Page 2 - Banking News

Festive season, GST relief boost per-credit card spend by 15% annually

Credit card spending zoomed during the festival season, aided by a rationalisation of GST rates, with private lenders leading the way

RBI announces measures to facilitate cross-border trade transactions

Banks in India and their overseas branches have been permitted to lend in Indian Rupees to persons resident in Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to facilitate cross-border trade transactions, the Reserve Bank said on Monday. The RBI said amendments have been made to the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) Regulations, 2018 and Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign currency accounts by a person resident in India) Regulations, 2015, as part of continuous efforts towards facilitating external trade and payments'. "AD (authorised dealer) banks in India and their overseas branches have been permitted to lend in Indian Rupees to persons resident in Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, including banks in these jurisdictions, to facilitate cross-border trade transactions," it said. In January 2025, the RBI permitted Indian exporters to open foreign currency accounts with a bank outside India for the realisation of export proceeds. Unutilised balances in these accounts are required to be

Bank unions slam move to open top PSB roles to private candidates

UFBU calls the move to allow private candidates for top roles in state-run banks and insurers a de-facto privatisation of leadership in public institutions

UPI races ahead, accounts for 84% of total digital payments in FY25

The UPI digital payment system has been fast replacing cash as a preferred mode of payment, and has now taken the lead in overall digital payments

India's banking liquidity crunch seen as temporary, says analyst

The Reserve Bank of India is comfortable with a liquidity surplus of around 1% of banks' deposits, which is roughly 2.5 trillion rupees

MFIs see funding fall over 50% in FY25 to Rs 58K crore, seek support line

The industry's fund crunch comes over lenders' fears of asset quality, repayment, and over-leverage, which ties in to the Reserve Bank of India's push for responsible lending

AIBOC condemns unfair labour practices followed by StanChart

All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) on Thursday strongly condemned the vindictive and illegal actions of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in terminating two principal office bearers and four members of the bank union. These officials were part of the Association of Standard Chartered Bank Officers' Kolkata (ASCBO), and their termination was on the false pretext of 'redundancy', AIBOC claimed in a statement. Those arbitrarily terminated include Satyajeet Tripathy, General Secretary of ASCBO, Tilottama Roy, president of ASCBO, and four other active members of the union, it said. Their services were terminated with immediate effect, and dues were forcibly settled without due process or dialogue, it claimed. This brazen action has been carried out during the pendency of industrial disputes before the Central Industrial Tribunal and Labour Court, in clear violation of Section 33 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, it said. The law explicitly prohibits changes in service ...

FinMin reviews Q1 performance of PSBs, urges higher lending to economy

The finance ministry on Wednesday held a meeting of heads of public sector banks (PSBs) to review their first-quarter financial performance. The three-hour-long meeting was chaired by Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju. During the meeting, the secretary urged the MDs and CEOs of state-owned banks to increase lending towards the productive sector of the economy, according to sources. The review meeting with public sector banks assessed the performance of the first quarter of 2025-26. Led by State Bank of India (SBI), public sector banks, cumulatively, logged a record profit of Rs 44,218 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, with an 11 per cent year-on-year growth. All 12 public sector banks together made a profit of Rs 39,974 crore in the June quarter of FY25. The increase in profit in absolute terms was Rs 4,244 crore. Market leader SBI alone contributed 43 per cent to the total earnings of Rs 44,218 crore, as per the published numbers on stock exchanges. SBI lo

Indian Bank sanctions ₹1,400 cr loans to MSME units at outreach camp

State-owned Indian Bank on Wednesday said that it has sanctioned loans of Rs 1,400 crore to small businesses at a 'retail outreach camp' in the country's financial capital. Sanction letters were given to 200 MSME and retail customers during the camp held recently, as per a statement. **** *Livlong 365 aims to invest Rs 100 crore Helathtech platform Livlong 365 on Wednesday announced that it is aiming to invest Rs 100 crore over the next 18 months. The company is planning to open 100 branches by 2027, which will require an investment of Rs 70-100 crore, according to a statement. **** *Niyo acquires Kanji Forex Travel fintech Niyo on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Kanji Forex for an undisclosed sum. The company also appointed banker Amit Talwar as the chief executive of its forex business, a statement said. **** Seeds Fincap raises Rs 50 crore in pre-series B round funding Non-bank lender Seeds Fincap has raised Rs 50 crore in a pre-series B round of funding from its

Bank holidays in August: Check these dates before planning a branch visit

Online banking services will be available as usual on these days

Credit growth inches up to 9.8% as deposit growth continues to outpace

At 10.1%, deposit growth continues to outpace credit, although the gap has narrowed to 300 basis points

Union Bank of India to garner ₹6,000 crore through equity, debt mix

The decision in this regard was taken in the board meeting held on Wednesday, Union Bank of India said in a regulatory filing

Banks need to further improve their customer service: DFS secretary

Banks are more stable and healthier, but there is scope for improvement on the customer service side, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said. "Today, banks are more stable and healthier. While good customer service is being provided across the board, there is still scope for improvement to ensure we bring a genuine smile to every customer's face," he said on the 118th foundation day of Punjab & Sind Bank on Wednesday. On the occasion, the bank launched a series of new and smart branches designed to deliver superior customer experiences and seamless digital services. The bank also virtually launched its CASA Back Office in Chandigarh, a strategic step towards streamlining operations and further strengthening customer service delivery, Punjab & Sind Bank said in a statement. Additionally, the bank launched cash flow-based digital lending products designed specifically for MSME customers, strengthening its support for the country's small businesses. "These initiatives ...

Jana Small Finance Bank applies to RBI for universal banking licence

Jana Small Finance Bank Applies to RBI for Universal Banking License

Bank credit growth slows down further to 10.3%, shows RBI data

Loan growth for commercial banks dipped to 10.3 per cent in the fortnight ended April 18, while deposit growth inched up slightly to 10.2 per cent, RBI data shows