The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 17 said it has found six applicants not suitable for permits of small finance bank licences and universal bank licences after an examination. Those found not suitable for universal bank permits are UAE Exchange and Financial Services Limited, The Repatriates Cooperative Finance and Development Bank Limited (REPCO Bank), Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Limited, and Shri Pankaj Vaish, and others. The applicants not found suitable for SFB permits are VSoft Technologies Private Limited and Calicut City Service Co-operative Bank Limited. The remaining applications are under examination, the RBI said. The RBI had received 11 applications to set up bank under the guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of universal banks and small finance banks. Close The examination of six applications has now been completed, the central bank said, adding six applicants were not found suitable for granting of in-principle approval to set up banks. … [Read more...] about RBI says six applicants found not suitable for bank permits
Banking
Sachin Bansal says not the end of the road after RBI rejects banking licence application
Sachin Bansal, Founder and Chairman of Navi Technologies. Picture courtesy: Chandra R Srikanth Navi Chairman Sachin Bansal's dream of making the company a banking entity has been brought to a halt after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it found the company's subsidiary unsuitable for a universal banking licence. The announcement from the RBI came when Bansal was addressing a press conference to announce the company's maiden issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs). Bansal said it was not the end of the road and the company would also consider appealing RBI's decision. "We haven't received written communication from RBI yet. We are going to look at it once we get it, and then chart the next course of action. There are lots of options in front of us. It is not the end of the road for us. I mean, there are many things to explore including re-applying," he said. "We have to go back and analyse this. We will consider whether we want to appeal this and weigh our … [Read more...] about Sachin Bansal says not the end of the road after RBI rejects banking licence application
Union Bank becomes first public sector bank to go live on Account Aggregator framework
The account aggregator facilitates sharing of financial information in a real-time and data-blind manner between regulated entities. Union Bank of India became the first public sector bank to go live on the Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem, the bank said on April 29. Touted as the UPI moment for lending, the AA framework ensures swift data sharing with the consent of the user and eliminates the need for physical documents. Since it went live in September 2021 , 332,000 customer accounts have been linked and over 310,000 consent requests have been fulfilled. The framework facilitates sharing of financial information on a real-time basis between regulated entities. AAs are licensed by the Reserve Bank of India to enable the flow of data between Financial Information Providers (FIPs) and Financial Information Users (FIUs). FIPs are institutions that hold customer data and FIUs are entities that consume data to offer better service, underwrite loans, and so on. Banks … [Read more...] about Union Bank becomes first public sector bank to go live on Account Aggregator framework
Buy Indian Bank; target of Rs 190: Arihant Capital
Trade Watchlist Portfolio Message Set Alert live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More × Arihant Capital's research report on Indian Bank Indian Bank has posted profit of INR 984 cr (-42% YoY/+43% QoQ), led by 23% sequential decline in provisions and tax reversal of INR 161 cr. Despite 4% QoQ growth in advances, NII for the quarter decreased by 3% QoQ while it grew by 28% on YoY basis. Other income declined marginally by 0.5% YoY and grew by 1% QoQ to INR 1,573 cr. Core fee income growth of the bank was strong at 23% YoY/22% QoQ to INR 813 cr. Operating expenses growth was higher at 22% YoY/16% QoQ due to 39% YoY increase in employee expenses as the bank has provided for the entire pension liability provision of INR 465 cr. As a result, cost to income ratio of the bank increased from 44.8% to 53% on QoQ basis. Operating profit growth was lower at 15% YoY/-17% QoQ at INR 2,738 cr … [Read more...] about Buy Indian Bank; target of Rs 190: Arihant Capital
Zimbabwe abandons bank lending ban that stalled economy
- A + A HARARE (May 17): Zimbabwe lifted a 10-day ban on bank lending as critics warned that the government has shattered confidence in the already stagnant economy. While the ban was announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a bid to halt the runaway depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar it quickly chilled economic activity, with agri-processing companies including sugar mills saying they couldn’t advance funds to farmers to grow their crops. That led to a gradual relaxation, with the government first saying it didn’t apply to commodities and then allowing citizens with access to foreign currency to import their own goods. The measure, the lifting of which was announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya on Tuesday, has had little impact on the exchange rate. Instead, it has allowed the government to scapegoat the private sector for its collapse, which has pushed inflation to 96%. The Zimbabwe dollar is trading as low as 420 to the greenback on the … [Read more...] about Zimbabwe abandons bank lending ban that stalled economy
Wall St climbs on gains in banks, strong retail sales data
- A + A NEW YORK/BENGALURU (May 17): US stocks rose on Tuesday, as Citigroup led a surge in bank shares after Berkshire Hathaway revealed a big stake and strong retail sales in April eased some concerns about slowing economic growth. Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors advanced, with financials and technology up 2% each. Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Tesla Inc and Nvidia Corp gained between 1.5% and 4.8%, providing the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Banks jumped 3.1%, with Citigroup climbing 7.9%, after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a nearly US$3 billion investment in the US lender. "If you have exhausted sellers, there's no one else left to sell ... the market has really been pummeled," said Mimi Duff, senior client advisor at investment advisory firm GenTrust. "So at the very sight of any good news you can get a bounce, but what we are really looking for is some consolidation." US retail sales increased 0.9% in April, as … [Read more...] about Wall St climbs on gains in banks, strong retail sales data
Microfinance industry logs 13% growth in last quarter, shows Sa-Dhan data
Representative image. India’s microfinance industry witnessed a growth of over 13 percent in the last quarter of fiscal year 2021-22, while the year-on-year (YoY) growth stood at 5 percent for the industry, shows recent data from Sa-Dhan, an RBI-recognised self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for microfinance institutions (MFIs). The total portfolio of all lenders rose to Rs 2,62,598 crore in March 2022, compared to Rs 2,32,126 crore in December 2022. While the industry disbursed total loan of Rs 85,667 crore in the final quarter, up from Rs 69,231 crore in the third quarter. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic badly hurt the microfinance industry. But thanks to the recent changes affected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the guidelines, the industry is showing signs of recovery, the industry body said. The RBI, on March 14, rolled out a fresh framework for the microfinance sector to ensure banks and seven MFIs follow an identical set of regulations. The RBI has … [Read more...] about Microfinance industry logs 13% growth in last quarter, shows Sa-Dhan data
New digital banks could take three to five years to break even, says CGS-CIMB Research
- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): CGS-CIMB Research expects digital banks to commence operations by 2023 to 2024 and only break even between 2026 and 2029. In a Wednesday (May 18) report, it noted that it thinks the digital banks will not be able to engage in long-lasting price competition with incumbent banks before they begin turning profits as this would further deplete their shareholders’ funds, which are much smaller than those of incumbent banks. The local research house shared that it recently hosted an expert speaker session (ESS), featuring a partner of Ernst & Young Consulting (EY) to address likely implications following the recent award of five digital banking licences by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to the Boost-RHB Bank consortium, GXS Bank-Kuok Brothers consortium, Sea Ltd-YTL consortium, AEON consortium, and KAF Investment Bank consortium. It added that EY said the incumbent banks have three options in their strategies to respond to the emergence of … [Read more...] about New digital banks could take three to five years to break even, says CGS-CIMB Research
KT, Shinhan deepen partnership with share swap
Jin Ok-dong, Shinhan Bank CEO, left, and Park Jong-ook, President of KT, at a strategic partnership ceremony held at Shinhan Bank's main branch in central Seoul on Monday. [KT] KT and Shinhan Financial Group are exchanging more than 400-billion-won ($340 million) worth of shares to jointly collaborate on artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse. KT, the second largest telecom company in Korea, said on Monday it is acquiring 2.1 percent of Shinhan Financial Group for 437.5 billion won. Shinhan Financial Group runs Shinhan Bank, Korea’s second largest bank by asset value. The acquisition will be made on Jan. 26. In exchange, Shinhan Bank is acquiring 5.46 percent of KT shares for 437.5 billion won. This will make Shinhan Bank the second largest shareholder of KT after the National Pension Service. KT and Shinhan Bank formed a strategic partnership to collaborate on 23 joint businesses based on their technologies. KT has technologies related to data analysis and natural … [Read more...] about KT, Shinhan deepen partnership with share swap
Nigeria Issues Crypto Asset Rules In A Move That Could Boost Adoption
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria has published new rules relating to the issuance, exchange and custody of digital assets in the country. This comes 20 months after the Commission initially issued a statement on how it would classify and treat digital assets. “Digital assets” is a catch-all term for all types of crypto assets. SEC’s position is in stark contrast to that of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which currently restricts local financial institutions from doing business with crypto-related businesses. Notably, the new SEC rules require token issuance platforms and exchanges to maintain trust accounts with receiving banks. Overall, this development could bring legitimacy to crypto and related businesses and ultimately open new doors for crypto usage in Nigeria, which is one of the leading countries for crypto adoption globally . SEC’s rules could also provide the CBN with a framework … [Read more...] about Nigeria Issues Crypto Asset Rules In A Move That Could Boost Adoption