity capital of up to ₹6,800 crore, including premium, if any, in FY21. As per the public sector bank’s regulatory filing, the capital-raise will be via various modes such as Follow-on Public Offer, Rights Issue, Private Placement, including Qualified Institutions Placement, and/or Preferential Allotment to the Government of lndia and/or other institutions. The bank said an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held on December 30to obtain shareholders’ approval for raising of equity capital. As at September-end 2020, the government owned 89.07 per cent stake in the bank. - Business Line

🍒 IDBI Bank puts home loan, LAP, corporate NPAs worth around Rs 970 cr on sale : IDBI Bank has put non-performing assets (NPAs) worth around Rs 970 crore on sale last month, according to notifications issued by the bank. The assets on the block include the lender’s exposure to KSK Mahanadi Power Company, two smaller corporate loans and 17 smaller loan accounts from the housing loan and loan against property (LAP) segments. The gross principal outstanding in the housing and LAP loan accounts is Rs 47.78 crore and they are being offered at a reserve price of Rs 27 crore on an all-cash basis to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) and other financial entities. Loans to two Bhubaneswar-based companies — Raipur Power & Steel and Parth Concast — are being offered at a total reserve price of Rs 77.57 crore together. - financial express

🍒 ICICI Bank, Indian Bank at risk of becoming 'fallen angels', warns S&P : Many potential “fallen angel” banks — including ICICI Bank and public sector lender Indian Bank — face risks from a more severe economic downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has warned. S&P terms an entity a “fallen angel” if its rating is lowered to speculative-grade (a long-term rating of ‘BB+’ or lower) from investment-grade (a long-term rating of 'BBB-' or higher). Potential “fallen angels” are issuers rated ‘BBB-’ with negative outlook or on CreditWatch negative. There have been three fallen angels in Asia-Pacific since the Covid-19 outbreak — Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Hero FinCorp — S&P said in a statement. - Business Standard

🍒 RBI pulls up HDFC over outages, tells bank to halt all digital launches, new credit cards : Private lender HDFC Bank on Thursday said the Reserve Bank of India has advised the bank to temporarily stop all digital launches and sourcing new credit card customers. This after the bank suffered its third big outage in the span of just two years. The RBI order also states that the lender’s board needs to examine these lapses and fix accountability. “The RBI has advised to stop all launches of the Digital Business generating activities planned under its program - Digital 2.0 (to be launched) and other proposed business generating IT applications and (sourcing of new credit card customers,” the bank said in an exchange filing. “The above measures shall be considered for lifting upon satisfactory compliance with the major critical observations as identified by the RBI.” - economic times

🍒 RBI ban on HDFC Bank could stay for 3-6 months: Macquarie Capital : The Reserve Bank of India move to temporarily halt all digital launches and sourcing new credit card customers for HDFC Bank could stay for three to six months according to a note by Macquarie Capital. The bank could apply to the RBI for a review of its decision only after fixing the technology and scale issues, the brokerage house noted. “We believe the ban could be in place for around 3-6months as the bank would at least take a quarter to resolve some of these issues and then invite RBI for a review post which RBI may relax the restrictions in our view,” said Suresh Ganapathy, associate director, Macquarie Capital. While this is the first big challenge for newly minted chief executive Sasidhar Jagdishan, Ganapathy argued that one should not give much weight to the fact that the outage issue happened after Puri’s exit. “We won’t read this as an issue specific to the new CEO,” he said. “Technology outages were also happening under the earlier CEO Mr. Puri. As argued earlier, the biggest challenge for the bank under the new CEO Sashi Jagdishan is to build scale when they already have a 10% market share.” - economic times

🍒 After RBI action on outages, HDFC Bank CEO steps in to allay customer fears : HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan on Thursday assured existing clients of the bank and said that they could continue to transact with the bank without any concern. Jagdishan also said that the bank with comply with the regulator’s diktat. RBI on Thursday asked HDFC Bank to temporarily halt new digital offerings and stop sourcing credit card customers. “Many of you may have read or heard about the RBI order asking us to temporarily stop any new digital banking launches and sourcing of new credit card customers. We will comply with the regulator's requirements,” Jagdishan said in a note to customers. “We take this opportunity to assure our existing customers that there is no reason to worry. You can continue to transact with the Bank without any concern.” - economic times

🍒 Bank of India to acquire 49% stake each in BOI AXA Investment Managers, BOI AXA Trustee Services : Bank of India (BoI) on Thursday said it will purchase 49 per cent stake each in BOI AXA Investment Managers Pvt Ltd (BAIM) and BOI AXA Trustee Services Pvt Ltd (BATS) from AXA investment Managers Asia Holdings Pvt Ltd (AXA IM). Pursuant to this transaction, BoI shall hold 100 per cent equity shares in BAIM and BATS. Currently, BOI AXA Mutual Fund is a joint venture between BoI (51 per cent stake) and AXA IM (49 per cent). BoI had acquired a 51 per cent stake in the then Bharti AXA Investment Managers Pvt Ltd on May 7, 2012. The bank said the acquisition is expected to be completed by end of December or such other extended date mutually agreed between BoI and AXA 1M. - Business Line

🍒 ICICI Bank opens representative office in Nepal : ICICI Bank, on Tuesday, has inaugurated its representative office Kathmandu, marking the foray of an Indian private sector bank in Nepal. The representative office at the business district of Thapathali will closely work with domestic banks in Nepal to facilitate investment, trade, payments and treasury business between the two countries. “With this foray, ICICI Bank has expanded its global footprint to 15 countries, including India,” said ICICI Bank in a statement. The bank has appointed Ranjan Kumar Thapa as the Chief Representative for its Nepal operations. - Business Line

🍒 Increasing private participation in banking will reduce fiscal bill: ICRA : Rating firm ICRA on Thursday said that the Reserve Bank of India’s internal working group (IWG) suggestions to increase participation in the banking sector will augur well for private players, reduce over reliance on public sector banks and cut the government’s fiscal bill. “Increasing private participation in the banking sector is a pressing need given the fact that continuing dependence only on public sector banks can escalate the fiscal bill. Also relying on PSBs for credit expansion could entail significant capital infusion in public banks by Government of India, which itself is constrained for resources,” said Anil Gupta, Vice President, ICRA. - economic times

🍒 Sarvatra on-boards 50 co-operative banks on UPI platform : Sarvatra Technologies, a banking technology provider announced that it has on-boarded 50 urban co-operative banks live on its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform, thereby making them interoperable with all the large banks across the country. The landmark milestone reflects more than 170 per cent annual growth in the number of co-operative banks on the company’s UPI platform. - Business Line

🍒 ‘74% borrowers willing to up their financial literacy quotient’ : India has miles to go on the financial literacy front, going by the latest findings of a Home Credit India survey. As many as 68 per cent of survey respondents did not know their CIBIL score, the survey revealed. All the more disappointing is that 76 per cent of borrowers do not know their interest amount on their loans. However, the good news is that 74 per cent of respondents are willing to take financial literacy lessons to manage their finances better. Home Credit India, a local arm of the international consumer finance provider with operations in Europe and Asia, conducted this research across 7 cities to understand the levels of financial literacy among borrowers. Close to 1,000 respondents were interviewed in the survey. - Business Line

🍒 Flipkart announces partial spin-off of PhonePe : Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, on Thursday announced a partial spin-off of its 100 per cent subsidiary PhonePe, India’s largest digital payments platform. While Flipkart will continue to remain PhonePe’s majority shareholder with 87 per cent stake, 10 per cent will be held by Walmart and 3 per cent by Flipkart’s existing investors including Tiger Global. The move will help PhonePe access dedicated, long-term capital to fund its growth ambitions. - Business Line

🍒 LVB shareholders believe merger with DBS negates bank’s inherent strengths : The legal tug-of-war between the shareholders of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding valuation of their shares, which have been marked down to zero following the amalgamation of the financially-stressed bank with DBS India Ltd (DBIL), is unlikely to end soon. Each party to the case, currently on in the Bombay and Madras High Courts, expects the other to seek relief in the Supreme Court should they lose the case in the High Court. - Business Line

🍒 Religare files petition in Delhi HC to substitute DBS Bank with LVB : Religare Finvest has filed a petition with the Delhi High Court to make DBS Bank India a respondent in its pending case against Lakshmi Vilas Bank. The move comes after the merger of LVB with DBS Bank India with effect from November 27. The Bench, headed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher, in an order on December 1, has given DBS Bank India five weeks to respond. It has listed the matter for hearing on February 25. Religare Finvest had filed a case against LVB for misappropriating ₹750 crore of fixed deposits with inappropriate authorisation. The amount has now risen to ₹900 crore with interest. “The present application is being filed under Order XXII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for substitution of the defendant, Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS Bank India Limited (DBS),” said Religare in its petition. - Business Line

🍒 Shriram City Union Fin clocks its highest two-wheeler loan disbursals at ₹1,000 cr in Nov : Shriram City Union Finance on Thursday said it has clocked its highest ever two-wheeler loan disbursals at over ₹1,000 crore in November on the back of festive demand. The company financed over 1.66 lakh two-wheeler loans in November 2020, it said in a release. This represents disbursements of slightly over ₹1,000 crore. This is a new high for the lender, Shriram City Union Finance said. - Business Line

🍒 NCLT gives nod to Reliance Infratel resolution plan : The dedicated insolvency court has given its nod to Reliance Infratel’s (RITL) resolution plan, thereby paving way for Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) to pick up the tower and fibre assets of this bankrupt company. Under the plan approved by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), lenders may recover under Rs 4000 crore through the resolution plan of Reliance Infratel,. This 100% subsidiary of Reliance Communications (RCom) holds 43,000 towers and and 1,72,000 km of fibre, a person familiar with the matter said. "However, the NCLT Resolution plan distribution is subject to disposal of Doha Bank Intervention Application," the person added. - economc times

🍒 Fitch affirms Issuer Default Rating on four PSBs including SBI : Fitch Ratings today affirmed ratings on four public sector banks–-State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India. It affirmed Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BBB-' for the lenders.The rating agency has maintained negative outlook on ratings. It mirrors the Outlook on India's sovereign rating of 'BBB-', which was revised to Negative from Stable on June 18, 2020. The revision factored in the impact of the escalating coronavirus pandemic on India's economy. The agency has also upgraded private lender IDBI Bank’s Viability Rating (VR) by one-notch from “ccc” to “ccc+”. The upgrade in VR is due mainly to the improved core capitalisation and the high loan-loss coverage. This provide some resilience to the capital buffers against potential asset-quality stress. It also factors in the possibility for more fresh capital in the current financial year (FY21). If successfully raised, it can provide a significant philip to the capital buffers, it said. - Business Standard

🍒 Govt's move to pare stake in Axis Bank fuels hope of divestment by stealth : The Centre’s move to pare its holding in Axis Bank--held under the Specified Undertaking of The Unit Trust of India’s (Suuti)--has stoked hopes of disinvestment by stealth. Last week, the government sold shares worth Rs 220 crore in Axis Bank in the open market. The transaction, carried out without a formal announcement, came to light only this week. Market players said the government should pursue the same strategy for selling shares in listed PSUs. A prior announcement often leads to bear hammering of the stock causing harm to the government as well as other shareholders, they add. The government usually offloads stake in listed firms using the offer for sale (OFS) route. Under this, the seller has to announce the details of the transaction at least a day in advance. Often the secondary market price tends to converge with the floor price set by the seller in case of a PSU. This impacts demand for the share sale. Experts said instead of an OFS, the government can use the open market route, wherever possible.- Business Standard

🍒 Former US Ambassador to India Richard Verma joins Mastercard as executive vice-president : Former US Ambassador to India Richard Verma has joined leading financial services company Mastercard as its executive vice-president for global public policy and regulatory affairs. In this capacity, Verma will oversee the company's public policy, regulatory affairs and litigation teams around the world, Mastercard said in a statement. - moneycontrol.

🍒 Sensex ends marginally higher; Nifty hits record peak ; After scaling an all-time intra-day peak of 44,953.01, the 30-share BSE Sensex pared some gains to end 14.61 points or 0.03 per cent higher at 44,632.65. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty touched a fresh intra-day high of 13,216.60, before settling 20.15 points or 0.15 per cent up at 13,133.90 -- its lifetime closing high. Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 7 per cent, followed by ONGC, Asian Paints, NTPC, SBI, Bajaj Finserv and Tata Steel. On the other hand, HDFC Bank, TCS, Bajaj Auto, Infosys and M&M were among the laggards.

🍒 Bank Of India shares rise 4% on acquiring controlling stake in subsidiaries : Bank Of India share price rose 4 percent intraday on December 3 after the bank said it is going to acquire the remaining 49 percent stake in its two subsidiaries. Bank of India has entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with AXA investment Managers Asia Holdings Private Limited (AXA IM) whereby Bank of India has agreed to purchase AXA IM's entire 49% equity shares in BOI AXA Investment Managers Private Limited (BAIM); and entire 49% equity shares in BOI AXA Trustee Services Private Limited (BATS). Bank of India is holding 51% equity shares in BAIM and BATS. 

🍒 Rupee loss widens by 12 paise to 73.93 against USD : The rupee weakened by another 12 paise to end at 73.93 against the US dollar on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of the RBI policy meet outcome. Analysts said investor focus is on the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee’s three-day interest rate-setting meeting that started on Wednesday, with the decision due on Friday.

🍒 Gold prices up Rs 262 to Rs 49,432 per 10 gram on weak rupee, silver falls : Gold prices jumped Rs 262 to Rs 49,432 per 10 gram in the Mumbai retail market on rupee depreciation and positive global trend. The precious metal price was supported by a weaker dollar and fall in US treasuries. The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 45,280 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 49,432 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 37,074 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices fell marginally by Rs 88 to Rs 63,118 per kg from its closing on December 2..

03.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

03.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 PNB says completed technology integration with Oriental Bank of Commerce : State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) has completed IT integration of all branches of erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) with itself, the bank said in a release on December 2. All customers of erstwhile OBC Bank are now migrated to CBS of PNB wherein they can transact seamlessly via existing branches and digital banking channels like internet banking and mobile banking, the bank said.The ATM Switch and terminals also rowed smoothly into the PNB network. The entire migration has been completed without effecting any change in their account numbers, debit cards or net banking credentials, the bank said.With this, the OBC customers can now enjoy services at a wider network of branches without any hassle owing to harmonized products and services at PNB network. The amalgamation of PNB, United Bank of India and OBC has come into effect from April 1, this year. The merger created the second-largest nationalized bank in terms of business and total branches. Six Indian public sector banks (PSBs), some of which have been in existence for over a century, ceased to exist on April 1 after their amalgamation with bigger PSBs. - moneycontrol

🍒 Punjab National Bank introduces loan management solution to speed up delivery : To speed up and maintain accuracy in online loan processing and sanctioning of credit proposals, Punjab National Bank introduced 'LenS' which is a tech-based loan management solution. PNB said in a statement, "After the merger, it was paramount to have a stringent loan management solution, which can be used for activities related to lead capturing, loan appraisal, sanction, and documentation".The bank also added, "PNB started development/customisation of an IT-based solution PNB LenS- The Lending Solution for loan management. It facilitates field functionaries in uniform and consistent appraisal methodology to improve due diligence standards".To standardise the system, process and appraisal formats for loan processing, speed up the process of credit sanctions, and auto-generate loan documents, among others are the main purpose behind the launch of it. For all kinds of loans such as MSME, agriculture, retail and other credit, the system is expected to be implemented in a phased manner. - moneycontrol.

🍒 Banks want RBI to extend recast window till March 31, 2021 : Indian Banks Association (IBA) has made a representation to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to extend the restructuring window outlined by the KV Kamath committee by another three months to March 31, 2021, two people familiar with the development said. The window to seek restructuring is set to lapse on December 31. Bankers have requested the regulator that given the case in the Supreme Court leading to a prolonged moratorium, they haven’t been able to assess borrower cash flows. Also, with borrowers pinning hopes on the Supreme Court verdict in the loan moratorium case, several customers have sought more time to submit recast requests. “A request has been made to the RBI to extend the recast window by another three months, bank books are very opaque currently since several borrowers are sitting on the fence and awaiting a positive verdict from the apex court,” said a banker in the know of the IBA’s representation. - economic times

🍒 SBI’s digital banking platform ‘YONO’ encounters technical glitch : State Bank of India’s (SBI) digital banking platform ‘YONO’ encountered a technical glitch on Wednesday. Customers took to twitter to complain about not being able to open the app/login. According to SBI’s FY20 annual report, the daily active user base on YONO averaged 30 lakh logins (average 10 lakh in FY2019). This app was launched in November 2017. As of September-end 2020, India’s largest bank had about 2.85 crore cumulative registrations for YONO. As per the report, YONO provides both lifestyle and banking experience with more than 31 products, and over 40 services of 5 Joint Venture partners (SBI Life Insurance, SBI Card, SBICAP Securities, SBI General Insurance and SBI Mutual Fund) live on its financial superstore. - Business Line

🍒 Nabard, SBI ink MoU for livelihood intervention projects : Nabard’s Karnataka Regional Office on Wednesday has entered into MoU with State Bank of India (SBI), LHO-Bengaluru, to take up joint intervention projects and provide support, concessional refinance and capacity building of the stakeholders in Nabard’s livelihood projects. The ongoing development initiatives of Nabard and SBI include — Tribal Development Fund (TDF), Watershed Development Fund (WDF), Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs), Self -Help Group (SHGs), and Joint Liability Groups (JLGs). The MoU will benefit farmers and 45,000 beneficiaries of 260 FPOs in 28 districts; 8,500 beneficiaries of 70 watersheds in 20 districts and 15 tribal development programmes (wadis) along with JLGs/ SHGs through EShakti (digitisation)/artisans/agri-preneurs/agri-start-ups. - Business Line

🍒 Legal tussle between LVB shareholders, RBI likely to reach SC : Irrespective of who wins the ongoing litigation arising from the amalgamation of LVB with DBS India Ltd (DBIL), it is more than likely that the losing side will escalate the matter to the Supreme Court. LVB shareholders (the petitioners) have challenged a clause in ‘The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd(amalgamation with DBS Bank India) Scheme, 2020’ in the Bombay and Madras High Courts, whereby the value of their shareholding became zero overnight. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the main respondent in the aforementioned litigation, had prepared the draft scheme of amalgamation, which was sanctioned by the government on November 25. As per the clause in the scheme, the entire amount of the paid-up share capital, reserves and surplus, including the balances in the share or securities premium account of the transferor (LVB) bank, shall stand written off. - Business Line

🍒 LVB shareholders believe merger with DBS negates bank’s inherent strengths : The legal tug-of-war between the shareholders of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding valuation of their shares, which have been marked down to zero following the amalgamation of the financially-stressed bank with DBS India Ltd (DBIL), is unlikely to end soon. Each party to the case, currently on in the Bombay and Madras High Courts, expects the other to seek relief in the Supreme Court should they lose the case in the High Court. While depositors’ interest has been safeguarded by merging the troubled LVB with a healthy bank (DBIL), shareholders of LVB are disappointed. As per a clause in the scheme in ‘The Lakshmi Vilas Bank (amalgamation with DBS Bank India) Scheme2020’, the entire amount of the paid-up share capital, reserves and surplus, including the balances in the share or securities premium account of the transferor (LVB) bank, shall stand written off - Business Line

🍒 Insolvency resolution in India sees second consecutive quarter of under-performance : Insolvency resolution in India saw a second consecutive quarter of underperformance as the number of cases admitted to the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) fell 86% year-on-year in July-September. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted 80 cases during the second quarter of this financial year, one less than in the previous quarter and substantially lower than the 588 admitted a year ago, data released by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India showed. The data was along expected lines as the suspension of sections 7, 9 and 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) remained in place through the second quarter. "The drop in number of admissions in the quarter of July-September, is perhaps also on account of limitations of virtual hearings and the NCLT and the ecosystem adapting to the same," said Misha, partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, adding that the suspension would have definitely put a stop to operational creditors (OCs) initiating CIRPs. - economic times

🍒 Fintech start-up CRED raises $80 million : Fintech start-up CRED, a members-only app that rewards users with exclusive rewards for paying credit card bills, has raised $80 million in a fresh round of funding. The new Series C round, which was led by existing investor DST Global along with other existing investors – Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital, takes CRED’s post-money valuation to $800 million. Including this round, CRED has raised a total of $175.5 million from 20 investors as per data sourced from Crunchbase. Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, CRED raised $120 million in Series B funding last year in July at a valuation of $450 million. Shah is the founder of mobile wallet service Freecharge, which he started in 2010 and which subsequently got acquired by Snapdeal in 2015 for $450 million. - Business Line

🍒 SIP inflow into MFs rises for first time in 7 months in Oct : After six months of continuous decline, investment in mutual funds through SIPs rose to Rs 7,800 crore in October indicating a return to normalisation for the retail investor. However, the increase in SIP numbers “may induce many to profit booking, as we are seeing in November equity flow preliminary numbers”, said Gautam Kalia, head (investment solutions) at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. The industry raised Rs 7,800 crore through the SIP route last month, compared with Rs 7,788 crore garnered in September, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. This was the first increase in Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) inflows since March this year. - Business Line

🍒 Over 60 bids submitted for Reliance Capital’s asset monetisation plan : In a relief to creditors, over 60 bids including by Oaktree Capital, Blackstone and KKR are understood to have been submitted for various subsidiaries of Anil Ambani controlled Reliance Capital. As many as eight entities including Oaktree Capital, JC Flower and a number of asset reconstruction companies have put in bids for the entire RCAP assets on an as-is-where-is basis, according to banking sources. The details of the offer made by these entities including the bid amount could not be ascertained. For Reliance General Insurance, 18 bids have been submitted including by Chryscap, JC Flower, Blackstone, KKR, CVC Capital Partners, and Bain Capital. Meanwhile, 16 bids have come in for its life insurance subsidiary – Reliance Nippon Life Insurance from players including Bain Capital, NIIF, Arpwood Partners, Dabur Investments, Bandhan Bank, and Multiples Asset Management. - Business Line

🍒 High bounce rates indicate trouble ahead for lenders : Despite banks claiming that loan collection efficiencies have reached 95% of pre-Covid levels, bounce rates on auto-debit transactions continued to remain abnormally high. Data with NPCI and research done by Macquarie Capital showed that bounce rates on the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) platform stood as high as 40% in volumes and 32% in value at the end of October. This was at 31% in volume and 25% in value in February. Though these rates have come off slightly from a high of 45% in volumes and 38% in values in the month of June. Most banks and NBFCs have claimed of achieving near normal collection efficiency levels, but data suggests that Covid has altered borrower repayment behaviour. - economic times

🍒 Global bank job cuts reach five-year high : Banks around the world have announced the most job cuts in five years as the pandemic adds further pressure to business models upended by the digital revolution. ABN Amro Bank NV and Banco de Sabadell SA disclosed plans to eliminate as many 4,600 positions between them this week, taking the total to 85,540 globally, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the most since 2015, when deep overhauls of several major lenders called for a combined 91,448 positions to be axed. The moves by ABN Amro of the Netherlands and Spain’s Sabadell are a reminder that Europe is at the epicenter of the industry’s job cull, with its lenders facing record-low and even negative interest rates. Yet banks in the region have the added challenge of tougher labor protections than in other parts of the world, meaning the cuts will be drawn out over several years. - Live Mint

🍒 Ant Group mulls selling Paytm stake as China-India tensions mount : Chinese fintech giant Ant Group is considering selling its 30% stake in Indian digital payment processor Paytm amid tensions between the two Asian neighbours and a toughening competitive landscape, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Financial details of the possible transaction have not been firmed up and Ant, the Alibaba-backed payments-to-consumer credit behemoth, has not launched a formal sale process yet, four people told Reuters. Paytm, which is also backed by SoftBank Group Corp among others, was valued at about $16 billion during its latest private fundraising round a year ago. At that valuation, Ant’s stake in the Indian firm is worth about $4.8 billion. Both Ant and Paytm said that the information was incorrect. A Paytm spokesman said “there has been no discussion with any of our major shareholders ever, nor any plans, about selling their stake.” - financial express

🍒 Razorpay, PayPal come together to help MSMEs : Razorpay has announced a partnership with PayPal to enable international payments for MSMEs and freelancers. The company’s partner businesses will integrate with PayPal and accept payments from international customers from across 200 markets in a convenient and secure manner, reducing wait time from days down to minutes. After having faced stiff challenges due to the ongoing pandemic, Indian SMEs are hoping to bounce back by leveraging digital technologies as they believe it’ll help them increase their revenues. Even the freelancer economy is flourishing, a recent study revealed that India saw a 46% increase in new freelancers. These businesses lose out on prospective global clients due to highly complex payment and banking infrastructure, processes and systems in place that lack seamless integration. By integrating PayPal into Razorpay’s payment platform, freelancers and MSMEs will be able to accept international payments easily. This service will also reduce wait times for statutory approvals. - economic times

🍒 Sensex dips 37 points on profit-booking; Nifty edges higher : The BSE Sensex retreated from record highs to close 37 points lower on Wednesday due to profit booking in banking and infrastructure stocks by cautious investors after the recent rally. The 30-share barometer closed lower by 37.40 points or 0.08 per cent at 44,618.04. The broader NSE Nifty edged higher by 4.70 points or 0.04 per cent to end at its fresh record high of 13,113.75.Banking stocks bore the brunt of profit selling ahead of the RBI policy announcement this week. Kotak Bank was the top loser among Sensex stocks, dropping by 3.28 per cent. HDFC Bank declined by 1.86 per cent, HDFC by 1.28 per cent and ICICI Bank by 0.99 per cent. SBI fell 0.5 per cent while Bajaj Finance by 0.72 per cent. Larsen & Toubro dropped 0.16 per cent. - Business Line

🍒 QIP mechanism: SEBI proposes discontinuing segregated offering of NCD, warrants : Markets regulator SEBI on Wednesday proposed discontinuing segregated offering of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and warrants to institutional investors under the QIP mechanism. Under the current framework, an investor can either subscribe to the combined offering of NCD instrument with warrants or to the individual securities (that is, either NCD or warrants). It depends upon the type of offering made by the issuer -- whether the issuer has offered staple or segregated product. - Business Line

🍒 Rupee settles 13 paise lower at 73.81 against US dollar : The rupee pared its initial gains and settled for the day 13 paise lower at 73.81 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking muted domestic equities. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit witnessed a highly volatile trading session. It opened at 73.45, pared the gains and finally closed at 73.81 against the greenback, registering a decline of 13 paise over its previous close of 73.68.

🍒 Gold prices today fall, a day after big jump; silver rates drop : Gold and silver prices in Indian markets dropped today amid weak global cues. On MCX, February gold futures slipped 0.24% to ₹48,449 per 10 gram while silver dropped 1% to ₹62,559 per kg. The precious metals had seen a sharp upmove in the previous session. Gold had jumped 1.4% or ₹700 per 10 gram while silver had surged about ₹3,000 per kg. Gold has been on a downhill journey since hitting a high of ₹56,200 in August.

02.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

02.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 12 Top Nationalised Banks Wrote Off Rs6.32 Lakh Crore in 8 Years; Recovered Just 7% of Write Off Debt from Big Defaulters : Over the past eight years, 12 nationalised banks have written off a massive of Rs6.32 lakh crore of bad loans. Of these, as much as Rs2.78 lakh crore of the loans written off were to big defaulters with borrowings of Rs100 crore and above. While the government had aggressively claimed that loans written off are aggressively pursued and recovered, the recovery by these 12 banks from defulters is just 7% or only Rs19,207 crore. In the past four years alone, these 12 PSBs wrote off bad loans amounting to Rs4.95 lakh crore but recovered Rs79,000 crore or 16%. The 12 lenders include the State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Bank of Maharashtra (BoM), Union Bank of India (UBI), IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, UCO Bank, Indian Bank and Bank of India (BoI). Of these, IDBI Bank was re-categorised as a private sector lender in January 2019 after Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) increased its stake to 51% in the bank. - moneylife

🍒 ‘UBI-Corp Bank IT integration complete’ : Union Bank of India (UBI), on Tuesday, said the Information Technology (IT) integration of the erstwhile Corporation Bank with the former has been completed. “With today’s IT Integration, all branches of erstwhile Corporation Bank (including service branches and specialised branches) have been fully integrated with Union Bank of India,” UBI said in a statement. This integration comes in the wake of the amalgamation of Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank with UBI with effect from April 1. UBI said that as per plan, all branches of the erstwhile Andhra Bank will also migrate to Finacle 10 within the current financial year. “All customers of erstwhile Corporation Bank have been successfully migrated to CBS (core banking solution) of Union Bank of India…thereby enabling them to transact seamlessly across branches and delivery channels of UBI,” the statement said. The entire migration has been completed without any change in customers’ account numbers, debit cards or net banking credentials, it added. - Business Line

🍒 SBI RuPay JCB platinum contactless debit card launched : State Bank of India (SBI), in association with Japan’s JCB International Co Ltd (JCB), has launched a debit card on National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) RuPay network. The ‘SBI RuPay JCB platinum contactless debit card’ comes with a dual-interface feature, which will enable customers to perform both contact and contactless transactions in the domestic market and seamless contact transactions overseas. “With this card, consumers would be able to transact on ATMs and PoS terminals across the globe under JCB network. “They can also shop online from JCB-partnered international e-commerce merchants using this card,” SBI, JCB and NPCI said in a joint statement. The ‘SBI RuPay JCB platinum contactless debit card’ supports RuPay offline wallet-based transactions, enabling an additional payment mode within the Card, according to the statement. - Business Line

🍒 IDBI Bank redeems $350-million worth senior notes : IDBI Bank on Tuesday said it has redeemed senior notes, listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd, aggregating $350 million. The notes, which were redeemed on November 30, carried a coupon of 4.25 per cent. According to IDBI Bank’s regulatory filing, the notes were issued under the bank’s $5-billion MTN (Medium Term Note) Programme for an aggregate principal of $350 million together with accrued interest from the last interest payment date. In its FY20 annual report, the bank said: “During the year, the bank successfully retired long-term FC (foreign currency) borrowings amounting to $370 million comprising bilateral loan of $70 million and Medium-Term Note (MTN) bonds of $300 million. “As on March 31, 2020, the bank’s total outstanding under the MTN Programme was $700 million.”- Business Line

🍒 Yes Bank aims to disburse Rs 10,000 crore retail, MSME loans in December quarter : Yes Bank plans to double both its assets as well as liabilities in the retail and SME (small and medium enterprises) segment in the next two years in an attempt to derisk its book and reduce costs as it seeks to grow after a RBI mandated restructuring in March. Rajan Pental, head of retail at the bank said the bank expects retail and SME loans to make 60% of its loan book by March 2023 up from 45% now similarly retail deposits will increase to 60% of total deposits from 47% now. The bank has also reduced its deposit rates by upto 100 basis points to reduce its costs. One basis point is 0.01 percentage point. "We want to vacate the position of being one of the top deposit rate giving banks and come on par with others in the segment. We have already reduced both our CASA as well as fixed deposit rates," Pental said. Deposits in the bank's savings account now yield a minimum of 4% but still higher than the 2.75% offered by large lenders like State Bank of India (SBI). - economic times

🍒 Court refuses bail to Deepak Kochhar in money laundering case : A court here on Tuesday rejected a bail plea of businessman Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and an accused in a money laundering case. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in September under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the alleged ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case. Special PMLA judge P P Rajvaidya rejected the 'regular' bail application of Deepak Kochhar, filed on merits of the case as against technical grounds. Last month, the court had rejected his 'default' bail plea, filed on the ground that the ED had failed to file a charge sheet in the case within the stipulated period. - economic times

🍒 YES Bank in talks with So Hum Bharat Digital Payments to pick up 9.99% stake : So Hum Bharat Digital Payments, on Tuesday, announced that it is in talks with private sector lender YES Bank for a 9.99 per cent equity investment and will work together on the proposed new umbrella entity (NUE). “So Hum and YES Bank will jointly work towards the NUE’s product and business strategy with key focus on accelerating innovations, inclusion and digital penetration in India,” it said in a statement.- Business Line

🍒 SC rejects Chanda Kochhar's appeal against HC order dismissing her plea regarding termination : The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected Chanda Kochhar's appeal against the Bombay High Court order which had dismissed her plea against her termination as the managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, saying the issue falls within the realm of a private bank and employee. “Sorry, we are not inclined to interfere with the high court order,” a bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said, adding, “This fall within the realm of private bank and employee.” The top court was hearing Kochhar's appeal against the March 5 order of the high court which had dismissed her plea against termination as managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, while noting that the dispute arises from a contract of personal service. - economic times

🍒 LVB bond write-down credit positive for creditors, depositors: Moody's : The decision to write down tier-II bonds of Lakshmi Vilas Bank before its merger with DBS Bank India Ltd is credit positive for depositors and senior creditors due to loss-absorption capacity of such instrument. However, the move is credit negative for holders of LVB’s basel III compliant bonds as they will lose their investment, according to rating agency Moody’s. Terms and conditions of Indian Basel III compliant AT1 and tier-II securities specify that such securities will be written down before authorities can step in to support a bank. On November 26, LVB announced that it has written down in full its Basel III tier-II securities because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has deemed the bank to be non-viable or approaching non-viability. This marks the first time that an Indian bank has written down Basel III tier-II securities and follows Yes Bank’s write-down of Basel III Additional tier 1 (AT1) securities earlier in the year for the same reason. - Business Standard

🍒 HC pulls up RBI for leaving it to PMC bank to decide depositors requests for money in emergencies : The Delhi High Court Tuesday pulled up the RBI for leaving it to scam-hit PMC Bank to decide which emergencies cited by its depositors were to be considered for disbursal of Rs 5 lakh to them, saying since the central bank imposed the restrictions it should have been the one taking the decision. Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank has been put under restrictions, including limiting withdrawals, by the RBI, following the unearthing of a Rs 4,355-crore scam. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was to apply its mind and not act as a post office. If you (RBI) have imposed the restrictions, then you have to apply your mind. You cannot accept what PMC bank says as gospel truth. You cannot leave it to PMC bank to decide to whom it will disburse funds." said a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan. "This is not satisfactory. You cannot leave it to the PMC bank to decide. There has to be some way to monitor it. something independent of the administrator (appointed by RBI)," the bench added. - economic times

🍒 Digital payments go strong in November : Digital payments continued to go strong in November with a sustained growth in transactions through Unified Payments Interface and Immediate Payment Service. Payments through the UPI remained well above the 200 crore mark, data released by the National Payments Corporation of India on Tuesday showed. As many as 221 crore transactions worth ₹3.9-lakh crore were processed on Bhim UPI in November compared to 207 crore transactions amounting to ₹3.86-lakh crore in October. IMPS, which completes 10 years, processed 33.91 crore transactions in November amounting to ₹2.76-lakh crore of payments. In October, 31.89 crore payments totalling ₹2.74-lakh crore took place through IMPS. - Business Line

🍒 FDI in non-life insurance sector slips marginally to Rs 509 cr in FY20 : Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the general insurance sector slipped marginally to Rs 509.07 crore in FY 2019-20 from the previous year, latest data by the General Insurance Council (GIC) showed. In FY2018-19, FDI in the non-life insurance space was recorded at Rs 516.61 crore. Since the opening up of the insurance market in 2000, the non-life sector attracted a total FDI of Rs 4,721.68 crore as on March 2020. It was Rs 4,212.61 crore at the end of March 2019.There are 33 general insurance players, including four public sector insurers, six standalone health insurers and two state-owned specialised companies -- Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India and Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AIC). It is to be noted that FDI limit in the insurance sector has been hiked to 49 per cent from earlier level of 26 per cent. - economic times

🍒 DHFL rebids: All four suitors including Adani will be given chance to revise their offers : Majority of lenders to Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) are in favour of a rebid for the bankrupt lender and new bids are likely to be called by end of the week, multiple people close to the process said. All four suitors including the Adani Group will be given a chance to better their offers as the committee of creditors (CoC) is determined to seek the best price for debt laden housing financier. “We expect the majority of the creditors, including retail debenture and fixed deposit holders, to vote in favour of rebids because it is in everyone's interest to get the best price. Banks are already on board and with the trustee for the debenture holders also likely to seek rebidding, we expect to get the 51% votes needed,” said a person involved in the process.- economic times

🍒 Policybazaar launches income loss insurance vertical : Online insurance marketplace Policybazaar.com has launched a dedicated vertical for consumers to purchase job/income loss insurance products. With this step, Policybazaar aims to provide income replacement benefits/policies to customers for a defined time period. Through this new vertical users can learn more about the product offered by some of India’s leading insurers such as SBI General, Shriram General, Universal Sompo, and Aditya Birla Insurance. - Business Line

🍒 RBI will not make changes in rates: Economists : The Reserve Bank of India monetary policy committee is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets on Friday, after data showing the economy contracting less than expected and persistently high inflation. Economists and market participants are closely watching the commentary from the RBI around liquidity. The overnight call money rate has fallen below the reverse repo rate on days on account of the excess liquidity in the banking system. - Business Line

🍒 Include State Finance Corporations in compound interest waiver scheme: Kerala FM : Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has expressed concern over the manner in which State Finance Corporations (SFCs) have been left out of the scheme for ex-gratia payment to borrowers of the difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months. The scheme was thrown open to lending institutions with MSME-outstanding loan amounts of up to ₹2 crore to ensure business continuity amid the disruptive influence of the Covid-19 pandemic. All lending units — ranging from public sector and private banks, financial institutions and NBFCs — had been included in the laudable scheme, Isaac stated in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman .- Business Line

🍒 ICRA expects FY21 and FY22 to see lower realisations under IBC : Financial creditors may realise ₹60,000 crore to ₹65,000 crore through IBC (the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) in FY21, a significant decline compared to ₹1-lakh crore in FY20, due to pandemic-related issues and suspension of fresh proceedings, according to credit rating agency ICRA. The credit rating agency warned that realisation from resolution plans could continue to suffer in FY22 as fresh insolvency proceedings have been suspended till December 25, 2020, for accounts which default after March 25, 2020, and could be further extended by three more months.. .- Business Line

🍒 Stop banks from offering cashbacks on online purchases, CAIT demands in letter to Nirmala Sitharaman : Traders' body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that banks act in collusion with e-commerce companies to provide incentives to customers, which goes against the Reserve Bank of India's Fair Practices Code. "In the present case, it has been noticed that several Banks including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank,, Axis Bank, Citi Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HSBC Bank, RBL Bank and others have entered into an unholy alliance with e-commerce companies prominently with Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, forming a cartel and thereby granting 10 percent cash back and other incentives in lieu of making payments using respective bank cards while purchasing goods from online portals," wrote Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, CAIT. - in.finance.yahoo.com

🍒 Paytm waives charges on merchant transactions; to absorb MDR of Rs 600 crore : Fintech major Paytm on Tuesday said it will waive all charges on merchant transactions, and enable its merchant partners to accept payments from Paytm wallet, UPI apps and RuPay cards at zero charges. Paytm will absorb Rs 600 crore in MDR charges annually by banks and other charges to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) during the ongoing pandemic, according to a statement. This would help ensure that these merchants have adequate liquidity to expand their businesses, it added. “This initiative will benefit more than 17 million merchants on Paytm ecosystem who use Paytm All-in-One QR, Paytm Soundbox and Paytm All-in-One Android POS to accept payments from their customers,” the statement said. It added that merchants will also have the power to choose whether they want to receive payments directly into their bank accounts or into their Paytm wallet. - financial express

🍒 Gold prices today edge higher after falling ₹2,500 last month, silver rates up : Gold and silver prices today edged higher in Indian markets, tracking an upward trend in global rates. On MCX, February gold futures rose 0.3% to ₹48,070 per 10 gram while silver futures advanced 1.2% to ₹60,977 per kg. In the previous session, gold futures had slipped 0.4% while silver had edged 0.2% lower. Gold prices have been on a downward path since hitting record highs of ₹56,200 in August. In November alone, gold prices fell about ₹2,500 per 10 gram.

🍒 Sensex surges 506 points to new closing high; Nifty tops 13,100 : The 30-share BSE index ended 505.72 points or 1.15 per cent higher at 44,655.44. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 140.10 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 13,109.05.Sun Pharma was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 5 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Auto.On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Nestle India, Titan, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and NTPC were among the laggards.Sector-wise, BSE realty, telecom and teck indices rose up to 3.49 per cent.

🍒 Rupee settles 37 paise higher at 73.68 against US dollar : The rupee appreciated 37 paise and settled for the day at 73.68 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as positive domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows strengthened investor sentiment. Besides, positive developments on Covid-19 vaccine front, improved domestic macro-economic data and weakness of the American currency against key rivals also supported the rupee..

01.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

01.12.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Union Bank aims to increase CASA to 40% by FY23 : Union Bank of India (UBI) plansto increase the proportion of low-cost current account and savings account (CASA) deposits in its overall deposits to about 40 per cent by March-end 2023 from 34.6 per cent as of September-end 2020. This will help the bank improve its net interest margin (NIM). Simultaneously, the Mumbai-headquartered public sector bank (PSBs) is seeking to bring down the proportion of bulk (term) deposits (of ₹2 crore and above) in the overall deposits by not offering special interest rates. UBI’s focus on CASA comes in the backdrop of its net interest margin (NIM) declining to 2.51 per cent as of September-end 2020 against 2.68 per cent as of September-end 2019. NIM (excess of interest income over interest expense divided by average interest earning assets) is one of the indicators of a bank’s profitability. Rajkiran Rai G, MD and CEO, UBI, said: “Banks with large presence in the North and the East have higher CASA deposits. Typically, South-based banks have relatively lower CASA deposits.” - Business Line

🍒 Indian Bank in pact with SIDBI for asset restructuring module for MSMEs : Indian Bank has entered into an agreement with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to use the latter’s asset restructuring module for MSME borrowers. MSMEs have been finding it difficult to maintain books of accounts, preparation of financial statements and submission of financial projections for producing the same to banks / FIs for availing credit finance / restructuring their loans based on their estimates and revision in working capital cycle. MSMEs have to approach third parties for this purpose which involves time and cost. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has come out with Asset Restructuring Module for MSMEs – Do it Yourself (ARM-MSME DIY) – for supporting these MSMEs. The module enables MSMEs prepare their restructuring proposals / financial viability assessments by themselves and submit to the bank. MSMEs can use this module free of cost. SIDBI is also appointing councillors at select centres to guide the MSMEs in usage of this module. - Business Line

🍒 ECLGS 2.0 will be sufficient to ease liquidity pressures: Crisil : The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 2.0 will be sufficient to help companies, including those hit by a sharp decline in cash flows because of the pandemic, overcome liquidity pressures, according to a Crisil study. The scheme can potentially infuse about ₹40,000 crore in liquidity for Crisil-rated eligible companies, the credit rating agency said in a statement. The ECLGS has been extended as part of the government’s stimulus to the economy under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 to eligible companies in 26 stressed sectors identified by the KV Kamath Committee, and also to the healthcare sector.- Business Line

🍒 Banks in India to see capital decline over 2 years without fresh infusion: Moody's : Moody's Investors Service on Monday said the bank capital will moderately fall in emerging Asia over the next two years, with India seeing larger capital decline without further infusion. In a report, Moody's said the uncertain trajectory of asset quality is one of the biggest threats for emerging market banks, as operating conditions remain challenging amid the current COVID pandemic. The 2021 outlook for banks in emerging markets is negative, while the outlook for insurers is stable, it said. "In the Asia Pacific region, banks' rising nonperforming loans and insurers' volatile investment portfolios are in focus. Capital will moderately fall in emerging Asia over the next two years, and banks in India and Sri Lanka will post larger capital declines without public or private injections," Moody's said. - economic times

🍒 Singapore's DBS says it has completed takeover of distressed Lakshmi Vilas Bank : Singapore's DBS Group said on Monday it had completed its takeover of distressed Lakshmi Vilas Bank, helping it shift from a largely digital presence in India to having hundreds of branches. The 94-year old Chennai-based private bank was folded into DBS's Indian subsidiary at the request of the Reserve Bank of India which cited a serious deterioration in its finances.Southeast Asia's largest lender, which will pump in Rs 2,500 crore ($338 million) into its India unit, until recently had just over 30 branches in India but has now added more than 550 and 900-plus ATMs. - economic times

🍒 Lakshmi Vilas Bank customers can access all services; no change in interest rates as of now: DBS : DBS Bank India on Monday said customers of Lakshmi Vilas Bank, which has now been merged with it, can continue to access all banking services, and interest rates on savings and fixed deposits are unchanged as of now. Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) has now been amalgamated with DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS Group Holdings Ltd, DBS Bank India said in a statement. The amalgamation of LVB into DBS Bank India came into effect from November 27 under the special powers of the government and the Reserve Bank of India under Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. - economic times

🍒 Loan growth continues to remain tepid; but loans to medium sized firms, wholesale trade are outliers : Bank loans to most segments including retail and home loans continued to be tepid in October. But loans for wholesale trade, MSMEs, loan against shares and vehicle loans were outlier with higher growth than last year, according to the latest data on sectoral deployment of bank credit released by the Reserve Bank. Non-food bank credit growth decelerated to 5.6 per cent on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, in October 2020 from 8.3 per cent in October 2019. Good monsoons have brightened the prospects for agriculture. Credit growth to agriculture and allied activities accelerated to 7.4 per cent in October 2020 from 7.1 per cent in October 2019.- economic times

🍒 Sidbi to handhold MSMEs for free in formulating restructuring plans : Sidbi is tying up with banks to consider MSME restructuring proposals sent through its newly launched hand-holding help-line. Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Indian Bank have agreed to accept restructuring proposals generated by Sidbi's MSME customers using its helpline. The bank has already signed an MoU with Indian Bank and is in the process of signing separate MoU with PNB and other banks, according to senior officials at Sidbi.Sidbi's helpline- a web portal-"arm-msme" is designed to help MSMEs take benefit of Reserve Bank of India’s MSME restructuring guideline. With the help of this `Do-It-Yourself' asset restructuring web module, MSMEs will be able to prepare restructuring proposals by keying the most essential data of their past financials, future projections and restructuring requirement. - economic times

🍒 Large banks may move RBI to tweak loan rejig rule : Large lenders may soon impress upon the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) the need to tweak a rule to make it easier to rejig loans to companies impacted by the pandemic-induced slowdown. In several cases, such a change will spare companies hit by Covid-19 the stigma attached to a nonperforming asset (NPA) as well lower provisioning for banks. This would call for recognising the months between the ‘invocation of the resolution framework’ (for one-time restructuring of a loan) and its ‘implementation’ as a standstill period. “This may help more banks as well as borrowers to take up one-time restructuring of loans… It will be all the more relevant once the Supreme Court lifts the stay on classification of loan assets,” a senior banker told ET. - economic times

🍒 Jan Dhan accounts, direct cash transfers from government boost ATMs in rural areas : With Jan Dhan accounts and the government’s direct benefit transfers (DBT), ATM usage has gone up in rural areas. This is most clearly seen by the trend of increased usage of ‘white-label operators’ ATMs, which are used only in rural and remote parts of the country. From just 2 per cent of total ATM transactions in India in 2014, these white-label ATMs now make up 12 per cent of total transactions. ATM players say that the main reason for this is that over seven years, the number of debit cards in India has doubled to 86 crore as of September 2020. And of those cards, 35 per cent (30 crore) are RuPay ones issued to PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts. “We are seeing rural demand growing despite the pandemic. One of the reasons is that the rural economy has not been as severely impacted as the urban one with the lockdown,” says K Srinivas, CEO, BTI Payments, a white-label ATM operator. The government’s assistance to BPL workers during the pandemic is also held to have helped in part the industry take a quantum leap from 9.5 per cent in September 2019 to 12 per cent in September 2020. - economic times

🍒 RBI may keep policy rates unchanged : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to keep interest rates unchanged and reiterate its accommodative stance in this week’s monetary policy review, buoyed by good news on the economic front, said investors and traders. But it could also cite concerns about inflation, which has stubbornly remained above the prescribed target range. The monetary policy committee (MPC) is scheduled to meet on December 2-4. Bankers will watch out for any guidance on how the RBI plans to manage the record excess liquidity in the financial system, which has distorted market conditions and led to a drop in short-term rates. Some companies are borrowing at rates lower than the RBI benchmark. - economic times

🍒 Bankers to make last-ditch attempt to get more cash from Lavasa's bidders : Financial creditors to the debt laden Lavasa will make a last-ditch attempt to get more value from bidders for the bankrupt real estate project as the current three bids are close to the liquidation value. Bankers want more cash and will try one on one negotiation with the bidders to extract a better deal, said three persons with direct knowledge of the development. "We have not decided on whether to give the approval for liquidation or to seek a better value from the existing bidders. The assets are still being consolidated and the process is on," said one person aware of the discussions. Creditors to the hill city project are in a bind because the offers that are on the table so far have little or no cash being offered upfront and are based on the returns the bidders expect to make in the future upon completion of the project. - economic times

🍒 Passenger vehicle, 2-wheeler wholesales to decline over next few months: Ind-Ra : Domestic passenger vehicle and two-wheeler wholesales will come down in the next few months as inventory levels remain high at dealer level, according to rating firm India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). The overall auto industry would however continue to grow in the next few months, it noted. "With the festive season now over in India, the rating agency expects wholesale billings to moderate in the next couple of months, given that the inventory at dealer level for passenger vehicles (PVs) and two-wheelers is already at higher than the 21 days recommended by Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA)," Ind-Ra said in a statement.- economic times

🍒 Consumers going back to credit cards as inquiries exceed October '19 levels: Transunion Cibil : Consumers are back to moving away from cash to credit card spending, a gauge of increase in formalising economic activity that had come to a virtual standstill after the country-wide lockdown post the COVID pandemic forcing households to opt for cash transactions. Credit card inquiry volumes in October 2020 were at 106 per cent of October 2019 levels, suggesting that consumer economic activity has materially improved since the easing of COVID-19 lockdown measures, according to a report by Transunion Cibil. Data with the credit bureau shows that credit card popularity in traditionally cash driven, non-metro locations has risen with more consumers wanting to transact through cards. Significantly, the credit culture which has been traditionally metro-centric is becoming more broad-based with more non-metro consumers seeking interest in credit cards. October 2020 inquiry volumes in non-metro locations increased by 23 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), compared to a decline of -10 per cent y-o-y for metro locations. - economic times

🍒 Paytm Money to facilitate investment in public offers : Paytm Money will start facilitating investments in Initial Public Offers (IPOs) in India. The company has made the process of IPO application completely digital and simple for retail investors. Paytm Money has enabled investors to instantly apply for all the latest IPOs via UPI ID, linked to their bank accounts to complete the IPO application process. The platform offers a seamless interface to make changes in, cancel or reapply for the bid application within the IPO window. It is equipped with features enabling investors to track upcoming IPOs, view the company history and details, download prospectus, and also check the performance of past IPOs. This service is available on both the Paytm Money app and website. - Business Line

🍒 Bharti AXA Life renewal premium income up 10% in H1 : Bharti AXA Life Insurance on Monday said that the company registered 10 per cent growth in its renewal premium to ₹594 core in the first half of the financial year 2020-21 from ₹541 crore in the corresponding fiscal period a year ago. However, due to the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent disruptions, the company’s new business premium income fell 23.37 per cent to ₹318 crore (₹415 crore). Total premium income fell 4.6 per cent to ₹912 crore in the April-September period of this fiscal from ₹956 crore in the first six months of the last financial year. The company recorded a surge of 25 per cent in its asset under management at ₹7,987 crore in the first half of 2020-21 against ₹6,404 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. - Business Line

🍒 Merger to provide stability to LVB depositors, employees: DBS Bank India CEO : The amalgamation of Lakshmi Vilas Bank with DBS Bank India will provide stability to LVB's depositors and employees, according to Surojit Shome, DBS Bank India CEO. “The amalgamation of LVB has enabled us to provide stability to LVB’s depositors and employees. It also gives us access to a larger set of customers and cities where we do not currently have a presence. We look forward to working with our new colleagues towards being a strong banking partner to LVB’s clients,” said Shome in a statement on Monday. - Business Line

🍒 DHFL FD holders may get a quarter of their funds repaid : Fixed deposit holders of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) could get back about a quarter of their investments under the proposed resolution plans, but many point out that it would be too little, too late. “Recent discussions have indicated that FD holders will get atleast some repayment of their investments. It has been indicated that they may be repaid as much as 25 per cent of the amount invested,” said a person familiar with the development. “The SLR ratio is only 13 per cent so that is the amount they can get, irrespective of what the resolution amount is,” the person further said. - Business Line

🍒 Paytm Money launches IPO investments : Paytm, a homegrown financial services major, on Monday announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Paytm Money, now facilitates investments in Initial Public Offers (IPOs) in India. This launch will benefit retail investors with wealth creation opportunities, as they will be able to seamlessly apply and join the growth story of rapidly expanding companies. The company has made the process of IPO application completely digital and simple for retail investors across the country to apply for IPOs, a company statement said. Paytm Money has enabled investors to instantly apply for all the latest IPOs via UPI ID, linked to their bank accounts, to quickly complete the IPO application process. The company is leveraging the convenience of UPI infrastructure to offer a faster turnaround time reduced to 3-4 days for completion of the entire process. - Business Line

🍒 SIDBI launches asset restructuring web module : The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched an asset restructuring web module, https://arm-msme.in, to help MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) get benefit from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) MSME restructuring guideline. With the help of this Do-It-Yourself (DIY) asset restructuring web module, MSMEs will be able to prepare restructuring proposals by keying in only the most essential data of their past financials, future projections and restructuring requirements, SIDBI said in a statement. The proposal prepared can be submitted online to the banks and reports can also be generated for submission to banks through email or in hard copies. ARM-MSME is being offered free of cost as part of SIDBI’s developmental initiatives. SIDBI is the country’s apex financial institution for the promotion, financing and development of MSMEs. - Business Line

🍒 Mahagram to deploy 12 lakh wireless Bharat ATMs by March 2021 : Mumbai-based fintech start-up Mahagram is all set to deploy 12 lakh wireless ATMs that will empower kirana shops and other retail stores to disburse cash to people, as banks are finding it increasingly unviable to operate and maintain ATMs across the country. The five-year old bootstrapped start-up launched Bharat ATM, a rural banking platform last month, using private banks’ proprietary licenses.Bharat ATM already has 1.5 lakh touchpoints across the country which comprises 20,000 handheld terminals (wireless ATMs) for card payments run on Aadhaar and RuPay card, and the rest are all Android mobiles with the Bharat ATM app installed, which can be used along with a finger print scanner for Aadhaar authentication to dispense cash. - Business Line

🍒 DHFL: Higher offer as per bid documents, says Adani group : The fight to acquire Dewan Housing and Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) could spiral into a legal wrangle with the Adani group insisting that it was in the right to submit a higher bid for the entire book of the debt-laden housing finance company. In a communication to the lenders of DHFL, Adani said its bid is as per the process laid out in the bid documents and other applicants have no rights to raise any objections because the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and the Administrator are duty bound to ensure value maximisation. The Adani Group said rival bidders were using cursive means to derail the entire bidding process by threatening to pull out of the auction. - Business Line

🍒 Reliance Capital defaults on interest payment of term loans : Reliance Capital has defaulted on interest payments of term loans amounting to ₹624.61 crore. In a regulatory filing on Monday, it said the term loans of ₹523.98 crore was from Housing Development Finance Corporation and ₹100.63 crore from Axis Bank. The interest accruing on the HDFC loan amounts to ₹4.77 crore and to the Axis Bank loan ₹0.71 crore. The default took place on October 31. “The company is unable to proceed with asset monetisation, resulting in delay in debt servicing, due to prohibition on the company to dispose off, alienate, encumber either directly or indirectly or otherwise part with the possession, of any assets except in the ordinary course of business such as payment of salary and statutory dues, pursuant to order dated November 20, 2019, passed by the Delhi High Court, and orders dated December 3, 2019, and December 5, 2019, passed by the Debts Recovery Tribunal, Mumbai, and order dated November 4, 2020, passed by the Bombay High Court,” Reliance Capital said in the filing. - Business Line

🍒 ABN Amro to cut about 2,800 jobs as investment bank shrinks : ABN Amro Bank NV plans to cut about 2,800 jobs over four years as the Dutch lender retreats from large parts of its investment bank and digitization allows it to operate with a smaller staff. The company plans to reduce costs by about 700 million ($840 million) by 2024 to 4.7 billion euros. The workforce will shrink by about 15%, with most reductions to start in 2022, Chief Executive Officer Robert Swaak said in an investor update on Monday. In August, Swaak announced plans to cut a third of the lender’s business with corporate clients, dropping company finance outside of Europe and exiting trade and commodity financing altogether. ABN Amro posted losses in the first half after taking hits on individual corporate clients before returning to profit in the third quarter. - Live Mint

🍒 Government waives penalty for non-compliance with QR code provisions for B2C transactions : The Centre has waived penalty for non-compliance with QR code provisions for business-to-consumer (B2C) invoices generated by businesses till March 31, 2021. However, it would be mandatory for businesses to follow the QR code provisions from April 1, 2021 to avail this penalty waiver. The requirement of printing dynamic QR code on B2C invoices is being implemented from December 1. Quick Response code or QR code helps users verify the details in digitally signed e-invoices. Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), companies with a turnover of over Rs 500 crore have to generate e-invoices for B2B (business-to-business) transactions from October 1. However, it is not yet mandatory for B2C transactions. - moneycontrol.

🍒 Six debt schemes of Franklin Templeton get ₹1,895 cr : The six suspended debt schemes of Franklin Templeton has received ₹1,895 crore in the fortnight ended Friday, with inflows from pre-payment alone accounting for ₹1,664 crore, while maturities and coupon payments added up to the rest. With this, the overall inflow in November was about ₹2,836 crore. In all, the six schemes have received ₹11,576 crore from maturities, pre-payments, and coupon payments since it was first suspended in April. - Business Line

🍒 Five of top 10 most valued firms lose together ₹91,699 cr m-cap; RIL worst hit : The combined market valuation of five of top-10 most valued firms declined by ₹91,699 crore last week, with heavyweight Reliance Industries emerging as the worst hit. While Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Infosys, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel suffered losses in their market valuation, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance were the gainers. RIL's market valuation tumbled by ₹60,829.21 crore to ₹12,23,416.97 crore. The market capitalisation of HDFC plummeted ₹13,703.75 crore to ₹4,05,996.11 crore. Bharti Airtel's valuation declined ₹11,020.23 crore to ₹2,52,755.97 crore and that of ICICI Bank went lower by ₹5,090.54 crore to ₹3,26,225.04 crore. The market capitalisation of Infosys dipped by ₹1,055.27 crore to ₹4,68,779.17 crore. In contrast, HDFC Bank added ₹20,482.86 crore to ₹7,93,336.55 crore. Bajaj Finance's market capitalisation rose by ₹11,181.01 crore to ₹2,95,466.65 crore. - Live Mint

🍒 Gold price slips below Rs 48,000/10 gm, down 6% in November; Silver down Rs 1,039/kg : Gold prices fell below Rs 48,000 per 10 gram in the Indian market tracking feeble global cues despite weakness in the US dollar. The Indian commodity market opened in the evening session as it was shut in the morning session on the eve of Guru Nanak Jayanti. The domestic market retail market was closed today. The price had settled at Rs 48,807 per 10 gram on Friday. Silver prices declined Rs 1,039 to Rs 59,220 per kg from its closing on November 27.

30.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

30.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 RBI likely to maintain status quo for 3rd straight time on inflation concerns : The Reserve Bank is likely to keep the benchmark interest rates unchanged in its next monetary policy review in view of heightened retail inflation which has persistently remained above its comfort level, feel experts. However, with the economic growth continuing to remain in the negative territory for the second consecutive quarter ending September, the central bank is likely to continue with the accommodative monetary stance keeping the hope alive for a rate cut as and when needed. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor is scheduled to meet for two days starting December 2. The resolution of the sixth bi-monthly MPC meeting would be announced on December 4. - Business Line

🍒 RBI needs to be a super regulator if corporates are allowed to open banks : The key issue to monitor or prevent camouflaged or connected lending lies with the supervisory powers of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The current laws do not provide such powers to the regulator. As evident from the YES Bank case, there is nothing wrong in a bank lending to a particular entity so there is no way RBI inspectors could raise a flag. “The issue here is once you allow the conglomerates then only supervising the banks will not be sufficient,” said SS Mundra, former deputy governor of RBI. According to Mundra, supervision should be done at two levels – one on the non-operative financial holding company level and also on the group level.“You will have to supervise all the activities of the conglomerates. And for that you need a consolidated supervision. Consolidated supervision means if the group has an insurance arm or a broking business – various regulators should be together and there should be one lead regulator. There has to be a format, there has to be a system. That is one,” Mundra who was in-charge of supervision of banks and non-banks as deputy governor said. “The second is, since there will be a group involved, which may not be under the holding company, then supervisory capabilities are needed to know the flow of transactions, that is, from the bank whether it is going to related parties – not only in a direct way, sometimes these things happen indirectly also. So that kind of supervision will have to be maintained,” Mundra added. The existing laws need to be amended to provide those special powers to the Reserve Bank of India. The IGW has said that necessary amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 would be required, to prevent connected lending. - Deccan Herald

🍒 Madras HC tells DBS Bank to create reserve fund for LVB shareholders : The Madras High Court has asked DBS Bank India (DBIL) to create a reserve fund if it (the court) orders that the Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) shareholders be compensated for the loss they have suffered in the process of amalgamation with DBIL. The court’s Division Bench, consisting of Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice M S Ramesh, on Friday passed an interim order on a writ petition filed by Kolkata-based AUM Capital Market.Senior Counsels P S Raman and Arvind Datar, representing the company, have asked for a stay on the amalgamation of LVB with DBIL. The amalgamation came into effect on November 27. AUM Capital holds a little less than 0.50 per cent in LVB. While refusing to give the stay, the Bench said no prejudicial action by DBIL should be taken against the shareholders of LVB without the court’s permission. - Business Standard.

🍒 ‘MPC likely to keep rates steady’ : The rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to stand pat on the policy repo rate as retail inflation continues to remain sticky above its upper tolerance level of 6 per cent, even as the economy is showing signs of mending from the impact of Covid-19. The MPC, which is scheduled to meet from December 2 to December 4, left the policy repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent in its previous two meetings as retail inflation has been above the tolerance band for several months. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in India in March, the MPC has cut the repo rate cumulatively by 115 basis points in two tranches – from 5.15 per cent to 4.40 per cent on March 27 – and from 4.40 per cent to 4 per cent on May 22. - Business Line

🍒 RTGS payments to be available round the clock starting Dec 1. : In a bid to boost the adoption of digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed the transfer of funds through Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) round-the-clock, 365 days a year from December 1. Under the current rules, the transfers can be made between 7 am and 6 pm on all working days except for the second and fourth Saturday of the month and on Sundays. - Timesnow.

🍒 Finance Ministry asks PSU general insurers to rationalise branches, other expenses: Sources : The Finance Ministry has asked public sector general insurance firms, especially National Insurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance, to rationalise branches and cut down avoidable expenses to improve their financial health, sources said. Earlier this year, the Union Cabinet decided to halt the merger process of three state-owned general insurance companies due to their weak financial positions. Instead, the government approved fund infusion of ₹12,450 crore to meet regulatory parameters. The Finance Ministry has asked these companies to cut the flab by rationalising branches and rein in other avoidable expenses like guest houses, etc, sources said. Besides, sources said, they have been asked to expand their business through digital medium. - Business Line

🍒 NBFCs planning to seek CRR, SLR breather on net demand, time liabilities : Leading non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) have got cracking on their banking ambitions a week after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) internal working group suggested that those with an asset size of Rs 50,000 crore or more may consider converting into a bank. A clutch of four large groups with shadow banks in their fold have held extensive internal consultations and are set to make a formal representation to the banking regulator (which sources said may well be within a fortnight) seeking the grandfathering of reserve norms – the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) in December on their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). According to highly placed sources, these NBFCs plan to seek exemptions on the CRR and SLR front on their existing NDTL and that these be mandated on the fresh liabilities which would accrue upon conversion into a bank. If permitted, the move will benefit some of the large NBFCs such as HDFC Ltd, Bajaj Finance (held through Bajaj Finserv), Tata Capital, Shriram Capital (which is the holding company for Shriram Transport Finance and Shriram City Union Finance), and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (subsidiary of automobile major, Mahindra & Mahindra). - Business Standard

🍒 IT Dept finds Rs 450 cr undisclosed income during search across four cities : A recent search conducted by the Income Tax (IT) Department's in 16 premises across Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Cuddalore, resulted in the detection of an undisclosed income of more than Rs 450 crore. The search was conducted in the case of an IT SEZ developer, its ex-director and a "prominent" stainless-steel supplier from Chennai. The Department did not disclose the names. According to the Department, an unaccounted assets worth Rs 100 crore accumulated by the ex-Director and his family members in the past three years were unearthed during the search. Besides, the IT SEZ developer claimed bogus work-in-progress expenses of about Rs 160 crore in an under-construction project, capital expenses of Rs 30 crore on account of bogus consultancy fees in an operational project and inadmissible interest expense of Rs 20 crore. - Business Standard

🍒 IndoStar Capital to exit corporate lending business by Mar 2022, to focus on retail segment : Alternative asset manager Brookfield and private equity player Everstone promoted non-banking finance company IndoStar Capital Finance is looking to fully exit from corporate lending business by March 2022, its executive vice-chairman and chief executive R. Sridhar said. The company has been reducing its corporate book over the last two years, and has brought down the portfolio by close to ₹3,500 crore. "From a portfolio size of ₹6,000 crore in 2018, the corporate book is down to ₹2,500 crore as of date, which is a reduction of around 60% (We have collected ₹3,500 crore). By March 2022, the wholesale and corporate book will become zero," Sridhar told PTI in an interaction. The company will continue to focus on and expand its retail segment, he said. - Live Mint

🍒 Indiabulls Housing Finance sells part of its stake in OakNorth Holdings, raises Rs 93 crore : Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IHFL) on November 29 announced that it had raised approximately Rs 93 crore by selling a portion of its stake in OakNorth Holdings Ltd. "The sale proceeds will be accretive to the regulatory net worth and the CRAR of the company," the mortgage lender said in a regulatory filing. The firm has raised a total of Rs 2,670 crore as fresh equity in the month of September, October, and November 2020 - Rs 683 crore through QIP and Rs 1,987 crore through the sale of a stake in OakNorth - adding to the regulatory equity capital of the company, it added. - moneycontrol.

🍒 EPFO subscribers up 45 lakh in FY21, big indicator of job creation: Apurva Chandra, Labour Secretary : India could look at a minimum contribution of about Rs 1,000 annually from gig workers towards their social security with the balance to be contributed by the platform they are associated with, said labour secretary Apurva Chandra in an interview with ET. Chandra said there was net addition of over 45 lakh Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers in the fiscal year so far, an indicator of new employment generation. - economic times

🍒 Big relief for mid-scale companies, government postpones QR code requirements to March end next year : In what is set to give relief to several companies, the government has postponed the requirement of generating QR code under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework. The government on Sunday said that it is postponing the requirement to generate and then use QR code for all business to customer (B2C) transactions. Companies would now be required to be prepared with the QR code compliance by March end next year. Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner, EY said, “The Central government has provided the much required relaxation for the businesses by waiving the penalty for non-compliance with QR code requirement till March 2021 for B2C transactions. As many of the industry players were not ready, this waiver would give the requisite time for the industry to be ready for this compliance.” - economic times