Page 30 - Banking Sector

113 mn inoperative Jan Dhan accounts hold Rs 14,750 cr as of Nov 20: Govt

A total of 54.03 crore accounts have been opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), of which 11.30 crore accounts are inoperative, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the inoperative banks have a balance of Rs 14,750 crore as of November 20, 2024. The percentage of inoperative PMJDY accounts for public sector banks (PSBs) declined from 39.62 per cent in March 2017 to 20.91 per cent in November 2024. As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, a saving as well as a current account should be treated as inoperative/ dormant, if there are no customer induced transactions in the account for over a period of two years. Banks continuously make concerted efforts to monitor the percentage of operative accounts and the progress is being regularly monitored by the government, Chaudhary said. Further, banks have been advised to take necessary steps urgently to bring down the

HSBC India launches premium credit card Prive for private banking clients

The bank has unveiled its first premium credit card, HSBC Prive, designed with privileges exclusively curated for its private banking clients

Goldman Sachs quits climate coalition for banks, biggest one to exit group

Goldman Sachs gave no explicit reason for its departure, but focused on its strategy for the future and a growing push by regulators to make sustainability efforts mandatory

HSBC appoints Lisa McGeough to lead US biz as CEO Elhedery shuffles leaders

The appointment comes as part of a sweeping overhaul by new CEO Georges Elhedery, who has made a raft of leadership changes and split the lender's geographic footprint into East and West

Net growth in deposits higher than advances by Rs 5.68 trn between 2020-24

Deposit growth of Indian banks had been lagging behind credit growth since the fortnight ending March 25, 2022

Bank of India plans additional Rs 5,000 cr infrastructure bond issue

To conduct brand recall survey for image enhancement, explores idea to appoint brand ambassador

Want to grow loans cautiously: Yes Bank MD & CEO Prashant Kumar

Prashant Kumar discussed the bank's deposit strategy, loan growth trajectory, the status of stake sale, and other key developments

LS passes banking laws amendment Bill allowing 4 nominees in bank accounts

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which allows bank account holders to have up to four nominees in their accounts. Another proposed change relates to redefining 'substantial interest' for directorships, which could increase to Rs 2 crore instead of the current limit of Rs 5 lakh, which was fixed almost six decades ago. The Bill piloted by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was approved by a voice vote. Replying to the debate on the Bill, Sitharaman said depositors will have the option of successive or simultaneous nomination facility, while locker holders will have only successive nomination. She also said that since 2014, the Government and the RBI have been extremely cautious, so that banks remain stable. "The intention is to keep our banks safe, stable, healthy, and after 10 years you are seeing the outcome," Sitharaman said. The bill proposes to increase the tenure of directors (excluding the chairman and whole-time director) in coopera

Amid regulatory overhaul, Axis Bank awaits RBI nod on Axis Finance's future

Options under consideration include absorbing non-banking financial company (NBFC) into bank, pursuing a public listing, or reducing its shareholding in NBFC below a specified threshold

RBI directs banks to urgently reduce inoperative or frozen accounts

This includes enabling seamless Know Your Customer (KYC) updates through mobile or internet banking, non-home branches, video customer identification processes, and more

Governance premium to rise sharply, banks to be put through the wringer

In European banks, you have a supervisory board for governance, another for management of business

We want to create an all-weather franchise: Axis Bank's Amitabh Chaudhry

''Our ambition at that time was to become the number one player in our identified areas of businesses''

Deposit growth slightly outpaces credit growth at 11.21%: RBI data

Credit growth had been exceeding deposit growth since the fortnight ending March 25, 2022, leading to a widening gap that reached as much as 700 basis points (bps) at its peak

Bank-backed private life insurers' scrips tumble on banca limit reports

HDFC Life and SBI Life deny knowledge of regulator discussions

Auto major Honda finally enters electric scooter market, banking on 'trust'

Unveils swappable battery-run 'Activa E' and fixed battery-run 'QC1'

Cooperative banks expected to be digitised by March 2025: Nabard chairman

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Chairman Shaji K V on Tuesday said cooperative banks are expected to be digitised by March 2025 with a view to streamline operations and enhance the efficiency of these financial institutions. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated all cooperative banks to adopt the Core Banking Solution (CBS) marking a significant step towards modernisation. "We are on behalf of central government undertaking digitisation of cooperatives. By March 2025 it will happen and by that time we will invite fintechs to work on that. We need a lot of technology solutions to work on these digitised database that we will have besides looking at transaction trails of digital platform," he said. Speaking at a CII event here, he said NABARD is proposing to set up a common shared services entity across the country for all rural cooperatives. "Both government and the RBI have agreed in principle for this entity. We jointly with the central governme

Govt to revamp infrastructure lender IFCI by shutting its lending ops

The government plans to infuse Rs 500 crore into IFCI this year

FinMin issues advisory to banks to promote transparency in transfer policy

The Finance Ministry on Tuesday issued a host of suggestions with regard to 'Transfer Policy' of public sector banks with an aim to promote greater transparency. According to an advisory issued to heads of public sector banks (PSBs), the Department of Financial Services asked lenders to incorporate advices suitably in their respective 'Transfer Policy' with the approval of their boards and take immediate action for its implementation and compliance from 2025-26. "PSBs are also advised to send a copy of the policy, so modified, to this Department, at the earliest," the communication said. The transfer policy has been reviewed with an aim to promote greater transparency and ensure formulation of a uniform and non-discretionary policy, it said. Some of the changes advised include banks to automate the transfer process and to develop an online process for the same with facilities of giving location preference options to its employees, it said. "Women employees be transferred as far as

PSBs to launch new products in 3-4 months to ramp up credit growth

Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju on Tuesday said public sector banks will unveil new products in the next few months to improve credit growth. "We are actually committed to enhancing, and we want to push as much credit as possible because we have a huge number of young people," he said while addressing the Financial Inclusion and Fintech Summit organised by CII here. Public sector banks are going to launch new products in the next 3-4 months to push credit for all sectors, including MSME, he said. Over the last few years, the government has already taken multiple steps to improve credit availability to small borrowers, including announcing a new credit model in the Budget to lend to borrowers with no previous financial records. Though the banking sector is robust, Nagaraju said rising digital frauds are posing a risk to financial sector stability, and banks should focus on addressing this challenge. Both digital innovations and financial literacy will help mitigate this, he

FSIB recommends Binod Kumar for the post of MD and CEO of Indian Bank

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) on Saturday recommended Binod Kumar for the post of Managing Director of Chennai-based Indian Bank. Kumar, who is serving as Executive Director of Punjab National Bank, will replace S L Jain on his superannuation next month. Declaring the result of the selection process, the FSIB -- the headhunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions -- in a statement said the bureau interviewed 15 candidates on Sunday. "Keeping in view their performance in the interface, their overall experience and the extant parameters, the Bureau recommends Binod Kumar for the position of MD & CEO in Indian Bank," it said. Earlier in April, the bureau had selected Asheesh Pandey for the position but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had raised some reservation over his name. Therefore, the bureau held a fresh interview to choose a new person in place of Pandey. The final decision on the FSIB recommendation would be taken by the ...