Page 37 - Finance Sector

Indian Bank Q3 profit up 52% at Rs 2,119 cr, income rises to Rs 16,099 cr

The public sector Indian Bank on Wednesday reported a 52 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 2,119 crore in the December quarter, on the back of improvements in core income and a reduction in bad loans. The Chennai-based lender had earned a net profit of Rs 1,396 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The operating profit of the bank was almost flat at Rs 4,097 crore as against Rs 4,061 crore in December 2022. Total income increased to Rs 16,099 crore during the quarter under review as compared to Rs 13,551 crore in the same period last year, Indian Bank said in a regulatory filing. Interest income also rose to Rs 14,198 crore over Rs 11,834 crore for the quarter ended December 2022. On the asset quality front, the bank's gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) declined to 4.47 per cent of the gross loans by the end of December 2023 from 6.53 per cent a year ago. Similarly, net NPAs or bad loans came down to 0.53 per cent as compared to 1 per cent in 2022. As a result, provisions for ba

Bank of Canada holds key rate at 5%, signals it's done with hikes

"If the economy evolves broadly in line with the projection we published today, I expect future discussions will be about how long we maintain the policy rate at 5%," Macklem said

Magma Ventures sells Poonawalla Fincorp's shares worth Rs 200 crore

Magma Ventures on Wednesday sold shares of non-banking financial company Poonawalla Fincorp for Rs 200 crore through an open market transaction. Magma Ventures, an entity owned by Chamria Family, disposed of shares of Poonawalla Fincorp on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Sanjay Chamria and Mayank Poddar co-founded Magma Fincorp Ltd (now known as Poonawalla Fincorp Ltd). According to the block deal data available with the NSE, Magma Ventures Pvt Ltd offloaded 40.33 lakh equity shares, amounting to a 0.52 per cent stake in Poonawalla Fincorp. The shares were offloaded at an average price of Rs 495.85 apiece, taking the transaction size to Rs 199.97 crore. After the latest transaction, Magma Ventures shareholding have declined to nearly 1 per cent from 1.50 per cent stake in Poonawalla Fincorp. Meanwhile, Rising Sun Holdings Pvt Ltd (RSHPL) bought the shares at the same price. RSHPL, a company controlled by Adar Poonawalla. It is also the promoter of Poonawalla Fincorp. The scri

PNB Housing Finance Q3 profit rises 26% to Rs 338 cr on lower expenses

Interest rates have moderated in recent times, with the country registering its highest home sales since 2008 last year, according to a report

UCO Bank Q3 profit declines 23% to Rs 505 crore on wage provisions

State-owned UCO Bank on Wednesday reported 23 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 503 crore for December quarter 2023-24. The Kolkata-based lender had logged a net profit of Rs 653 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Operating profit was almost flat at Rs 1,119 crore as against Rs 1,354 crore in December 2022 quarter. Total income increased to Rs 6,413 crore from Rs 5,451 crore in the same period last year, UCO Bank said in a regulatory filing. Interest income also rose to Rs 5,552 crore over Rs 4,627 crore. On the asset quality front, the bank's gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) declined to 3.85 per cent of gross loans by the end of December 2023 from 5.63 per cent a year ago. Similarly, net NPAs or bad loans came down to 0.98 per cent as compared to 1.66 per cent in 2022. As a result, provisions for bad loans declined to Rs 116 crore from Rs 220 crore a year ago. The capital adequacy ratio rose to 16.01 per cent from 14.32 per cent at the end of December quarter FY22.

Stock market of Hong Kong bounces after PBOC announces rate RRR cut

Mounting hopes that Chinese authorities would come to the rescue of the battered market with more measures and news of Jack Ma scooping up Alibaba Group shares also lifted overall market sentiment

ICICI Bank's profitability solid despite AIF provisioning, margin pressure

Ratings agency S&P said that the bank's better customer profile and underwriting compared to many Indian banking peers should also limit losses

CCI clears merger of Fincare Small Finance Bank with AU Small Finance Bank

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger of Fincare Small Finance Bank with AU Small Finance Bank, as per an exchange filing on Tuesday. In October last year, the board of directors of AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) and that of Fincare Small Finance Bank (Fincare SFB) approved an all-stock merger of AU SFB and Fincare SFB. As per the terms of scheme of amalgamation, Fincare Business Services, promoter of Fincare SFB, shall infuse Rs 700 crore into Fincare SFB prior to the completion of the merger. "...CCI vide its letter dated January 23, 2024 has communicated that CCI in its meeting held on January 23, 2024, considered and approved the proposed combination involving amalgamation of Fincare Small Finance Bank Limited into and with AU Small Finance Bank...," AU SBF said in the filing to stock exchanges. The lender further said the scheme remains subject to the Reserve Bank of India's approval. Shares of AU SFB ended at Rs 715.95 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday

Karnataka Bank Q3 net profit up 10% at Rs 331 cr, gross NPA falls to 3.64%

Private sector lender Karnataka Bank on Tuesday reported a 10 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 331 crore for the third quarter ended December 2023. The bank had earned a net profit of Rs 301 crore in the October-December quarter of 2022. The total income increased to Rs 2,439 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal compared to Rs 2,055 crore in the year-ago period, Karnataka Bank said in a regulatory filing. In the latest quarter, the bank's interest income rose to Rs 2,113 crore from Rs 1,851 crore in the same period last fiscal. However, the net interest income declined to Rs 828 crore from Rs 835 crore at the end of the third quarter of last year. The gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio declined to 3.64 per cent as of December 31, 2023. In the year-ago period, it stood at 3.28 per cent. However, the net NPA declined to 1.55 per cent compared to 1.66 per cent at the end of December 2022. The provision coverage ratio stood at 80.75 per cent at the end of December .

Russian government proposes extending capital controls until end-2024

The measures, ordered by President Vladimir Putin in an October decree, have been effective, the government said on the Telegram messaging app. They are currently set to expire in April

Rupee falls 9 paise to close at 83.16 against dollar on weak sentiment

The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 83.16 (provisional) against the US dollar, as elevated crude oil prices and weak domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments. Forex traders said foreign fund outflows also put pressure on the rupee. However, a weak US Dollar overseas cushioned the downside. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.11 and finally settled at 83.16 (provisional) against the dollar, down by 9 paise from its previous close. During the day, it witnessed an intraday high of 83.06 and a low of 83.17 against the American currency. On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.07 against the US dollar. "We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on weak domestic markets and selling pressure from foreign investors. "Any further increase in crude oil prices may also weigh on the rupee. However, positive global markets and a weak Dollar may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may remain cautious ahead of Richmond manufacturing index

Spandana Sphoorty Financial net profit jumps 79% to Rs 127 crore

Microlender Spandana Sphoorty Financial on Monday reported a 79 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 127 crore in the October-December quarter of current fiscal on improved asset quality, loan growth and higher interest income. The Hyderabad-based lender said its income jumped to Rs 657 crore, up 75 per cent, in the quarter under review from Rs 375 crore registered during the same period of last fiscal. Its net interest income also grew by 60 per cent to Rs 407 crore in October-December period. Loan book grew 52 per cent to Rs 10,404 crore at the end of the reporting period from Rs 6,852 crore a year ago, while net disbursement went up 8 per cent to Rs 2,543 crore on addition of 3.4 lakh customers. The lender's total borrower count rose to 29.6 lakh. Asset quality improved with gross bad loan ratio declining to 1.51 from 5.31 and net bad loans ratio to 48 basis points from 2.52, Shalabh Saxena, managing director of the company said in a statement. He further said the company's provi

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Q3 results: Profit rises marginally to Rs 284 cr

Private sector Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has reported a net profit of Rs 284 crore for the October-December 2023 quarter, the bank said on Monday. The Tuticorin-based bank had reported a net profit at Rs 280 crore during the corresponding quarter of the last financial year. The bank's total income during the quarter under review grew to Rs 1,387 crore from Rs 1,173 crore registered in the same period last year. The total business of the bank during the October-December 2023 quarter surged to Rs 85,185 crore from Rs 78,242 crore in the same period last year. In a BSE filing, the bank said it has been giving continued thrust on advances to priority sectors like agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises, and housing constituting 75 per cent of the Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) which is above the regulatory requirement of 40 per cent. During the quarter ending on December 31, 2023, the bank said it had opened six branches and a new current account scheme 'TMB RERA Current Acco

Paytm trims losses to Rs 221.7 crore, revenue from operations zooms 38%

Paytm's expenses have increased 9.5 per cent Q-o-Q to Rs 3,216.3 crore in Q3FY24 from Rs 2,936.7 crore in Q2FY24. On a Y-o-Y basis, expenses rose 27.5 per cent from Rs 2,522.3 crore

Poonawalla Fincorp net profit jumps 76% to Rs 265 crore in December quarter

Non-bank lender Poonawalla Fincorp, focused on consumer and small business finance, on Thursday said its net profit rose 76 per cent to Rs 265 crore for the December quarter on higher disbursement and better asset quality. The Pune-based firm said the quarter saw the highest-ever profit, led by the highest-ever quarterly disbursements of Rs 8,731 crore, about 159 per cent higher against the year-ago period. This had the loan book jumping 58 per cent to Rs 21,946 crore. Despite the overall higher interest rate regime, Poonawalla Fincorp managing director Abhay Bhutada said their net interest margin rose 33 bps to 11.02 per cent while operating expenses to loan book/AUM stood at 4 per cent, an improvement of 206 bps year-on-year. On the asset quality front, the Cyrus Poonawalla group firm said its gross NPAs came down by 36 bps to 1.33 per cent, while net NPAs declined by 19 bps to 0.70 per cent in the reporting quarter. Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 38.2 per cent, with a ...

Regulating fintech

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Citigroup partners with LuminArx to launch private lending vehicle

Last year, Wells Fargo also launched a fund in partnership with a private equity firm

360 ONE WAM profit rises 7.7% to Rs 194 crore in December quarter

360 ONE WAM, formerly IIFL Wealth Management Ltd, on Thursday reported a 7.7 per cent year-on-year growth in profit after tax to Rs 194 crore in the December quarter. In comparison, the company had posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 180 crore in the year-ago period, 360 ONE WAM said in a statement. The company's total revenue surged 14 per cent year-on-year to Rs 467 crore for three months ended December 2023 from Rs 410 crore in the same quarter preceding fiscal. The board has approved an interim dividend of Rs 4.5 per share. "Our commitment is steadfast in identifying optimal bottom-up opportunities within the broader context. We remain focused on domestic coverage in Tier 2 and 3 cities and expanding the client segments," Karan Bhagat, Founder, MD and CEO of 360 ONE, said.

CBI files FIR against Environics Trust for alleged FCRA violation

The CBI has registered an FIR against Environics Trust for alleged violations of provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act in several bank transfers done in 2018, officials said Thursday. The central probe agency has also named R Sreedhar and Vanitha Sreedhar of the trust in the FIR, they said. According to the CBI, Environics Trust (ET) had allegedly transferred Rs 1,250 in the bank accounts of 711 people on November 15, 2020, for distribution among Amphan cyclone-affected people in Odisha but actually the payments were made to protestors for JSW agitation at Dhinkia, Odisha. "Therefore ET has funded the agitators and is involved in the various activities creating law and order issues in the country. These activities were not as per the object of trust and the same is contrary to the provisions of the FCRA Act, 2010," he said. The agency also cited alleged association of the trust with Adivasi Activist Deme Oram who was arrested by the Rourkela Police for rioting and

Indian banks seek looser liquidity conditions going ahead: Traders

Banks made these suggestions to industry body Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India (FIMMDA) on Wednesday