1. HDFC LTD, AMONG THE WORLD’S TOP 10 CONSUMER FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRM: Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd has been ranked 7^th among the world’s top ten biggest and powerful companies in consumer financial services sector on Forbes list. American Express tops the list. In the regional banks category State Bank of India is ranked 20^th.

2. RBI ALLOWS CO-OPERATIVE BANKS TO ISSUE MOBILE WALLETS: In a notification issued this week, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed co-operative banks to issue prepaid payment instruments like mobile wallets. Besides this, co-operative banks can also install ATMs and issue debit cards.

3. NOW BANKS FEAR LOAN DEFAULT BY COMMODITY COMPANIES: After infrastructure firms, now it may be commodity firms that may default on repayments of loans. Bankers estimate that at least a dozen companies in commodity sector that have got their debt restructured will fail to service their loans after being hit by sharp price movements.

4. IDBI BANK UNVEILS TURNAROUND PLAN: IDBI Bank has formulated a turnaround plan that includes raising of additional capital and selling non-core assets.The plan also includes curbing its rising corporate loan book and cutting costs. The bank is looking at all the avenues to improve its capital position and bring the bank on the recovery track.

5. RESERVE BANK OF INDIA CREATES POST OF “CFO”: The Reserve Bank of India is creating a post of a Chief Financial Officer ( CFO) and has sought applications for the said post. The CFO, who will be of the rank of Executive Director, will be responsible for accurate and timely presentation and reporting of financial information of the Central Bank and establish accounting policies and procedures and ensure compliance with regulations.

6. SMALL BUSINESSES SUFFER AS BRUISED BANKS RELUCTANT TO GRANT LOANS: Banks’ worsening asset quality has made them reluctant to grant new loans, especially to smaller businesses that are perceived as riskier. With the mountain of bad loans in Indian Banking system, the banks are reluctant to lend and this has badly affected the small and medium sized enterprises ( SMEs’). India has 45 million such small enterprises, accounting for 40% of gross domestic product. Smaller businesses also account bulk job creation.

7. INDIA’S MEGA REFORM –GST SET FOR JULY 1 ROLLOUT: The GST ( Goods and Service Tax) , set to be launched by the government from July 1 onwards will have tax rates of 5,12, 18 and 28% for various goods and services as announced by the government. Some tax experts feel that it could complicate compliance and leave businesses  and services at the mercy of an intrusive tax bureaucracy.

8. YOU WILL HAVE TO SHELL OUT MORE FOR BANKING TRANSACTIONS FROM JULY: Transaction Fees in financial services are likely to become expensive after the implementation of GST. The government has put these services under the 18% tax bracket. These services were so far taxed at 15%, this means all the transaction fees will be costlier by additional 3%.