- RBI GIVES NOD TO SET UP KERALA BANK: The Reserve bank of India has accorded an in principle sanction to Kerala State Government to set up “Kerala Bank”. This bank would be formed by merging District Co-operative Banks with State Co-operative Banks. RBI has given instructions to the Kerala State government to complete the entire process of merger by March 2019.The Kerala government announced that the much awaited project “Kerala Bank” is expected to become a reality by August 2019.
- NORTH KOREAN HACKERS LINKED TO RECENT COSMOS BANK HEIST: California based cyber security company FireEye has indicated that the recent Cosmos Bank cyber heist in August 2018 may have been planned and executed by a financial crime syndicate backed by North Korea. Cosmos Bank had lost Rs. 80.50 crore in one of the largest banking heists in the country through 14,849 fraudulent ATM withdrawals in a two and half hour period in August 2018.
- RBI ADVISES NBFCs TO RELY ON EQUITY FUND FOR LONG TERM FINANCING: After a series of defaults by IL&FS which led to a near seizure of short-term money markets, Non-banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) received lessons on Asset-Liability Management from RBI. Reserve Bank of India has advised NBFCs to raise more equity and long-term debt instead of relying on short-term funds. Mr. Viral Acharya, RBI Deputy Governor has advised NBFCs to place greater reliance on equity and other long-term modes of finance for funding their long-term assets.
- FEDERAL BANK FINED Rs 5 CRORE FOR NON-COMPLIANCE OF RBI NORMS: Federal Bank has been penalised Rs. 5 crore for non-compliance on reporting of large borrower exposures and non-payment of customer compensations. The bank was found to have not complied with RBI directions on reporting of data on Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) and reporting to RBI for assessment under risk-based supervision.
- BANK OF MAHARASHTRA SHUTS DOWN 51 BFRANCHES: Bank of Maharashtra has shut down 51 non-viable branches across India. These branches were incurring huge losses and declared as non-viable. These identified branches after closing have been merged with the nearest neighbouring Branches. This is first such instance by any Public Sector Bank in Maharashtra. Bank of Maharashtra has around 1,900 branches all over India.
- GROSS DIRECT TAX COLLECTION GROWS BY 16.7%: Gross Direct Tax collection in the first 6 months of the financial year grew by 16.7% to Rs 5.47 lakh crore. Refunds amounting to Rs. 1.03 lakh crore have been issued between April 2018 to September 2018, which is 30% higher than refunds issued during the same period in last financial year.
- GOVERNMENT NOTIFIES 10% LONG TERM CAPITAL GAIN TAX ON IPO/FPO GAINS: The Income Tax Department has notified norms for 10% Long-Term Capital Gain (LTCG) tax for gains from investments made in Initial Public Offer (IPO) and Follow-on Public Offer (FPO). The new norms will come into effect from 1ST April 2019 and will apply in relation to assessment year 2019-20 and then for subsequent assessment years.
- COMPANIES PAY UP THEIR DUES FOR FEAR OF INSOLVENCY ACTION: Banks are seen to be the biggest beneficiaries of Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), enacted to bring rogue borrowers to book. The fear of insolvency action has helped the bankers to recover Rs. 1.1 lakh crore from loan defaulters who were earlier reluctant to clear their dues. So far 977 cases have been admitted by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The number of cases filed is actually high but many are withdrawn before they are admitted as the borrower agrees to settle the dues.
This post first appeared on IMPACT OF DEMONITIZATION OF CURRENCY IN INDIA IN 2016, please read the originial post: here
