Page 28 - Finance

Who are the mystery buyers responsible for central bank gold boom?

Almost 400 tons were scooped up by central banks in the third quarter, more than quadruple the amount a year earlier, according to the World Gold Council

RBI starts pilot of its digital currency, allows 9 banks to use it

The e-rupee is set to be test launched within a month for retail use in select locations and users, the Reserve Bank of India had said in a statement Monday

Irdai sets up consultative committee to increase health insurance

15-member panel asked to identify challenges for health insurance business

Subprime borrowers must keep credit utilisation ratio under check

They must also avoid applying for too many loans within a short span

Back to the 1950s: State to lead investment and higher taxes to fund it

The reason for higher taxation is the inability of the private sector to invest on the scale required to satisfy the minimum thresholds of political and social needs. We are back to the 1950s

Centre unlikely to infuse any capital into the PSBs in FY23: Report

Between FY16 and FY21, the government infused Rs 3.3 trillion into PSBs helping the banks in improving their balance sheets and the capital-to-risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR)

PSBs to soon have a helpline for customer grievance redressal: Report

This comes against the backdrop of a large number of complaints by customers over non-operating helpline numbers of several branches of PSBs in India

Bank credit growth rises to 17.94% YoY in early Oct, shows RBI data

Deposit growth not that impressive, increases by 9.62% to Rs 172.72 trn

Union Bank Q2 net up 21.07 per cent to Rs 1,848 crore on a YoY basis

Its net interest margin (NIM) improved to 3.15 per cent in Q2FY23 from 2.95 per cent in Q2FY2

Canara Bank Q2 profit jumps 89% to Rs 2,525 cr, asset quality improves

State-owned lender's gross global advances up 20% YoY to Rs 8.24 trn; retail lending portfolio grows 12.5%

SBI hikes interest rate on savings deposits above Rs 10 crore by 30 bps

The deposits will attract an interest rate of 3%, effective Oct 15. Balances up to Rs 10 cr to earn 2.7% interest

India's policy hawk sees end of aggressive hikes amid growth fears

India's most hawkish rate-setter said the policy rate was reaching a level that allows past aggressive action to cool inflation without inflicting too much pain on the economy

EVs, green hydrogen to soon come under priority sector lending: Report

Currently, 8 sectors are eligible to get lending under the PSL mechanism including agriculture, MSMEs, export credit, housing, education, renewables, and social infrastructure sectors

Bessemer Venture leads $3.5 mn seed round for SaaS billing start-up Zenskar

Zenskar's flexible billing platform enables SaaS firms to handle usage-based pricing, subscriptions, nuanced discounts, credits, custom currencies, prepaid, post-paid, and ramp deals

Banks unwilling to extend new credit to Voda Idea without promoter funding

Talks between Vodafone Idea Limited and its lenders to raise Rs 10,000 crore in debt have been ongoing for more than 9 months

Government approves 22nd tranche of electoral bonds; sale from October 1-10

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Thursday approved issuance of 22nd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on October 1. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 22nd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches from October 1-10, the finance ministry said in a statement. The authorised SBI branches include those in Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai. Assembly election dates for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are likely to be announced in few weeks. The 21st tranche of bond sales took place from July 1-10, 2022. Sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened from March 1-10, 2018. SBI is the only authorised bank

Samsung forays into finance, launches credit card with Axis Bank and Visa

Samsung Axis Bank Credit Card will allow customers to avail of a 10 per cent cashback across all Samsung products and services throughout the year

UK's financial support for Ukrainian military to run out by end of 2022

UK citizens are starting to realize the scale of sacrifices they have to make for the sake of Kiev and fearing surging gas prices in the country

Inflation to ease to 4% in two years after peaking, says RBI Governor

The RBI has raised policy repurchase rate by a total of 140 basis points since May, including back-to-back half point increases in June and August, to cool down inflation within its mandate

How to plan your finances before you take the leap into entrepreneurship

Creating an adequate reserve, reduce the risk in your investment portfolio, and buy sufficient life and health insurance