18.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

 18.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 BoB issues Basel III compliant AT-I bonds worth ₹833 crore : Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Tuesday said it has issued and allotted Basel III Compliant Additional Tier (AT) I Bonds aggregating ₹833 crore to 10 allottees. The issue of “8.50 per cent unsecured, rated, listed, subordinated, non-convertible, fully paid up AT I perpetual bonds” opened and closed on November 12, 2020 on BSE Bond platform, the public sector bank said in a regulatory filing. The bonds were allotted on Tuesday. - Business Line

🍒 RBI proposes merger with DBS Bank as possible solution to Lakshmi Vilas Bank's capital woes : Lakshmi Vilas Bank is proposed to be merged with DBS Bank India, the local unit of Singapore-based DBS Holdings, ending years of speculation about the future of the teetering bank. DBS would invest Rs 2,500 crore in the equity of the bank that would help the merged entity have a comfortable capital position. This would also help the Singapore bank get a significant foothold in the Indian banking space with a network of 560 branhes. The development also ends Clix Capital's plan of a merger with Lakshmi Vilas and gaining a banking license. The government on Monday evening has placed the capital-starved bank under moratorium for a month till December 16 and put a ceiling on cash withdrawal up to Rs 25000 for the bank's depositors. The decision was taken in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India. - economic times

🍒 Yes Bank launches co-branded prepaid card with Neokred for cashless payments : Yes Bank on Tuesday said it has launched a co-branded prepaid card in partnership with Neokred Technologies to facilitate cashless payments. The card offerings can be personalised to suit the requirements of corporates seeking salary cards or expense cards for their employees.Yes Bank in partnership with Neokred Technologies has launched 'Yes Bank Neokred Card', a co-branded prepaid card, encouraging cashless payments, the lender said in a release.The prepaid card will be offered to Neokred's corporate partners across various sectors, including healthcare, financial institutions, NBFCs, oil companies, educational institutions, FMCG and infrastructure. The prepaid card can be loaded with balance and used for spends such as purchases, payment for utility bills, online shopping, ticket bookings and cash withdrawal at ATMs along with various benefits. - economic times

🍒 Lakshmi Vilas Bank placed under moratorium; withdrawals capped at Rs 25,000 : The Indian government on Tuesday imposed a one-month moratorium on Lakshmi Vilas Bank and capped the cash withdrawal limit at Rs 25,000 for depositors. “The financial position of The Lakshmi Vilas Bank has undergone a steady decline with the bank incurring continuous losses over the last three years, eroding its net-worth. In absence of any viable strategic plan, declining advances and mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), the losses are expected to continue. The bank has not been able to raise adequate capital to address issues around its negative net-worth and continuing losses,” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. Further, the central bank added that LVB is also experiencing continuous withdrawal of deposits and low levels of liquidity. It has also experienced serious governance issues and practices in the recent years which have led to deterioration in its performance. The bank was placed under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework in September 2019 considering the breach of PCA thresholds as on March 31, 2019. - economic times

🍒 Had demanded timely action from RBI on Lakshmi Vilas Bank, merger with a public sector bank: AIBEA : The umbrella body of bank unions AIBEA on Tuesday said it was demanding a timely action from the RBI on Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) as the regulator was aware about its financial condition for the last three years and said its demand for a merger with a public sector bank has not been accepted. For the past three years and more, the Tamil Nadu-based private sector Lakshmi Vilas Bank has not been in good health, rather, it was suffering from bad health and continuous loss, it said. The reason is well known to all including the RBI, the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said in a release. - financial express

🍒 NBFCs, HFCs saw an improvement across asset class in September: ICRA : Non-banking companies and housing finance companies were able to improve their collections this September amidst the economic impact of the Covid pandemic in the country, ICRA said Tuesday. The collection efficiency in ICRA-rated retail pools (originated largely by non-banking financial companies or NBFCs and Housing Finance Companies or HFCs) witnessed considerable improvement in September 2020 for almost all the asset classes, ICRA research said. The research said that many consumers also cleared their overdues and opted for pre-payments of their past dues.- economic times

🍒 Govt mulls easing rules for border nation FDI : India is considering a plan to allow up to 26% foreign direct investment (FDI) from countries with which it shares a land border, including China and Hong Kong, without government scrutiny in sectors that are on the automatic route. An inter-ministerial panel of secretaries is discussing various options and a decision is expected soon, government officials said. The decision would expedite more than 100 proposals that are stuck after the FDI policy was amended in April, making government approval mandatory for foreign investment from border nations. The inter-ministerial panel is headed by the home secretary. - economic times

🍒 NBFCs lose car loan market share on rate war by PSBs : NBFCs are losing market share to banks in car and SUV financing and are shifting their focus to used cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles instead. A combination of capital constraints among NBFCs and renewed aggression from public sector banks (PSBs) has led to this situation, said auto financiers. In a bid to grow their retail portfolio, PSU banks are offering auto loans at 7.25% to 7.7% compared to NBFCs whose rates range from 8.75% to 11%. While State Bank of India (SBI) is offering auto loans starting from 7.7%, others are even cheaper with Central Bank of India offering loans at 7.25%, followed by Canara Bank (7.3%), United Bank of India (7.4%) and Indian Overseas Bank (7.55%). - economic times

🍒 Former Infosys chief appointed as chairperson of RBI's newly set up Innovation Hub : The Reserve Bank of India has set up an innovation hub for accelerating innovation in the financial sector through effective use of technology. Former Infosys chairman and co-founder, Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, has been appointed as the first chairperson of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), central bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The governance council of RBIH composes prominent scientists, academicians, regulators and former executives of the banking sector. “The Reserve Bank in its Monetary Policy Statement…the Bank will set up to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology and creating an environment which would facilitate and foster innovation,” the central bank said. - - economic times

🍒 Karnataka Bank launches CASA campaign : Karnataka Bank launched CASA (current account, savings account) mobilisation campaign on Monday which will run from November 17 to March 4, 2021. A press release by the bank said that it intends to mobilise over 4.10 lakh current and savings accounts with an accretion of ₹650 crore of business. Quoting Mahabaleshwara MS, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, the release said that the campaign has twin objectives of enabling basic banking services to unbanked sections of society and also popularising digitally-powered CASA products of the bank for the next level of customers based on their requirements. - Business Line

🍒 RBI commences first Test Phase of Regulatory Sandbox retail payments : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said two entities — Natural Support Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, Jaipur and Nucleus Software Exports Ltd, New Delhi — started testing of their products under its ‘Regulatory Sandbox (RS) - First cohort on Retail Payments - Test Phase’ from November 16. RS usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled and test-regulatory environment for which regulators may (or may not) permit certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing. - Business Line

🍒 IIFL Finance raises ₹100 crore via NCDs : IIFL Finance on Tuesday said it has raised ₹100 crore through issuance of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis. It said the debentures will be listed on the wholesale debt market segment of the NSE. “The finance committee of the board of directors of the company.... approved allotment of 1,000 non convertible debentures.....of face value of Rs. 0 lakh each, for cash at par, aggregating to ₹100 crore, on private placement basis,” IIFL Finance said in a regulatory filing. - Business Line

🍒 DHFL resolution: No decision taken on Adani’s bid at creditors’ meet : The meeting of the Committee of Creditors of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd on Tuesday ended without any decision being taken on whether to accept the unsolicited offer made by the Adani Group. Top banking sources told BusinessLine that the CoC will wait for a direction on how to deal with the situation under the IBC rules. “The bid covers were not opened,” said a source aware of the proceedings. - Business Line

🍒 Kris Gopalakrishnan appointed first chairperson of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, co-founder and former co-Chairman, Infosys, as the first Chairperson of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH). The central bank, in its Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies issued on August 6, 2020, had announced that it would set up an Innovation Hub to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology and creating an environment which would facilitate and foster innovation. - Business Line

🍒 Magma Fincorp to raise up to ₹500 cr for housing finance arm : Magma Fincorp is looking to raise capital to the tune of ₹400-500 crore for its wholly-owned subsidiary – Magma Housing Finance Ltd (MHFL). Plans are afoot to rope in a strategic partner to infuse funds into the business, which has been growing at a CAGR of over 30 per cent for the last 2-3years. According to Kailash Baheti, CFO, Magma Fincorp, housing finance portfolio has been doing well and the company would like to grow the business further. MHFL’s asset under management (AUM) stood at ₹3,554 crore as of Q2 FY21.- Business Line

🍒 As economy picks up, need for one-time debt restructuring will decrease: Crisil : There will be few takers among companies for one-time Covid-related debt restructuring as improving business sentiment and ongoing, gradual recovery minimise the need for it, according to Crisil. A preliminary analysis of 3,523 non-MSME companies rated by the credit rating agency indicates that as many as 99 per cent of them are unlikely to opt for the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) one-time-debt-restructuring (OTDR). The RBI had, on August 6, announced the scheme as a relief measure for non-MSME corporate borrowers having an aggregate exposure greater than ₹25 crore and were under stress due to the pandemic. - Business Line

🍒 RBI curbs withdrawals from Jalna-based Mantha Urban Coop Bank for 6 months : Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday imposed restrictions on withdrawals from Maharashtra-based Mantha Urban Cooperative Bank for six months. The RBI, in a release, said it has issued certain directions to Mantha Urban Cooperative Bank, Mantha District Jalna, Maharashtra, from the close of business on November 17, 2020.As per the directions, the bank will not, without prior approval of RBI in writing, grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability including borrowal of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits, disburse or agree to disburse any payment, among others. "In particular, no deposit of the total balance across all savings bank or current account or any other account of a depositor may be allowed to be withdrawn" subject to conditions stated in the directions, the central bank said. - Business Standard

🍒 Sensex rallies over 300 points to hit fresh peak : After touching its all-time peak of 44,161.16 during the session, the 30-share BSE index settled 314.73 points or 0.72 per cent higher at 43,952.71. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty touched a fresh intra-day high of 12,934.05. It finally finished 93.95 points or 0.74 per cent up at its closing record of 12,874.20. Tata Steel was the top gainer among the Sensex constituents, surging around 6 per cent, followed by SBI, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, LT, Maruti, IndusInd Bank and HDFC. On the other hand, NTPC, HCL Tech, ONGC, Infosys, ITC, PowerGrid, and Hindustan Unilever were in the red.

🍒 Rupee settles 16 paise higher at 74.46 against US dollar : The rupee on Tuesday appreciated by 16 paise to settle at 74.46 (provisional) against the US dollar on the back of improved demand for riskier assets after positive news on the coronavirus vaccine. Besides, a weak dollar overseas also supported the local unit. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened strong at 74.43 against the US dollar and later touched a high of 74.38 in day trade.

🍒 Gold prices today struggle after falling ₹1,200 last week, silver rates drop : Gold and silver prices in India struggled today after a sharp fall last week. On MCX, December gold rose 0.05% to ₹50,856 per 10 gram while silver futures were steady at ₹63,700 per kg. Gold prices had edged about 0.2% lower in previous day's truncated session as MCX remained closed during for the morning session due to a holiday. Last week, gold prices on MCX fell ₹1,200 per kg, tracking a similar trend in overseas markets as optimism over covid vaccine put pressure on gold prices.

16.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

16.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 RBI likely to put its foot down, reinstate Gurbaxani at Dhanlaxmi Bank : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may reinstate Sunil Gurbaxani in the corner-room at Dhanlaxmi Bank and underscore the primacy of powers given to it under the Banking Regulation (BR) Act, 1949. The banking regulator is also said to be looking into the bank’s larger accounts to see if credit decisions were unduly influenced. “Gurbaxani’s removal from his post by shareholders is a test case. There is no precedent for the bank’s managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) being removed from his post in this manner. It’s only the RBI under the BR Act which has the powers to decide on their appointment and removal, and this will override the Companies Act,” said a source. Section 10BB of the BR Acts vests the central bank with the powers to appoint “the chairman of the board of directors on a whole-time basis or MD of a banking company”. This could be a technical reason why the central bank is yet to formally accept Gurbaxani’s resignation. - Business Standard

🍒 NCLT approves Rs 103 crore resolution plan for NIIL Infrastructures : The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved a Rs 103-crore bid to acquire debt-ridden NIIL Infrastructures, which is developing a housing project in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. A two-member Principal bench of NCLT, headed by Acting President BSV Prakash Kumar, has approved the Rs 103.18 crore resolution plan by a consortium of Rishabh Verma and Shilendra Khirwar along with N-Homes.In March 2018, NCLT Delhi had admitted the application seeking resolution for NIIL Infrastructures under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and appointed Nisha Malpani as the Resolution Professional (RP). In its order, NCLT has observed that the resolution plan provides no lay off for the workmen of the debt-laden company and for the full and final discharge of their dues for the period of 24 months preceding the insolvency commencement date. - moneycontrol.com

🍒 Will ask govt to make employers' contribution, tier-II account tax free for all in Budget: PFRDA : Pension fund regulator PFRDA will propose to the government to make employers'' contribution of 14 percent under NPS tax free for all categories of subscribers in the next Budget, Chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay said. Employers'' contribution of 14 percent in pension under the National Pension System (NPS) scheme for the central government employees was made tax free from April 1, 2019. "We may propose things like 14 percent contribution by employers to be made tax free to all. Currently, it is given only to the central government employers. "So we are requesting the government to give it to all the employers, whether it is state governments or other corporate entities, so that subscribers across the board can get this benefit," Bandyopadhyay told PTI. - moneycontrol.

🍒 India rate cuts bets fall as recovery gains hold, inflation stays high : Negative real rates in India and recovering growth alongside high inflation suggest its central bank has little room for more monetary stimulus, but policy is likely to stay accommodative, economists and analysts said. Industrial production in September grew for the first time in six months while green shoots are also visible in rising goods and services tax collections, higher energy consumption, and an uptick in the purchasing managers' index among other gauges. With inflation staying above 7% in October for a second straight month, well above the RBI's medium term target of 4%, views that India is near the end of the current rate cutting cycle have become more pronounced. "The inflation rate has been consistently ahead of not only your target rate but the upper end of your target range as well. Ideally, you should be looking at rate hikes right now," said Sameer Narang, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. - Live Mint

🍒 Sales of ULIPs are likely to start picking up: Tarun Chugh : The life insurance sector, which has slowly been seeing a revival, should register growth from the fourth quarter this fiscal, believes Tarun Chugh, Managing Director and CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. He added that with the stock markets now doing well, sales of ULIPs could also see an uptick. In an interview with BusinessLine, Chugh said that Covid-related claims have not been an issue for the life insurance industry as yet but noted that frauds could prove to be a concern. Replying to question to Life insurance sales now seem to be picking up. What is your outlook? - he said The first quarter was flat for us and negative for the industry; but from the second quarter, there has been an improvement month on month for the sector as well. Sales are coming back and we are seeing a positivity in the market and good uptake of all products. From the fourth quarter, there should be growth as well. For the sector, the third quarter is difficult to predict, but it should be flat if not register growth over last year. Guaranteed and term-life products will keep seeing an uptick. But with markets also now doing well, sales of ULIPs are also likely to start coming back. - Business Line

🍒 Gold imports dip 47% in April-October to $9.28 billion : Gold imports, which have a bearing on the current account deficit, declined 47.42 percent to USD 9.28 billion during April-October due to fall in demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Commerce Ministry. Imports of the yellow metal stood at USD 17.64 billion in the corresponding period of 2019-20. The imports, however, recorded a growth of about 36 percent in October. Silver imports during the period too dipped 64.65 percent to USD 742 million. - moneycontrol.com

🍒 Rupee likely to trade in 73.90-74.90 range next week, deploy theta depreciating based 'bear call spread' : United States Dollar/ Indian Rupee (USD/INR) traded with positive bias throughout the last trading week and appreciated by more than 60 paise on a week-on-week basis. The candle formed on November 9, 2020, with high upper and lower shadow generated demand at lower levels which was followed by three bullish candles in a row. The downward trend of the currency pair seems to be getting abated but the road for bulls still looks skeptical and the range-bound move can be expected in the coming trading sessions. The bullish crossover of short term and medium term moving averages are likely to provide a cushion to the prices at lower levels while the short term negative divergence and overhead resistance of 74.70 could abate the up move for time being. Apart from this, the declining trend line originated by joining the highs of April 21, 2020, and June 18, 2020, could act as a supply point at 74.90 per USD. The base for the short term is emerging at 73.90 per USD and traders can expect the currency pair to trade in the range of 73.90 to 74.90 per USD in the forthcoming truncated trading week.

🍒 M-cap of eight of top-10 most valued firms zooms Rs 1.90 lakh crore : The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most valued companies zoomed Rs 1,90,571.55 crore last week, with Bajaj Finance emerging as the biggest gainer, reflecting bullish investor sentiment. While Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) witnessed erosion in their market capitalisation, rest of the eight companies including Hindustan Unilever Limited, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel emerged as gainers. The market valuation of Bajaj Finance jumped Rs 35,878.56 crore to Rs 2,63,538.56 crore, becoming the biggest gainer among the top-10 most valued firms. HDFC Bank added Rs 34,077.46 crore to its market valuation, taking it to Rs 7,54,025.75 crore, while HDFC''s market capitalisation jumped Rs 31,989.44 crore to Rs 4,15,761.38 crore.

13.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News

 13.11.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Banks get margin boost in Q2 from cheaper deposits, lack of slippages : Large banks, many of these from the public-sector pack, saw an expansion in their net interest margins (NIMs) in the quarter ended September as falling interest rates helped cut their outgo on deposits. A judicial order barring the recognition of fresh slippages after August 31 also helped NIMs. In contrast, a few large lenders from the private sector reported shrinkage in margins as they were unable to profitably deploy the large amount of liquidity in their hands. Given the excess liquidity and muted loan growth, large banks have slashed rates sharply over the past year, with one-year term deposit rates down 100-160 basis points (bps), according to a recent report by Credit Suisse. “With the sharp drop in funding costs over the past year, while lending rates have also come off, spreads have widened and have aided NIMs despite the excess liquidity on bank balance sheets,” the report said. - financial express

🍒 Punjab & Sind Bank narrows net loss at Rs 401 crore in Q2 FY21 : Punjab & Sind Bank on Thursday reported narrowing of its net loss at Rs 401.27 crore in the second quarter ended September 2020. The state-owned lender had posted a net loss of Rs 468.73 crore in the same period a year ago. The loss, however, widened sequentially from Rs 116.89 crore in the June quarter of FY2020-21. Total income of the bank fell to Rs 1,999.19 crore in July-September of 2020-21 from Rs 2,222.57 crore in the same period of 2019-20, Punjab & Sind Bank said in a regulatory filing. Bank’s provisioning for bad loans and contingencies were down at Rs 863.82 crore for Q2FY21 from Rs 972.62 crore in Q2FY20. Of this, bad loans or NPAs provisioning were Rs 845 crore, as against Rs 949.36 crore a year earlier. Asset quality impaired with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rising to 14.06 per cent by end of September 2020 from 13.64 per cent at end of September 2019. Value wise, the gross NPAs stood at Rs 8,673.16 crore, lower than Rs 9,218.22 crore. - financial express

🍒 EXIM Bank to get Rs 3,000 crore for Lines of Credit for project exports ; The Centre will release Rs 3,000 crore to EXIM Bank to provide Lines of Credit for project exports, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday EXIM Bank extends Lines of Credit (LOC) on behalf of the Indian government, as assistance to developing countries under 'IDEAS' scheme. It promotes Indian export by mandating recipient countries to import 75 per cent value of the LOC.The projects supported through the scheme by EXIM Bank cover railways, power, transmission, road and transport, auto and auto components, sugar projects among others. So far, 811 export contracts, aggregating to $10.50 billion are being financed under LoCs. - Business Standard

🍒 Yes Bank case: Rana Kapoor's daughter Roshni gets bail : A magistrate court on Thursday granted bail to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoors daughter Roshni Kapoor, an accused in the Yes Bank fraud case linked to DHFL, after she appeared before the court in response to summons issued to her. Roshni Kapoor was summoned by the court last month in connection with the case.She is one of the eight accused named in the chargesheet filed in the case by the CBI.Roshini Kapoor was granted bail by a magistrate's court, her lawyer Subash Jadhav said.. - economic times

🍒 AU Small Finance Bank starts operations in eastern India : AU Small Finance Bank, a scheduled commercial bank, started its operations in Eastern India with the setting up of a branch in the metropolis on Thursday. Since the start of banking operations three and half years ago, AU has presently 710 touchpoints in 13 states and two UTs, a bank spokesman said. Executive director of AU Bank Uttam Tibrewal said that the banking entity has started its journey in eastern India beginning with Kolkata. The city has been the hub of trade and commerce ever since the days of Independence, he added. Tibrewal said AU has built a net worth of Rs 4,900 crore with a deposit base of Rs 27,000 crore and loan of Rs 30,500 crore. - economic times

🍒 SIDBI commits Rs 250 cr funding to 3 firms; Stride Ventures gets up to Rs 85 cr : The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has committed Rs 250 crore funding to three funds, including Stride Ventures that has received up to Rs 85 crore. In a statement on Thursday, Stride Ventures said it has raised up to Rs 85 crore from SIDBI, and that the funds will strengthen the deployment of its maiden Stride Venture India Debt Fund I. "We are delighted to have joined hands with SIDBI in our journey to revolutionise venture lending."Their commitment of up to Rs 85 crore will further strengthen our deployment from our maiden fund - Stride Ventures India Debt Fund I," Stride Ventures founder and Managing Partner Ishpreet Singh Gandhi said. He added that SIDBI's support to indigenous funds strongly propels the country's mission to be 'Aatmanirbhar'. - economic times

🍒 Citibank expects card spends to reach year-ago level in Nov on festive offers, economic revival : Citibank expects debit and credit card spending by its customers in November to be at par with the performance in the year-ago period, a senior official said on Thursday. The increase in spends, which have been affected across the industry because of the pandemic, will happen on revival in economic conditions and also festive schemes launched by the bank, its head of credit cards, payments and unsecured lending, Arjun Chowdhry, told. It can be noted that local lenders, led by HDFC Bank and its peer ICICI Bank, have been reporting a return back to pre-COVID levels starting with the steps undertaken for opening up the economy after the stringent lockdowns - economic times

🍒 IRDAI tweaks norms on sale of life cover without wet signature : Life insurers should provide a standard presentation on the product being sold without the physical signature of the policyholder. A copy of such standardised presentation should also be e-mailed to the policyholder, along with the policy document, said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in a partial modification of the guidelines issued in September permitting insurers to do away with the mandatory physical signature for sale of insurance products. f the sale is made by an individual insurance agent, he should not solicit non-single premium unit-linked insurance policies for an annualised premium exceeding ₹50,000 or single premium unit-linked insurance policies exceeding ₹1 lakh, the regulator said in a circular. - Business Line

🍒 Central govt pensioners can submit digital life certificates to the postman ; India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Thursday have successfully launched the initiative of the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW): “Doorstep Service for submission of Digital Life Certificate (DLC) through Postman”. In order to avail this service through IPPB, pensioners can get detailed information on the IPPB website. “It is a chargeable service and will be available to all Central government pensioners across the country irrespective of the fact their pension accounts are in different bank,” a government statement said. - Business Line

🍒 As Covid curbed spends, home savings surged to 21% of GDP in Q1 : The propensity of households to save appears to have risen significantly during the pandemic as they have been unable to consume up to their normal levels and have raised their precautionary savings, according to the RBI’s latest monthly bulletin. Preliminary estimates show a jump in household financial savings to 21.4 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of FY21 (April-June), up from 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of the previous fiscal and 10 per cent in the March 2020 quarter. - Business Line

🍒 Paytm, Sachin Bansal’s Navi among bidders for DHFL stake in insurer : Our Bureau Over half-a-dozen companies including Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Paytm, Sachin Bansal-led Navi, US-based Oaktree Capital, and Mumbai-based Piramal Enterprises have evinced interest in picking up the stake Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd held in its life insurance joint venture, Pramerica Life Insurance. Sources close to the development said six-seven companies have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) to acquire DHFL’s stake in Pramerica Life Insurance, earlier known as DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company. - Business Line

🍒 PFRDA expects process for NPS Trust separation to start next fiscal : The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) expects to begin the process for separating NPS Trust from itself in the next financial year as roping in a consultant for the process takes time, the regulator’s Chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay said on Thursday. In the Union Budget for 2019-20, the government had proposed to separate the NPS Trust from the pension regulator in order to address issues of conflict of interest. “As per the directive of our board, we had floated an EoI (Expression of Interest) and we have got about 5-6 EoIs from very good consulting firms. Now, we will send RFP (Request for Proposal) to them. “The RFP process takes time, then our board will give a final approval. We have set a deadline of March 31 (2021) for a consultancy to pick-up its job. Thereafter, the separation process can start,” Bandyopadhyay told PTI. - financial express

🍒 Lakshmi Vilas Bank for deal with Clix without compromising on its core interest : Cash-starved Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) said it wants to reach an early conclusion to the merger deal with Clix Group without compromising on its core interest. This comes in the wake of reports that Clix is unhappy with the delay in reaching the deal. LVB had received an indicative non-binding offer from Clix on October 8. Shakti Sinha, independent director and part of the three-member committee of directors (CoD) approved by the RBI to run the day-to-day operations of LVB, told FE that the two teams are meeting regularly and negotiations are going on. - financial express

🍒 FM’s Diwali gift to home buyers: Tax relief on difference between circle and market rates : Adding sparkle to the Diwali, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant measures for those planning to buy residential units of up to Rs 2 crore. The initiative will also benefit developers who are hard pressed to offload unsold inventories, especially in those locations where the current market prices are below the circle rate – a rate at which different levies such as stamp duty, registration fee and other taxes are computed and paid. - Financial Express

🍒 Rupee slumps 28 paise against US dollar : The rupee depreciated 28 paise to close at 74.64 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, as weak domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments. The local unit opened at 74.44 against the greenback at the interbank forex market and finally settled at 74.64 against the greenback, down 28 paise over its last close.

🍒 Dhanteras 2020: Gold prices steady for second day at Rs 50,702/10 gm; silver rises by Rs 357/kg : Gold prices were flat for the second day at Rs 50,702 per 10 gram in the Mumbai retail market on rupee depreciation and sluggish global market. The precious metal traded in a narrow range amid lack of fresh triggers despite weakness in the US dollar. The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 46,443 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 50,702 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 38,027 plus GST in the retail market.Silver prices jumped Rs 357 to Rs 62,797 per kg from its closing on November 11.

🍒 Markets snap 8-session winning streak; Sensex drops 236 pts : After dropping 466.12 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 236.48 points or 0.54 per cent lower at 43,357.19. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 58.35 points or 0.46 per cent to 12,690.80.SBI was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, HUL, ITC, L&T, Bajaj Finserv and Tech Mahindra ended with gains..

12.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News

 12.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Bank of Baroda announces reduction in MCLR by 0.05% across all tenors : State-owned Bank of Baroda on Wednesday announced reduction in the marginal cost of funds based lending rate by 0.05 per cent across all tenors. "The bank has revised marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) with effect from November 12, 2020," Bank of Baroda said in a regulatory filing.  The one-year tenor -- which is the benchmark for all consumer loans such as auto, retail, housing -- has been reduced to 7.45 per cent from 7.5 per cent. Among others, from overnight to six-month tenor loans, the MCLR has been cut to 6.60-7.30 per cent, the bank said. Shares of Bank of Baroda were trading 1.76 per cent lower at Rs 47.35 apiece on the BSE. - Business Standard

🍒 Government okays Rs 5,500 crore equity infusion into Punjab & Sind Bank :  Public sector Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) on Tuesday said the government has okayed infusion of Rs 5,500 crore capital into the bank in lieu of preferential allotment of shares. The bank is in receipt of letter dated November 10, 2020 from the Ministry of Finance regarding sanction to infuse an amount of Rs 5,500 crore, it said in a regulatory filing. The capital infusion, the lender said, is towards the contribution of the central government in the preferential allotment of equity shares of the bank during financial year 2020-21. The government's shareholding in the bank as of September 30, 2020 stood at 83.06 per cent, as per data on BSE. - economic times

🍒 RBI imposes Rs 50 lakh penalty on Central Bank of India for non-compliance : The Reserve Bank on Tuesday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on state-run Central Bank of India for non-compliance with its directions on disbursal of some housing loans. "Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated November 10, 2020, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 50 lakh" on the bank for non-compliance with certain provisions contained in the circular on 'Housing Sector- Innovative Housing Loan Products - Upfront disbursal of housing loans' dated September 3, 2013, it said in a statement. Giving details, it said an off-site examination of the records pertaining to some housing loans disbursed by the bank was conducted by RBI. The examination and related documents revealed non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI, it said. - Business Standard

🍒 ICICI Bank's retail home loan portfolio crosses Rs 2 lakh crore : Even as the unlock is happening gradually, demand for home loans surged and ICICI Bank which has more than half its retail loans in mortgages, witnessed all time monthly high loan disbursements in October which was mostly from the second and third tier cities. Overall, ICICI’s retail home loan portfolio reached Rs 2.05 lakh crore at the end of September, showing 9.6% year-on-year rise over Rs 1.87 lakh crore a year back.The bank said it's the first private sector lender to reach the Rs 2 lakh crore milestone. Country's largest lender the government-owned State Bank of India has a home loan portfolio of Rs 4.68 lakh crore at the end of September. SBI said its home loan grew 10.34% year-on-year. ICICI's total mortgage loan portfolio which includes securitized home loans from other lenders stood at Rs 2.12 lakh crore while the bank's gross loan portfolio was at Rs 6.53 lakh crore. - economic times

🍒 Retired PSU bankers may get one rank, one pension plan : A one-rank, one pension (OROP) kind of scheme is in the works for retired PSU bank employees. OROP was a longstanding demand of armed forces’ veterans, where the pension would be reworked so that everyone who retired in the same rank will get the same pension, irrespective of the date of retirement. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has sounded off banks to do more for employees who retired earlier so they are not discriminated against in terms of pension. The government has also asked banks to review the family pension scheme so that the pension for the spouse is the same as the government. - economic times

🍒 IBA, bank unions conclude wage revision negotiations : The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on Wednesday announced the conclusion of the 11th Bipartite Wage Negotiations with bank unions and officers' associations. After three years of intense negotiations, bank employees' unions and IBA, on July 22, had entered into a memorandum of understanding for an annual wage hike of 15 per cent.  “The Indian Banks' Association is pleased to announce the conclusion of 11th Bipartite Wage Negotiations with bank unions and associations to be effective from November 1, 2017. The agreement reached today, provides for a 15 per cent increase in pay slip,” IBA chief executive Sunil Mehta said in a statement. - economic times

🍒 HDFC Bank eyeing tenfold growth in merchant base to 20 million in three years : Country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has set an ambitious target to expand its merchant base by ten-fold in the next three years, eyeing a sizable share of India’s rapidly growing digital payments market. The lender is planning to reach out to more than 20 million small and medium merchants and also professional services like doctors, pharmacies, salons and laundry services across metro, semi urban and rural India in the next 3 years, the head of payments, consumer finance, marketing and digital banking, Parag Rao said on Wednesday. HDFC Bank has about two million merchants on its network as of FY20. “Small and medium businesses are the backbone of our economy,” Rao said. “To further deepen the penetration of digital forms of payment across India, it is important that the merchant network is empowered with the best range of solutions.” - economic times

🍒 DHFL bidders jack up offers; Oaktree’s highest at ₹33,000 cr : Lenders to the troubled Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) have received revised offers from its four bidders, with the highest tender now at ₹33,000 crore. According to informed sources, US-based Oaktree Capital has revised its bid to ₹33,000 crore from ₹28,000 crore earlier for the entire company on an ‘as is where is’ basis. Under its earlier bid, it had offered lenders ₹15,800 crore for the entire company, payable after seven years. It also offered the ₹12,000 crore of cash available with the company to the lenders.  - business line

🍒 Gift City: IFSCA approves draft Banking Regulations : The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) —regulator of IFSCs including Gift City— on Wednesday approved draft Banking regulations that will be applicable in international financial services centres (IFSCs) such as Gujarat’s Gift City. The formulation of draft regulation paves the way for putting in place the rules for the various aspects of banking operations that would be permissible at the IFSC. The draft regulations include laying down the requirements for setting up IFSC Banking Units (IBUs); Permitting persons resident outside India (having net worth not less than $1 million) to open foreign currency accounts in any freely convertible currency at IBUs; Permitting persons resident in India (having net worth not less than $1 million) to open foreign currency accounts in any freely convertible currency at IBUs to undertake any permissible current account or capital account transaction or any combination thereof under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the Reserve Bank of India. - Business Line

🍒 1 in 3 people are making digital payment at least once a day during festival season: Survey : Digital payments continue to be the preferred payment method for 39 per cent of consumers in India, ahead of debit and credit card payments (26 per cent) and cash (26 per cent). According to a new study conducted during the festival season by YouGov and ACI Worldwide, revealed that digital payments, including eWallets and UPI payments, were used by 57 per cent of respondents more than twice per week for festival season purchases. This is up from 43 per cent a year ago. - Business Line

🍒 Sundaram Home Finance sees green shoots, to raise ₹2,000 cr in H2 : Sundaram Home Finance (SHF) plans to raise ₹2,000 crore during the second half of this fiscal through a mix of debt instruments and bank funding in order to fund its growth plans. “After a nervous start to the year, we have been witnessing some green shoots in the last two months in the housing sector, especially in tier-two towns in South India,” said Lakshminarayanan Duraiswamy, MD, Sundaram Home Finance. - Business Line

🍒 IRDAI nod for remote agent exams could help insurers recruit more easily : Insurance companies are hoping that recruitment of agents will become easier with exams now being held on a remote basis although there remain concerns about how accessible it will be for candidates.  The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India earlier this month decided to allow IC-38 examination for individual agents to be conducted from remote locations through remote proctor model proposed by NSEIT.- Business Line

🍒 Wadhawan writes fresh letter to DHFL Administrator : Highlighting the low value of the revised bids received, jailed promoter of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) has once again written to the company’s Administrator, asking to be allowed to attend the next meeting of the Committee of Creditors. Stressing that DHFL continues to have considerable value, Wadhawan, in his letter, has said that the bids received by DHFL are “abysmally low” and will only result in massive loss of public money and substantially benefit a few if such bids are accepted.- Business Line

🍒 Rupee slumps 18 paise against US dollar to 74.36 : The rupee declined 18 paise to close at 74.36 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking strengthening American currency in the overseas market and higher crude prices. However, a strong rally in domestic equities and unabated foreign fund inflows restricted the slide of the domestic unit, forex traders

🍒 Sensex rallies 316 pts to finish at fresh peak; Nifty crosses 12,700 : After touching its all-time peak of 43,708.47 during the session, the 30-share BSE index settled 316.02 points or 0.73 per cent higher at 43,593.67. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty touched a fresh intra-day high of 12,769.75. It finished 118.05 points or 0.93 per cent up at its closing record of 12,749.15.Tata Steel was the top gainer among the Sensex constituents, surging around 8 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank, ONGC and UltraTech Cement. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Titan, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank were in the red.

🍒 Gold prices steady at Rs 50,708 per 10 gram on firm dollar; silver up Rs 656/kg : Gold prices rose marginally by Rs 43 to Rs 50,708 per 10 gram in the Mumbai retail market on rupee depreciation and weak global market. The precious metal traded in a narrow range amid a lack of fresh triggers and recovery in the US dollar. The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 46,449 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 50,708 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 38,301 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices climbed by Rs 656 to Rs 62,440 per kg from its closing on November 10.

11.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News

11.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Issue only Rupay cards, seed all accounts with Aadhar by Dec: FM to banks : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told bankers on Tuesday to only issue Rupay cards as the first option to customers, and also to seed all bank accounts with Aadhar number and, wherever necessary, with the pan card by December this year. “Rupay should be the only card that you must promote,” Sitharaman said in her address as the chief guest at the 73rd Annual General Meeting of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).“Make sure the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) can become a ‘brand India’ product. Whenever issuing a card, you must first issue a Rupay (floated by NPCI) card,” the finance minister said in her address.“Indian banks have done a tremendous job, but the financial inclusion drive is not over. I will not be patient to hear that there still exist accounts not Aadhar seeded, and linked with Pan cards wherever needed beyond December 31st. There should not be any unverified account in the system,” the finance minister said, while clarifying a few moments later that the deadline could be extended till March next year at the maximum. Technology should be adopted widely to ensure there is no duplication in booking benefits for the customers, or double encashment of a security. “It should be a fool proof arrangement so that you become a better managed bank,” Sitharaman said. - Business Standard

🍒 FM Nirmala Sitharaman backs expansion of the membership of New Development Bank at BRICS FMCG : Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday backed expansion of the membership of the New Development Bank at the first BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG). The meeting also involved discussions on the outcomes of G20 Saudi Presidency in 2020 and a digital platform to encourage infrastructure investments, a finance ministry statement said. The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – created the New Development Bank in 2014 as a multilateral development bank which will provide financial support to public and private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments. - Economic Times

🍒 GNPAs of banks show improvement QoQ : The gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) to gross advances ratio of banks witnessed an improvement in the second quarter (Q2) of FY2021 vis-a-vis the preceding quarter, according to CARE Ratings. As per the credit rating agency’s data on the movement of NPAs of 31 banks, the overall GNPA ratio of banks improved to 7.7 per cent in Q2 (July-September) FY2021, compared with 8.2 per cent in Q1 (April-June) FY2021 and 7.9 per cent in Q4 (January-March) FY2020. “The moratorium provided till August had provided space in terms of recognition of NPAs which could have improved the ratios. “Therefore, we may have to wait for these time periods to elapse to gauge the true levels of NPAs in the system,” the agency said in a report. Also read: Merger woes: Why PNB Q2 performance carries tell-tale signs of more pain ahead - Business Line

🍒 Paytm introduces Payout Links for businesses : Paytm has launched Payout Links for businesses, enabling them to instantly process payouts to customers, employees and vendors, without collecting their bank details. As businesses struggle with the ever-growing numbers of manual financial processes, Payout Links offers seamless payment integration for businesses to quickly send incentives and refunds to customers through the easy and inexpensive method of a simple payout link. Removing the need to store bank details, the facility benefits partnerSMEs in diverse sectors such as gaming, e-commerce, retail, export and manufacturing, to transfer salaries, vendor payments, and commissionsinstantly. - Business Line

🍒 Bandhan Bank says will tap rural markets to stay as most profitable lender : Indian micro-financier Bandhan Bank Ltd. will diversify lending and selectively tap more rural markets to cement its position as the nation’s most profitable lender after loan repayments improved. “There is a big demand,” founder and Chief Executive Officer Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said in a recent phone interview. “Rural India is untapped and people there are not getting credit service. Lifestyles are going to change and they also have business needs.” Bandhan Bank, which received $1.4 billion from investors including BlackRock Inc. and Singapore’s GIC Pte in August, aims to maintain a 4% return on assets by diversifying. It plans to lend to less-risky sectors such as gold, as well as providing home and car loans. Currently the lender’s unsecured microfinance loan book stands at around 62%, Ghosh said. - Business Standard

🍒 ICICI Bank new initiative: Convert your kirana store to BigBasket-like online shop : In order to convert the kirana stores into online shops, private sector lender ICICI Bank on Tuesday unveiled its Digital Store Management platform. From inventory to billing to payment collection through PoS, QRCode and payment links — ICICI Digital Store Management platform helps the merchants to manage full in-store operations online. The neighbourhood store owner can quickly create an online store and start receiving orders from customers online in a few clicks, the lender mentioned. Any merchant can apply for the Digital Store Management platform while they are applying for a PoS machine on ICICI Bank's Eazypay application for merchants. The digital platform has three applications. The EazyStore mobile app, that helps a grocery store to set up an online store in flat 30 minutes. The EazyBilling app enables the kirana stores to track digital payments like UPI or debit and credit card. The owners can also manage inventory and order through this app. There will also be an option to create quick reports on sales, profits, GST among others. - Live Mint

🍒 Rs 946-cr bank fraud case: CBI carries out searches against Ezeego promoters in Mumbai : The CBI has carried out searches at eight locations in Mumbai in connection with an alleged bank fraud case of Rs 946 crore in Yes Bank against Ezeego One Travel and Tours, officials said on Tuesday. The agency recently carried out the searches at the premises of the booked promoters and directors of the company, they added. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked company promoters Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar and Urrshila Kerkar, and directors Neelu Singh, Arup Sen, Manisha Amrapurkar, Pesi Patel and Karthik Venkatrman for alleged diversion of loan funds, the officials said. - economic times

🍒 CBI books Best Foods Ltd for ₹1,006 cr bank fraud : The CBI on Tuesday conducted searches at the offices of Best Foods Limited and residences of its chairman and managing director for alleged bank fraud to the tune of ₹1,006.46 crore in a consortium led by State Bank of India, officials said on Tuesday. They said the agency had invoked IPC sections related to cheating, criminal misappropriation, criminal conspiracy, criminal misconduct and forgery against Best Foods Limited for alleged diversion of credit funds during April 01, 2015 to March 31, 2018. - Business Line

🍒 Unpaid dues from previous months may keep credit cost higher for MFIs : Even as most microfinance lenders said that repayment collection for October exceeded 90%, unpaid dues from the previous four-five months still remain a concern, likely inflating credit costs at the lenders. Cumulative repayments continue to be low in the range of 60-70%, industry organization Sa-Dhan said. Another area of concern for the sector is that 4-5% of customers are yet to begin repayments.These pose a risk of high NPAs and call for higher provisioning, at least in the short run, said Sa-Dhan. Just about 0.69% of MFIs' loan total portfolio of Rs 1.02 lakh crore was non performing at the end of March 2020. - economic times

🍒 Commerce and industry minister reviews ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme : Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal recently interacted with large corporates and top tax professionals on ways to make the ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme a success. Officials of Indian businesses houses, MNCs and Big Four consultants suggested an extension of the cut-off date of the scheme, the need to clarify the stand on settling tax disputes of merged companies, and transfer pricing matters. They also told the commerce and industry minister that the scheme would evoke a better response if it is structured ‘issue wise’ — where a taxpayer is allowed to choose and settle some disputes, under the scheme — instead of the ‘year wise’ requirement where the scheme, once availed, must include settling all disputes. - economic times

🍒 Bonus paid to employees or shareholder by a company can get tax benefit: ITAT : Any company giving bonuses to employees or shareholders should be able to get tax benefits as per the law unless there is a clear finding of tax avoidance or evasion, Mumbai Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) said Tuesday. According to the details of the case, a stock broking company in 2011-12 had paid Rs 5 lakh to two directors as bonus and incentives. This was over and above the remuneration they were receiving.- economic times

🍒 Gold loan market will continue to shine on high prices: World Gold Council : The organised gold loan market, which continues to hold much promise, got a significant push from the current pandemic and economic downturn, and is expected to grow to ₹4.05-lakh crore this fiscal, according to a report by the World Gold Council. The organised gold loan market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 15.7 per cent to ₹4.61-lakh crore in FY22 from ₹3.44-lakh crore in FY20, the report said, adding that demand for gold loans, both through banks and non-banking financial company (NBFC), has grown in response to the economic impact of the pandemic. - Business Line

🍒 Non-life insurance premium falls to ₹15,855 cr in October : The non-life insurance premium declined marginally by 0.4 per cent at ₹15,855 crore in October 2020 as against ₹15,921 in the same period last year. As per the data released by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), gross direct premium up to October 2020, however, showed a growth of 1.11 per cent at ₹1,12,685 crore as against ₹1,11,450 crore in the corresponding period of last year. The health insurance segment drove the growth. - Business Line

🍒 Flipkart offers customised group health insurance cover issued by Bajaj Allianz : Flipkart, on Tuesday, announced that it now offers group health insurance cover ranging from ₹3 lakh to ₹20 lakh issued by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Care Health Insurance to its large and growing pan-Indian customer base. Customers opting for policies of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Care Health Insurance on the Flipkart platform are not required to undergo any pre-emptive medical tests; the policy is issued against a declaration of good health; making it convenient to cover for their health scares. The policies further safeguard individuals against medical expenses and hospitalisation expenses, while also covering alternate treatment methods such as Ayurvedic and Homeopathic for up to a certain percentage of the sum insured.- Business Line

🍒 Adani, Piramal, others revise offers for DHFL : Suitors for the troubled non-banking finance company Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) have raised their offer price in the revised bids submitted for the company, sources said. Adani Group, Piramal Enterprises, US-based Oaktree and Hong Kong-based SC Lowy have submitted 10-70 per cent higher price for either a stake in the company or buying out some of its assets. Oaktree Capital has raised its bid price for the entire portfolio to Rs 33,000 crore from Rs 27,800 crore earlier, sources with knowledge of the development said. - financial express

🍒 Godrej Group forays into housing finance business : Amid a spurt in demand for home loans, Godrej Group, on Tuesday, announced its foray into the financial services industry with the launch of Godrej Housing Finance. “With Godrej Housing Finance (GHF), the group aims to build a long-term, sustainable retail financial services business in India, aiming for a balance sheet of about ₹10,000 crore in the next three years,” it said in a statement. - Business Line

🍒 Gold loan market will continue to shine on high prices: World Gold Council : The organised gold loan market, which continues to hold much promise, got a significant push from the current pandemic and economic downturn, and is expected to grow to ₹4.05-lakh crore this fiscal, according to a report by the World Gold Council. The organised gold loan market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 15.7 per cent to ₹4.61-lakh crore in FY22 from ₹3.44-lakh crore in FY20, the report said, adding that demand for gold loans, both through banks and non-banking financial company (NBFC), has grown in response to the economic impact of the pandemic. - Business Line

🍒 Rajeev Misra, three others resign as SoftBank internal board directors : SoftBank Group Corp on Monday announced changes to its board of directors and appointment of corporate officers. As part of corporate restructuring, four of SoftBank’s internal board directors — executive vice president and chief operating officer Marcelo Claure, executive vice president and chief strategy officer Katsunori Sago, executive vice president Rajeev Misra, and governor and board member of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia Yasir O Al-Rumayyan, have resigned from the board. - financial express

🍒 Rupee slips 3 paise to 74.18 per USD : The rupee depreciated by 3 paise to close at 74.18 against the US dollar on Tuesday as higher crude oil prices and a stronger greenback overseas weighed on sentiment. The rise in crude oil prices had a negative impact on the domestic unit, but robust domestic equities supported the rupee and restricted the fall, experts said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened higher at 74.04 a dollar, but could not hold the momentum and finally settled 3 paise lower at 74.18. During the session, the local unit reached a high of 74.02 and touched 74.30 at the lower end.

🍒 Gold prices fall sharply to Rs 50,665 per 10 gram, silver tanks Rs 4,268 a kg : Gold prices dropped by Rs 1,755 to Rs 50,665 per 10 gram in the Mumbai retail market on rupee weakness and sharp sell-off yesterday in the overseas market. The precious metal pared some of the losses and traded firm in the international market. The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 46,409 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 50,665 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 37,999 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices crashed Rs 4,268 to Rs 61,784 per kg from its closing on November 9.

🍒 SBI board okays to divest 8.5 per cent stake in UTI Trustee Co : State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to sell 8.51 per cent stake in UTI Trustee Company, which is the sponsor of UTI Asset Management Company. In a statement to stock exchanges, SBI said the Central Board of Directors has approved the divestment of 8,510 equity shares constituting to 8.51 per cent in UTI Trustee Company to comply with SEBI regulation.

🍒 After The Bell: Sensex, Nifty at new highs; what should investors do on Wednesday? : The S&P BSE Sensex hit a fresh record high of 43,316 while the Nifty50 make a fresh life high of 12,643 in intraday trade on Tuesday. Let’s look at the final tally on D-Street – the S&P BSE Sensex rose 680 points to 43,277 while the Nifty50 rose 170 points to 12,631. In the last 8 trading sessions, Nifty 50 gained 1110 points and the Bank Nifty rose 5200 points. Bajaj Finance contributed the most to the Nifty and Sensex advance, increasing 8.85 percent, while Indusind bank had the largest gain in the Bank Nifty, rising 7.29 percent.