Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance | 26.09.2020

26.09.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Bank credit up 5.26 per cent, deposits by 11.98 per cent: RBI data : Bank credit grew 5.26 per cent to Rs 102.24 lakh crore while deposits rose 11.98 per cent to Rs 142.48 lakh crore in the fortnight ended September 11, according to RBI data. In the fortnight ended September 13, 2019, bank credit was at Rs 97.13 lakh crore and deposits at Rs 127.22 lakh crore. In the previous fortnight ended September 11, 2020, bank credit had grown by 5.49 per cent to Rs 102.11 lakh crore while deposits at 10.92 per cent to Rs 141.76 lakh crore. On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, non-food bank credit grew at 6.7 per cent in July as against a growth of 11.4 per cent in the same month of the last year, according to the data on sectoral deployment of bank credit for July 2020, released recently by the RBI. Growth in loans to industry slowed to 0.8 per cent in July as compared with 6.1 per cent growth in July 2019, the data showed. - economic times

🍒 PSU banks on-board 1 crore account holders on digital payment modes in a month : The finance ministry on Friday said that public sector banks (PSBs) have on-boarded about one crore customers on digital payment modes in just one month of the launch of 'Digital Apnayen' campaign. The campaign, aimed at encouraging customers to use digital banking channels, was launched on August 15 under the aegis of the government's Digital India initiative. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) said in a tweet, "DFS's #DigitalApnayen campaign gets off to a roaring start! PSBs on-board 1 Cr A/c holders on digital payment modes in 31 days of campaign launch. Committed to transform India into a digitally empowered society!" Under the campaign, banks were asked to on-board a minimum 100 new customers including merchants and financial inclusion account holders by each branch on digital payment mode. - economic times

🍒 Canara Bank eyes ₹2,000-cr QIP : State-owned Canara Bank on Friday said its board has approved raising ₹2,000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP). “...the board of the bank at its meeting held on September 25 decided to raise additional equity share capital amounting up to ₹2,000 crore (including securities premium), through QIP route...,” it said in a regulatory filing. The QIP be would be within the overall maximum limit of board-approved capital raising plan for 2020-21 of ₹5,000 crore equity capital and is subject to market conditions and necessary approvals, the statement further said. Canara Bank scrip gained 4.74 per cent to close at ₹87.20 apiece on BSE. - - Business Line

🍒 SBI relocates financial inclusion, micro market division to Delhi for better synergy with govt : In a bid to promote financial inclusion and better coordination with the government, State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday relocated the financial inclusion and micro market (FI&MM) division from its Mumbai corporate office to the national capital. The FI&MM division takes care of 8,000 rural and semi-urban branches catering to bottom of the pyramid segment and 64,000 customer service points (CSPs) managed by business correspondents and 58,000 ATMs. Besides, the division is responsible for running all the government-sponsored schemes, including direct benefits trasfer like PM-KISAN, in coordination with various departments and ministries. According to SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar, the focus of the Delhi-based division will be community service, financial inclusion and running government-sponsored schemes. The new office of the vertical inaugurated by the SBI chairman will be headed by Deputy Managing Director Sanjeev Nautiyal. - economic times

🍒 HDFC Bank launches warehouse commodity finance app : Private sector lender HDFC Bank on Friday launched a Warehouse Commodity Finance App. “This will enable customers in drawing down and managing the loan against pledge of commodities online without physical intervention or multiple visits to a bank branch. This, in turn, will bring in enhanced efficiencies and time savings for the agri value chain,” it said in a statement, adding that it will greatly benefit agri processors, traders and farmers who are primary beneficiaries of warehouse receipt loans. - Business Line

🍒 IRDAI identifies LIC, GIC, New India Assurance systemically important insurers : Regulator IRDAI has identified LIC, GIC and New India Assurance as domestic systemically important insurers (D-SIIs) and subsequently decided to subject them to enhanced regulatory supervision. The three insurers have also been asked to raise the level of corporate governance, identify all relevant risks and promote a sound risk management culture, the Insurance Regulator and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said in a statement. “D-SIIs will also be subjected to enhanced regulatory supervision,” it added. - Business Line

🍒 EOW arrests two officials of Lakshmi Vilas Bank for misappropriation of Religare Finvest FDs "  Two Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) officials were arrested on Thursday by a Delhi Police team for their alleged role in squaring off Rs 791-crore worth of Religare Finvest (RFL) fixed deposits against what the company described as unrelated loans from the lender. The first information report (FIR) was registered in September last year by RFL for alleged criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy against LVB and two firms -- RHC Holdings and Ranchem. The two firms belong to Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, the erstwhile promoters of Religare. Malvinder and Shivinder are in judicial custody in connection with another case. LVB and RFL did not respond to ET queries.- economic times

🍒 Axis Bank partners with Bayer's better life farming (BLF) initiative in India : Life sciences firm Bayer on Friday said it has partnered with private sector lender Axis Bank for its better life farming (BLF) initiative in India to provide enhanced and holistic financial solutions to smallholder farmers and rural farming communities. Through the partnership, Axis Bank will offer end-to-end financial solutions and services such as affordably priced loans, deposits, withdrawals and payments, Bayer said in a statement. Digital financial solutions and doorstep delivery of these services will be part of the bank's offering to ensure convenient and hassle-free transactions. These solutions will be offered through Bayer's BLF centres, owned and operated either by a farmer producer organisation (FPO), federation, agri-graduate or a local farmer or entrepreneur. - economic times

🍒 States ping banks, payment companies to adopt contactless solutions : Across India, state transport authorities are inviting banks, fintech companies, card networks and payment service providers to replace their traditional ticketing systems with contactless solutions. The move is aimed at aligning with the latest social distancing and hygiene norms in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan transport bodies have issued tenders for contract, calling for bids from banks and digital service providers to help scale their technology requirements to offer contactless ticketing and payment solutions in bus fleets. ET has reviewed these Request for Proposal (RFP) documents.- economic times

🍒 Google Pay denies sharing India users' data with third parties :  Google on Friday said Google Pay does not share customer transaction data with any third party outside the payments flow. The clarification from Google came after reports cited the company's submission to the Delhi High Court saying it is allowed to share customers transaction data with third parties with the prior permission of NPCI and payment service providing (PSP) banks. "This is to clarify that press reports on the basis of the affidavit filed by Google before the Delhi High Court, do not represent the complete facts," a Google spokesperson said on Friday. The spokesperson added that Google Pay is in full compliance with Unified Payment Interface (UPI) procedural guidelines, issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the applicable laws. "...and does not share customer transaction data with any third party outside the payments flow," the spokesperson further said.- economic times

🍒 Vakrangee gets RBI nod to set up Bharat Bill Payment unit :  Vakrangee Ltd on Friday said the Reserve Bank has granted in-principle approval to set up Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) to handle payment services related to bills. Vakrangee (VL) has received in-principle authorisation to set up and operate BBPOU under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it said in a release. The company offers banking, insurance, money transfer services, e-commerce, e-governance and other digital services on behalf of its partner banks, insurers, government agencies, e-commerce players among others through its branches mostly located in rural and semi-urban areas. "Vakrangee can now directly handle payment and aggregation of payment services relating to bills under the scope of BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System)," the company said. - economic times

🍒 Fino Payments Bank launches contactless payments for mass transport : Fino Payments Bank along with fintech partners has introduced NFC-based contactless payments solution for mass transit systems, especially state bus transport services in India. “Buses run by state road transport corporations are the most preferred means of travel for majority of people in rural and semi-urban areas where cash is used to purchase tickets. Fino, which has over 80 per cent of its banking network of 2.75 lakh points in villages, aims to tap the opportunity to digitise cash used in mass transit systems,” it said in a statement.- Business Line

🍒 Axis Bank to provide affordable loans via Bayer’s Better Life Farming initiative : Axis Bank has joined Bayer’s Better Life Farming initiative in India to provide holistic financial solutions to smallholder farmers and rural farming communities. Through the partnership, Axis Bank will offer a wide range of financial solutions and services such as affordable loans, deposits, withdrawals and payments. Digital financial solutions and doorstep delivery of these services will be part of the bank’s offering to ensure convenient and hassle-free transactions. These solutions will be offered through Bayer’s Better Life Farming centres, which are owned and operated either by a farmer producer organisation, federation, agri-graduate or a local farmer/entrepreneur.- Business Line

🍒 Consumer demand seen inching up to pre-Covid levels : Six months after the novel coronavirus-led lockdown and economic turmoil, consumer demand seems to be making some kind of a comeback, with lending institutions reporting an uptick in spending and even demand for low-ticket home loans. “There has been revival of some amount of demand, and spending has gone back – if not fully – to the pre-Covid level of at least to 80 per cent to 90 per cent. This is across the country and segments,” said a senior banker, adding that some of this may be pent-up demand. Banks have also been reporting more enquiries for personal, home and car loans, although a full recovery in demand has still not returned, he further said. “In terms of demand, we are close to 90 per cent in low-income and affordable housing. But in the overall housing sector, demand is 60 per cent of pre-Covid level. Last month, we did over 90 per cent plus of last year’s performance,” said Deo Shankar Tripathi, Managing Director and CEO, Aadhar Housing Finance.- Business Line

🍒 Citigroup says switch from European stocks to emerging markets : Investors should rotate out of European equities into their emerging market counterparts thanks to a divergence in the economic trends underlying the two asset classes, according to Citigroup Inc. The firm’s gauge of economic surprises is indicating a pattern disappointment in Europe, while remaining robust in emerging markets, wrote strategists including Jeremy Hale in an asset allocation note on Thursday. Meantime, expectations for European earnings growth are the highest among developed markets and may be at risk of declining, they said. “We think it makes sense to trim some developed-market-specific risk at a time where near-term probabilities are skewed to some regional economic surprise indexes turning negative again, led by Europe,” they wrote. “In equities, we remain slightly overweight overall, but recommend rotating out of European stocks and into EM given relative data trends.” - Business Line

🍒 Loan fraud cases sharply fall in 2019-20; SBI registers highest improvement but this bank suffers : The cases related to bank loan frauds have significantly decreased in the financial year 2019-20 even as the bank credit has increased on-year. There has been a steep reduction in the occurrence of bank frauds, with the amount involved in loan-related frauds declining steeply to 0.15 per cent of total advances of PSU banks in FY 2019-20. The number of loan-related frauds also fell to 292 in the last fiscal year, Anurag Thakur, MoS, Ministry of Finance, said in a reply to a question in Lok Sabha. It is to be noted that in the fiscal year 2018-19, the State Bank of India alone dealt with 259 cases related to loan fraud. India’s largest bank SBI saw the largest reduction in the number of cases related to loan fraud. After 284 cases in FY18 and 259 cases in FY19, the number of cases rolled down to a mere 48 in FY20. Cases in Syndicate Bank also fell from 138 in FY18, to 59 in FY19, and further to 20 in the last fiscal. However, UCO Bank and Punjab and Sind Bank saw a sudden uptick in the cases related to loan fraud.  - financial express

🍒 Forex reserves touch lifetime high at $545 bn; bank deposit rises faster than last year, shows RBI : India’s foreign exchange reserves surged to a lifetime high of $545.038 billion in the week ended September 18. The week saw a rise of $3.378 billion in forex reserves, according to the weekly publication of RBI. The reserves had fallen by $353 million to $541.660 billion in the previous week. A rise of $3.943 billion to $501.464 billion in foreign currency assets is mainly attributed to the rise in overall forex reserves. Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) are the most important component of the RBI’s foreign exchange reserve and include assets like US Treasury Bills bought by the RBI using foreign currencies. However, on the other hand, the gold reserves fell by $580 million in the week. - financial express

🍒 Yes Bank: Sebi slaps Rs 1 crore fine on Rana Kapoor for disclosure lapses : Markets regulator Sebi on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Rana Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Yes Bank, for not making disclosures about Morgan Credit’s transaction. By not disclosing about the transaction to Yes Bank’s board of directors, Kapoor has created an opaque layer between him and stakeholders, Sebi said in an order. Morgan Credits, which was an unlisted promoter entity of Yes Bank, raised Rs 950 crore from Reliance Mutual Fund, now Nippon India Mutual Fund, through unlisted Zero Coupon Non-Convertible Debentures (ZCNCDs) in April 2018. Kapoor, who was also the promoter of Yes Bank, entered into an agreement as a ‘guarantor’ with Morgan and Milestone Trusteeship Services with respect to the transaction through a trust deed. Kapoor being a ‘guarantor’ of the agreement has provided “personal guarantee” for the obligations of Morgan to the extent of Rs 410 crore and provided his shares in the company as a security for the outstanding amounts equal to Rs 820 crore, Sebi noted.- financial express

🍒 Sensex snaps 6-day losing streak, rallies 835 points to reclaim 37k-mark : Snapping its six-day falling streak, equity benchmark Sensex rallied 835 points on Friday to reclaim the 37,000-mark on across-the-board buying amid mixed global cues.  

The 30-share BSE index ended 835.06 points or 2.28 per cent higher at 37,388.66. Similarly, the NSE Nifty rose 244.70 points or 2.26 per cent to finish at 11,050.25. All Sensex components ended in green, with Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, L&T, TCS, ONGC and ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI gaining up to 6.64 per cent.

🍒 Gold prices today: Yellow metal steady at Rs 49,846/10 gm, down 3.44% this week; silver soars by Rs 1,006/kg : Gold prices were steady at Rs 49,846 per 10 gram in the Mumbai retail market as the dollar shed its gains on stimulus hope. The precious metal has lost Rs 1,774, or 3.44 percent, this week in the domestic market. Democrats in the House of Representatives were working on a $2.2 trillion novel coronavirus stimulus package that could be voted on as soon as next week. The rate of 10 gram 18, 22, and 24-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 37,385, Rs 45,659 and Rs 49,846, respectively, plus 3 percent GST.  Silver prices rose Rs 1,006 to Rs 57,477 per kg from its closing on September 24.

🍒 Rupee ends 28 paise higher at 73.61 against US dollar : The rupee strengthened by 28 paise to settle at 73.61 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, as gains in domestic equities buoyed investor sentiment. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.76 against the US dollar, then gained further ground to finally close at 73.61, registering a rise of 28 paise over its previous close.

🍒 Shares of Central Bank of India in Stock Market : 67% of moneycontrol users recommend buying Central Bank of India shares. In BSE, shares closed at Rs.16.20 against Prev Close Rs.16.60. In NSE, shares closed at Rs.16.20 against Prev Close Rs.16.60.

 All the Best… Have a Good day, great weekend