Bankers view on RBI’s policy, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI said, “The RBI policy is pragmatic and strikes a fine balance between stance and strategy. While the policy stance continues to be accommodative to continuously support growth, a strategy of careful recalibration of liquidity management is clearly indicated with the roll out of VRRR.

Dinesh Khara
Dinesh Khara

The policy has also nudged banks to shift to an alternate reference rate with the discontinuation of LIBOR. The extension of the on-tap TLTRO scheme and the deferral of the deadline for meeting the operational parameters for stressed entities will help corporates navigate through the pandemic with a degree of certainty.”

Rajni Thakur, Chief Economist, RBL Bank said, “MPC announcements were pretty much on expected lines with key rates held constant and upward revision of inflation forecasts for the current fiscal year.

Policy bias in favour of nurturing growth continues and there was a strong denial of any urgency to scale back monetary support on account of higher inflation or potential global normalisation.

While enhanced VRRR quantum and one voice of dissent can be seen by market as mildly dovish, in all likelihood, RBI has kept its options open to support growth should the third wave disrupt nascent momentum or to use monetary tools to begin normalisation if growth -inflation dynamics start to get complicated.”

Rajni Thakur
Rajni Thakur

On similar lines, Siddhartha Sanyal, Chief Economist and Head – Research, Bandhan Bank said, “While the status quo on rates with a 6-0 voting and continued “accommodative” stance were on expected lines, the split voting as regards the policy stance was a modest surprise. Still, the overall tone of policy continued to focus clearly on supporting growth recovery.”

“Given higher global commodity prices, sticky food inflation and rise in domestic fuel prices, inflation may stay higher than for the RBI’s comfort. However, with the tentative and uneven nature of recovery, one expects the MPC to continue prioritizing supporting growth in the coming months.”

Sidharth Sanyal
Sidharth Sanyal

Indranil Pan, Chief Economist – YES BANK said, “RBI has attempted and managed to balance the contradicting objectives of managing inflation expectations while also communicating the need for sustained policy accommodation.

Even as the inflation forecasts for the current FY have been raised, the communication continues to be that the hump in inflation is supply-led and thus ‘transitory’ wherein the demand side push for inflation is almost absent. This is the reason for RBI to have been able to see-through the current high inflation levels.

RBI continues to highlight that any pre-emptive tightening can kill the nascent and hesitant recovery that is taking shape. In cognizance with an extremely uncertain growth climate, we think that the RBI will maintain its accommodative policy and not move on any form of tightening – be it on the rates side or on the liquidity side – till the end of the current FY.”

Yes Bank
Yes Bank

While A. K. Das, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of India has a positive outlook. He said, “Continued accommodative stance of RBI is expected to catalyze growth in real segments in a strong, broad based and sustained manner”.



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Bankers view on RBI’s policy, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI said, “The RBI policy is pragmatic and strikes a fine balance between stance and strategy. While the policy stance continues to be accommodative to continuously support growth, a strategy of careful recalibration of liquidity management is clearly indicated with the roll out of VRRR.

Dinesh Khara

The policy has also nudged banks to shift to an alternate reference rate with the discontinuation of LIBOR. The extension of the on-tap TLTRO scheme and the deferral of the deadline for meeting the operational parameters for stressed entities will help corporates navigate through the pandemic with a degree of certainty.”

Rajni Thakur, Chief Economist, RBL Bank said, “MPC announcements were pretty much on expected lines with key rates held constant and upward revision of inflation forecasts for the current fiscal year.

Policy bias in favour of nurturing growth continues and there was a strong denial of any urgency to scale back monetary support on account of higher inflation or potential global normalisation.

While enhanced VRRR quantum and one voice of dissent can be seen by market as mildly dovish, in all likelihood, RBI has kept its options open to support growth should the third wave disrupt nascent momentum or to use monetary tools to begin normalisation if growth -inflation dynamics start to get complicated.”

Rajni Thakur
Rajni Thakur

On similar lines, Siddhartha Sanyal, Chief Economist and Head – Research, Bandhan Bank said, “While the status quo on rates with a 6-0 voting and continued “accommodative” stance were on expected lines, the split voting as regards the policy stance was a modest surprise. Still, the overall tone of policy continued to focus clearly on supporting growth recovery.”

“Given higher global commodity prices, sticky food inflation and rise in domestic fuel prices, inflation may stay higher than for the RBI’s comfort. However, with the tentative and uneven nature of recovery, one expects the MPC to continue prioritizing supporting growth in the coming months.”

Sidharth Sanyal
Sidharth Sanyal

Indranil Pan, Chief Economist – YES BANK said, “RBI has attempted and managed to balance the contradicting objectives of managing inflation expectations while also communicating the need for sustained policy accommodation.

Even as the inflation forecasts for the current FY have been raised, the communication continues to be that the hump in inflation is supply-led and thus ‘transitory’ wherein the demand side push for inflation is almost absent. This is the reason for RBI to have been able to see-through the current high inflation levels.

RBI continues to highlight that any pre-emptive tightening can kill the nascent and hesitant recovery that is taking shape. In cognizance with an extremely uncertain growth climate, we think that the RBI will maintain its accommodative policy and not move on any form of tightening – be it on the rates side or on the liquidity side – till the end of the current FY.”

Yes Bank
Yes Bank

While A. K. Das, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of India has a positive outlook. He said, “Continued accommodative stance of RBI is expected to catalyze growth in real segments in a strong, broad based and sustained manner”.



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Carlyle Group exits SBI Life Insurance Company, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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NEW DELHI: Private equity firm Carlyle Group has exited SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd by selling its stake representing 1.9 per cent shareholding of the company, through open market transactions.

The total deal value stood at Rs 2,147 crore.

As per the BSE’s block deal data for Thursday, Carlyle Group through its entity, CA Emerald Investments, sold a total of 1.9 crore scrips at an average price of Rs 1,130 per scrip.

SBI Life Insurance Company’s shareholding data for the June 2021 quarter showed that CA Emerald Investments was its public shareholder and held 1.9 per cent stake in the firm.

Separately, the shares were picked up by Max Life Insurance Company Ltd, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore Pte, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, BNP Paribas Arbitrage, Bofa Securities Europe SA, Societe Generale, Integrated Core Strategies (Asia) Pte Ltd.

The shares were also picked up by a host of mutual funds including Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, Pioneer Investment Fund, Nippon Indian Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, among others.

On the BSE, SBI Life Insurance Company on Friday opened the counter at Rs 1,147 and had ended at Rs 1,134.85 on Thursday.



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Sundaram Finance to revise interest rates on deposits, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Chennai, Aug 6

K Surendran BJP state president (File photo)

Non-banking finance company Sundaram Finance Ltd has announced a revision in interest rates on its deposits with effect from August 8, the company said on Friday. According to a company press release, the interest rate on fresh deposits and renewals stand revised to 5.50 per cent per annum as against 5.75 per cent earlier, for deposits with a tenure of 12 months

Interest rates have been revised to 5.65 per cent per annum as compared to the earlier 6 per cent, for deposits with a tenure upto 24 months.

For deposits upto 36 months, the interest rates have been revised to 5.80 per cent as against 6.25 per cent earlier, a company statement said.

For senior citizens, the interest rate on deposits have been revised to 6 per cent per annum as compared to 6.25 per cent for deposits of upto 12 months, 6.15 per cent per annum for deposits upto 24 months as compared to the earlier 6.50 per cent.

For deposits upto 36 months, the interest rates have been revised to 6.30 per cent as compared to 6.75 per cent earlier.

As on March 31, 2021, Sundaram Finance said its deposit base stood at Rs 4,021 crore.



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Tata Motors partners with Sundaram Finance, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Auto major TATA Motors has partnered with city-headquartered non-banking finance company Sundaram Finance to offer exclusive offers to customers opting to purchase its range of passenger cars. Under the partnership with TATA Motors, Sundaram Finance would offer six-year loans on the new ‘Forever’ range of cars and with 100 per cent financing that would require minimal down payment, a company statement said here.

The partnership would also offer special financing ‘Kisan Car Scheme’ with extended and convenient repayment options to the farmers.

“The farmers can repay the loan in installments once every six months coinciding with their harvest”, it said.

Commenting on the partnership, TATA Motors, Vice- President, sales, marketing and customer care, Rajan Amba said, “…we are delighted to be partnering with Sundaram Finance to roll out special finance schemes. This is in alignment with our constant effort to fast track the availability of safe personal mobility solutions to individuals and families.”

“We hope that these offers will boost customer morale and make the process of purchasing a car more convenient,” he added.

On the partnership with TATA Motors, Sundaram Finance, deputy managing director, A N Raju said, “following the lockdown in several states since April, we are now seeing a recovery in the passenger vehicles segment as endorsed by the sales numbers in July.”

“Also with social distancing, we are observing a rise in the demand for ‘personal transport’ over the last 12 months. Through a lower down payment model and a lower EMI, we are proactively reaching out to the small business owners and making car ownership more affordable…”, he added.

Tata Motors in July recorded a strong jump on its total sales made in last month.

The company recorded a 92 per cent rise in its total domestic sales to 51,981 units in July 2021 as compared to the same month last year. It had sold 27,024 units in July 2020.



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RBI says stress in retail, MSME loans is not alarming, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said there is stress visibility in retail and MSME loan segments but the situation is not alarming.

“With regard to the moment of any kind of stress in the retail segment and MSME segment, we are very closely monitoring, yes there is a visibility of little bit stress from the past data, but definitely it’s not alarming and constantly we are engaged with the regulated entities, particularly the outlier banks and the outlier NBFCs,” RBI Deputy Governor M K Jain said in the post-policy press conference.

He said RBI had advised all regulated entities post Covid to improve their provisions to which they have responded and implemented the parameters tied to the capital adequacy ratio.

“There is a reduction in gross and net NPA as well as slippage ratio, there is an improvement in the provision coverage ratio, and there is also an improvement in the profitability. So the sector isin a better position today than what it was before the Covid pandemic, he said.

Rising stress

Banks and NBFCs have seen stress rising during the last April-June quarter in the retail and MSME segment.

State Bank of India has reported GNPAs rising to 5.32 per cent in April-June quarter compared with 4.98 per cent in the previous quarter. During the quarter the bank reported fresh slippages of Rs 15,666 crore compared with Rs 21,934 crore in the preceding quarter.

Kotak Mahindra Bank reported the gross NPAs at 3.56 per cent in the last quarter against 3.25 per cent in the previous one.

The gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) ratio of banks may rise to 9.8 per cent by March 2022, under a baseline scenario, from 7.48 per cent in March 2021, according to the Financial Stability Report (FSR) released by the RBI early last month.

Under a severe stress scenario, GNPA of banks may increase to 11.22 per cent, the report said.

The asset quality of non-banking finance companies will see elevated stress levels in the near term due to the second wave of the pandemic, but the stress will subside subsequently with improvement in collection efficiencies and rise in restructuring, according to rating agency Icra.



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Rajasthan CM seeks Centre’s cooperation for economic, social development of states, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Jaipur, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday insisted upon increasing economic and policy cooperation from the Centre in order to strengthen the spirit of cooperative federalism. In a meeting with NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand, senior adviser Yogesh Suri and adviser Rajnath Ram, the chief minister said in the last few years, the financial condition of all the states of the country has been adversely affected due to the coronavirus pandemic and the economic slowdown.

At the same time, he said the need to increase the scope of social security is being felt more.

“In such a situation, the central government should provide more cooperation to the states for the smooth conduct of activities related to economic and social development,” Gehlot said.

He said it is not easy for any state to bring the economy back on track without the cooperation of the central government.

“In view of the peculiar geographical conditions of the state, the Centre should provide assistance to the state in the ratio of 90:10 instead of 50:50 like the northeastern and hilly states, and Union Territories,” a statement quoting the chief minister said.

He reiterated his demand to give national status to the Eastern Canal Project of Rajasthan, which is aimed at providing drinking and irrigation water in 13 districts in eastern Rajasthan.

Gehlot also raised several demands pertaining to the state.

In the meeting, the Niti Ayog praised the performance of Rajasthan in the areas of ease of doing business, export sector, school education, MGNREGA, agriculture and animal husbandry, health, renewable energy, women empowerment, MSME sector, etc.

Energy Minister BD Kalla, Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra, Industries Minister Parsadi Lal Meena, Chief Secretary Nirajan Arya, CM‘s economic advisor Arvind Mayaram, advisor Govind Sharma and other senior officers attended the meeting.

Selja is supposed to enjoy the confidence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and is also considered close to Ashok Gehlot (in pic)



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Co report net loss of Rs 233 cr, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Kolkata: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has reported Rs 233 crore net loss in the June quarter as compared with Rs 55 crore net profit in the year ago period on rising stress on asset quality and shrinking business.

Loan repayment was severely hit due to the second wave and fresh lockdowns with collection efficiency fell to 78 per cent in June against 94 per cent in March, the bank said. The ratio improved to 93 per cent in July for the bank.

“The second Covid wave and consequent restrictions and lockdowns lashed the industry, especially the micro banking sector,” chief executive Nitin Chugh said.

Its operating profit fell 24 per cent at Rs 163 crore compared with Rs 215 crore over the same period.

The bank created a floating provision of Rs 250 crores to absorb the impact of potential slippages in near future. Its total provision stood at Rs 1,149 crore, covering 8.2 per cent of gross advances, which shrunk 2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 14,037 crore. Provision coverage ratio improved to 75 per cent from 60 per cent three months back.

Its asset quality sharply deteriorated with gross non-performing assets ratio rising to 9.8 per cent at the end of June as against 1 per cent a year back. Net NPA was at 2.7 per cent compared with 0.2 per cent for the same period. The bank wrote off loans worth Rs 280 crore.

“We are hopeful that our customers will resurrect their livelihoods and continue to be resilient. We continued to diversify our asset book as a strategic approach,” he added.

The bank’s non-micro banking portfolio grew to 32 per cent from 22 per cent over the year with the secured portfolio rising to 30 per cent from 21 per cent earlier.

Its deposits rose 24 per cent at Rs 13,673 crore with current and savings bank account ratio being at 20.3 per cent, an improvement from 14.2 per cent a year back.



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Yes Bank board okays prosecution of Rana Kapoor, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Troubled lender Yes Bank’s board has given sanction to prosecute its jailed promoter Rana Kapoor under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

This came following a requisition by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which informed a local magistrate’s court of the development and filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Yes Bank fraud case earlier this week.

The central agency has charged R Anand, the then area sales manager, as well as a junior ex-employee of Yes Bank in the case, sources privy to the development told ET.

Last year, the CBI had sought the board’s approval after a special CBI court in Mumbai rejected its charge sheet against the banker under PCA as it lacked prosecution sanction.

The special court remitted the case to a lower court for cognisance under sections related to cheating and criminal conspiracy of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which attract lesser punishment.

Prior sanction from a competent authority is mandatory to an accused public servant to stand trial under PCA, as per an amendment to the Act notified in 2018.

“Once the consent was accorded by the board, the lower court was intimated and since the sections invoked under PCA attract punishment of over seven years, the case papers have been sent to the Sessions court. A supplementary chargesheet has also been submitted before the Sessions court and cognisance is awaited,” a senior official told ET.

The sanction to prosecute Kapoor was granted by the Yes Bank board, while that for Anand was given by the managing director of the bank, the source added. The agency is probing Kapoor and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd’s (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan in an alleged corruption case of over Rs 600 crore.

“During the course of the probe, it was found that Anand and another junior employee acted on the advice of Kapoor and overruled the recommendations given by the risk management committee against loans sanctioned to DHFL,” the official added.

The committee, in its recommendation, had highlighted that the Letter of Intent was not made to the company that applied for the loan, but in the name of a different company.

The project for which the loan was sought did not have the requisite sanction from the local authorities, including MHADA, and the tenants were not evicted, the official added.

“These over-rulings are discussed on email exchanged between the three and the same has been found during the course of the probe which has been detailed out in the chargesheet,” the source said.

According to the CBI’s first chargesheet, in June 2018, Kapoor, the then head of Yes Bank’s management credit committee, sanctioned a loan of `750 crore on an application by the promoters of DHFL in the name of Belief Realtors Pvt Ltd to develop the Bandra Reclamation Project.

This amount was advanced to RKW Developers, a company controlled by Dheeraj Wadhawan, though the bank’s risk management team had pointed out multiple issues with the proposal.

The agency’s probe revealed that the loan was not utilised for the stated purpose.

Simultaneously, Kapil Wadhawan is alleged to have paid a kickback of `600 crore to Kapoor and his family members in the garb of a builder loan from DHFL to DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Private Ltd (DUVPL).

Rana Kapoor’s daughter Roshni is one of the directors of DUVPL. After deducting a processing fee, Rs 632 crore was transferred to RKW Developers.



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Gold Prices Set To Fall By Rs 1,000 As International Prices Plunge

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Investment

oi-Sunil Fernandes

|

Gold rates in Indian cities are set to fall by Rs 1,000 per 10 grams at the very least on Saturday, as international prices fell by 2.5% in trade. The MCX which trades until 11 pm, saw gold prices fall by Rs 952. Jewellery associations in the country, which take cues from the MCX prices would quote these same rates.

Gold in Indian cities was trading around that Rs 44,600 to Rs 46,600 per 10 grams for 22 karats on Friday and hence it should open lower on Saturday from these levels.

In the global markets gold fell to its lowest in over a month after a strong U.S. jobs report boosted expectations the Federal Reserve could begin tapering its economic support sooner than previously anticipated.

Spot gold fell 2.3% to $1,763 per ounce after touching its lowest since June 30 at $1,757.

Strong US Jobs data, pushes gold prices lower

Hiring in the United States rose for the month of July at its fastest pace in nearly a year despite fears over Covid-19′s delta variant and as companies struggled with a tight labor supply, the Labor Department reported.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 943,000 for the month while the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4%, according to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The payroll increase was the best since August 2020.

This strong jobs data may now push the US Fed to begin partial withdrawal of its easing programme much earlier than anticipated.

Many analysts believe that gold could now be headed lower in the direction of $1700 an ounce. However, support could arise near these levels as the globe is still awash with liquidity and this could lead to buying at lower levels.

“The Fed has underscored that their decisions in terms of when they will begin to taper, as well as normalizing interest rates, are tied directly to the state of the economy. More so, they have adjusted their dual mandate which was to facilitate full employment and maintain a target inflationary rate of 2% to focus upon full employment while letting inflationary rates run hot. Their rationale is that much of the current upticks in inflationary pressures are transitory and will be alleviated as the country continues to rebound returning to a much more robust economy,” says Amit khare, AVP- Research Commodities, Ganganagar Commodities, Limited.

Meanwhile, the Sovereign Gold Bonds have now opened for subscription.

Gold Prices Set To Fall By Rs 1,000 As International Prices Plunge

According to Nish Bhatt, Founder & CEO, Millwood Kane International – an Investment consulting firm, the price for the Fifth tranche of SGB is fixed at Rs 4790/gm.
“Investment in non-physical gold, via digital or paper gold, is highly recommended as it provides high liquidity, no storage cost, and is easier to sell vs physical gold. Investment in SGBs comes with an interest coupon payable semi-annually. Investment in SGB is a superior alternative to physical gold. The investments in non-physical gold will help the government to keep a check on the currency and larger fiscal deficit.

Gold prices have softened in the past few weeks to touch a 1-month low. In the past one week alone, it has dropped nearly Rs 1,000/10gm in value. The rising US Dollar and Treasury yields on the back of a sooner than expected policy tightening by the Fed have largely led to softening of gold prices. Gold prices domestically and internationally have traded in a narrow range in the past few months. The latest variant of the virus, the pace of vaccination, unlocking, and signs of policy tightening by the Fed will guide gold prices going forward,” he says.



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