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☕ 09.11.2020 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Fresh investment demand from corporates is some time away, says SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara : Although corporates have started utilising their working Capital limits on the back of a very clear trend for demand revival in the economy, any fresh investment demand from corporates is some time away, State Bank of India chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said on Saturday. “My sense is from the next financial year we (economy) will be nearer to the normal,” Khara said addressing the annual general meeting of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. He said in October all the high-frequency indicators were portraying a very positive scenario. “I think partly it is also attributed to the fact that there is a lot of Covid fatigue. Everybody would like to get into the mainstream economic activity as soon as possible. That is also one of the reasons for the kind of enthusiasm seen in the economy. Earlier, we have felt that it is pent up demand, which is there from the consumers. But, I think now the way indicators are showing, there is a very clear trend for the demands,” the SBI chief said through video-conferencing.He said in October all the high-frequency indicators were portraying a very positive scenario. “I think partly it is also attributed to the fact that there is a lot of Covid fatigue. Everybody would like to get into the mainstream economic activity as soon as possible. That is also one of the reasons for the kind of enthusiasm seen in the economy. Earlier, we have felt that it is pent up demand, which is there from the consumers. But, I think now the way indicators are showing, there is a very clear trend for the demands,” the SBI chief said through video-conferencing. - financial express

🍒 Indian Overseas Bank seeks about Rs 1,000 cr capital support from government : Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has sought a capital support of about Rs 1,000 Crore from the government in order to create buffer for any exigency, a top official of the bank said. The state-owned lender, which has posted profit for the last three consecutive quarters, expects to continue the trend in the remaining part of the current fiscal year with increased focus on recovery and business pick up.For September quarter, the bank posted a profit of Rs 148 crore as compared to a net loss of Rs 2,254 crore in the same period a year ago. Net profit in the quarter grew 22.3 per cent from Rs 121 crore in April-June."We expect the trend to continue and book profit quarter after quarter aided by prospects of better recovery. There will be no question of going back," IOB Managing Director P P Sengupta told PTI.Asked about capital needs, he said, "we want our profit to strengthen our capital. That is our internal aim and we are marching towards that goal. As a prudent measure, we have sought some capital support, let us see how much we get. We want to keep capital as buffer for any exigency or contingency." - Economic Times

🍒 Lakshmi Vilas Bank makes its stance clear to Clix group on Religare deposit case :  Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reached out to the Clix Group with “all the documents” on its contingent liability related to Religare Finvest deposits, instruments the bank had set off against unpaid loans given to private firms of the erstwhile Religare promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh. Clix wanted Lakshi Vilas to make full provisions against the liability amounting to Rs 794 crore ahead of the proposed merger. The bank holds a contingent provision of Rs 200 crore, which is not included in tier I/tier II capital calculations. Hence, Clix wanted it to provide the balance Rs 594 crore. “We have submitted all the documents justifying our stance as to why making full provision is not necessary. We are the rightful owner of the money,” a senior bank official told ET. The bank has taken legal opinion on the matter and believes the appropriation is lawful and tenable, requiring no further provisions. - economic times

🍒 Less than half of ₹8,000-crore Covid claims filed so far have been settled : Seventy-seven year old Asesh Prasad Ghosh died after a three-day battle with Covid at one of the premier city-based private hospitals. His total bill for three days added up to nearly ₹3 lakh, with the ICU room charges and ventilator alone costing his family a whopping ₹88,000 a day. Luckily, he was under his son’s corporate health insurance cover and got back nearly 90 per cent of the total claims. But having an insurance policy may not be enough to ensure that you get fully covered, and there have been instances where patients have received only 50-70 per cent of their claims. Insurance companies on their part have clarified that they would only be able to honour claims to the extent that they are “reasonable and customary”, indicating that they may not be able to honour claims that are “unreasonable” arising primarily due to overbilling by hospitals. - Business Line

🍒 Closely monitoring inventory, asking builders to start selling: PNB Housing : With economic activity gradually improving post lockdown, PNB Housing Finance is closely monitoring the inventory levels of builders and asking them to start selling as demand for home loans is nearly getting back to normal, its MD and CEO Hardayal Prasad said. "Economic activity is still at a low ebb, but it has started picking up. The economic activity in certain areas is obviously returning back to pre-Covid days, I would say. When we talk to the builders and our sales team and people who are on the ground, who go and talk to the consumers and prospective borrowers, there are green shoots that we are seeing everywhere," Prasad told PTI in an interview. "The kind of enquiries that we used to get at one point of time, we are already almost at about 80-85 per cent of the pre-Covid level," he added. - Business Standard

🍒 Early-stage VC firm Inflexor aims to close Rs 500-crore fund by March : Early-stage venture capital firm Inflexor Ventures aims to close its Rs 500-crore fund by March next year, and the proceeds will be invested in about 25 companies over the next few years, a top executive said. Inflexor Technology Fund, which was set up by the founders of the erstwhile Parampara Fund, had made the first close of the Rs 500 crore fund in August this year, at Rs 230 crore.Speaking to PTI, Inflexor Ventures Managing Partner Venkat Vallabhaneni said the latest fund is focussed on technologies that are making a deep impact on the society. "Mostly, we invest in early-stage companies that are making some revenue and have customers. Generally, we enter with a Rs 5-7 crore cheque and after that we stay with the company through their growth," he said adding that there is a follow-on funding of up to Rs 15-20 crore based on performance, growth and capital requirements. - - Business Standard'

🍒 M-cap of nine of top-10 most valued firms zooms over Rs 2.30 lakh crore : The combined market valuation of nine of the top-10 most valued companies zoomed by Rs 2,30,219.82 crore last week, with HDFC twins leading the pack. During the last week, Sensex soared 2,278.99 points or 5.75 per cent.Barring Reliance Industries Ltd, the country''s most valued firm, all nine companies witnessed rise in their market valuation for the trading week closed on Friday. The market capitalisation of HDFC Bank jumped by Rs 68,430.18 crore to Rs 7,19,948.29 crore, emerging as the biggest gainer among the most valued companies. - financial express

🍒 CII writes to finance ministry, suggests ECLGS scheme for stressed sectors : The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has written to the finance ministry, urging to explore an Emergency Loan Credit Guarantee Scheme to support the stressed sectors and argued that prolonged strain on employment-intensive sectors could impede economic recovery. The industry chamber on Sunday said it has recommended this intervention to assist the stressed segments, primarily in the service sectors like hospitality, tourism aviation and retail, as this would not have any impact on the fiscal deficit this year but will provide the much needed liquidity to these sectors which employ a large number of people. "CII appreciates the revenue constraints faced by the government and its impact on the widening fiscal deficit. This intervention, similar to what has been done for the MSMEs will be a win-win for all," Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General CII, said. - economic times.

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