Tag: Nirmala Sitharaman

Bank unions threaten two-day nationwide strike against proposed privatisation of PSBs, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, has given a call for a two-day strike from December 16 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. In the Union Budget presented in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan.

The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the past four years.

The government has listed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, for introduction and passage during the current session of Parliament.

In view of this, UFBU has decided to oppose the move for privatisation, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said in a statement.

Strike notice for December 16 and December 17, 2021, has been served by UFBU on the IBA, he said.

In a developing country like India, where banks deal with huge public savings and they have to play a leading role to ensure broad-based economic development, public sector banking with social orientation is the most appropriate and imperative need, he said.

Hence, he said, for the past 25 years, under the banner of UFBU “we have been opposing the policies of banking reforms which are aimed at weakening public sector banks”.

Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI).

Others are Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO).



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Bank officers’ union launches nationwide movement against privatisation, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


New Delhi, Bank officers’ union on Tuesday launched nationwide movement against proposed privatisation of stat-owned lenders. ‘Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Rally’ was held at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Tuesday attended by officers and other stakeholders from various parts of the country, the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) said in a statement.

Addressing the rally, AIBOC General Secretary Soumya Datta appealed to the government to withdraw the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which has been listed for introduction and passing in the winter session of Parliament.

“In case the government tables and passes the bill paving the way for the privatisation of the public sector banks, the bank officers will unite all the stakeholders of the banking sector and launch a nationwide agitation,” he said, urging the bankers to draw inspiration from the farmers movement.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting Budget 2021-22 earlier this year had announced the privatisation of public sector banks (PSBs) as part of disinvestment drive to garner Rs 1.75 lakh crore.

The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, to be introduced during the session is expected to bring down the minimum government holding in the PSBs from 51 per cent to 26 per cent.

In the last concluded session, Parliament passed a bill to allow privatisation of state-run general insurance companies.

The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, removed the requirement of the central government to hold at least 51 per cent of the equity capital in a specified insurer.

The Act, which came into force in 1972, provided for the acquisition and transfer of shares of Indian insurance companies and undertakings of other existing insurers in order to serve better the needs of the economy by securing the development of general insurance business.

Government think-tank NITI Aayog has already suggested two banks and one insurance company to Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment for privatisation.

According to sources, Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank are likely candidates for the privatisation.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

We will walk the talk on introducing crypto Bill in Parliament this session: Sitharman

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the Government was working on a new Bill on cryptocurrency and that this Bill would be introduced in the ongoing session of Parliament after Cabinet approval.

The ongoing winter session of Parliament commenced on November 29 and is slated to end on December 23.

Replying to questions on cryptocurrency in Rajya Sabha today, Sitharaman said the new Bill takes into account the rapidly changing dimensions in virtual currency space and incorporates certain features of earlier Bill that could not be taken up.

‘Genuine intent’

She asserted that the government had “genuine intent” of introducing the Bill last time itself in the Monsoon session and that it would be incorrect to infer or conclude that the government would this time too not go ahead with enactment of law. “Once the Cabinet clears the new Bill, it will come into the House,” she said.

Sitharaman, however, did not indicate how the government intends to approach the issue of private cryptocurrency and whether the new Bill will look to ban private cryptocurrencies or not.

It may be recalled that a Bill on Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency for introduction in the Lok Sabha had been recently included in the Lok Sabha Bulletin-Part II, as part of the government business expected to be taken up during the ongoing winter session.

According to the Lok Sabha Bulletin, the Bill seeks to create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the ongoing winter session of Parliament. It also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.

Asked if the government proposes to ban misleading advertisements on cryptos in the media, she told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the guidelines of Advertising Standards Council of India are being studied and their regulations are also being looked into “so that we can take, if necessary, some kind of position or a decision to see how we can handle it”.

In a written reply to a few questions on cryptocurrency posed by Rajya Sabha members, Sitharaman said cryptocurrencies including non-fungible tokens are unregulated in India and the government does not collect data on transactions in cryptocurrency.

Crypto frauds

She also revealed that as many as eight cases of cryptocurrency frauds are under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate. “Further disclosure of information may not be in larger public interest”, she added.

Sitharaman also said the government, RBI and SEBI have been cautioning people about the cryptocurrencies that could be a “high risk” area and “more can be done” to create awareness.

A study was conducted by the government through a research firm on ‘Virtual Currencies: An Analysis of the Legal Framework and Recommendations for Regulation’ in July 2017. Thereafter, the government constituted an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) in November 2017 under the chairmanship of the secretary (economic affairs) to study issues related to virtual currencies and propose specific action to be taken in this matter.

The committee, inter-alia, recommended that all private cryptocurrencies be prohibited in India. The panel also recommended that it would be advisable to have an open mind regarding the introduction of an official digital currency in India.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, said in a written reply that RBI has been cautioning users, holders and traders of virtual currencies vide public notices on December 24, 2013, February 1, 2017, and December 5, 2017, that dealing in virtual currencies is associated with potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security-related risks.

Also, the RBI had, in a circular dated May 31, 2021, advised the regulated entities to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes for transactions on virtual currencies, in line with the regulations governing standards for know your customer, anti money laundering, combating of financing of terrorism, obligations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, he said.

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , ,

FM Sitharaman, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the Indian government will introduce the bill on cryptocurrencies in the Parliament after Cabinet’s approval. The minister also said that regulation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is also being considered.

“Government will soon bring a bill after the Cabinet clears it. It was not brought in last time as there were some other dimensions that had to be looked into. Rapidly a lot of things had come into play. Intent was to improve the bill,”Sitha raman said during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha. Speaking on the advertisement controversy surrounding cryptocurrencies, she said that no decision has been taken on banning the advertisements. “ASCI governs advertising & formulates guidelines.All its regulations are being looked at so that we can see what can be done on advertisements.”

The minister on Monday had said that there is no proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency. Further, she said that the government does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions.

The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, listed in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies and its uses.

Follow and connect with us on , Facebook, Linkedin



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Finance Minister, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday informed Parliament that the Centre has issued no specific directions to banks asking them not to give loans to “sensitive customers” like police personnel.

Sitharaman, during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, said there is no “official stated policy” directing banks not to give loans to certain categories of customers. “Banks make assessments based on KYC and other ratings like civil ratings. I don”t think any specific instructions are given to banks — please be careful not to lend to these people,” she said in the Upper House while responding to a supplementary queries.

However, banks do exercise a certain level of discretion based on their available KYC (know your customer), she added. Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad said banks do have “problems” in lending to police and politicians. Banks see track record before lending to these customers, he added.

Responding to another question on banks not lending to politically exposed persons (PEPs), the Union Finance Minister said, “…this is more from the point of view of large sums of money are transferred from one account to another complying with the global requirement where the financial action on terror funding happens.” So according to them, the minister said every account will have to be kept on a tab where huge money is transferred to a sensitive bank account, she added.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

FM, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


As much as Rs 26,697 crore was lying in dormant accounts of banks, including cooperative banks, as on December 31, 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. This money is lying in nearly 9 crore accounts which have not been operated for 10 years.

As per information received from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as on December 31, 2020, the total number of such accounts in Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) was 8,13,34,849 and the amount of deposits in such accounts was Rs 24,356 crore, Sitharaman said in a reply.

Similarly, she said, the number of accounts not operated for more than 10 years and the amount in such accounts with Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) was 77,03,819 and Rs 2,341 crore, respectively, as on December 31, 2020.

“The number of deposit accounts (i.e. public deposits matured but remaining unclaimed for 7 years including the year in which they have matured) and the amount in such accounts with Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) was 64 and Rs 0.71 crore, respectively as on March 31, 2021,” she said.

As per the instructions issued by the RBI to banks vide their Master Circular on “Customer Service in Banks”, banks are required to make an annual review of accounts in which there are no operations for more than one year, and may approach the customers and inform them in writing that there has been no operation in their accounts and ascertain the reasons for the same.

“Banks have also been advised to consider launching a special drive for finding the whereabouts of the customers/legal heirs in respect of accounts which have become inoperative, i.e., where there are no transactions in the account over a period of two years,” she said.

Further, she said, banks are required to display the list of unclaimed deposits/ inoperative accounts which are inactive / inoperative for ten years or more on their respective websites, with the list containing the names and addresses of the account holder(s) in respect of unclaimed deposits/ inoperative accounts.

As regards action taken on deposits in such accounts, she said, pursuant to the amendment to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and insertion of Section 26A in the said Act, the RBI has framed the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) Scheme, 2014.

In terms of the Scheme, banks calculate the cumulative balances in all accounts which are not operated upon for a period of 10 years or more (or any amount remaining unclaimed for 10 years or more) along with interest accrued and transfer such amounts to the DEAF.

“The DEAF is utilised for promotion of depositors’ interests and for such other purposes which may be necessary for promotion of depositors’ interest as may be specified by the RBI. In case of demand from a customer whose deposit had been transferred to the DEAF, banks are required to repay the customer, along with interest if any, and lodge a claim for refund from the DEAF,” she said.

Replying to another question, she said, the RBI as per its master circular has authorised the board of each housing finance companies (HFCs) would adopt an interest rate model taking into account relevant factors such as cost of funds, margin and risk premium and determine the rate of interest to be charged for loans and advances.

The rates of interest and the approach for gradation of risks, and penal interest has to be disclosed to the borrowers in the application form, and in the sanction letter besides making available on their website or published in the newspapers.

Further, HFCs have been advised to put in place an internal mechanism to monitor the process and the operations so as to ensure adequate transparency in communications with the borrowers.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Govt sells Central Electronics to Nandal Finance and Leasing for Rs 210 cr, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The government on Monday approved sale of Central Electronics Ltd to Nandal Finance and Leasing for Rs 210 crore. This is the second strategic stake sale by the government after Air India.

“The Alternative Mechanism … has approved the highest price bid of M/s Nandal Finance and Leasing Pvt Ltd for sale of 100% equity shareholding of GoI in Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) – a CPSE under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). The winning bid is for Rs 210,00,60000,” an official statement said.

The Alternative Mechanism (AM) on strategic disinvestment comprises Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.

Two bidders had put in financial bids for CEL — Nandal Finance and Leasing Pvt Ltd for Rs 210 crore and JPM Industries Ltd bid for Rs 190 crore.

The higher of the two price bids, submitted by M/s Nandal Finance and Leasing Pvt Ltd, was found to be above the reserve price, the statement added.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Centre to amend banking laws to facilitate privatisation of two PSU banks, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


To facilitate privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs), the government is all set to introduce a banking laws amendment bill in the upcoming winter session starting Monday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting Budget 2021-22 earlier this year had announced the privatisation of PSBs as part of disinvestment drive to garner Rs 1.75 lakh crore.

The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, to be introduced during the session is expected to bring down the minimum government holding in the PSBs from 51 percent to 26 percent, sources said.

However, sources said a final call in this respect would be taken by the Union Cabinet when it would vet the proposed legislation.

“To effect amendments in Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts, 1970 and 1980 and incidental amendments to Banking Regulation Act, 1949 in the context of Union Budget announcement 2021 regarding privatisation of two Public Sector Banks,” according to the list of legislative business for the Winter Session.

These Acts led to the nationalisation of banks in two phases and provisions of these laws have to be changed for the privatisation of banks, sources said.

In the last concluded session, Parliament passed a bill to allow privatisation of state-run general insurance companies.

The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, removed the requirement of the central government to hold at least 51 per cent of the equity capital in a specified insurer.

The Act, which came into force in 1972, provided for the acquisition and transfer of shares of Indian insurance companies and undertakings of other existing insurers in order to better serve the needs of the economy by securing the development of general insurance business.

Government think-tank NITI Aayog has already suggested two banks and one insurance company to Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment for privatisation.

According to sources, Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank are likely candidates for the privatisation.

As per the process, the Core Group of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, will send its recommendation to Alternative Mechanism (AM) for its approval and eventually to the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister for the final nod.

The members of the Core Group of Secretaries include economic affairs secretary, revenue secretary, expenditure secretary, corporate affairs secretary, legal affairs secretary, Department of Public Enterprises secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary and an administrative department secretary.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Videocon, Reliance Naval among first lot of assets to be sold to NARCL, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Companies that have had a shot at debt resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, including Videocon Oil Ventures and Reliance Naval, are among the first tranche of 22 non-performing accounts that are being sold to the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) by various lenders, according to a report.

State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to sell Videocon Oil Ventures’ bad loans of Rs 22,532 crore, while Union Bank of India plans to offload the Rs 9,000-crore Amtek Auto debt, the report said.

IDBI Bank is selling Reliance Naval and Engineering’s loans of Rs 8,934 crore while Union Bank is looking to sell the Rs 1,400 crore debt of Lavasa Corporation.

A consortium led by Mumbai-based industrialist Nikhil Merchant was leading the race to acquire the debt-laden Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd, originally known as Pipavav Shipyard, with Rs 2,100 crore offer while another bid was of Rs 400 crore from the Naveen Jindal group.

In the case of Lavasa Corporation, the lenders are still undecided over the two offers received from Dhir Hotels and Resorts and Darwin Platform Infrastructure, with the last date of finalising a resolution being November 25. Lavasa Corporation has got bids worth Rs 700 crore for loan claims of over Rs 8,000 crore at NCLT.

Though banks have made 100% provision for the assets to be transferred to the bad bank, experts do not expect more than 20-25 per cent recovery from these legacy accounts.

The assets

Banks had identified Rs 82,496 crore worth of bad loans that could be transferred to the NARCL, which names like Videocon’s VOVL (Rs 22,532 crore total exposure), Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (Rs 8,934 crore), Amtek Auto (Rs 9,014 crore), Jaypee Infratech (Rs 7,950 crore, Castex Technologies (Rs 6,337 crore), GTL Ltd (Rs 4,866 crore), Visa Steel (Rs 3,394 crore), Wind World India Ltd (Rs 3,161 crore), Lavasa Corporation (Rs 1,424 crore), Consolidated Construction Consortium Ltd (Rs 1,353 crore), among others.

Several assets such as Videocon have seen realisable value close to liquidation value in NCLT proceedings. Many big-ticket resolutions at IBC have seen haircuts over 90%. With most of the NPAs proposed to be transferred to the bad bank being old legacy NPAs, there has been an erosion in value, making them more likely to head to liquidation.

The bad bank

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2021-22 announced the setting up of a bad bank as part of the resolution of bad loans worth about Rs 2 lakh crore.

The bad bank or NARCL will pay up to 15 per cent of the agreed value for the loans in cash and the remaining 85 per cent would be government-guaranteed security receipts (SRs). The government guarantee would be invoked if there is a loss against the threshold value.

This sovereign guarantee would be for a period of five years and NARCL would have to pay a fee for this.

“The SRs are getting the backstop through government funding only in as much as to pay the gap between the realised value (resolution/liquidation) and the face value of SRs and this will hold good for five years,” Sitharaman had said.

The fee for the guarantee would be initially 0.25 per cent, which would progressively increase to 0.5 per cent in case of delay in resolution of bad loans.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , ,

Banks dole out over Rs 11,000 crore loans under govt’s credit outreach programme, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


State-owned banks and private banks have so far sanctioned loans worth over Rs 11,000 crore under the credit outreach programme. “As part of the government’s nationwide credit outreach programme that commenced on Oct 16, all PSU banks and private banks have sanctioned more than 193,000 loans totalling 111.68 bln rupees,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman‘s office tweeted.

Lenders sanctioned loans through 924 camps held in 405 districts from October 16-20.

The loan mela

Over 1 lakh borrowers availed business loans of about Rs 6,268 crore, followed by 62,616 borrowers availing agriculture loans of about Rs 1,874 crore.

Earlier this month, the finance ministry has asked PSU banks to start a nationwide loan outreach programme ahead of the festive season, and later.

Banks were asked to set targets of loans to be sanctioned during the district-wise outreach programme. They were also told to tie up with FinTech firms and non-banking financial companies to disburse loans to even small borrowers.

The banking system is bloated with liquidity, which has jumped from Rs 4.5 lakh crore in 2019 to over Rs 7.5 lakh crore currently, mainly due to weak credit demand.

The finance ministry feels that various sectors need credit support and asked banks to hold talks with exporters and various associations to support their loan needs.

FM announcement

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a district-wise outreach to be undertaken by banks to help credit growth from October.

A push to credit growth from such outreach efforts will also help the momentum set by the stimulus packages, which have been extended by the government since the onset of the pandemic.

In late 2019, banks had conducted the “loan melas” in 400 districts to push up sagging credit growth. Even now, the credit growth is stuttering at around 6 per cent.

“I think it is too early to conclude whether there is a lack of demand… I don’t think it is time yet to conclude that there is no credit pick-up. Even without awaiting indications, we have taken steps to ramp up credit,” Sitharaman had said.

She noted that over Rs 4.94 lakh crore was disbursed by banks between October 2019 and March 2021 through the outreach initiatives.

Gross NPAs may rise

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks are expected to increase to 8-9 per cent in the current financial year, credit rating agency Crisil said in a report.

This will be well below the peak of 11.2 per cent seen at the end of fiscal 2018.

According to the agency, the COVID-19 relief measures such as the restructuring dispensation, and the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) will help limit the rise in banks gross NPAs.

With around 2 per cent of bank credit expected under restructuring by the end of this fiscal, stressed assets comprising gross NPAs and loan book under restructuring should touch 10-11 per cent this fiscal, it said.

“The retail and MSME segments, which together form close to 40 per cent of bank credit, are expected to see higher accretion of NPAs and stressed assets this time around,” the agency’s senior director and deputy chief ratings officer Krishnan Sitaraman said in the report.

Stressed assets in these two segments are seen rising to 4-5 per cent and 17-18 per cent, respectively, by this fiscal end, he said.

The agency said the operationalisation of the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) by the end of this fiscal and the expected first-round sale of Rs 90,000 crore NPAs could lead to lower reported gross NPAs.

The report expects the corporate segment to be far more resilient. A large part of the stress in the corporate portfolio had already been recognised during the asset quality review initiated five years ago.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , ,
1 2 3 … 11