Tag: ICICI

Corporate exclusion from banking shrinks buyer pool for PSBs, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to keep corporates away from bank licences will help the government sidestep allegations that it is selling banks to big business. However, the number of prospective buyers for public sector banks (PSBs) will shrink.

In the absence of any deep-pocketed corporate house, the bidders for PSU banks would have to be either private or multinational banks, or private equity investors who would be in a position to come up with a couple of billion dollars to buy a bank. The challenge in the case of private equity investors is that they would look for an exit after a few years, while multinational banks are increasingly reducing their retail exposure as retail banking is becoming a domestic activity because of compliance costs.

Private players like HDFC Bank, Kotak, ICICI and Axis have the equity-raising capacity, but the pension liabilities would be a deterrent. In March this year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the salary and pension of bank employees will be protected in the case of privatisation. “The deal-breaker would be the pension liabilities of these banks,” said a private banker. The fact that the pension is inflation-linked makes it worse for any buyer.

The source added that this is the reason why the banks are trading at low valuations despite having cleaned up their loan books.

For private banks, a bank licence or a branch network does have the same appeal that it would have for a corporate house. More so given the disruption that digital is causing. “Unlike in the past when a domestic bank licence would draw a lot of interest, there was only one serious bidder for Lakshmi Vilas Bank — DBS. When the RBI was looking for someone to take over PMC Bank, despite the lure of a licence of a Mumbai-headquartered bank, there was again only one bidder,” pointed out a banker.

While the PSBs are in better financial shape, a buyer would need to put in more capital and probably see a hike in the cost of funds as the government ownership, which provides a cushion to depositors, will no longer be there. Since liberalisation, the central bank has taken the safe route of issuing bank licences to financial institutions. The first round of banks that got their licence was largely sponsored by financial institutions, including HDFC, ICICI, UTI, IDBI and some non-banking finance companies such as Centurion, Kotak Mahindra and Bandhan. The experience in granting licences to professionals has not been good (Global Trust Bank and Yes Bank). The absence of private non-bank financial institutions makes the divestment more challenging.



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Deutsche Bank ready to be NPS custodian for just Rs 100 per year, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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In an ultra-aggressive bid, Deutsche Bank is willing to accept a fee of just ₹100 a year for being the custodian of India’s pension fund which has total assets under custody of more than ₹6 lakh crore across various schemes.

The existing custodian, Stock Holding Corporation of India, a large depository participant owned by public financial institutions, charges close to ₹19 crore for the job.

Other institutions in the race for the custody mandate of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) include Citi, SBI-SG Global Securities Services (a joint venture between SBI and Societe Generale Securities Services), and ICICI. The fees quoted by these organisations are more than ₹1crore.

NPS, launched by the central government and involving multiple asset managers handling one of the largest fund pools in the country, is regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.

“It’s a prestigious mandate. So, Deutsche has probably taken a call to make money from a transitory float it could enjoy as a custodian,” said an official of a bank that has not put in a bid.

A Deutsche India spokesman said the bank would not comment on a client mandate.

“Beyond fees, there could be other ways to earn. Discount brokers charge little or nothing from stock traders. But, with so much liquidity available, earnings from float have come down with the fall in overnight rates. It may further shrink with T+1 (settlement in stock exchanges),” said an official of a financial intermediary.

A custodian has the opportunity to enjoy a day’s float by parking some money with the Reserve Bank of India under the reverse repo facility or in the inter-bank market.

Funds into NPS move from the employer (when salaries are paid) to the collection banks following which the money is transferred to custodians when an asset manager decides to invest in bonds and equities. Since investments happen within a day or two, custodians have a limited float.

The Deutsche bid has to pass the test laid down by the finance ministry.

According to the government’s ‘Manual for Procurement of Consultancy & Other Services’, “An abnormally Low bid is one in which the bid price, in combination with other elements of the bid, appears so low that it raises material concerns as to the capability of the bidder to perform the contract at the offered price. Procuring entity may in such cases seek written clarifications from the bidder, including detailed price analyses of its bid price in relation to scope, schedule, allocation of risks and responsibilities and any other requirements of the bid document. If, after evaluating the price analyses, (the) procuring entity determines that the bidder has substantially failed to demonstrate its capability to deliver the contract at the offered price, the procuring entity may reject the Bid/Proposal.”

Recently, a similar bid from another MNC bank for the custody mandate of postal life insurance was rejected on this ground.

While custody is a stable and sought after business, a few institutions have recently changed tack in choosing custodians. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) recently shut the doors to foreign banks in selecting the custodian for its ₹10 lakh crore holding of stocks and corporate bonds. MNC banks lost out as LIC’s condition was that if the bidder was a foreign company or MNC, any of its securities had to be listed in India.



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Here’s what top banks are offering this festive season, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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While the COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown affected the celebrations last year, the festive season finally seems to be getting back on track.

The country is celebrating Diwali this week, giving an opportunity to companies and banks to incentivise their business by offering discounts on a range of items from jewellery to smartphones.

The lockdown was heavy on most, and affected the finances of several families. However, to ensure that these temporary setbacks do not come in the way of Diwali shopping and celebrations, a number of festive offers are up for grabs this year.

State Bank of India- #KhushiyonKaSwagat

This Diwali, if a customer of State Bank of India (SBI) applies for a car loan through YONO app, then they can get an interest rate concession of up to 0.5%, with zero processing fees, the bank said in a tweet.

Customers can get cash back offers up to Rs 2,500 on every purchase on e-commerce sites such as Flipkart and Amazon. Besides, one can get instant loan approval now.

The bank is offering car loans from 7.25%, gold loans from 7.50%, personal loans from 9.60%.

Additionally, the home loan offer which was started in September is still there. SBI currently offers home loans at only 6.7% for any amount and any tenure without any processing fees.

ICICI Bank- #FestiveBonanza

ICICI Bank launched ‘Festive Bonanza’ with a complete range of offers, heavy discounts and cash back available on a range of products, including luxury items from premium brands and leading e-commerce platforms.

As part of the ‘Festive Bonanza’, the bank is offering up to 20% cash back and discount on every purchase on Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart, Jiomart, Reliance Digital, among other platforms.

Besides, benefits are there for retail and business customers on various banking products and services such as home loan, car loan, overdraft facility and others.

Diwali 2021: Here's what top banks are offering this festive season

HDFC Bank- #FestiveTreats

HDFC bank has partnered with over 10,000 merchants across more than 100 locations to offer special deals specifically created for their personal and business needs in this Diwali time.

Benefits offered to customers include cash backs and no-cost EMIs on premium mobile phones, up to 22.5% cash back and no-cost EMI on electronics and consumer goods such as washing machines and refrigerators on shopping platform Amazon by using HDFC Bank’s credit and debit cards.

Personal loans starting at 10.25% interest with instant disbursal in account are also there. Customers can avail car loans starting at 7.50% with zero foreclosure charges and funding of up to 100% on two-wheeler loans and 4% less on interest rates, the bank said

BOI- #BOIUtsav

Bank of India has announced a 35 basis-point cut in its home loan interest rates and 50 basis-point reduction in vehicle loan interest rates. The minimum rate now starts at 6.50% against 6.85% on home loans and 6.85% against 7.35% earlier on vehicle loans.

This special rate, which was effective from October 18 till December 31, is available for customers applying for fresh loans, and for those seeking transfer of loans. Processing charges have also been waived for both the loans till 2022.

Axis Bank- #DilSeOpenCelebrations

Axis Bank is offering waivers of 12 EMIs on select home loan products in this festive season and providing on-road finance without any processing fees for two-wheelers customers.

To boost local retailers during this season, Axis Bank has roped in more than 2,500 local stores across 50 cities. The bank customers will get discounts up to 20% on shopping from these stores. Besides, one can get 10% or more cash back when purchasing on popular e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon.

BOB- #KhushiyonKaTyohaar

Bank of Baroda also extended Diwali offers. This bank has slashed interest rates on both home car loans that start from 6.5% and 7% respectively. Processing charges are also waived for both the loans.



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Credit card war hots up ahead of festive season; cos announce a slew of tie-ups, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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Consumers are set to get a flurry of new credit card offers as banks are stepping up on customer acquisitions. Banks are gearing up to grab a bigger share of the market which is set to grow as the economy opens up.

New card additions were the highest for ICICI at 655,000 during this fiscal while added 198,000 cards being the highest in the past 16 months.

HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank, on which RBI recently lifted a ban of issuing new credit cards, has announced a tie-up with leading payments company Paytm to start selling co-branded plastics before the onset of the festive season. The credit cards will be powered by Visa and will include offerings targeted at millennials, business owners and merchants, an official statement said.

Paytm has a reach of over 330 million consumers and 21 million merchants, while HDFC Bank has over 5 million debit, credit and prepaid cards, and serves 2 million merchants through its offerings.

HDFC Bank, the largest private-sector bank which also leads the credit card segment, was banned from issuing new credit cards for over eight months as a penalty for frequent outages. After the lifting of the ban, it outlined aggressive plans to regain lost market share in up to a year.

The bank had said that it will focus on distribution partnerships to achieve its target, under which it envisages ramping up new credit card sales to 5 lakh a month by end of the fiscal from 3 lakh in November 2021.

HDFC Bank and Paytm had last month announced a tie-up on the payments side. Paytm already has a tie-up with foreign lender Citi under which co-branded credit cards are issued. Citi is looking to exit retail banking activities in the country.

The launch of the HDFC Bank-Paytm co-branded cards is slated for next month, ahead of the festive season which typically sees a spurt in spends, the statement said, adding a full suite of products will be available by December.

Yes Bank ties up with Visa

Yes Bank has tied up with Visa to issue credit cards to its customers on the payment platform, which includes a suite of nine credit card variants. The Yes Bank card issuances were hit after RBI had banned Mastercard from issuing cards.

“The transition has been achieved within a record time of less than 60 days, ensuring ease for customers across segments,” the bank said.

Yes Bank and RBL Bank were hit the most by the Mastercard ban as their entire card network was on it. RBL Bank had announced a tie-up with Visa the day after the curbs on Mastercard were announced and resumed issuing cards from September 15. Yes Bank’s Visa credit cards, announced today, will service all segments–consumer cards, business cards, and corporate cards across YES First, YES Premia and YES Prosperity.

AU Small Finance Bank

AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) has issued over 40,000 credit cards since its launch a few months back, and more than half of them are first time users. The Jaipur based lender said it is the first SFB to enter semi-urban and rural areas with its own credit cards. It also offers a special Altura plus credit card to empower women to experience a limitless living.

In future, the bank is also working on bringing out its limited-edition cards, featuring the bank’s brand ambassadors Aamir Khan and Kiara Advani.

“The forthcoming festive season will lend further support to the picked-up momentum in the spends and new customers sourcing. However, a possible Covid 3.0 remains a key risk. We continue to believe that Citi Bank’s exit from the credit cards business along with the domestic corporate loan recovery cycle yet to pick up, provides good growth opportunities for the credit cards business, supported by improving macro-conditions,’ Axis Securities said in a note.



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Fintech start-up IppoPay raises $250,000 in pre-seed funding

Banking & Finance

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IppoPay, a Chennai-based fintech start-up that provides digital payment solutions to merchants in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, has raised $250,000 in pre-seed funding from early-stage investor Better Capital along with Prabhu Rangarajan (co-founder of M2P) and Sailesh Ramakrishnan (partner at Rocketship VC).

In a statement, the company said it intends to use the proceeds to reach 100,000 merchants and expand its suite of offerings.

IppoPay claims that its platform has recorded transactions worth ₹1,750 crore in over one crore transactions for about 5,000 merchants. IppoPay is currently partnered with YES Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Paytm Bank.

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IDBI Bank board okays divesting entire 19% stake in ARCIL, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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IDBI Bank on Friday said its board has okayed a proposal to divest its entire stake of over 19 per cent in ARCIL. The decision was taken at a meeting of the board of directors on Friday.

The board has approved the proposal for sale of IDBI Bank’s entire holding of 6,23,23,800 fully paid-up equity shares constituting 19.18 per cent of the total equity share capital of Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (ARCIL), IDBI Bank said in a regulatory filing.

In June this year, IDBI Bank had invited bids from interested parties for the takeover of its stake in the asset reconstruction company.

Incorporated in 2002, ARCIL is owned by SBI, IDBI, ICICI and PNB, besides strategic foreign investors such as Avenue Indian Resurgence Pte Ltd.

Since its inception, ARCIL has resolved over Rs 78,000 crore worth of non-performing assets acquired from domestic banks and financial institutions, as per its website.



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Pandemic lifts home loan demand, rise up to 14% despite restrictions, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

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As the pandemic raged, people took to the safety of homes, literally.

Banks home loan portfolios jumped up to 14% in the first quarter despite a rise in Covid cases and restrictions due to the pandemic.

The home loan portfolio of the State Bank of India increased 11 per cent to Rs 5,05,473 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal ended June 30, 2021, compared with ₹4,55,443 crore in the year-ago period. It forms constituting 23 per cent of the bank’s total domestic advances.

Home loans at Canara Bank increased 13.15 per cent during the first quarter to Rs 65,136 crore. In the previous year, the growth in the portfolio was only 10.6 per cent. Punjab National Bank saw a 6.1 per cent growth in home loans.

Rising ticket size

HDFC saw its average loan size jump from Rs 27 lakh to Rs 29.5 lakh during the Covid pandemic as borrowers sought larger homes with many companies shifting to work-from-home mode.

Even as the average property value purchased by borrowers during the pandemic rose, the affordability of loans for borrowers improved to a 25-year high.

The affordability is measured as the number of years of income required to buy a house.

The affordability improved to 3.2 years of income as against 3.3 years in FY20 and 2.5 years in FY19. This was largely because the annual income of borrowers rose from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 16 lakh even as property values remained at FY18 levels. The average age of the borrower also dipped from 39 years to 38 years.

Growing competition

ICICI Home Finance has launched an on-the-spot home loan for workers and self-employed who do not have income tax returns (ITR) to show their earnings.

Under the ”Big Freedom Month”, ICICI Home Finance aims to assist home loan seekers who do not have income tax returns proof to buy their dream home, it said in a statement.

Carpenters, plumbers, electricians, tailors, painters, welders, auto mechanics, and auto taxi drivers, among others, can avail of the spot home loan by submitting PAN card, Aadhaar card and bank account statement of the past six months.

Prospective homebuyers can visit the ICICI HFC branch to get free consultation from experts.

SBI is also focusing on home loans. It announced a 100 per cent waiver on processing fees till August 31. Before the offer, the processing fee was 0.40 per cent.



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ICICI, HSBC, Standard Chartered strike India’s first swaption deals, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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Two years after RBI allowed them, ICICI Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank have cut the first swaption deals, giving new risk management tools to borrowers in rapidly changing interest rate scenarios.

The ‘swaption’ interest-rate derivative product helps both local borrowers and investors to rein in funding costs in a rising rate scenario and retain investment returns in a falling rate scenario. In June, 2019, the Reserve Bank of Indiaissued guidelines for ‘swaption’ deals.

What is swaption?

A swaption contract gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an interest-rate swap deal.

If a borrower raises local bonds with a ‘put’ option, investors could well surrender those papers in a rising rate scenario, forcing a borrower to issue new bonds at higher rates. This is where the utility of the instrument is evident for the borrower.

If the borrower buys a swaption contract, the instrument will protect the borrower against any losses from rate movements in the event of investors exercising their put options.

Similarly, if a borrower raises bonds with call options, and exercises them in a falling interest market, the investor has to invest at lower rates. If s/he buys a swaption contract, it will shield for any rate losses.

The transaction

ICICI Bank and the two overseas lenders transacted ‘swaptions’ on Overnight Index Swap (OIS) for a total notional sum, which formed a significant majority of the total worth of transactions reported on day one. Trading in the instrument began Tuesday on a Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) platform, which showed six separate deals for a total notional sum of Rs 700 crore.

The demand for interest rate swaptions from domestic clients to increase in the short to medium term as the proportion of external benchmark linked lending by banks continues to rise.



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