Page 40 - Finance Sector

Higher surrender value to badly hit life insurers margins: Report

The recent regulatory push to increase the surrender value of a life policy through the revised concept of threshold limit and adjusted guaranteed surrender value for all non-linked policies, if implemented, will hit the margins of the insurers, warns a report. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai) earlier this month put out a draft circular proposing an increase in the surrender value of a life policy by revising upwards threshold limits and the adjusted guaranteed surrender value for all non-linked policies, both par and non-par. Surrender value is the amount that an insurer pays to a policyholder in case he or she terminates the policy before maturity. The move if implemented as the current format will affect the overall margins of life insurance companies, India Ratings said in a note on Thursday without quantifying by how much given the complex calculations being proposed. But the agency also believes that defining the thresholds for surrender value will b

Awaiting clearance on PA license, fintechs diversify into credit offerings

Meanwhile, other payment majors awaiting a decision expect to receive a nod in the first half of the next year

RBI announces 7-day repo, raises quantum in comparision to last week

India's central bank will conduct a variable rate repo (VRR) auction for a second straight week on Dec. 22, this time with a higher quantum of infusion

Only 18% digital loan borrowers understand data privacy rules: Study

60% of them are worried about how personal data is collected and used by lending apps

Approval for 19 General insurance cos applications in IRDAI's pipeline

Out of the 19 applicants, only Narayana Health Insurance Private Limited has reached the R2 stage of the application. Twelve of them are in their R1 stage

Insurance broking startup Finhaat raises $3 mn for business expansion

Company says technology-driven platform will improve accessibility to insurance

Pre-empt disputes between nominee, legal heirs by drafting a will

A nominee's job is only to hold a deceased's asset temporarily until the legal heirs claim it

Wager on IPOs exceeds Rs 1 trn; Doms subscribed 93x, India Shelter 37x

Another half a dozen IPOs open for subscription next week

PM Modi seeks to revive hinterland finance hub GIFT city with new breaks

Modi last weekend addressed an investment conference in the city to breathe life back into the site, calling for it to become a "new age financial services and technology nerve center"

Cloud-lending startup Lentra launches 3 AI products for financial sector

The company launched AI products, namely Lentra Convo, Lentra Insights, and Lentra Wingman, to serve lenders with solutions that enhance the lending processes

Are you facing short-term credit issues? Opt for a secured credit card

Invest in liquid and short-duration funds to finance short-term spending goals

Spandana Sphoorty Financial eyes AUM to grow to Rs 28,000 cr by FY28-end

As for geographic diversification, Spandana plans to reduce the share of the top three states to 36 per cent by FY28 from the current 44 per cent. The share of any one state would be capped at 12 %

Poonawalla HF gets a new name, rebrands as Grihum Housing Finance

The global private equity firm -- TPG acquired a 99.02 per cent equity stake in the company, taking over from Poonawalla Fincorp earlier this year

RBI cautions states with over 4% fiscal deficit, urges tax reforms

Says returning to OPS would put substantial burden on finances

Private banks need to catch up on financial inclusion drive: Official

Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi on Tuesday flagged lower participation by private sector banks in the government's financial inclusion drive and nudged them to step up their efforts to popularise such schemes. Speaking at the 20th Global Inclusive Finance Summit, Joshi also asked banks and financial institutions to work on three areas -- getting KYC done for inoperative accounts, nomination for bank accounts and strengthening cyber security. Joshi also said that currently, 92 per cent of the adults in India have at least one bank account, and around 3 crore Jan Dhan accounts are added every year. "We are not far from a situation where all the adults in the country will be covered with at least one basic bank account," Joshi added. In over nine years of the launch of the PM Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), 51 crore bank accounts have been opened. "While public sector banks have done a wonderful job in furthering financial inclusion efforts and have done a lot of outreach for ...

CBI opposes statutory bail granted to DHFL's Wadhawans in loan scam case

The CBI on Tuesday assailed in the Supreme Court the statutory bail granted by courts below to former Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj in connection with a multi-crore rupees bank loan scam case. A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma was told by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, appearing for the CBI, that the charge sheet in the case was filed well within the 90 days statutory period and yet the statutory bail was granted to the accused. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), an accused becomes entitled for grant of statutory bail if the probe agency fails to file the charge sheet on conclusion of the investigation in a criminal case within 60 or 90 days period. In this case, the CBI filed the charge sheet on the 88th day after registration of the FIR and the trial court granted default bail to the accused and the Delhi High Court upheld the order, the law officer ...

NIIF-backed shadow bank considers raising $100 mn with $600 mn valuation

The Indian shadow bank aims to complete the funding round by the end of March, said another person. Deliberations are ongoing and details of the fundraising could still change

RBI cautions against misleading advertisements on loan waiver offers

The Reserve Bank on Monday cautioned public not to fall prey to misleading advertisements related to loan waiver offers in print media as well as on social media platforms. In a statement, the RBI said it has noticed certain misleading advertisements enticing borrowers by offering loan waivers. These entities, it said, seem to be actively promoting many such campaigns across the print media as well as social media platforms. There are also reports of such entities charging a service/legal fee for issuing 'debt waiver certificates' without any authority. The central bank further said that in certain locations, campaigns related to debt waiver offers are being run by a few persons, which undermine the efforts of banks in enforcing their rights. "Such entities are misrepresenting that dues to financial institutions including banks need not be repaid. Such activities undermine the stability of financial institutions and, above all, the interest of the depositors," the RBI said. RBI .

Connected lending: Influence of business houses likely to be curbed

According to industry experts, the term 'Regulated Entities' includes not only banks but is also expected to include other lending agencies like NBFCs and Co-operative banks

Crucial to identify real beneficiaries of interest subvention scheme: GTRI

It is crucial for the government to identify real beneficiaries of the interest subvention scheme provided to various export sectors, think tank GTRI said on Saturday. The Union Cabinet on Friday approved an additional allocation of Rs 2,500 crore for the continuation of interest equalisation or subsidy scheme on pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit up to June 30 next year. Launched on April 1, 2015, the scheme was initially valid for five years up to March 31, 2020. It has been continued thereafter, with a one-year extension during COVID, and further extensions and fund allocations. "No detailed study of the scheme has been done yet. It is important for the government to identify the actual beneficiaries. Considering the low spending, it is possible that a few large entities, rather than MSMEs, are reaping the most benefits," the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. It is also necessary to find out which product groups receive the most credit and the effectiveness