Page 15 - Finance Sector

Fintechs shift to direct merchant integration, move away from Juspay

Following PhonePe's decision to end its partnership with payment orchestration platform Juspay, other companies, including Razorpay and Cashfree Payments, are considering similar moves

India must thank Manmohan for shift from caste-based to class-based society

For ages, the halwahi ecosystem had maintained a civilisation that had kept trade cashless. Land and grains were the only form of wages

Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank get new chief executive officers

He brings with him extensive experience in banking, spanning more than three decades in various capacities. As Executive Director of Punjab National Bank (PNB) since November 2022

India's digital evolution on post-pandemic treadmill: Ranks 8th in momentum

The 'momentum' of digital evolution is calculated based on the annual rate of change in a country's digital evolution, essentially how quickly its digital transformation is occurring

Why did RBI replace flexible exchange rate with de facto peg against dollar

The RBI must come out with an official explanation, but until it does, we can only guess. But there are a few reasonable hypotheses

Threat or opportunity: India needs to be prepared for AI-driven changes

A recent study by Bloomberg Intelligence indicates that jobs in banking and finance are among the most vulnerable to AI induction

SBI chief C S Setty calls for common mechanism to track SME fund usage

In recent years, fintech and banks have started to dig for credit information from publicly available data and use analytics to create a credit profile

ARCs open to acquiring non-performing MFI loans, but only at right price

Industry-wide stress in the microfinance sector has built up due to unchecked credit growth and multiple loan disbursements to the same customers, resulting in overleveraging among borrowers

Exim Bank India raises $1 billion from overseas via 10-year bonds

Exim Bank of India has raised USD 1 billion (about Rs 8,570 crore) from overseas at lowest ever spread to fund business growth, the Department of Financial Services said on Tuesday. "Fantastic start to the year by Indian issuers in global capital markets, with state-owned @IndiaEximBank raising $1 bn 10-year USD-denominated bonds at lowest ever spread (100bps) for USD-denominated public bond by a BBB-rated issuer in Asia," the Department of Financial Services (DFS) said in a post on X This demonstrates the confidence of overseas investors in the India story, it said, adding, this landmark transaction marks a strong start to the year for Indian issuers in the international debt markets, supporting Exim Bank's mandate and contributing to the vision of Viksit Bharat. Exim Bank provides financial assistance to exporters and importers, and functions as the principal financial institution for coordinating the working of institutions engaged in financing export and import of goods and ...

More than 4 out of 10 users earn dividends, says Cred Money report

At a median level, users earn dividends about ten times annually. Banking activity includes 116 P2P banking transactions against 318 outgoing payments, Cred Money data shows

Insurers to double down on technology, rural expansion for growth in 2025

Industry will also focus on strengthening distribution networks and human capital

RBI likely fine-tuned forex market intervention by slowing dollar sales

By October-end, the RBI's net short position in the forward market stood at $49.2 billion, up significantly from $14.6 billion in September

RBI lifts curbs on Mumbai-based Sangli Sahakari Bank after 2.5 years

The bank's DICGC liability was down to Rs 36.97 crore from Rs 49.33 crore in September 2024. The company improved its net worth to Rs 5.41 crore as budgeted

Rupee falls past 85/USD to all-time low after hawkish US Fed outlook

The last time the local unit traded below the 83 mark against the US dollar was on December 18 last year, when it hit 82.19 during intraday deals

2024, a rear view: Mint Road balances continuity and change in governance

Mint Road saw a new incumbent at the helm, followed through on its regulatory and governance initiatives even as the wait continues on a few fronts

NBFCs top growth rate in micro-finance at 27.6% Y-o-Y by Sept-end FY25

The portfolio-at-risk 31-180 days-past-due has shown a deterioration across all entity types

Packing and labelling imported goods don't confer Indian-origin status

The balances in the RVAs are built through inward remittances in freely convertible currencies

Aadhar Housing Finance aims AUM of over Rs 25,000 crore by March '25

Aadhar Housing Finance, which caters to the affordable segment, expects its asset under management (AUM) to cross Rs 25,000 crore by the end of the current financial year. "We closed the first half with the AUM of Rs 22,817 crore (from Rs 18,885 crore as of September 30, 2023). Going by the growth rate of 23-24 per cent, AUM should increase to Rs 25,000-26,000 crore by the end of March 2025," Aadhar Housing Finance, MD and CEO Rishi Anand told PTI. Focused on the low-income housing segment, he said, "Our average ticket size stands at Rs 10 lakh with an average loan-to-value ratio at 59 per cent, catering to the salaried customer segment at 56 per cent of our portfolio.. Profit grew by 24 per cent to Rs 428 crore in the first half as against Rs 344 crore reported in the same period a year ago. "We have successfully maintained the quality of the book at a Gross NPA drop of 6 basis points at 1.29 per cent with a healthy collection efficiency at 99 per cent," he said. To fund business

Annapurna Finance raises $109.5 mn via multilateral ECB transactions

Micro and SME lender Annapurna Finance has raised USD 109.5 million (around Rs 927 crore) through a multilateral syndicated social loan facility under the external commercial borrowing framework, a statement said on Saturday. The funds have been raised from 10 known financial institutions from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, the Odisha-based SME lender said in the statement. The facility involves a green-show option to raise an additional USD 40 million (around Rs 338 crore), it added. The funds will be used for on-lending to microfinance borrowers with a focus on rural women and underserved populations, the company said. The initiative aims to expand access to financial services, enhance economic participation, and contribute to development in underbanked regions of India. Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) arranged the loan facility. Annapurna Finance, an NBFC-MFI, serves over 2.9 million borrowers across 21 states through over 1,500 branches in 424 districts.

RBI policy: CRR cut to improve lenders' margins, may lift credit growth

Deposit rates may start easing