Page 26 - Finance Sector

Regulator Irdai mandates life insurers to provide loans against policies

The regulator has also allowed policyholders an option of partial withdrawal under pension products

RBI asks banks to rework biz plan, flags gap in credit, deposit rates

Warns microfinance institutions, NBFCs against 'usurious' rates on small loans

Russian central bank keeps key rate unchanged at 16%; inflation at 8.17%

"The Bank of Russia holds open the prospect of increasing the key rate at its upcoming meeting," the bank said in a statement

Capitalise on secular spending surge with consumption-themed equity fund

Consumption themed funds invest across a diversified range of sectors: FMCG, auto, telecom, consumer durables, healthcare, power, organised retail, and realty

Aye Finance adopts 'phygital strategy' to revolutionise credit underwriting

Aye Finance's phygital strategy leverages technology to underwrite credit and disburse loans, using business markers to predict sales and categorise underwriting methods

IIFL Samasta Finance to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore via secured bonds

IIFL Samasta Finance, a non-banking microfinance company (NBFC-MFI), plans to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore through public issue of secured bonds for the purpose of capital augmentation and business growth. The bond issue opens on June 3 and closes on June 14, IIFL Samasta Finance said in a statement. IIFL Samasta Finance plans to issue bonds, aggregating to Rs 200 crore, with a green-shoe option to retain over-subscription of up to Rs 800 crore, it said. The IIFL Samasta bonds offer the highest coupon rate of 10.50 per cent per annum for a tenor of 60 months, it claimed. The NCD is available in tenors of 24 months, 36 months and 60 months, it said, adding, the frequency of interest payment is available on monthly and annual basis for each of the series. The company has a strong physical presence through about 1,500 branches and caters to the credit needs of underserved and unserved population, primarily women entrepreneurs from underprivileged background, IIFL Samasta Finance MD an

UPI transactions clock new record in May at Rs 20.45 trillion, shows data

Data shared by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Saturday said that the May figures were 49 per cent up in volume and 39 per cent up in value compared to the same month in 2023

June brings new finance related rules: Key changes you should know

As June begins, several finance related changes are set to take place from tomorrow. Check latest updates on major changes and key deadlines on policies that may impact your finance journey

ARCs misused by 'tainted' promoters: RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao

Promoters in an Indian market are large shareholders who can influence company policy and, according to regulatory definitions, are prospective owners or directors of the company

IDFC First Bank to issue Rs 3,200 cr of equity shares on preferential basis

The allottees of these shares are LIC, HDFC Life, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Bajaj Allianz, ICICI Lombard, and SBI General

Gratuity explained: Delay in payment? You are entitled to receive interest

Organisations with 10 or more employees over the past year must pay gratuity. In non-mining roles, a year consists of 240 working days; in the mining sector, it is 190 days

RBI imposes business restriction on Edelweiss group's EARCL, ECL Finance

ECL has been accused of not maintaining arm's length with other group companies

New tool against online fraud: Alerts for UPI, card, and net banking

Feature involves sending an immediate alert to the account holder before allowing any unusual or suspicious transaction initiated through their bank account

How long will the good run last?

In public, bankers exude confidence and say everything is hunky-dory, but the rising defaults in a few pockets don't exactly suggest this

Russia to build Central Asia's first nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan

Putin said Russia would put $400 million into a joint investment fund of $500 million to finance projects in Uzbekistan

India's forex kitty reaches new high of $648.7 bn after $4.55 bn jump

India's forex reserves jumped USD 4.549 billion to a new all-time high of USD 648.7 billion for the week ended May 17, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. This is the third consecutive week of increase in the overall kitty, which had increased by USD 2.561 billion to USD 644.151 billion in the previous reporting week ended May 17. For the week ended April 5, the reserves had hit an all time high of USD 648.562 billion following multiple weeks of increases. In the week ended May 10, foreign currency assets -- a major component of the reserves -- increased USD 3.361 billion to USD 569.009 billion, the data released on Friday showed. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Gold reserves increased USD 1.244 billion to USD 57.195 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up USD 113 million to USD 18.168

Signs of stress in Hybrid Annuity Model road projects: India Ratings

NHAI has maintained its 2024-25 outlook for both annuity projects and toll-collecting assets at stable

Urban co-operative banks not interested to become SFB: RBI's Satish Marathe

UCBs will also have to comply with the latest guidelines for on-tap licensing of SFBs in the private sector

AI to help Mastercard find compromised cards before criminals can use them

Mastercard said Wednesday that it expects to be able to discover that your credit or debit card number has been compromised well before it ends up in the hands of a cybercriminal. In its latest software update rolling out this week, Mastercard is integrating artificial intelligence into its fraud-prediction technology that it expects will be able to see patterns in stolen cards faster and allow banks to replace them before they are used by criminals. Generative AI is going to allow to figure out where did you perhaps get your credentials compromised, how do we identify how it possibly happened, and how do we very quickly remedy that situation not only for you, but the other customers who don't know they are compromised yet, said Johan Gerber, executive vice president of security and cyber innovation at Mastercard, in an interview. Mastercard, which is based in Purchase, New York, says with this new update it can use other patterns or contextual information, such as geography, time a

RBI board approves surplus transfer of Rs 2.11 trillion to govt for FY24

The RBI said the board decided to raise the contingency risk buffer to 6.5% from 6% previously