Net profit rises 33% YoY, below estimates; asset quality improves, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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MUMBAI: Kotak Mahindra Bank on Monday reported a 33 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs. 1,682 crore for the quarter ended March, missing analysts’ estimates by a wide margin. Sequentially, the lender’s net profit fell on account of a rise in provisions.

The lender reported 8 per cent on-year growth in net interest income to Rs. 3,843 crore for the quarter, which was also below Street’s estimate.

The private sector lender reported a slight improvement in asset quality as gross non-performing assets ratio stood at 3.25 per cent for the quarter compared with 3.27 per cent in the previous quarter on a proforma basis. Similarly, the net NPA ratio fell to 1.21 per cent, from 1.24 per cent in the previous quarter.

The lender has accounted for all the non-performing loans that were not recognised in previous quarters due to the Supreme Court’s standstill on reporting of bad loans till August 31.

Till December 31, with respect to cases not considered NPAs, the bank had considered a full hit for provisions and income as provisions for advances. After the Supreme Court’s order, the bank retrospectively reversed income and consequently adjusted provisions and contingencies, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in an exchange filing.

The private sector lender said that it has retained Covid-19 related provisions at Rs. 1,279 crore at the end of the quarter.

Kotak Bank reported mere 2 per cent growth in loans for the quarter ended March to Rs 2.23 lakh crore, reflecting the impact of the management’s conservative approach adopted since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kotak Bank’s net interest margin stood at 4.39 per cent in the quarter, lower than 4.72 per cent in the year-ago period.

Kotak Bank’s operating performance was firm as operating profit rose 25 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs. 3,407 crore.

The lender’s provisions and contingencies at the end of the quarter stood at Rs. 1,179 crore, which was higher than the Rs. 1,047 crore reported a year ago. On a sequential basis, the metric more than doubled from Rs. 419 crore.

The bank also declared a final dividend of 90 paise per share.



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SBI cuts minimum interest rate on home loans up to ₹30 lakh to 6.70 per cent

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State Bank of India (SBI) has cut the minimum interest rate at which its home loans up to ₹30 lakh will start from 6.95 per cent to 6.70 per cent.

The new interest rate is effective from May 1, 2021.

The home loan rate cut comes exactly a month after the bank hiked the minimum interest rate on home loans by 25 basis points (bps) from 6.70 per cent to 6.95 per cent.

For home loans above ₹30 lakh and up to ₹75 lakh, the interest rate will start at 6.95 per cent. For big-ticket home loans above ₹75 lakh, the interest rate will be 7.05 per cent, India’s largest bank said in a statement.

SBI said women borrowers will get a special concession of 5 basis points (bps). Further, a 5 bps concession is being offered as a digital incentive to customers applying for home loans via YONO digital banking platform. One basis point is equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point.

CS Setty, MD (Retail & Digital Banking) said, “The affordability for the consumer increases immensely with the present home loan interest rate offerings, which reduce the EMI (equated monthly installment) amounts substantially. I am sure these measures will give a fillip to the real estate industry too.”

SBI had hiked the minimum interest rate on home loans by 25 basis points (bps) from 6.70 per cent to 6.95 per cent with effect from April 1, 2021.

After SBI upped the minimum interest rate at which it will offer home loans last month, Kotak Mahindra Bank, in a statement issued on April 12, 2021, said it will continue its special interest rate on home loans of 6.65 per cent per annum.

“In the interest of consumers and on the back of strong demand trends, Kotak continues to offer possibly the lowest home loan interest rate in the market,” it said the statement, adding that the rate is applicable across all loan amounts.

“Both fresh home loan applicants and balance transfer cases are eligible for interest rates beginning at 6.65 per cent per annum. Interest rates are linked to borrowers’ credit score and the Loan to Value ratio,” Kotak Mahindra Bank further said.

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Net loss swells to Rs 3,788 crore, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Crisis-hit lender Yes Bank on Friday reported a standalone net loss of Rs 3,788 crore in the March quarter as against a net loss of Rs 3,668 crore in the year-ago period.

In the quarter ended December (Q3 FY21), it had posted a profit of Rs 151 crore. Net interest income in Q4 FY21 declined by 23 per cent to Rs 987 crore as against Rs 1,274 crore in Q4 FY20.

Non-interest income crashed by 32 per cent to Rs 816 crore from Rs 1,197 crore in Q3 FY21 but rose by 37 per cent from Rs 597 crore in the same period.

Thus the total net income shows a marginal decline of 3.6 per cent in Q4 FY21 at Rs 1,803 crore from Rs 1,871 crore in the same period of previous year. However, the dip works out to 52 per cent from Rs 3,758 in Q3 FY21.

Deposits grew by 11 per cent quarter-on-quarter at Rs 1.62 lakh crore and 55 per cent year-on-year with 6.6 lakh CASA accounts (current accounts saving accounts) opened in FY21.

Retail and SME disbursements were at Rs 12,150 crore in Q4 FY21. But provisions rose by 7.5 per cent to Rs 5,240 crore as compared to Rs 4,872 crore in March 2020.

“The bank has demonstrated significant improvement in performance across key indicators despite severe headwinds of Covid-19 and moratorium imposed in Mar 2020,” it said in a statement.

But worryingly, the bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stand at 15.41 per cent and net NPAs at 5.88 per cent.

On March 5 last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had placed the crisis-hit lender under a moratorium and appointed Prashant Kumar as the new CEO and Managing Director.

According to RBI-backed rescue plan, State Bank of India acquired up to 49 per cent stake in Yes Bank. HDFC and ICICI Bank infused Rs 1,000 crore each, Axis Bank Rs 600 crore and Kotak Mahindra Bank Rs 500 crore.



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SC rejects banks’ pleas for recall of 2015 verdict asking RBI to disclose info about them under RTI, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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In a major blow to banks, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to recall its 2015 judgment, which had held that the RBI will have to provide information about the banks and financial institutions (FIs) regulated by it under transparency law.

Several FIs and banks, including the Canara Bank, the Bank of Baroda, the UCO Bank and the Kotak Mahindra Bank had filed applications in the top court seeking a recall of the 2015 judgment in the Jayantilal N Mistry case, saying the verdict had far-reaching consequences and moreover, they were directly and substantially affected by it.

The banks had contended that the pleas for a recall of the judgment, instead of a review, is “maintainable” as there was a violation of the principles of natural justice in view of the fact that they were neither parties to the matter nor heard.

“A close scrutiny of the applications for a recall makes it clear that in substance, the applicants are seeking a review of the judgment in Jayantilal N Mistry. Therefore, we are of the considered opinion that these applications are not maintainable,” a bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and Vineet Saran said.

The order, written by Justice Rao, said in the instant case, the dispute relates to information to be provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Right to Information Act (RTI) and though the information pertained to banks, it was the decision of the RBI that was in challenge and decided by this court.

“No effort was made by any of the applicants (banks) in the miscellaneous applications to get themselves impleaded when the transferred cases were being heard by this court. The applications styled as recall are essentially applications for review. The nomenclature given to an application is of absolutely no consequence, what is of importance is the substance of the application…,” the top court said.

While dismissing the pleas, the bench, however, made it clear that it was not dealing with any of the submissions made by the banks on the correctness of the 2015 judgment in the Jayantilal N Mistry case.

“The dismissal of these applications shall not prevent the applicants (banks) to pursue other remedies available to them in law,” it said.

Earlier, the apex court had heard several matters pertaining to the orders of the Central Information Commission asking the RBI to provide information about banks to RTI applicants.

Several pleas were transferred to the top court at the request of the RBI and the judgment came to be pronounced in 2015.

In the judgment, the apex court had refused to accept the RBI’s contention that the information sought under the RTI Act could not be disclosed in view of its fiduciary relationship with the banks.

The court had observed that the RBI is not in any fiduciary relationship with the banks and that it has a statutory duty to uphold the interest of the public at large, the depositors, the country’s economy and the banking sector.

The top court was of the opinion that the RBI has to act with transparency and not hide information that might embarrass the banks and that it is duty-bound to comply with the provisions of the RTI Act and disclose the information sought.

Several banks sought a recall of the judgment by filing miscellaneous applications in the main petition filed by the State Bank of India (SBI) and the HDFC bank.

The top court de-tagged the main pleas of the SBI and the HDFC bank and dismissed the miscellaneous applications of the banks.



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RBI’s CEO tenure cap: Here’s how it will impact Uday Kotak; HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank safe

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Analysts believe that this development is marginally negative for Kotak Mahindra Bank, as Uday Kotak, the promoter MD and CEO, will not be eligible for reappointment once his term gets over.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) final guidelines on the tenure of bank MD, CEOs, or Whole Time Director (WTD) will apply to private lenders, small finance banks (SFBs), and wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign banks. Under the new guidelines, the post of MD and CEO of a private bank cannot be held by the same individual for more than 15 years in one go. While, in the case of a promoter MD/CEO, the tenure will be capped at 12 years. RBI has noted that under special circumstances and at the discretion of the apex bank, the term for promoter CEO may be extended up to 15 years. “Banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and IndusInd Bank had a change at the helm in the recent past. However, banks like Kotak Mahindra Bank, DCB Bank, City Union Bank, Federal Bank, and RBL Bank have long-running tenures (+10 yrs) of the current MDs,” said Siji Philip and Dnyanada Vaidya, research analysts, Axis Securities.

RBI guidelines negative for Kotak Mahindra Bank

For Kotak Mahindra Bank and City Union Bank, the term extension has already been done till 2024 and 2026, respectively. Analysts believe that this development is marginally negative for Kotak Mahindra Bank, as Uday Kotak, the promoter MD and CEO, will not be eligible for reappointment once his term gets over. However, he will continue to remain a stakeholder in the bank. Uday Kotak got reappointed on January 1, 2021, for a period of three years. “Hence, his tenure will now end on 1 Jan 2024 and he is not eligible for reappointment as he has already completed 15 years as the MD and CEO,” said Suresh Ganapathy, analyst at Macquarie Research in a note.

Banks to comply with RBI guidelines by Oct 1, 2021

Ganapathy also said that the second in line Dipak Gupta (current Joint MD) may not be eligible to succeed Kotak as the CEO as the 15 year cap applies for all whole-time directors (WTD) on the board. RBI circular also stated that the upper age limit for MD and CEO and WTDs in the private sector banks would continue and no person can continue as MD and CEO or WTD beyond the age of 70 years. Banks are permitted to comply with these instructions latest by October 01, 2021. It should be noted that banks with MD and CEOs or WTDs who have already completed 12 or 15 years as MD and CEO or WTD, on the mentioned date these instructions coming to effect, shall be allowed to complete their current term as already approved by the Reserve Bank.

Kotak Mahindra Bank shares were trading nearly 3 per cent higher at Rs 1,799 apiece on BSE in intraday deals on Wednesday. So far, a total of 46,000 shares have traded on BSE, while a total of 19.40 lakh shares have exchanged hands on NSE. RBI also clarified that the individual will be eligible for re-appointment as MD and CEO or WTD in the same bank, if considered necessary and desirable by the board, after a minimum gap of three years, subject to meeting other conditions. “During this three-year cooling period, the individual shall not be appointed or associated with the bank or its group entities in any capacity, either directly or indirectly,” RBI said.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank seem fine

According to Ganapathy, the CEOs of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have plenty of time and can be the CEO for more than a decade as they were appointed as the CEO recently. HDFC Bank CEO took charge last year whereas ICICI Bank CEO took charge a couple of years ago. Similarly, Axis CEO also can be the CEO for more than a decade.

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RBL, DCB and Federal Bank may hunt for new CEOs, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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It’s not just Kotak Mahindra Bank that has to do succession planning after the RBI capped the tenure of private bank CEOs at 15 years.

DCB Bank, RBL Bank and Federal Bank will have to look for new CEOs after the term of current ones ends in the next three years.

DCB Bank CEO Murali Natrajan has completed 12 years in the job and got a year’s extension this month.

Federal Bank CEO Shyam Srinivasan will complete 11 years in September when his second consecutive one-year extension ends.

RBL’s Vishwavir Ahuja also completes 11 years in June and is awaiting the RBI nod for another three-year term after the bank’s board approved such a proposal in January. Federal Bank and RBL boards have sought three-year terms for their CEOs. It remains to be seen whether the RBI will give this extension, which is within the 15-year limit.

Why the move?

The regulator’s directions on limiting CEO tenures come after the publication last summer of a discussion paper that had sought a review of the governance framework at commercial banks. A bank CEO who is also a promoter or major shareholder cannot hold these posts for more than 12 years, the revised RBI rules said.

Experts say governance lapses at Yes Bank also prompted the move by the central bank.

The new norms do not apply to bank CEOs whose tenures have already been approved by RBI.

“Banks with MDs & CEOs or whole-time directors (WTD) who have already completed 12 or 15 years as MD & CEO or WTD, on the date these instructions come into effect, shall be allowed to complete their current term as already approved by the Reserve Bank.”The banking regulator said

The impact

Bankers said the central bank’s move could hurt stability at small and medium private sector banks that require strong leadership and an understanding of the business to stand out in a competitive lending business. In a related move, the RBI has directed that half the directors in banks be independent ones. It has also put an annual Rs 20-lakh ceiling on fees to be paid to independent directors. It also said that independent directors have to chair bank boards.

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ICICI Bank pushes on retail as other lenders slow down, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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– By Shashank Singhal

ICICI Bank Ltd. reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, with revenues and core income increasing and asset quality remaining stable driven by loan growth and higher profitability.

Credit Growth:

The Total advances of the bank increased by 14% year-on-year to 733,729 crores on March 31, 2021 from ` 645,290 crore on March 31, 2020. Bank’s credit growth was mainly driven by retail segment. On March 31, 2021, the retail loan portfolio had grown by 20% year on year and 7% sequentially which has been double the system retail loan growth. Retail accounted for 67% of the overall portfolio. Retail mortgages grew by 22% year on year being the largest incremental contributor to growth. Banks continue to push for higher retail loan growth. Disbursements to higher rated corporates and public sector undertakings (PSUs) across various sectors drove growth in the performing domestic corporate portfolio by about 13% year on year.

Among other retail segments, business loans increased by 40% year over year, while rural loans (which include 50% Jewel loans) increased by 27% year over year. The book in the CV, two-wheeler, and credit card segments increased Quarter on quarter, but the book in the CV, two-wheeler, and credit card segments remained flat.

Bank’s retail growth can be attributed to digitization. Digital initiative such as ‘EMI @ Internet Banking’ which allows preapproved customers to convert their high value transactions into instant EMIs at the time of purchase on their retail internet banking platform and graining traction in the cards business through digital platform boosted the retail growth. The growth was also aided by the bank’s expansion of footprint in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities and low interest rates.

Slippages

According to CLSA, ICICI Bank’s slippage at Rs 5,500 crore (0.75 per cent of loans) was a positive surprise. Retail slippage increased by less than 2x to 2.4 per cent in FY21 vs 1.4 per cent in FY20 which, the brokerage believes, is manageable given the pandemic which indicates that Bank has been cautious rather aggressive in lending retail loans.

Asset Quality

ICICI Bank’s gross non-performing asset ratio stood at 4.96% compared with 5.42% in the October-December quarter while the net NPA ratio declined to 1.14% on March 31, 2021 from 1.26% (on a proforma basis on December 31, 2020) and 1.41% on March 31, 2020.Bank maintains healthy specific provision coverage ratio of 78% of NPAs and contingent buffer at 1% of loans.

HDFC slows down on Retail

HDFC Bank reported 14% year-on-year growth in domestic advances on 31st March 2020 mainly driven by growth in wholesale loans which grew by 21.7% from last year while as per regulatory [Basel 2] segment classification, domestic retail loans grew only by 6.7%. Wholesale loans now form 53% of the total loan book. Retail loans accounted for 47% compared to 67% of ICICI Bank showing different target segments of the Banks.

For the first time in many years, ICICI Bank’s loan growth exceeded that of HDFC Bank. The Overall domestic loan growth of 18% year-on-year (6% quarter-on-quarter) of ICICI has been 3x that of system loan growth and 400 basis points above HDFC Bank.

Banks cautious on Retail loans

Amid the uncertainty provided by the pandemic other lenders such as Kotak has also cut down on the retail front. Banks are taking cautious stance on extending credit to avoid a spike in asset quality issues. Banks are falling back on the secure options.

ICICI Securities in a note recently said, “Kotak Mahindra Bank’s management had highlighted that unsecured retail and CV (bus operator segment) portfolios were reflecting disproportionate stress. Beside this, MTM gain on investment portfolio, cost agility and low cost deposit based will cushion earnings impact.”



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DBS, Kotak Bank, IDFC First may be frontrunners to buy Citi’s retail business, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Citibank could sell its retail business in parts or as a whole with suitors ranging from local new and established lenders like Kotak Mahindra, IDFC First or even foreign banks like DBS Bank.

DBS Bank is considered one of the potential buyers of these businesses given its deep pockets and ambitions to expand in India. In November last year, the Singaporean lender completed the first of its kind RBI directed acquisition of a distressed lender taking control of Chennai based Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB).

DBS India has already infused more than $1 billion into India in its relatively new existence in the country and though LVB gives its wider access to South India, it may look at Citi‘s credit card portfolio to kick start that business in India. DBS does not offer credit cards in the country currently.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, which was said to be exploring an acquisition of IndusInd Bank and refused the offer for Yes Bank, could be interested in the Citi Bank assets

What’s on offer?

The consumer banking business, which includes cards and loans against property, would be around Rs 32,000 crore. It also has a huge amount of savings accounts built over the last few years, which has a lucrative liability book and also credit cards, which they were the largest among foreign banks in India.

The bank also had Rs 27,911 crore of loans to agriculture, affordable housing renewable energy and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Of this, Rs 4,975 crore was to weaker sections, as part of Citi India’s priority sector lending obligations, results released last year showed.

Outstanding credit cards as of February stood at 2.65 million, the largest among foreign banks in India, ahead of 1.46 million by Standard Chartered and 1.56 million by Amex. Citi India had 2.9 million retail customers with 1.2 million bank accounts as of March 2020.

At the end of March 2020, Citibank served 2.9 million retail customers with 1.2 million bank accounts and 2.2 million credit card accounts.

Earlier acquisitions

Local lenders have profited from foreign banks’ exit from India over the last decade. IndusInd Bank for example brought and built up Deutsche Bank’s credit card portfolio in 2011 and followed it up by buying Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) diamond financing business in 2015. Another private sector RBL Bank also started its credit card business by purchasing the portfolio from RBS in 2013.



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Kotak Mahindra Bank customers can pay overdue EMI through payment app

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Kotak Mahindra Bank customers can now pay a missed EMI or an overdue loan instalment using any payment app such as Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm.

“Kotak Loans is now live on the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) platform and customers have to simply choose ‘Kotak Mahindra Bank Loan’ as the biller name on the payment app of their choice,” the private sector lender said in a statement on Saturday, adding that details of any EMIs that are past the due date will be displayed and the payment will reflect in the customer’s loan account on a real-time basis.

“This repayment facility is available on all KMBL terms loans such as Personal Loan, Home Loan, Consumer Durable Loan, Business Loan, Gold Loan, Loan against Property as well as Commercial Vehicle Loan, Tractor Finance Loan, Construction Equipment Loan,” it further said.

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Uday Kotak, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Uday Kotak, MD & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank, in conversation with Nikunj Dalmia of ET NOW at the Times Network India Economic Conclave 2021.

During the last India Economic Conclave (IEC), you had said that India needs banks but it needs few PSU banks, it needs adaptation of fintech and it needs consolidation in the sector. I guess you knew what was happening because that indeed is happening one year after our interaction?
I do believe that India has made very serious progress in this pandemic era and actually grasped the opportunity of what we need to do. Therefore the financial sector is in for a significant change. The government’s move of testing out with two public sector banks is first of its kind and this combined with the fact that over time you will have four or five large state owned banks and private sector banks and at the same time opening up competition in the sector is the right way to go. At the same time, we need to be clear that in the last one year, Covid has changed our lives in the field of technology and financial services by a multiplier of five. What would have otherwise taken us five years is happening in one year. That is what we are going to be ready for.During the course of 2020 every time we interacted with you on various forums your words were: “India Inc has been hit. It is like a ship which is now trapped in muddy waters.” Is the challenging time behind us? Has the ship reached the shore?
Covid has created a new category of what I call as haves and have nots. The people who have had access to capital are in the category of haves and that is primarily the organised sector or companies which have access to public markets as also private equity and the have nots are the ones who did not have access to capital. There is a very stark difference between the haves and the have nots, based on access to capital. Therefore, even if you are from a stressed sector, if you have access to capital you are in good shape. If you do not have access to capital, you are in a tougher position and that is the difference which we have seen happen in front of us. That is as a result of dramatic pouring of money and liquidity globally and in India as well. That has enabled equity capital to rescue most of the organised sector.

The broad commentary from India Inc is one of highest-ever margins, strongest demand visibility and high optimism. A year ago, there was fear, gloom and doom on the Street. How does one differentiate the kind of indications which we are getting from India Inc.? Are these permanent or are there spurts of demand like sugar rush?
One year ago we did not know what hit us, we had no idea of the contours of the Covid impact. Today one year later, we seem to understand the virus a little better though it continues to mutate. At the same time, there is greater optimism on the possibility of vaccination of a lot of our people though I think it is going to take a few months more for us to get to a more comfortable place.

At the same time, we have started being able to deal with this virus in terms of our lives, what we can do, what we cannot do. We have adapted our life to the new reality. All these are the pluses and that is one of the reasons why business and industry feels they are in a better place than what it was one year ago.

Having said that, things will need to be better handled on the virus and vaccination moving forward but we have to be careful of a mindset of complacency. The virus has not gone one year later. It is still around and we feel more comfortable with it. But the virus is mutating and therefore I will certainly be looking with optimism because we are seeing a changed world. But I keep my guard up. I would not lower my guard too soon and make this more a marathon rather than a sprint.



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