Page 23 - Banking Sector

Parl approves Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill; Oppn says it lacks safeguards

PP Suneer (CPI) alleged that Indian banking system has been mismanaged to favour large corproate interest

RRBs earned record profit of Rs 7,571 cr in FY24: Govt tells Rajya Sabha

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have earned a record profit of Rs 7,571 crore during 2023-24, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. "Financial health of RRBs has improved in the recent years as they have posted highest ever consolidated net profit of Rs 7,571 crore during 2023-24. Also, the RRBs have shown consistent improvement in key financial parameters like CRAR, deposits, advances, NPA, CD ratio etc," Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. The key financial parameters of RRBs have improved consistently in past years, he said, adding that the total balance sheet size of RRBs have increased from Rs 7,04,556 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 8,40,080 crore in 2023-24. Further, the net NPA has declined from 4.7 per cent in 2021-22 to 2.4 per cent in 2023-24, he said. Also, the credit-to-deposit ratio has increased from 64.5 per cent in 2021-22 to 71.4 per cent in 2023-24, he added. "The government has also reviewed the progress made by RRBs in .

Govt discontinues gold monetisation scheme; banks may continue: FinMin

The government has decided to discontinue the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) starting from Wednesday in view of the evolving market conditions, the finance ministry said. However, the banks may continue their short term gold deposit schemes (1-3 years), the ministry said in the statement on Tuesday. Till November 2024, approximately 31,164 kilograms of gold have been mobilised under GMS. The Gold Monetisation Scheme was announced on September 15, 2015, with the objective to reduce country's reliance on the import of gold in the long run and mobilise gold held by households and institutions in the country to facilitate its use for productive purposes. The GMS is comprised of 3 components -- Short Term Bank Deposit (1-3 years); Medium Term Government Deposit (5-7 years), and Long-Term Government Deposit (12-15 years). "Based on the examination of the performance of the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) and evolving market conditions, it has been decided to discontinue the Medium Term a

RBI hikes ATM withdrawal fees; higher charges from May 1 - check details

The revision in fees follows requests from white-label ATM operators, who sought higher withdrawal charges due to increasing operational costs affecting their business

Vikram Sahu to take over as Bank of America's India country executive

Sahu has over 25 years of experience and holds a bachelor's degree from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, and attained a master's degree in the US

Credit-deposit growth gap widens amid tight liquidity, shows RBI data

While credit expanded by Rs 1.38 trillion in the March 7 fortnight over the previous fortnight, deposits expanded by Rs 2.25 trillion

IndusInd Bank to hire independent firm to probe derivatives discrepancies

The firm will assess the correctness and impact of accounting treatment of derivative contracts in accordance with prevailing accounting standards, identify any lapses, and establish accountability

IBPS SO Mains scorecard 2025 released today at ibps.in, check scores here

The Institute of Banking & Personnel Selection (IBPS) announced the IBPS SO Mains Score Card 2025 on its official website, ibps.in on March 20, 2025.

IndusInd Bank appoints independent firm to probe accounting discrepancies

The independent firm, which the bank did not name, will identify the root cause of the discrepancies, assess the correctness of the accounting treatment of the derivative contracts

Sitharaman, Citi CEO discuss bank's staff growth in India, digitalisation

During their discussion, Jane Fraser highlighted Citi's expansion in India and expressed interest in strengthening the company's presence in the country

IndusInd Bank's liquidity adequate, capitalisation strong: Rating agencies

Losses in Q4FY25 unlikely to dent credit, liquidity profile; Tier-I impact estimated at 35 bps

Likely to put more global roles in India because of talent pool: Citigroup

Fraser also expressed confidence that India will remain the world's fastest-growing economy

Non-bailable warrant issued against New India Bank's ex-chairman, his wife

A local court has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against New India Cooperative Bank's former chairman Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri Bhanu, who fled the country just before the Rs 122 crore embezzlement case came to light last month, officials said on Wednesday. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, which is investigating the case, has so far arrested seven persons in connection with the case, an official said. "The bank's former chairman and vice chairman, Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri Bhanu, are wanted accused in the case. But they left the country on January 26 and February 10 respectively," he said. As both are out of country and locating them was necessary for the probe of the case, a 'Blue Corner Notice' has been issued against them earlier, he said. "While investigating the case, the EOW had submitted an application before the court about issuing a non-bailable warrant against the Bhanu couple. Accordingly, the court has issued a non-bailable warrant .

SC seeks CBI roadmap to unravel builder-banks nexus duping homebuyers

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the CBI to submit a roadmap on how it plans to unravel the "builder-banks nexus" which has duped thousands of homebuyers in the NCR as it proposed to go into the root of the matter. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said thousands of homebuyers were affected by the subvention scheme, where banks paid 60 to 70 per cent of the home loan amount to the builders without projects being completed within the stipulated time. Under the subvention scheme, banks disburse the sanctioned amount directly to the accounts of builders, who are then required to pay EMIs on the sanctioned loan amount until flats are handed over to homebuyers. After builders started defaulting on EMIs to banks, as per the tripartite agreement, the banks sought EMIs from the homebuyers. "We hope that there is no mafia involved," the bench said. The court directed CBI counsel additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati to submit a proposal outlining the investigat

New India Bank case: Depositors ask RBI for measures to revive bank

An organisation representing depositors of the New India Co-Operative Bank, hit by alleged embezzlement of Rs 122 crore, have submitted a petition to the Reserve Bank of India, seeking immediate measures to revive the bank for ending their financial hardships. In the petition, the organisation said it suspects that "deeper financial irregularities like undisclosed non-performing assets (NPAs) or additional frauds could be contributing to the crisis". On February 15, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police arrested Hitesh Mehta, General Manager and Head of Accounts of the New India Cooperative Bank, for allegedly misappropriating Rs 122 crore from the bank. Two days prior to that, the RBI had imposed several restrictions on the bank, including on withdrawal of funds by depositors, citing supervisory concerns emanating from the developments in the bank, and to protect the interest of its depositors. A day later, it superseded the cooperative bank's board for a year and .

Moody's affirms IndusInd's ratings; places on review for downgrade

The action comes in the backdrop of the bank's revelations about the inadequate internal controls in accounting for derivative transactions

Moody's places IndusInd Bank's credit assessment on review for downgrade

Moody's said that the impact of the derivatives transactions, coupled with the ongoing stress in the retail unsecured loans, is likely to hurt the bank's profitability, capital and funding

Airtel Payments Bank crosses one billion transaction mark in Jan 2025

Airtel Payments Bank has surpassed one billion transactions on its platform in January 2025, reflecting a 47 per cent year-on-year growth in transaction volume across businesses, according to a top official. Anubrata Biswas, MD and CEO at Airtel Payments Bank told PTI that the "milestone" underscores increasing adoption of digital banking and payment solutions. It also highlights the diverse business model that the bank has built over the years. The bank caters to three key customer segments, urban digital, underbanked, and industries and institutions. "The bank's extensive digital presence combined with its deep distribution of over 5,00,000 banking points across India has been instrumental in making its services accessible to millions of customers in both urban and rural areas. Today, the Bank's monthly transacting users exceed well above 100 million," Biswas said. Airtel Payments Bank's 'Safe Second Account', which offers an additional layer of payment verification, has been ...

State Bank of India shelves $1.7 billion fund raising as yields elevated

The bank had planned to raise as much as Rs 15,000 crore (about $1.7 billion) through sale of bonds before the end of March, but will now tap the market in the next financial year

IndusInd Bank case a rare instance when RBI cited its 'LOLR' role

Central bank can rescue a bank that is solvent but has temporary liquidity woes