Page 7 - Indian Banking Sector

Finance ministry asks banks to set up oversight mechanism for pending DRTs

The Finance Ministry on Saturday asked banks to put in place effective monitoring and oversight mechanisms for efficient management of pending cases in Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs). Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, who chaired a meeting with chairpersons of Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) and Presiding Officers of Debt Recovery of Tribunals (DRTs) also discussed some of the best practices followed in DRTs. It has been emphasied that some of the best practices can be adopted across DRTs for better outcomes, an official statement said. During the meeting it was also deliberated that banks should clearly define the policy for small and high-value cases pending in DRTs for optimising the recovery and all stakeholders should work collectively to reduce pendency and take effective measures for optimisation of recovery. Faster recovery would help in ploughing back the capital stuck in pending cases to the economy for productive use, it said. While formulating settleme

HDFC Bank likely to close $1 billion loan sale this month: Report

HDFC Bank merged with parent Housing Development Finance Corp in July 2023, adding a large pool of mortgage loans to the bank's portfolio but a much smaller amount of deposits

Axis Bank expands wealth management services across 15 new cities

Axis Bank on Monday said its private banking business Burgundy Private will expand its wealth management services to 15 new cities, increasing its presence to 42 locations across India. With this strategic move, Burgundy Private will now offer its bespoke wealth management services tailored to the unique needs of discerning clients in India's rapidly evolving Tier 2 markets, Axis Bank said in a statement. The new locations, to start with, include Bhubaneswar, Patna, Raipur, Agra, Ghaziabad, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jalandhar, Meerut, Belgaum, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Aurangabad, Nagpur, and Gandhidham, it said. By leveraging its expertise, technology, and data analytics, Burgundy Private aims to deliver personalised solutions that meet the evolving expectations of affluent clients in these emerging geographies, it said. Burgundy Private has an AUM of nearly Rs 2.07 trillion, a 33 per cent increase YoY, and currently manages wealth for over 13,000 families across 27 cities.

Consumption loan portfolio expands 15% to Rs 90 trillion in FY24: Report

India's consumption loan portfolio grew by 15.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 90.3 lakh crore as of March 2024, according to the latest credit bureau report. The fourth edition of CRIF High Mark report noted a slowdown from the 17.4 per cent growth recorded in March 2023, largely due to a deceleration in the home loans segment, which accounts for 40.1 per cent of the overall consumption loan portfolio by value. The home loans portfolio saw growth slowing down to 7.9 per cent YoY in FY24, from the 23 per cent expansion seen in FY23. This was mainly due to muted growth in "originations", which increased by 9.2 per cent in FY'24 compared to 18.2 per cent in the previous fiscal year. Origination refers to the process by which a lender creates or initiates a new loan or credit, including evaluating, processing, and approving a borrower's application. The report finds a shift toward higher ticket sizes, with a growing preference for loans above Rs 35 lakh, although the average ticket

Banks facing challenge in getting cyber security talent: SBI chairman

He said SBI has been able to create resilience in the system. While ensuring this, the country's largest lender had to ensure an improved customer experience against the backdrop of legacy systems

Root of C-D mismatch: Major banks aren't competing for savings deposits

The savings bank deposit interest rate was the last one to be deregulated by the RBI after all other interest rates were deregulated

IBA likely to seek easing of proposed norms for retail deposits: Report

The RBI had sought feedback on the proposal until Aug 31, after which it would finalise them for implementation from April 2025

SBI working on new version of digital banking platform: Dinesh Khara

Former SBI Chairperson Dinesh Khara on Thursday said the country's largest lender is working on a new version of its digital banking platform to take care of its customers' requirements and preferences. In his special address at the Global Fintech Fest 2024 here, Khara, who superannuated on Thursday, also said that a banker should always keep risks in mind, even though people tend to ignore the risk but that shouldn't happen. "We had envisaged YONO only as a retail solution and initially it was thought to replace internet banking but when we launched it, we thought that it should be much more than that, (as) it serves all banking and financial needs today. We're working on YONO 2.0 where it should be made more modular and faster in terms of processing," Khara said. Stating that YONO has 80 million registered users today with almost 10 million users logging in at the platform each day, he said in many respects, it would be a record of sorts across the globe. Last year, the platform

Sonata Finance to merge with BSS Microfinance: Kotak Mahindra Bank

As per the scheme of amalgamation approved on Monday, Sonata would merge with BSS Microfinance Ltd on a going concern basis, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a regulatory filing

Dhanlaxmi Bank Q1 results: Total income down at Rs 338 cr, loss at Rs 8 cr

Dhanlaxmi Bank on Monday reported a loss of Rs 8 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year. Against this, the bank had earned a net profit of Rs 28 crore in the April-June quarter of FY24. The bank's total income declined to Rs 338 crore in the first quarter as against Rs 341 crore in the same period a year ago, Dhanlaxmi Bank said in a regulatory filing. During the quarter the bank earned interest income of Rs 306 crore as against Rs 289 crore in the same period a year ago. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the total advances declined to 4.04 per cent in the first quarter from 5.21 per cent at June-end last year. However, net NPAs rose to 1.26 per cent in June 2024 against 1.09 per cent same period a year ago.

Banks should bring in innovative products to mobilise deposits: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday asked banks to come up with innovative and attractive schemes to mobilise deposits. Addressing the media after the board meeting of the Reserve Bank of India, she said that deposits and lending are the two wheels of a cart and "deposit is moving slowly." The banks, she stressed, need to focus on core banking business which is mobilising deposits and lending to those who need funds. In order to overcome the mismatch between deposits and lending, Sitharaman asked banks to come up with "innovative and attractive" deposit schemes to mobilise funds from the people. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that interest rates are deregulated and often banks raise deposit rates to attract funds. "Banks are free to decide on interest rates", Das added. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das while unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy earlier in the week, also had expressed concern of deposit-lending mismatch in the banking sector. He had said that banks

CSB Bank Q1 results: Profit falls 14% to Rs 113 cr due to rise in bad loans

CSB Bank on Monday reported a 14 per cent decline in the June quarter net profit at Rs 113 crore due to an increase in bad loans. The private sector lender had earned a net profit of Rs 132 crore in the year-ago period. However, total income increased to Rs 1,004 crore from Rs 803 crore a year ago, CSB Bank said in a regulatory filing. Interest income grew to Rs 832 crore during the period under review, from Rs 683 crore a year ago. The bank's asset quality worsened as Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) rose to 1.69 per cent of gross advances as of June 30, 2024, from 1.27 per cent at the end of the first quarter of the previous fiscal. Net NPAs also increased to 0.68 per cent of the advances, from 0.32 per cent at the end of the first quarter last year. As a result, provisions and contingencies increased to Rs 20 crore from Rs 5 crore earmarked during the same quarter a year ago. The capital adequacy ratio of the bank improved to 23.61 per cent, as compared to 25.99 per cent on

India's financial system looks stronger than in the past: RBI dy guv Rao

Indian financial system looks stronger than in the past and the country's economy is an outlier even as strong headwinds globally, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao said. Delivering the J P Morgan India Leadership Series Lecture here, the RBI official also highlighted that India has achieved the highest climate change performance index (CCPI) score among G20 members in 2024, which reflects the country's unwavering commitment to this cause. "This also shows that by aligning economic policies with climate action, we can spur green investments, enhance energy efficiency, and foster sustainable development across the sectors," he said in the lecture on 'Climate Change -- The Emerging Challenge'. Rao said the global financial system is facing strong headwinds from various quarters, including high levels of public debt, stretched asset valuations, economic and financial fragmentation, geopolitical tensions, and risks arising from increasing cyber threats. "Amidst thes

Jana SFB Q1 result: Net profit rises 89% to Rs 171 cr, NII up at Rs 610 cr

Jana Small Finance Bank on Monday reported an 89 per cent jump in its post-tax net profit to Rs 171 crore for the April-June quarter. The lender had reported a profit after tax of Rs 90 crore in the year-ago period. The core net interest income grew to Rs 610 crore from Rs 462 crore in the year-ago period on the back of a 25 per cent growth in advances and a 0.4 per cent expansion in the net interest margin to 8 per cent. The non-interest income was flat at Rs 189 crore for the reporting quarter. Amid the sluggish deposit growth in the system, the bank seems to have ducked the trend with a 41 per cent growth in the number. Its gross non-performing assets ratio increased to 2.62 per cent in June against 2.11 per cent at the end of the preceding March quarter, which was attributed to seasonal and event-driven factors by its managing director and chief executive Ajay Kanwal. The overall capital adequacy as of June 30 stood at 19.3 per cent against 18.7 per cent in the year-ago ...

RBL Bank Q1 results: Net profit grows 29% to Rs 372 crore, NII up 19.5%

The bank's total revenue rose by 19 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs. 2,505 crore

HDFC Bank to up loan book slower than deposits, focus on reducing CD ratio

HDFC Bank will be growing its advances slower than the deposits, and focus on getting the credit-deposit ratio to the pre-merger levels, according to a top bank official. In the annual report of the country's largest private sector lender, its managing director and chief executive Sashi Jagdishan suggested that profitability will also be a core aspect of its strategy. Jagdishan said the bank which merged its home loan-focused parent HDFC Ltd with itself last July is passing through a phase of "adjustment" where it will be focusing on adequate liquidity buffers, and repaying HDFC's borrowings on maturity and also before that. "During this time of adjustment, the Bank would grow its advances a little slower than the deposit growth," he said in the message to shareholders. The bank will endeavour to bring down the credit-to-deposit ratio to the pre-merger levels, Jagdishan said, adding that it will continue to focus on granular deposit mobilisation on the back of the distribution ...

Swiss challenge auction: Union Bank gets sole counter bid for Jaypee Health

Bank called for a Swiss auction for 5 accounts after receiving binding bids from a list of 25 accounts for sale

Federal Bank Q1 results; Advances up 20%, total deposits grow 19.6%

Retail credit book grows 25%, according to internal classification of the bank

Commercial banks mobilise Rs 1.45 trn via certificates of deposits in June

Certificate of Deposit issuances in June at Rs 1.45 trillion, up 76% month-on-month

Tata Group retains top spot as India's most valuable brand at $28.6 billion

India's most valuable brands 2024: Tata Group nears $30 billion mark, Taj remains India's strongest brand, while HDFC's merger boosts brand to third position