Banking Current Affairs 1st - 15th November 2015
National Payments Corporation of India to get funds from private, foreign banks
- National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is set to receive funding from a host of foreign and private banks after it started the process of increasing its paid-up capital by broad-basing its stakeholder base of 10 banks.
- Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Deutsche Bank, have been contributing. Out of the PSBs, Indian Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank have participated.
Piramal, TPG, Baring in race to acquire ICICI Home Finance
- Piramal Group, TPG Capital and Baring Private Equity Asia are in the race to acquire ICICI Home Finance Company, a subsidiary of India's largest private bank, two people familiar with the development said.
Moody's ups Indian banking sector outlook to stable
- Moody's Investors Service upgraded India's banking system to 'stable' from 'negative' on expectation that a gradual improvement in the operating environment for lenders will lead to lesser growth in bad loans in future.
- In the report titled 'Banking System Outlook - India: Gradual Improvement in Operating Environment Drives Stable Outlook', Moody's said the stable outlook is based on Moody's assessment of five drivers - improving operating environment, stable asset risk and capital, stable funding and liquidity.
Citibank India appoints Sharad Mohan as retail bank head
- Citibank India appointed Sharad Mohan as retail bank head.
RBI promotes Deepak Singhal as its new executive director
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it had promoted Deepak Singhal as the new executive director of the central bank effective immediately.
Government appoints MDs of four PSU banks
- Suresh N Patel, Executive Director of Oriental Bank of Commerce MD of Andhra Bank.
- R K Takkar, ED, Dena Bank, will now head the Kolkata-based UCO Bank
- J K Garg has been named as the MD of Corporation Bank.
- Mahesh Kumar Jain, MD of Indian Bank.
CorpBank Securities begins institutional broking services
- CorpBank Securities began its institutional broking services in Capital Market Segment BSE and NSE.
- It is a fully owned subsidiary of Corporation Bank.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank launches co-branded credit card
- Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) launched a co-branded credit card in partnership with SBI Cards and Payment Services, commemorating LVB's 90th anniversary.
- The Tamil Nadu-based bank had partnered with payment solutions provider SBI Cards and Payment Services to offer its first Lakshmi Vilas Bank-SBI Credit Card.
Citi India appoints Sampath Kumar as audit head
- Citigroup India said it has appointed Sampath Kumar as its audit head.
IDBI bank may be merged with private lender
RBI imposes Rs 1 crore penalty on Dhanlaxmi Bank
- The Reserve Bank of India imposed a Rs 1-crore penalty on Dhanlaxmi Bank for non-adherence to KYC (know your customer) and anti-money laundering guidelines.
Fitch downgrades Standard Chartered to A+ on weak profits, asset quality
- Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Standard Chartered's long-term issuer rating to 'A+' from 'AA-', citing the bank's unfavourable profitability and asset quality trends as well as its underperformance relative to peers.
State, district co-op banks can offer 'view only' net banking
- Reserve Bank allowed state co-operative banks (StCBs) and district central co-operative banks (DCCBs) to offer internet banking with "view only" facility.
- At present, urban cooperative banks (UCBs) that meet certain criteria are permitted to provide internet banking with transactional facility to their customers with prior approval of the RBI.
RBI includes Bandhan Bank in second schedule list
- Reserve Bank said that newly launched Bandhan Bank has been included in the second schedule list, making it eligible for loans from the central bank at bank rate.
- A scheduled bank is eligible for loans from the RBI at bank rate. They are also given membership to clearing houses.
- Besides, Industrial Bank of Korea and Korea Exchange Bank Co Ltd have been included in the second schedule
Federal Bank to join sovereign gold bond scheme
- Federal Bank said it will distribute Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme as launched by the government.
In first, SBI takes out Rs 485 crore in profit from overseas operations
- State Bank of India said that for the first time it has repatriated Rs 485 crore of profit from its foreign operations, which helped boost the September quarter net by 10 percentage points to 25.12 per cent at Rs 3,879 crore.
- SBI has as many as 194 branches spanning 36 countries, and 377 correspondent banks in 86 countries and a few subsidiaries.
India's Andhra Bank seeks to sell $209 mn worth bad loans to ARCs
Bank of India’s borrowing downgraded due to weak asset quality
- Bank of India has lost the triple A status. Rating company Icra has downgraded the borrowings of the bank to AA+. The bank has an outstanding borrowings of Rs 1587 crore.
Federal Bank opens unit at IFSC
- Private sector lender Federal Bank opened an international banking unit at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Ahmedabad, becoming the second lender to do so at the fledgling global financial centre.
- Yes Bank was the first lender to open an IFSC at GIFT City in Gujarat on October 27 while public sector lenders like SBI, Bank of India among others have booked space for such units.
Indiabulls Housing Finance buys 40 per cent in UK bank
- Indiabulls Housing Finance has acquired about 40 per cent stake in UK-based Oak North Bank for $100 million (Rs 660 crore), making it the lender's biggest shareholder and aiding its expansion into new business areas overseas.
Ola launches Ola Money app for mobile recharges, transfers
- Ola said it will offer its mobile wallet, Ola Money, as an independent app, a move that will see the taxi aggregator competing with the likes of Paytm, Mobikwik and Freecharge in the booming digital payment market in India.
- Ola Money, powered by ZipCash, has over 40 million users.
Yes Bank plans to raise funds through green bond issue in London
- Private sector lender Yes Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with London Stock Exchange (LSE) to collaborate on debt and equity issuances.
- As part of the Agreement, the bank plans to list a Green Bond of up to $500m on London Stock Exchange by December 2016. Also, as part of its overall $1bn of equity capital raising plans, the bank may also potentially raise funds through the listing of Global Depository Receipts (GDR).
Deutsche Bank names McMurdo as new APAC corporate, i-banking head
- Deutsche Bank has named James McMurdo a former Goldman Sachs executive as its head of corporate and investment banking for the Asia Pacific region, an internal memo said.
State Bank of India launches Neev fund to help low-income states
- The nation's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country's first low-income state infrastructure equity partnership (or the Neev fund) in London.
- The fund aims at providing equity partnerships for small infrastructure development in sectors like water and sanitation, clean energy and urban infrastructure.
Deadline for Bharat Bill Pay Applications extended by RBI
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the deadline for applicants of the Bharat Bill Payment System Operating Units (BBPOUs), to December 18 from November 20 earlier.
Emirates bank, SBI join hands for easier remittances
- A leading UAE-based bank has announced a partnership deal with State Bank of India to help NRI customers in the gulf carry out their remittances instantly and more conveniently.
- Emirates NBD has expanded its partner bank network in India to include State Bank of India (SBI) for the DirectRemit 60 seconds remittance platform.
SBI to launch mobile wallet ''Batua'' for feature phone users next month
- Country's largest lender State Bank Of India is all set to become the first bank to offer wallet services for feature phone users.
- SBI is set to launch mobile wallet "Batua" next month and the service will be available to existing as well as non-SBI customers. The application will be available on Java-enabled mobile phones.
ICICI Bank Canada launches student GIC programme
- ICICI Bank Canada, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, said it has been authorised by Canadian High Commission to accept GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) for students aspiring to study in Canada.
- As per the requirement, students applying for a study permit under the Student Partner Programme (SPP), are required to invest in a GIC of 10,000 Canadian dollar with a bank in Canada authorised to offer this facility, ICICI Bank said in a statement.
- As per the terms of the programme, the amount of 10,000 Canadian dollar is paid back to the student while he/she is studying in Canada in 12 equal instalments along with the interest amount, it said.