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☕๐ *30.04.2025* - *Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance* ๐
๐ Union Bank recruits 1,500 local bank officers to boost regional outreach : Union Bank of India has recruited 1,500 local bank officers across various States to deepen its engagement with local communities and drive business growth. This initiative aims to leverage the officers’ proficiency in regional languages to deliver superior customer experiences, according to a statement by the public sector bank. “The newly recruited local bank officers will play a pivotal role in strengthening customer relationships, managing branch operations effectively, and promoting the bank’s products and services by utilising their familiarity with local languages and cultures. Their presence is expected to bridge communication gaps, thereby facilitating smoother and more personalised banking experiences for customers,” the bank said. - Business Line.
๐ Axis Bank exploring minority stake sale in Axis Finance, MD says : Private sector lender Axis Bank is considering selling a minority stake in its non-bank arm Axis Finance to fuel the latter’s growth ambitions and to comply with regulatory guidelines, MD & CEO Amitabh Chaudhry told businessline in an exclusive interaction. “...Yes, there is a capital raising plan which is on at this stage. Right now, the intention is to raise enough capital to meet AFL’s (Axis Finance’s) growth requirements. That does not require us to dilute a major stake. We will continue to own a majority stake,” the MD said. - Business Line.
๐ IndusInd Bank MD, CEO Sumant Kathpalia resigns; takes moral responsibility for derivatives portfolio mishap : Taking the moral responsibility for discrepancies found in IndusInd Bank’s derivative portfolio, the lender’s MD, CEO Sumant Kathpalia has resigned from his position with immediate effect. “I wish to submit my resignation from the services of the Bank in relation to the ongoing Derivatives discussion. I undertake moral responsibility, given the various acts of commission/ omission that have been brought to my notice,” Kathpalia said in his resignation letter to the board of directors. “I would request that my resignation be taken on record at close of working hours today. I would like to thank the Regulators, Board, my Management Team members and staff for the support I got during my tenure of 5 years as the CEO,” he said. - Business Line.
๐ NPCI seeks audit to curtail UPI transaction status checks by banks after repeated outages : The National Payments Corporation of India has sought a third party audit to limit UPI transaction status checks following a series of outages. Banks have also been asked to immediately ensure that measures to limit the ‘‘check transaction’ API usage has been implemented. Meanwhile Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also issued a call for collective action on Monday — in order to achieve one billion daily transactions within three years. “Banks shall audit their systems by CERT-in empanelled auditor on an immediate basis, to review the API usage and existing systems behaviour, and annually hereafter,” NPCI said in a circular accessed by Moneycontrol. - financial express
๐ IndusInd Bank to expedite search for a new CEO : With the abrupt resignation of IndusInd Bank CEO Sumant Kathpalia, the bank's board is expected to accelerate its search for a new chief executive. Several high-profile executives from across the banking sector are being considered, including Kaizad Bharucha from HDFC Bank, Sandeep Batra and Anup Bagchi from ICICI Bank, and Pralay Mondal of CSB Bank. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may also look at senior officials from the State Bank of India (SBI) to step into the role. ET had reported in March the IndusInd board has hired global executive search firm Egon Zehnder to assist in identifying candidates for both the CEO and deputy CEO roles. The firm is helping shortlist names and the bank plans to submit a list of three potential candidates to RBI once internal evaluations are complete. - economic times
๐ PNB Housing Finance to resume project financing soon: MD : Mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance is all set to resume project financing this quarter after a gap of three years, with the current strength in asset quality providing a platform to renew tryst with developers' segment that troubled it in the past. Managing director Girish Kousgi told ET that a few loans to builders in a range of Rs 100-150 crore are already in the pipeline. "We may start project financing this quarter. We have set a target of achieving a portfolio of Rs 1,500 crore by the end of the fiscal," Kousgi said over a telephonic interaction. The lender's asset quality improved to 1.08% at the end of FY25 as compared with 1.5% a year back. It aims to bring down gross NPA below 1% this year. It had elevated gross NPA at 7.6% at the end of FY22, about 60% on account of the corporate loan book. It had a corporate loan book of Rs 14,614 crore at the end of FY20 and thereon it started reducing the exposure. - economic times.
๐ Jana Small Finance Bank to apply for universal bank license in May : Jana Small Finance Bank has ticked all the boxes to become eligible to seek a universal banking license, making it the third lender in this space to earn this tag. The bank would submit the application in May, Jana managing director Ajay Kanwal told ET. "It's a defining year for us. We have created a more stable and diversified book amid the ongoing microfinance crisis. We have raised the share of the secured portfolio to 70% now from 60% a year back," Kanwal said. The bank made an accelerated provision of Rs 305 crore in this fiscal against Rs 73 crore in the preceding one, besides regulatory provision of Rs 448 crore as against Rs 606 crore, to bring down the net non-performing assets ratio below 1%, which is one of the key eligibility criteria for become eligible to apply for universal bank licence. Its net NPA stood at 0.94% at the end of FY25 as compared with 0.56% in the preceding fiscal. Its gross NPA ratio stood at 2.71% against 2.11%, below the 3% threshold as per the eligibility criteria.- economic times.
๐ Tariff war puts Rs 21,800 cr in MSME, mid-corporate loans at risk: Report : Loans worth Rs 21,800 crore borrowed by high-risk MSMEs and mid-corporates could be at risk as operating conditions continue to worsen due to the escalating tariff war, according to domestic rating agency India Ratings. The agency predicts that MSMEs will face growing vulnerability, particularly those in sectors like chemicals, textiles, steel, and industrial machinery, which are negatively impacted by the ongoing trade tensions. A study of 1,898 listed and unlisted MSMEs, along with 1,055 mid-sized corporations, indicates that mid-corporates have a stronger financial buffer against unexpected financial shocks. India Ratings attributes this resilience to their better financial metrics compared to MSMEs. Of the 1,898 MSMEs, 6% are classified as high-risk, with an interest coverage ratio of less than 1.1 times and leverage exceeding 5 times. These MSMEs have total outstanding debt of around Rs 8,100 crore, accounting for 16% of the total debt held by the MSMEs tracked by India Ratings. - economic times.
๐ RBI instructs all banks, financial companies, and other regulated entities to use PRAVAAH portal from 1st May : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given clear instructions that from May 1, 2025, all banks, financial companies, and other regulated entities must use the PRAVAAH portal to submit any applications for authorisations, licenses, and approvals. In an official statement released on Monday, the RBI said, "With effect from May 01, 2025, Regulated Entities are advised to use PRAVAAH for submitting applications for regulatory authorisations, licenses, approvals to the Reserve Bank using the application forms already available in the portal." It also added, "All Regulated Entities are advised to adhere to the above instructions. Instructions related to accessing the portal, submission and tracking of applications, etc., are available on the portal itself." - economic times.
๐ Sundaram Finance to revise deposit interest rates from May 1 : Sundaram Finance Ltd will revise its deposit interest rates effective May 1, 2025, following the recent revision of the RBI’s repo rate. According to a company statement, the revised interest rates for senior citizens will be 7.70 per cent for 12 months and 8.00 per cent for 24 and 36 months. For other depositors, the rates will be 7.20 per cent for 12 months and 7.50 per cent for 24 and 36 months. - Business Line.
๐ TVS Credit posts ₹767 crore PAT in FY25, Q4 net up 53% at ₹226 crore : TVS Credit Services Ltd has reported its highest-ever Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₹767 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2025, recording a 34 per cent increase over the previous year. Total income for the fiscal stood at ₹6,630 crore, registering a 14 per cent growth over FY24. Assets Under Management (AUM) rose modestly to ₹26,647 crore, representing a 3 per cent increase, according to a company statement. In Q4 FY25, TVS Credit posted a net profit of ₹226 crore, a substantial 53 per cent jump from Q4 FY24. Total income during the quarter reached ₹1,674 crore, up 10 per cent from the same period last year. - Business Line.
๐ IRFC eyes project refinancing, metro & rapid rail as growth drivers in bid to chase ‘high margin’ biz : Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) is moving beyond funding pure-play railway projects, its traditional role where it supported rolling stock manufacturing and rail line laying. The company is “diversifying” into funding PPP rail projects, metro railway, and rapid rail projects, high margin offerings, apart from tapping into refinancing of existing loans for ongoing railway projects, its Chairman and Managing Director, Manoj Kumar Dubey, said. “These (new) businesses have a 2x–3x margin and are attractive for us,” he said during a post result investor conference call. The company will, however, funding projects, “within the railways ecosystem”, as permitted by its Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Articles of Association (AoA). - Business Line.
๐ Coupon rate on new 10-year G-Sec likely to be at about 6.30% : With the outstanding issuance of the benchmark 10-year Government Security (G-Sec) reaching ₹1.84 lakh crore, the RBI has decided to introduce a new G-Sec through an auction it will conduct on May 2. The coupon rate on this paper is likely to come in around 6.30 per cent, according to market experts. The new 10-year G-Sec, which will mature on May 2, 2035, will become the new benchmark paper after a few auctions. The government will be raising ₹30,000 crore via the new GS 2035 at the upcoming weekly auction on Friday. The current 10-year benchmark (6.79 per cent GS 2034) was introduced on October 7, 2024 when the outstanding in the previous 10-year G-Sec (introduced on April 7, 2024) reached ₹1.80 lakh crore.- Business Line.
๐ Rupee falls 2 paise to close at 85.25 against US dollar : The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day 2 paise lower at 85.25 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, on recovery in the US dollar and geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.06 and moved between the intra-day high of 84.96 and the low of 85.40 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 85.25 (provisional), registering a fall of 2 paise over its previous closing level. On Monday, the rupee appreciated 18 paise to close at 85.23 against the US dollar. - Business Line.
๐ Top gainers & losers today, 29 Apr: Reliance, TechM, Eternal lead gains; Sunpharma, Ultracemco, Powergrid drag : Share prices of Reliance Industries Ltd., Tech Mahindra Ltd., Eternal Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. emerged as the top gainers on Tuesday. Among the laggards were shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., UltraTech Cement Ltd., Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd., NTPC Ltd., and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. The BSE Sensex ended marginally higher amid range-bound trading. The BSE Sensex closed 0.09 per cent or 70.01 points higher at 80,288.38, while the NSE Nifty gained 0.03 per cent or 7.45 points to close at 24,335.95. - Business Line.
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