☕ 23.06.2020: Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 RBI nudges banks to decide if red-flagged accounts are fraud : Banks are in a major dilemma over a directive from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that lenders should decide whether loan accounts that have been ‘red-flagged’ as suspicious over six months ago are fraudulent or not. If banks do not classify these loans as a fraud, they risk being pulled up for being lenient. If they do, they must set aside provisions for 100% of the loan amount within a year, even if a large part of the loan is recoverable. Also, the fraud tag makes it difficult to sell an otherwise sound business. Last year, a spate of action by enforcement authorities resulted in many large borrowers being red-flagged. The RBI is now pushing banks to take a call on these loans. Of the large accounts red-flagged last year, two are DHFL and Religare. The red-flag account concept was introduced by the RBI to get banks to act on early warning signals, which include raids by regulatory and tax authorities. - economic times

🍒 CANARA BANK AVERTS HOUSING LOAN FRAUD OF INR.1.50 CRORE : Alert Canara Bank officials recently averted a banking fraud to the tune of INR 1.50 Cr.  On 15th of June, one walk in customer along with his friend visited one of the Bengaluru branches of Canara Bank to avail a Housing Loan jointly with his spouse and submitted multiple documents for verification.  The loan was to be availed for the purchase of two flats at K R Puram, Bengaluru. As a standard procedure, he submitted all the necessary documents and a Saving Bank account was opened subsequently by the Branch. On the basis of the initial PAN & Aadhaar documents submitted by him, Bank generated CIBIL Reports which reflected a satisfactory score. The Bank however suspected something amiss on noticing multiple enquires from other financial institutions and sought additional ID proof. The CIBIL report generated on new ID proof revealed several loans availed from other banks. The report also disclosed that the person is holding another PAN Card on which he has already taken three housing loans from other banks and all those housing loan accounts have been classified as NPAs. On further enquiry, it also came to light that the person had submitted fabricated account statement, salary slips and Employer ID Cards. In accordance to the instructions of the Higher Office, the branch requested assistance from the nearby police station to look into the matter. Accordingly, the Branch informed the parties to visit the bank on 20.06.2020 and was arrested by the Police on their visit thereby averting the fraud.-globalprimenews

🍒 After CERT-In, now RBI warns consumers of phishing scams :  Two days after CERT-In’s warnings over possible rise of phishing and consumer fraud attacks on digital payment channels, India’s banking regulator has issued a similar warning to the general public to ensure safety while transacting online. "In recent days there are reports of users falling prey to fraudsters who are luring them on fictitious pretexts, such as alleged completion of KYC requirements, impersonating identities and websites of banks and payment system operators, etc,” the central bank said in a statement.RBI has thereby asked consumers to not share OTP, PIN to and other secure financial details in person or through any public networks. Furthermore, consumers have also been asked not to carry these details in the physical form as well in their wallets or pockets. “Safety and security of digital transactions are of paramount importance to their users,” RBI said. “The Reserve Bank has put in place many mechanisms to ensure the same by continuously and actively undertaking digital awareness campaigns.” - economic times

🍒 RBI asks lenders to submit analysis on COVID-19 impact :  The Reserve Bank of India has asked lenders to submit an analysis of the likely impact of Covid-19 and the loan moratorium on their books in what could be a pre-cursor to allowing a one-time restructuring, two people familiar with the development said. This would also involve building and reporting worst-case scenarios on asset quality and capital requirements, one person said. Lenders said there could be a one-time restructuring after the regulator studies the extent of potential damage.The RBI has suggested that banks look at various scenarios, ranging from mild to worst, as the regulator and the government prepare to report to the Supreme Court on how a likely waiver of interest on loans under moratorium could impact the banking system. “We received a communication from the regulator last week whereby we need to conduct stress tests on our books and inform them about the impact of the pandemic on various aspects like asset quality and provisions,” said a bank official. “We have already conducted stress tests on our books till the end of May, but the impact of the second moratorium will be known by end of June.” - economic times

🍒 Covid-19 impact: RBI asks banks to carry out detailed stress testing : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to carry out detailed stress tests due to the impact of Covid-19 on their books and put capital-raising plans with board approvals in place, if needed. This is the first major regulatory move by the central bank to ascertain the health of banks and take proactive measures to ring-fence them after the outbreak of the pandemic. The central bank in its communiqué to chief executive officers of banks on June 19 said stress tests would take into account three scenarios — baseline, medium, and severe stress — which will cover all key financial parameters pertaining to the quality of the book. If there is significant capital impairment, clear-cut-board approved capital-raising plans are to be in place. While “precautionary provisioning for Covid-19 has not been explicitly stated in the letter, it cannot be ruled out”, said a source. This may call for even more capital to be raised by banks, and the sums set aside for state-run banks for their recapitalisation in the Union Budget may need an immediate revisit. The central bank has not set a deadline for banks to conclude the stress-test exercise, but senior bankers opine that some were already looking at this, and will now fast-track it by September-end, when they will have a better picture of their books after the moratorium on the servicing of loans and a 180-day view on the performance of borrowers’ accounts. - Business Standard

🍒 RBI bars YES Bank from coupon payment on Upper Tier II bonds : The Reserve Bank of India has restrained private sector lender YES Bank to pay interest (coupon) on the Tier II bonds as its capital adequacy ratio was below regulatory requirements. The private lender had approached banking sector regulator RBI seeking approval to pay interest due as on June 29, 2020 for Upper Tier II Bonds. These Unsecured Non-Convertible Upper Tier II bonds carry coupon of 10.25 per cent.

Its overall capital adequacy ratio stood at 8.5 per cent at end of March 2020 with Common Equity tier I (CET I) of 6.3 per cent. Its stock was trading 1.8 per cent lower on BSE. The capital adequacy ratio is below the regulatory requirements. The bank informed exchanges that RBI has expressed its inability to accede to bank’s request for payment of Interest due, since it does not meet the minimum capital requirements currently. Therefore, the bank would be unable to pay Interest or coupon on the said Upper Tier II Bonds. - Busiess Standard

🍒 SBI mobilises 13,212 kg gold through Gold Monetisation Scheme : State Bank of India (SBI) has mobilised 13,212 kg of household and institutional gold through the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), according to the state-owned bank's annual report. It added that the country's largest lender collected as much as 3,973 kg of gold during 2019-20 under the GMS, a programme launched by the government to utilise gold lying idle with individuals as well as trusts. "During FY2020, (the) bank mobilised gold amounting to 3,973 kgs, bringing the cumulative mobilisation to 13,212 kgs," said SBI in the report. The government launched the GMS in November 2015 to mobilise idle gold held by households and institutions. The objective of the scheme was to facilitate use of idle gold for productive purposes, and also reduce the country's dependence on imports. - Moneycontrol.com

🍒 ICICI Bank raises Rs 3,090 cr via stake sale in life, general insurance businesses : India's second-largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has raised more than Rs 3,000 crore by divesting stake in its life as well as general insurance businesses in two separate deals. The stake sale in insurance businesses is in line with this intent, said the bank while announcing its results for the quarter ended March 2020 on May 9 this year, it had stated that it would look at further strengthening the balance sheet as opportunities arise.The stock picked up momentum in last one month, rising 29 percent especially after quarterly earnings scorecard and optimism over gradual re-opening of the economy. It was quoting at Rs 372.05, up 2.24 percent on the BSE at 10:25 hours IST. "....divested 2.15 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, representing 1.50 percent of its equity share capital at March 31, 2020, on the stock exchange for an approximate total consideration of Rs 840 crore," said the lender in its BSE filing. - moneycontrol.com

🍒 Karnataka Bank launches new loan product for small firms : Private sector lender Karnataka Bank on Monday launched KBL Micro Mitra to offer financial assistance of up to Rs 10 lakh to micro manufacturing and service enterprises either to meet their working capital needs for investment purposes. The facility comes with a simplified procedure and competitive rate of interest, the bank said in a press release. Bank's MD & CEO Mahabaleshwara MS, who launched the product, said: “Micro and small entrepreneurs play a vital role in the revival of the economy both in rural and urban India, besides creating huge job opportunities locally. As the economy is now in revival mode, timely credit assistance is crucial and I am sure ‘KBL Micro Mitra’ will be a true friend of the micro entrepreneurs. This facility is available across India through all the branches. The bank will also come out with the digital version of the product soon, the CEO said. - economic times

🍒 Standard Chartered appoints Gaurav Maheshwari as CFO - India :  Standard Chartered Bank (India) on Monday announced the appointment of Gaurav Maheshwari as its new Chief Financial Officer effective 22 June 2020. He has taken over from Subhradeep Mohanty, who was elevated as CFO, Africa & Middle East (AME) region. This would be Maheshwari’s second stint at the foreign lender where he had put in 17 years in various roles in the finance team. In his career spanning over 23 years, he has also worked with companies like Coca-Cola and Reuters. In this role, Maheshwari will report to Jean Fernandes, Regional CFO, Asean and South Asia and Zarin Daruwala, India, CEO.

🍒 Google Pay operational validity under High Court lens :  Google Pay is set to undergo a judicial examination of its operational validity as a third-party application provider (TPAP) in India’s burgeoning digital payment ecosystem. A two-member bench of the Delhi High Court has ordered a “detailed hearing” on whether the payment platform operates as a TPAP, or a full-fledged payment system provider in which case it would be in violation of the Payment Systems Settlement Act 2007.The bench, headed by Chief Justice DN Patel, said this after the Reserve Bank of India argued on Friday that Google Pay functioned as a third-party service provider and hence didn’t figure on the list of authorised payment system providers. Representatives from the central bank were responding to a public interest litigation filed by Abhijit Mishra, an economist, last year contesting that the payment platform of the US-based Internet giant had violated the local law as it had no authorisation to function as a service provider. - economic times

🍒 Govt keeps off RBI's WMA for three consecutive week : The government's cash flows has improved in the past few weeks with probably due to it not spending on projects keeping it away from using higher Ways and Means Advances (WMA), a temporary short term borrowing plan. Last week was the third straight week that the government did not use the WMA The government refrained from availing WMA since the week ended May 29, for three straight weeks. This is significant considering that the economy has been struggling to pick up activity since the nation-wide lockdown following the COVID Pandemic since end March. The Reserve Bank, as a part of its monetary stimulus package, raised the WMA limit for April-September'21 period twice from Rs 1.2 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore." Essentially the case for WMA comes when there is a temporary liquidity issue in terms of income and expenditure" said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist Care Ratings." The government is not using WMA because it has been controlling expenditure. I don't think there has been any significant pick up in revenues". - economic time

🍒 ICICI Bank sells 1.5% stake in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance : Private sector lender ICICI Bank has sold a 1.5 per cent stake in its life insurance arm, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, for ?840 crore. “The bank has today divested 21,500,000 equity shares of face value of ?10 each of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited, representing 1.50 per cent of its equity share capital at March 31, 2020, on the stock exchange for an approximate total consideration of ?8.40 billion,” it said in a regulatory filing on Monday.Following this, the bank’s shareholding in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance stands at about 51.4 per cent. “While announcing its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, on May 9, ICICI Bank had stated that the bank would look at further strengthening the balance sheet as opportunities arise,” the lender said in the regulatory filing. - Business Line

🍒 Dhanlaxmi Bank posts ?65.78-crore net profit in FY20 : Thrissur-based Dhanlaxmi Bank recorded a net profit of ?65.78 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2020, compared to a net profit of ?11.67 crore in the previous financial year. This is the highest net profit the bank recorded since its inception in 1927. However, the net profit in Q4 was down at ?2.60 crore compared to ?21.28 crore in the corresponding period of the previous quarter due to Covid provisions. Under the general provisions of Covid-19 regulatory package, the bank had to make 5 per cent provisions on SMA accounts during March and another 5 per cent in June. However, the bank has provided 10 per cent in March itself and this has resulted in the decline in profit, said bank officials. The annual operating profit was ?161.97 crore against ?94.93 crore in the previous year, registering a growth of 70.62 per cent. The total business registered a growth of 2.69 per cent at ?17,703 crore from ?17,239 crore in the previous year. The total deposit registered a 2.45 per cent growth and advance 6.65 per cent during FY20. The retail deposits grown by 6.65 per cent.. - Business Line

🍒 Shriram Housing Finance raises ?250 crore : Shriram Housing Finance Ltd (SHFL), on Monday, said it has raised ?250 crore via five-year term loan from a public sector bank at 8.50 per cent. The company, in a statement, also said it has raised ?40 crore from lenders under the Targeted Long-Term Repo Operation (TLTRO) 2 facility at an annualised coupon of 8.55 per cent.With this, the company has raised over ?700 crore in the current calendar year, SHFL added.Ravi Subramanian, Managing Director & CEO, SHFL, said: “We are happy that the market has shown confidence in us even during such challenging times. “Besides the debt raised so far, we also have NCDs in the pipeline. This only strengthens our belief that there is sufficient liquidity available for well managed companies.” - Business Line

🍒 Fino Payments Bank aims to boost presence in north-eastern and southern markets : Fino Payments Bank is looking to increase its penetration in the eastern, north-eastern and southern markets, primarily through the merchant acquisition model. It is also looking to strengthen its presence in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where it has been witnessing a surge in demand following the reverse migration due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Plans are also afoot to roll out loan products in tie up with banks and lending institutions. The bank already offers gold loan to its customers in tie up with ICICI Bank. It is now exploring the possibility of rolling out merchant loan and personal loans. “Our strategy, going forward, is to go deeper into north-east and eastern region, and also markets such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka where our presence has not been too high. This apart, there has been a surge in demand for our services in markets such as Bihar and UP where migrants have moved back during this pandemic. We are trying to identify those pockets and move in that direction,” Shailesh Pandey, Chief Sales Officer, Fino Payments Bank, told BusinessLine. - Business Line

🍒 Fitch downgrades outlook for SBI, 8 other banks following India’s sovereign rating :  Fitch Ratings on Monday said it has revised the outlook to negative from stable of nine Indian banks, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, following lowering of India's sovereign rating outlook due to impact of coronavirus pandemic on the economy. The rating agency revised the outlook for Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM), SBI, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Baroda (New Zealand), Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank while affirming their ratings.At the same time, Fitch has affirmed IDBI Bank Ltd's (IDBI) rating, while maintaining the outlook at negative. "The rating actions follow Fitch's revision of the outlook on the 'BBB-' rating on India to negative from stable on June 18, 2020 due to the impact of the escalating coronavirus pandemic on India's economy," it said in a statement. - Live Mint

🍒 Fino Payments Banks expects to open 2.4 lakh new accounts in Q1 : Fino Payments Bank, on Monday, said it expects to end the first quarter of FY21 with 2.4 lakh new accounts and an overall customer base of 20 lakh. It has already opened more than 2 lakh full KYC CASA accounts from April to mid-June amid the pandemic.“The newly opened accounts will further help increase transactions and improve footfalls at Fino points,” it said in a statement.About 80 per cent of the new accounts are savings while 20 per cent are current accounts, it further said, adding that over 90 per cent of the accounts are from rural India, driven largely by the over 2.5 crore people who banked at Fino points during this period. “In addition to Fino’s own customer base, the bank’s network of over 4 lakh points provide services to over 2 crore banking customers every month,” it said. - Business Line

🍒 LIC Housing Finance likely to recover Rs 3,000 crore worth NPAs : LIC Housing Finance is likely to recover about Rs 3,000 crore from borrowers in the current financial year to improve asset quality, an uphill task in a year when the Indian economy is expected to contract. The target is to get back about 50 per cent of gross non-performing assets (GNPAs), Managing Director and Chief Executive Siddhartha Mohanty said.LIC HFC’s asset quality profile came under pressure with GNPAs rising to 2.86 per cent in March, from 1.54 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs also went up to 1.99 per cent, from 1.08 per cent. Its total outstanding portfolio stood at Rs 2.1 trillion in March, up from Rs 1.9 trillion last year. LIC HFC’s provisions for expected credit loss stood at Rs 2,612.39 crore as of March 31, as against Rs 1,659.48 crore a year ago. - Business Standard

🍒 IMGC to pay claims if lenders face delinquencies due to job losses, pay cuts for home-loan borrowers : India Mortgage Guarantee Company (IMGC) has braced itself to pay claims that may arise if lenders face delinquencies due to the pandemic-related job losses and pay cuts among borrowers of home loans guaranteed by it, said a top official.IMGC, which is registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), provides guarantee for the repayment of an outstanding housing loan and interest accrued thereon up to the guaranteed amount to a bank or a housing finance company (HFC)on the occurrence of a trigger event. “We are pretty much prepared to pay the claims because as per RBI guidelines we set aside capital the moment we issue a guarantee for a loan,” said Sovan Mandal, Chief Business Officer. - Business Line

🍒 IRDAI’s new Covid-19 cover likely to be priced at ?600-3,000 : In what could make treatment costs for Covid-19 more affordable, the IRDAI’s proposed standard health cover for the infection could have a premium anywhere between ?600 and ?3,000, depending on the sum insured. “The premium could start at ?600-1,400 per policy to about ?2,000-3,000,” said an executive with a public sector general insurer.Most health and general insurers are working out pricing for the proposed standard Covid-19 health cover, which will have a sum insured of ?50,000-5 lakh.“From July onwards, the new Covid cover product will be available. Pricing will be significantly lower than the normal product because it will be a single diseases cover. It is not meant to cover any other existing ailments,” said another executive with a private sector insurance company. - Business Line

🍒 DBS Bank logs Rs 111 cr profit in FY20 from India operations : Singapore-based DBS Bank on Monday reported nearly eight-fold jump in profit for 2019-20 from its India operations at Rs 111 crore. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 14.5 crore in 2018-19. The lender, whose network in India has now increased to 34 branches, reported 24 per cent growth in net revenues at Rs 1,444 crore during the last financial year and a fall in stressed assets.  DBS Bank India CEO Surojit Shome said the performance should be seen as being demonstrative of the bank’s focus and commitment to India. Despite the prevailing headwinds, we are confident that we will continue to capitalise on growth opportunities, Shome said. Gross non-performing assets ratio reduced to 2.60 per cent as of March 31, 2020 as against 3.13 per cent by the year-ago same period. - Moneycontrol.com

🍒 PNB shares up 2% on asset quality improvement; Credit Suisse retains underperform rating : Punjab National Bank (PNB) share price was up over 2 percent intraday on June 22 despite the PSU bank reporting fall in its standalone net loss at Rs 697.20 crore in the quarter ended March 2020, compared to Rs 4,749.64 crore of loss in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year. The stock price has gained 32 percent in the last 1 month and was quoting at Rs 35.25, up Rs 0.80, or 2.32 percent at 10:34 hours. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 36.00 and an intraday low of Rs 35.05.  It was also one of the most active stocks on NSE in terms of volumes with 3,23,32,561 shares being traded at 10:42 hours. - Moneycontrol.com

🍒 PNB struggles to shake off a painful past; COVID-19 may exacerbate pain : The first major takeaway from the Punjab National Bank (PNB) Q4 numbers is that the bank is struggling hard to address its bad loan situation. The gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) is now down at 14.21 percent for the quarter compared to 15.50 percent in the year on year period. The net NPA also stands reduced at 5.78 percent as against 7.18 percent as on December, 2019. The provision coverage ratio (PCR), a critical efficiency parameter, improved to 77.79 percent from 74.50 percent. The high provisions, however, have caused another quarter of losses, an inevitable pain the lender couldn't have avoided. - Moneycontrol.com

🍒 EPFO adds 1.39 crore subscribers in last two financial years : Retirement fund body added 1.39 crore new subscribers in last two financial years, the Ministry of Labour & Employment said on Monday. "Recently published provisional payroll data by the EPFO highlights the ever growing trend of increasing subscriber base for EPFO, since the collation of payroll data from September 2017," the ministry said in a statement.The payroll data presents the consolidated annual figures for 2018-19 and 2019-20. Net addition to subscriber base rose from 61.12 lakh added in 2018-19 to 78.58 lakh in 2019-20, registering a 28 per cent growth, it added. - moneycontrol.com

🍒 Dhanlaxmi Bank Q4 profit falls over 90% at Rs 3 crore : Dhanlaxmi Bank on Monday reported 90.5 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 2.60 crore for March quarter 2019-20 due to higher provisions for bad loans and contingencies. The bank had posted a profit of Rs 27.61 crore in January-March period of the preceding financial year. Income during the quarter under review rose to Rs 280.98 crore from Rs 268.97 crore in the year-ago same period, the bank said in a regulatory filing.- moneycontrol.com

🍒 Shriram Housing Finance raises Rs 290 crore debt from banks : Shriram Housing Finance Ltd (SHFL) on Monday said it has raised long-term debt of Rs 290 crore from banks. The mortgage financier raised Rs 250 crore long-term loan from a state-run bank at 8.50 per cent, repayable in 5 years, and also raised Rs 40 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) targeted long-term repo operations (TLTRO 2) at an annualised coupon of 8.55 per cent, a release said. "Besides the debt raised so far, we also have NCDs in the pipeline. This only strengthens our belief that there is sufficient liquidity available for well-managed companies," SHFL Managing Director and CEO Ravi Subramanian said in the release.  - Moneycontrol.com

🍒 UTI AMC gets SEBI's go ahead to launch IPO  : UTI Asset Management Company (AMC) has received markets regulator Sebi's go ahead to raise a little over Rs 3,000 crore through its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO of the country's largest asset management company in terms of total assets under management (AUM) comprises sale of 3,89,87,081 equity shares by existing shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). State Bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Bank of Baroda are offering to sell 1,04,59,949 shares each, while Punjab National Bank (PNB) and T Rowe Price International are planning to offload 38,03,617 shares each. The public offer is expected to raise a little over Rs 3,000 crore, market sources said. - moneycontrol.com

🍒 Gold hits new high of Rs 48,130 per 10 gram, silver up Rs 730 per kg : Gold prices extended gains for the fourth consecutive day to hit a new lifetime high of Rs 48,130 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market on June 22, tracking global cues. The metal continued the upside on heightened risk sentiments with a record rise in coronavirus cases across the world. The rate of 10 gram 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 44,087 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 48,130 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 36,098 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices jumped Rs 730 to Rs 48,825 per kg from its closing on June 19. 

🍒 Rupee surges 17 paise to end at 76.03 against US dollar : he rupee on Monday appreciated 17 paise to close at 76.03 (provisional) against the US dollar in line with positive equity markets amid sustained foreign fund inflows. Besides, a weak US dollar against major global currencies also aided the rupee’s upward movement, forex dealers said.

🍒  Sensex gains 170 points, Nifty ends around 10,300 : The benchmark indices started the session on a high note and held on to the gains over the first half. The indices were in the positive territory throughout. The broader benchmark indice NSE Nifty was at 10,311.20, up 66.80 points or 0.65 per cent. The BSE Sensex closed at 34,911.32, up 179.59 points or 0.52 per cent.In the sectoral indices, Bank, Pharma and Metal did well, meanwhile IT ended in red. Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance and Coal India were the top gainers. Whereas, Wipro, GAIL, and ONGC were the top laggards.

🍒 Shares of Central Bank of India in Stock Market : 89% of moneycontrol users recommend buying Central Bank of India. In Bse, stocks quoted at Rs.16.81 against Prev Close Rs.16.53. In NSE, shares traded at Rs.16.80 against Prev Close Rs.16.55..

… Have a Good day.