November 2022 (Banking & Financial Services):
1. RBI imposes Rs 1.76 crore penalty on Vakrangee for non-compliance with regulations: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1.76 crore on Vakrangee Limited (the entity) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the White Label ATM (WLA) directions. The penalty has been imposed in respect to non-compliance with regulations on ATM deployment targets.
2. SEBI issues guidelines pertaining to the standardization of rating scales used by credit rating agencies (CRAs): The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a pertaining to the standardization of rating scales used by credit rating agencies (CRAs). The circular will come into effect on 1 January 2023. CRAs will then have to report to SEBI their compliance with norms as ratified by their boards of directors within one quarter from date of applicability. Credit rating agencies (CRAs) in India are regulated by SEBI.
3. Zaggle and NPCI partner to launch multiple credit cards on RuPay network: Zaggle, a SaaS FinTech company, announced that it had collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to issue contactless credit cards on the RuPay network. Zaggle and NPCI, along with partner banks, would use this platform to launch multiple credit cards to address the ever-growing demand of corporates, SMEs, and consumers.
4. Cheque book taps NSDL Payments Bank to launch zero-balance digital current account: Cheque book, a neo bank for small business owners, has launched a first-of-its-kind digital current account. Small business owners like Kirana stores, chemists, can open a current account instantly on the Cheque book App from their smartphone and in a language, they are comfortable with. The current account is available in eight languages making it more accessible and easier to understand.
5. SBI logs highest-ever quarterly profit in the 2nd quarter: The State Bank of India (SBI) has reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of 13,265 crore rupees for the second quarter ended on the 30th of September. The Bank's quarterly profit is 74 per cent higher than the 7,627 crore rupees reported in the year-ago period. The asset quality of the bank also improved with Gross NPAs declining to 3.5 per cent this quarter.
6. India's First Floating Financial Literacy Camp conducted in Dal Lake of Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated India Post Payments Bank for conducting India's First Floating Financial Literacy Camp in Dal Lake of Srinagar, Jammu, and Kashmir. The camp was organised under an initiative called Niveshak Didi, was focused to raise financial awareness by adopting the women, by the women approach.
7. Aditya Birla Health, IDFC FIRST Bank tie up for bancassurance: Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co Ltd (ABHI), a standalone health insurer, has entered into a bancassurance partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank for distribution of health insurance products through the bank's digital platform and its wide distribution network. ABHI can provide health insurance facility to the deeper and underpenetrated parts of the country. Mayank Bathwal, CEO - Aditya Birla Health Insurance.
8. MUFG Bank partners M1xchange to digitize corporate trade finance: MUFG Bank has partnered with M1xchange to facilitate digital invoice financing for the bank's clients. Under M1xchange's TReDS (Trade Receivables Discounting System), MSME suppliers get early funding for their receivables under a bidding mechanism, and this is funded by MUFG Bank, which takes on the credit risk of the corporate buyers. Sundeep Mohindru, Managing Director & CEO of M1xchange.
9. HDFC MF launches sectoral exchange-traded funds Nifty IT and Nifty Private Bank: HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd has announced the launch of two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) ' Nifty IT ETF and Nifty Private Bank ETF. These funds offer a passive way to gain exposure to the growing information technology and private bank space. HDFC Nifty IT ETF has the potential to capture global IT demand and requirements through India's leading IT companies. Navneet Munot, managing director and chief executive officer, HDFC Asset Management
10. SME lending startup ftcash gets NBFC license from RBI: SME lending startup, ftcash has received a license from the Reserve Bank of India to set up a nonbanking financial company. With this, the company aims to disburse loans worth '100 crore in FY23. Headquartered in Mumbai, the company was founded in 2015 by Sanjeev Chandak, Deepak Kothari and Vaibhav Lodha.
11. Gujarat-based NBFC tops NARCL bid for consolidated construction: Gujarat-based NBFC Raj Radhe Finance has offered '130 crore to take over the debt of EPC company Consolidated Construction Consortium (CCC) topping National Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd.'s (NARCL) '100-crore offer. Raj Radhe's offer was in response to a Swiss challenge called by banks after the anchor bid by NARCL last month.
12. Post RBI nod, 9 vostro accounts opened to facilitate overseas trade in rupee: Sberbank and VTB Bank-the largest and second-largest banks of Russia respectively-are the first foreign lenders to receive approval after the RBI announced the guidelines for overseas trade in the rupee in July. "Nine accounts have been opened. One in UCO Bank, one in Sber, one in VTB and six with IndusInd Bank. These six are different Russian banks,".
13. RBI chooses five banks for retail digital currency pilot: State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and IDFC First Bank are on a shortlist of at least five lenders that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has roped in to work on the retail pilot of its central bank digital currency (CBDC). The pilot for the retail digital rupee is expected to go live soon, and more banks could be included in it.
14. Axis Bank launches 7th edition of knowledge summit 'Evolve' for MSMEs: The current edition is focused on the broader theme of 'Indian SMEs: Shifting Gears for Next Level Growth' with sub-themes such as 'Digitalization to Building Indian SMEs' and 'Export Opportunities for SMEs in the New World Order'. Axis Bank hosted Evolve across 20 cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, etc
15. Karnataka has highest installed grid-interactive renewable power capacity in India: RBI report: Karnataka came at the top position while comparing the total installed capacity of grid-interactive renewable power of all the states of the country. The state had a total installed capacity of 15,463 megawatts (mw). Tamil Nadu, with 15,225 mw, came at the 2nd; Gujarat, with 13,153 mw, was at third position, according to Handbook of Statistics on Indian Statistics by RBI.
16. Balances under SDF to be included in Liquidity Coverage Ratio: RBI to Banks: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has told banks that overnight balances held by them under the standing deposit facility (SDF) will be eligible as 'Level 1 High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA)' for computation of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR). This will enhance the ability of banks to achieve LCR.
17. GSTN now part of AA network to facilitate cash flow lending to MSMEs: RBI: In a major development, the Goods and Services Tax network (GSTN) has been included to the account aggregator (AA) network as a financial information provider (FIP) to facilitate cash flow lending to the micro, small, and medium enterprises, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. Department of revenue shall be the regulator of GSTN for this specific purpose and GST returns.
18. Airtel Payments Bank rolls-out e-KYC based on face authentication: Airtel Payments Bank has taken yet another step towards digital inclusion and announced the launch of Face Authentication-based savings bank account opening for customers. The facility will further ease the account opening process making it seamless & convenient for customers. Airtel Payments Bank is the first Payments Bank in the country to offer this facility.
19. Canara Bank Starts Issuing Electronic Bank Guarantee in Partnership with NeSL: Canara Bank ushered in a new dawn of digital banking on its 117th Founder's Day, with issuance of an Electronic Bank Guarantee in partnership with National E-Governance Services Limited. Bank now offers an API based digital workflow of Bank guarantees which will eliminate physical issuance, stamping, verification and paper based record maintenance of Bank Guarantees.
20. ICICI Bank introduces deposit-linked loan and dollar bonds for NRIs at GIFT City: ICICI Bank has launched two new products-- Loan Against Deposits (LAD) and Dollar Bonds-- for NRI customers at its branch in GIFT City, the Gujarat-based emerging global financial and IT services hub. ICICI Bank is the first bank to offer these products in GIFT City.
21. Bank credit growth accelerates to 17.2% in September quarter: RBI data: Bank credit growth accelerated to 17.2 percent in the quarter ended September 2022 from 7 percent in the same period of the previous year, data from the Reserve Bank of India's "Quarterly Statistics on Deposits and Credit of SCBs: September 2022" showed. RBI collects this data from all scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), which include RRBs, SFBs, and payments banks. In the quarter ended June 2022, bank credit was at 14.2 percent.
22. RBI Asks Paytm to Reapply for Payment Aggregator License: One97 Communications that owns the Paytm brand said that the RBI has asked the Paytm Payment Services Limited (PPSL) to resubmit the application for a payment aggregator License within 120 calendar days. A payment aggregator is 3rd-party that manages & processes merchants' online transactions with consumers, allowing merchants to be more hands-off in their payment process. Nakul Jain is the CEO of Paytm Payments Services Ltd (PPSL).
23. New credit card payment rule: RBI wants card issuers to revisit minimum amount due formula: RBI wants banks and card issuers to calculate the minimum amount due on credit card bills in a way that does not result in negative amortization. "The unpaid charges or levies, or taxes shall not be capitalized for charging or compounding of interest," the central bank earlier said in a master direction ' Credit card and Debit card ' Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022.
24. Inclusion of Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) as a Financial Information Provider under Account Aggregator Framework: With a view to facilitate cash flow-based lending to MSMEs, it has been decided to include GSTN as a Financial Information Provider (FIP) under the Account Aggregator (AA) framework. Department of Revenue shall be the regulator of GSTN for this specific purpose and Goods and Services Tax (GST) Returns, viz. Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-3B, shall be the Financial Information. GST Council approved the change in GSTN ownership to 100% government-owned in March 2020.
25. SBI board approves raising Rs 10,000 crore via infrastructure bonds: SBI approved raising Rs 10,000 crore (including a green shoe option of Rs. 5,000 crores) through a public issue or private placement by issuing infrastructure bonds during the FY 2023. The bank has a term loan pipeline of '2.5 lakh crore and expects demand from all sectors.
Comments