The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pulled up several multinational banks operating in the country for not providing a board-approved system audit report certifying compliance with its data-localisation norms.
As per data submitted by Shivajirao Bhosale Sahakari Bank, more than 98 per cent of the depositors will receive full amount of their deposits from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), the RBI said in a release.
"The Bank has taken steps like attachment of properties of defaulter borrowers, public auctions of the same, filing criminal suits against defaulter borrowers/guarantors, etc. The Bank has also informed the names of its defaulter borrowers/guarantors to other banks for effective recovery," said Sudhir Pandit, administrator, Rupee Bank.
"Because we have such a high taxable profit, we thought that this is the right time for us to transit into the new tax regime which lowers the tax rate for the bank from 33-34% to 25%."
This is in addition to Beaufort's current responsibility as the head of the bank's eight branches and chief of corporate and institutional banking (CIB) in India. Beaufort will take over his additional responsibilities from September 1, the bank said in a statement.
Pluto Investments, an affiliated entity of Carlyle Asia Partners has agreed to invest up to Rs 3,185 crore through a preferential allotment of equity shares and warrants, at a price of Rs 390 per share. Existing shareholders of the Company, funds managed by SSG and General Atlantic, are also participating in the capital raise.
The launch of the new schemes was announced by SBI chairman Dinesh Khara and Indian Banks’ Association chairman Rajkiran Rai on Sunday. Khara said that SBI has decided to price its unsecured loans at 8.5%.
According to analysis of the corporate bond yields, bank's MCLRs and GSecs between January 2020 and March 2021 by Care Ratings, AAA-rated companies could sell their debt at a cheaper rate than bank loans to the extent of 46 bps, and AA+ papers by 33 bps over the MCLR or the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate and below which a bank cannot lend. When compared to the Gsecs, AAA and AA+ papers could command only 100 bps over the benchmark gilts.
To support the businesses affected by the second wave of COVID-19, the Finance Ministry on Sunday enhanced the scope of ECLGS, including providing concessional loans to hospitals/nursing homes for setting up on-site oxygen generation plants.
General and standalone health insurance companies have also been asked to mitigate the hardships of the affected insured population by ensuring immediate registration and settlement of eligible claims.
"Usage of technology, the way product mixes came up, a lot of term buying, a lot of guaranteed products and the kind of agility shown by the industry helped the sector," Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance MD and CEO Tarun Chugh told PTI in an interaction.
This is a one-time loan restructuring scheme under which the loan would remain standard despite recast and banks would not have to make additional provision in such cases.
The city-headquartered state-owned bank had acquired a stake in the life insurer post amalgamation of the erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) into itself last fiscal year.
The bank said it has committed an initial amount of Rs 100 crore in the current fiscal year for Covid-19 relief initiatives. Last year, the bank had contributed Rs 120 crore towards relief measures.
As per IBA direction, branches will now perform minimum activities like cash deposit and withdrawals, clearing of cheques, government transactions, remittances etc. The branch is now operating with 50% workforce.
Advocate Sanjay Kapur, said, “In view of the judgment in Jayantilal N Mistry case, the RBI is seeking disclosure of confidential and sensitive information of the applicant bank, including information of its employees, purportedly under the Right to Information Act, 2005, which are otherwise exempt under the provisions of Section 8 of said Act.”
Combined credit by bank branches in top six centres (Greater Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata) declined marginally during 2020-21. These six centres together accounted for over 46 per cent of total bank credit.
The regulator said that after receiving a complaint from a whistle blower it had conducted a examination in the marketing and sale of third-party non-financial products to the bank’s auto loan customers. The regulator said that it had found that the bank was in contravention of regulatory directions.
"This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers." read the statement from the Central Bank
In a statement, the bank said the Rs 100 crore commitment for the ongoing fiscal year is an initial amount, and comes on top of a Rs 120 crore contribution done in 2020-21 as part of its initiative christened 'Parivartan'.
Canara Bank said there will be no processing fee for this loan. For micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), there will be no collateral security, which the lender will cover under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), and the bank will bear the guarantee premium.
RBI's income dipped by 10.96 per cent, expenditure decreased by 63.10 per cent because of which the year ended with an overall surplus with RBI transferring a surplus of Rs 99,122 crore to the government, up 73.51 per cent over the previous year, according to the latest annual report released by the Reserve Bank.
The waiver of compound interest on all loan accounts which opted for moratorium during March-August 2020 may put stress on banks' financial health. The apex bank, however, expressed confidence that banks are better positioned than before in managing stress in their balance sheets in view of higher capital buffers, improvement in recoveries and a return to profitability.
The central bank plans to develop a pool of domain experts, which will represent RBI and India's views in international and multilateral fora. RBI is also for having an appropriate succession plan in place for international meetings and conferences to ensure continuity of narratives.
Public sector banks contributed to more than 59 percent of the total value of frauds at Rs 81,901 crore while private sector banks contributed 33 percent at Rs 46,335 crore.
RBI data showed that at the end of FY21, total value of gold loans outstanding was nearly Rs 60,500 crore - up 82% on the year. In FY22, this growth rate could slow down substantially, industry players said.
Asset quality from the unsecured segment a big worry; banks have curtailed credit limits and also cut back on new customer additions
Rules likely to improve transparency and build confidence in audit industry, say many analysts, who also flag initial operational issues
Of the 250 beds, 30 intensive unit beds will be set up in St John’s Medical College Hospital, 50 beds (five ICU beds) will be installed in Prakriya Hospital, supporting operations and medical staff will be provided to Covid care facility in HAL Hospital and 120 bed high dependency unit will be set up at Narayana Health, according to a press release.
National Federation of State Cooperative Banks' Managing Director Bhima Subrahmanyam said the intention of RBI guidelines is to destabilise and dismantle the three tier cooperative credit structure in the country.
At restricted or sealed areas, the Mobile ATMs will eliminate the need for the public to move out of their locality to withdraw cash, the bank noted in a statement.
"Compared to the first wave, when GDP decelerated by over 23% in Q1FY21, we expect numbers to be significantly different this time. The other aspect is that lockdowns have happened at different points in time, which has ensured continued economic activity."
Since most patients have mild symptoms, a majority opt for home treatment. They are now finding their claims rejected or settled for a lesser amount. Companies have limits ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for home care. For those seeking home treatment because of a shortage of oxygen hospital beds, the limits are woefully inadequate.
The existing brand arrangement dated December 7, 2009 will continue to govern use of PNB trademark until PNB’s shareholding in the housing finance company is 30% or more. Upon PNB’s shareholding falling below 30%, the new agreement dated May 24 will replace the existing agreement, the housing finance company said in a regulatory filing.
“Das also advised the banks to ensure continuity in provision of various financial services including credit facilities to individuals and businesses in the face of challenges brought on by the pandemic,0 the RBI said. “He also urged them to continue focussing on efforts to further strengthen their balance sheets proactively.”
Terming the near-term expectations as "tepid" and making it clear that the bank will be "cautious" in these extraordinary times, chief executive and managing director Sashidhar Jagdishan said, "First time in so many years, we may not have any grip on what is going to happen".
But, this does not debar the insolvency court in Mumbai to pronounce its decision on the resolution plan submitted by the Piramal group, which was already approved by lenders and the Reserve Bank of India.
The bureau interfaced with nine candidates from various public sector banks on May 24 for the forthcoming vacancy of managing director and chief executive officer in the Indian Bank, the BBB said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank came out with the Resolution Framework 2.0 under which individuals and small businesses having exposure up to Rs 25 crore can opt for loan restructuring if they had not availed its earlier scheme.
An appeal challenging NCLT Mumbai bench's order has been filed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and is scheduled for hearing on Tuesday.
In the fortnight ended May 8, 2020, bank advances stood at Rs 102.52 lakh crore and deposits at Rs 138.50 lakh crore, according to RBI's Scheduled Banks' Statement of Position in India as on May 07, 2021, released on Monday.
The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020 has been notified for the StCBs and DCCBs with effect from April 1, 2021. Amalgamation of such banks need to be sanctioned by the Reserve Bank of India. RBI has come out with the guidelines after a few state governments approached it for amalgamation of DCCBs with StCBs as a two-tier Short-term Co-operative Credit Structure (STCCS).
"Tapan Ray, part-time non-official director as well as non-executive chairman ceased to be the director of the bank with effect from May 23, 2021, consequent upon completion of his tenure," Central Bank of India said in a regulatory filing.
"When we talk about the corporate book, it is more a function of how the economy is doing. Assuming that the retail book will remain robust, we are actually already seeing a decent number of enquiries coming in."
From an average default rate in collection efficiency at 2-3 per cent in pre-Covid times, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are now seeing 6-8 per cent of borrowers missing their payment schedules during the second wave of the pandemic. IIFL Finance has halted fresh disbursements for unsecured loans for micro-businesses & personal loans.
"Last year when the pandemic hit and afterwards people got used to dealing with the new normal, we found that we had an improvement in customers paying their renewal premium. We had improvement in persistency figure as well," Exide Life Insurance MD and CEO Kshitij Jain told PTI in an interaction.
Compound interest support scheme for loan moratorium cost the government Rs 5,500 crore during 2020-21, and the scheme covered all borrowers including the prompt one who did not avail moratorium.
Conserving cash is the immediate objective for most microfinance firms now with average collections dwindling to about 65%, making loan disbursements to grassroots borrowers their secondary goal.
In a letter to the IBA, the union said it has been observed that even though the number of people infected under the second wave is increasing, the toll in the banking sector is much higher and also deaths.