Banking and Financial Awareness for October 24, 2021

 *Financial News Bulletin Dt. 24th October , 2021*

The RBI decided to extend Basel-III Capital framework to All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) such as EXIM Bank, the NABARD, National Housing Bank (NHB) and the SIDBI. Basel-III standards mainly seek to raise the quality and level of capital to ensure that financial entities are better able to absorb losses on both a going concern and a gone concern basis.

-Business Line

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank needs to ensure that the nascent revival of economic activity shows signs of durability and sustainability. At the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, held between October 6 and 8, 2021, Das referred to an ever evolving and dynamic environment, with the outlook overcast by several uncertainties including the fact that the pandemic is far from over. “At this critical juncture, our actions have to be gradual, calibrated, well-timed and well-telegraphed to avoid any undue surprises,” the Governor said.

-Business Line

ICICI Bank reported a 30% jump in its standalone net profit for the second quarter of the fiscal with robust growth in net interest income and lower provisions. The bank’s net profit was ₹5,510.95 crore for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 as against ₹4,251.33 crore in the same period last fiscal.

-Business Line

Fintech platform Razorpay has announced a new tokenisation solution for businesses in India to enable their end-customers to continue experiencing the convenience of saved card transactions, now with added security and in compliance with RBI guidelines. The solution termed ‘Razorpay TokenHQ’ is a multi- network Card- on-File (CoF) Tokenisation solution that will work across all major card networks including Mastercard, RuPay, and Visa.

-Business Line

The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.492 billion to reach $641.008 billion in the week ended October 15, RBI data showed. In the previous week ended October 8, the reserves had increased by $2.039 billion to $639.516 billion. The reserves had touched a lifetime high of $642.453 billion in the week ended Sep 3, 2021.

-Business Standard

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the fourth consecutive day  today by 35 paise per litre, pushing the total increase in rates on petrol to ₹36 per litre and on diesel to ₹26.58 since early May 2020 when taxes on the two fuels were raised to record levels. Petrol in Delhi now costs ₹107.24 a litre and diesel comes for ₹95.97, according to a price notification of State-owned fuel retailers.

-Business Line

Banking and Financial Awareness for October 23, 2021

 23.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 Bank of India opens first-ever branch in Ladakh : Bank of India on Friday extended its operations to the Union Territory of Ladakh by opening its first-ever branch here with its top official asserting that the bank is fully committed to extending its banking services to the people living in far-flung areas of the country. This was the 5,086th branch opened by a bank in the country and abroad, and is fully computerised and digitised with a facility of E-Gallery to provide 24x7 banking to the residents of Leh, a spokesperson of the Bank of India (BOI) said. He said BOI Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer A K Das opened the branch in the presence of Field General Manager A K Jain, Zonal Manager Vasudev, Branch Manager Sangeeta and various local dignitaries and customers. "The bank is fully committed to extending its banking services to the people living in the far-flung areas of the country. The opening of a branch here is an important step towards this goal," Das said.- Economic Times

🍒 Bank of Maharashtra Q2 net up 103% to Rs 264 cr on robust interest, income : Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) on Thursday reported an over two-fold jump in net profit on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in the quarter ended September 2021 (Q2FY22), helped by robust interest and fee income. The state-owned bank’s net profit rose 102.7 per cent YoY to Rs 264 crore from Rs 130 crore, a regulatory filing said. Its net interest income (NII) grew 33.84 per cent YoY to Rs 1,500 crore in Q2. The non-interest income was up 22.61 per cent to Rs 493 crore, which includes recoveries worth Rs 260 crore from exposure to DHFL. The bank’s deposits increased 14.47 per cent to Rs 1.81 trillion and gross advances grew 11.44 per cent to Rs 1.15 trillion on a YoY basis. - Economic Times

🍒 Federal Bank Q2 net profit up 49.6% : Federal Bank reported a 49.6 per cent jump in its standalone net profit at ₹460.26 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal from ₹307.62 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.  This was aided by higher net interest income and lower provisions. For the quarter-ended September 30, 2021, Federal Bank reported a net interest income growth of 7.2 per cent to ₹1,479.42 crore versus ₹1,379.85 crore a year ago. Other income marginally fell by 1 per cent on an annual basis to ₹444.46 crore in the second quarter of 2021-22. Net interest margin stood at 3.2 per cent as on September 30, 2021. - Business Line

🍒 South Indian Bank posts net loss of ₹187.06 crore in second quarter of FY22 : Thrissur-based South Indian Bank posted a net loss of ₹187.06 crore in the second quarter of FY22 against a net a profit of ₹65.09 crore during the corresponding period of FY21.  The operating profit stood at ₹111.91 crore as against ₹390.94 core for Q2FY21. As per the RBI direction, provision for depreciation on investments amounting to ₹175.56 crore for Q2FY22 has been shown under “other income” in the profit and loss account, which was originally classified under “provisions and contingencies. Further, amounts recovered from written-off accounts were reclassified under “provisions and contingencies” against previous year classification under “other income”. Excluding these amendments, operating profit would have been ₹346 crore, a press statement said. - Business Line.

🍒 YES Bank posts 74% jump in Q2 net profit : Private sector lender YES Bank’s standalone net profit surged by 74.3 per cent to ₹225.5 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal led by a sharp jump in non interest income and lower provisions.  The bank’s standalone net profit was ₹129.37 crore in the second quarter of last fiscal. For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, YES Bank however, reported a 23.4 per cent drop in its net interest income to ₹1,512 crore as against ₹1,973 crore a year ago. Net interest margin was at 2.2 per cent. - Business Line

🍒 Federal Bank opens 300,000 accounts with neo-bank partners : Federal Bank said on October 22 that it has opened more than 300,000 accounts with neo-banking partners. The bank has tied up with three neo-banking platforms; Jupiter, Fi & DGV. Federal Bank’s MD & CEO Shyam Srinivasan in a media call said investment focus around digital and fintech partnerships is showing results, and some of these fintech partnerships have led to opening up of over 300,000 bank accounts with neo-banking platforms. On the user-behaviour and cross-sell opportunity, Srinivasan said, “This is maybe too early to answer but conceptually this is what everybody is asking. It’s been three-four months only and we will have to wait and see how the seasoning happens.” - Moneycontrol.

🍒 KVGB disburses ₹44.28 cr loan at outreach programme : The Dharwad region of Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) disbursed loans to the tune of ₹44.28 crore to nearly 725 beneficiaries under various heads at the customer outreach initiative organised under the aegis of state-level bankers’ committee (SLBC), according to P Gopi Krishna, Chairman of KVGB. He said the customers outreach initiative was organised on Thursday to boost credit in retail, agriculture and MSME sectors. - Business Line

🍒 HDFC Life Insurance Q2 net profit down 16% : HDFC Life Insurance registered a 15.9 per cent drop in its net profit to ₹274.16 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal as against ₹326.09 crore in the same period last fiscal. “Our profit after tax stands at ₹577 crore for the first half of 2021-22, which is 26 per cent lower than the first half of 2020-21, on the back of higher claims reserving warranted by the second wave of the pandemic,” said Vibha Padalkar, Managing Director and CEO, HDFC Life Insurance. - Business Line

🍒 RBI proposes stricter capital norms for Exim Bank, Nabard, NHB and Sidbi : The Reserve Bank of India has proposed minimum 11.5% capital for the four all India financial institutions (AIFI) in line with Basel III framework to raise their resilience in periods of stress. The stricter capital norms would be applicable to Exim Bank, National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development, National Housing Bank and Small Industries Development Bank of India from the next fiscal. RBI said that these institutions should have minimum total capital at 9% from April 1 2022 along with minimum capital buffer at 2.5%. Minimum common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital would be 5.5% while minimum tier 1 capital requirement proposed at 7%. - Economic Times

🍒 LIC Housing Finance reports 69 per cent y-o-y decline in Q2 net profit at ₹248 crore : LIC Housing Finance (LIC HFL) reported a 69 per cent year-on-year (yoy) decline in second quarter net profit at ₹248 crore against ₹791 crore in the year-ago quarter due to increase in provisions on account of implementation of resolution plans, especially in the case of corporate entities. The housing finance company upped the provisions by ₹424.49 crore during the quarter in respect of 113 corporate entities. It had an exposure aggregating ₹4,629.46 crore to them before implementation of the resolution plans. - Business Line

🍒 RBI needs to ensure nascent revival of economic activity shows signs of durability: Governor Shaktikanta Das : Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank needs to ensure that the nascent revival of economic activity shows signs of durability and sustainability. At the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, held between October 6 and 8, 2021, Das referred to an ever evolving and dynamic environment, with the outlook overcast by several uncertainties including the fact that the pandemic is far from over. “At this critical juncture, our actions have to be gradual, calibrated, well-timed and well-telegraphed to avoid any undue surprises,” the Governor said. - Business Line

🍒 CrossTower offers ₹5,000 credit to Indian users to learn crypto trading ; CrossTower on Friday announced a unique feature by offering free credit of ₹5,000 to each Indian user's wallet for trading on cryptocurrency on its platform. “Due to cryptocurrencies' volatility, many users are still wary about investing in the crypto market,” it said in a statement, adding that CrossTower launched this feature to allow Indian users to learn crypto trading comfortably without investing a single rupee. - Business Line

🍒 Failure of any large NBFC may translate into a risk to its lenders: RBI Dy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao : The reputation of the non-banking financial sector has been dented in recent times by failure of certain entities due to idiosyncratic factors, said Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao.  The challenge, therefore, is to restore trust in the sector by ensuring that few entities or activities do not generate vulnerabilities which go undetected and create shocks and give rise to systemic risk through their interlinkages with the financial system. “Forestalling and where necessary, decisively resolving such episodes becomes a key focus of our regulatory and supervisory efforts,”Rao said at the CII NBFC Summit. - Business Line

🍒 Protection of customer interest non-negotiable: RBI Deputy Governor to NBFCs : Emphasising on the need to create a culture of responsible governance in the NBFC sector, RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao on Friday urged shadow banking players to give utmost importance to protection of customers as it is “non-negotiable”. Recalling incidents of the coercive recovery practice by some of the players, the Deputy Governor said, such developments spurred by purely commercial considerations have dented the credibility of the whole system which flourishes and thrives on trust. - Financial Express

🍒 Rajneesh Karnatak takes over as Union Bank of India Executive Director : State-run Union Bank of India on October 22 announced the appointment of Rajneesh Karnatak as Executive Director. The former chief general manager of Punjab National Bank has over 27 years of experience in banking services. Karnatak also served as a general manager in the erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce, where he headed large corporate credit branches and verticals such as credit monitoring, digital banking and mid-corporate credit, the bank said in a release. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 AU Small Finance Bank launches QR Sound Box to boost digital payments : With an aim to enhance its reach in digital payments, leading small finance bank -- AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) -- on October 22 announced the the launch of a QR Code Sound Box. The Jaipur-headquartered SFB said that the QR Sound Box will help small merchants to run their operations smoothly without the hassle of reading SMS every time when a customer makes a payment. So far the bank has deployed over two lakh QR Codes. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Paytm gets SEBI's nod for Rs 16,600 crore IPO ; One97 Communications, the parent company of fintech platform Paytm, has received the nod from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its Rs 16,600 crore initial public offering (IPO), according to sources privy to the matter. While Rs 8,300 crore will be primary share sale, Rs 8,300 crore will be an offer for sale (OFS), where existing investors can sell their shares. The company is planning for a mid-November listing. It had filed its draft in July. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 PhonePe starts charging processing fees on phone recharges above Rs 50 : Digital payments leader PhonePe has started charging processing fees of Re 1 to Rs 2 on phone recharges over Rs 50. This is being done on an experimental basis with a small number of users, a company spokesperson said. Recharges between Rs 51 and Rs 100 have a Re 1 charge and those above Rs 100 will be charged Rs 2. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Rupee slips 3 paise to close at 74.90 : The rupee weakened by 3 paise to end at 74.90 against the US currency on Friday, weighed down by a muted trend in domestic equities and firm crude oil prices.  At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.82 and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.69 and a low of 74.94 against the US dollar in the day trade. The local unit finally settled at 74.90 a dollar, down 3 paise over its previous close.

🍒 Volatile Sensex, Nifty close weak, amid continued sell-off : The BSE Sensex closed at 60,821.62, down 101.88 points or 0.17 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 61,420.13 and a low of 60,551.15. The Nifty 50 closed at 18,114.90, down 63.20 points or 0.35 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 18,314.25 and a low of 18,034.35.  The broader market also continued to witness steeper correction. However, the volatility index further softened 2.71 per cent to close below 18 at 17.55. HDFC, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank and ONGC were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 today while Hindalco, Coal India, Tata Motors, ITC and Tata Consumer were the top laggards.

Banking and Financial Awareness for 21 October 2021

 

21.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 RBI may be looking at changing its reserve management strategy : RBI may be internally exploring shedding its traditional approach to foreign exchange reserve management amidst falling global yields adding to the fiscal costs of managing the reserves. A research paper by RBI economists suggests that the central bank should be more active in its forex assets management including looking beyond SDR currencies and active management of its gold reserves. Global interest rates which have been on declining over the last four decades in advanced economies, touched their historic lows in 2020. "This low yield environment has made it an arduous task for the reserve managers to generate reasonable returns on their foreign assets" said a paper by Ashish Saurabh and Nitin Madan of RBI's department of External Investments and Operations. - Economic Times

🍒 Gross NPAs of banks may decline to 6.9% by March 2022: Report : Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs of banks are likely to decline to 6.9-7 per cent and 2.2-2.3 per cent, respectively, by the end of March 2022 as compared to 7.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively, as of March 31, 2021, according to a report by rating agency ICRA. GNPAs and NNPAs stood at 8.6 per cent and three per cent, respectively, as on March 31, 2020. "The GNPAs and NNPAs are expected to further decline to 6.9-7 per cent and 2.2-2.3 per cent by March 2022, which will continue to be a relief for the bottomline (profit) of lenders," the credit rating agency said in the report. - Economic Times

🍒 YES Bank showing remarkable progress; to take to two more years to stabilise: Former SBI chief : Crisis-hit YES Bank has shown remarkable progress after its management was taken by the clutch of investors led by State Bank of India (SBI) last year and may take two more years to stabilise, said former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar. "The situation in which YES Bank was, you have to give three years time at least for it to stabilise... it has shown remarkable progress as the condition was very bad when SBI salvaged it," he told PTI while sharing a sneak peek of his memoir. In his book titled 'The Custodian of Trust', Kumar said that SBI was reluctant to play the lender of last resort role for the YES Bank but circumstances compelled it to rescue the country's fourth largest private sector lender. - Economic Times

🍒 Citi appoints Rajeev Mantri as CFO, Citi India and cluster finance head, south Asia : Citi has announced the appointment of Rajeev Mantri as chief financial officer (CFO), Citi India, and cluster finance head, south Asia, effective October 5, 2021, said a statement issued today. In this role, Mantri will be based in Mumbai, and responsible for the finance function, overseeing business planning and strategy, balance sheet management, financial controls, reporting and tax matters and will focus on delivering the financial plan, while working closely with key stakeholders on franchise-level matters in India. In addition, he will also provide governance and oversight on the finance function of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. - Economic Times

🍒 Banks flag concerns over US rules on consumer data, seek govt guidance : India's banks have approached the government with their concerns over the mandatory sharing of customer details with US authorities under that country's expanded National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which took effect on January 1. A government official confirmed that the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has sought government intervention and guidance on the issue. Banks have pointed out that the provision will raise costs and any compliance shortfall can have serious implications. - Economic Times

🍒 Insurers settle claims worth ₹20,859 cr : Insurers have so far settled claims worth ₹20,859 crore related to Covid-19. According to the latest data available with the industry, the settlement ratio stood at 88 per cent as on October 13, for ₹20,859.4 crore. Of the total claims of 25,96,072, 22,84,429 have been settled by insurers.  Insurers, however, are now seeing a dip in demand for Covid-specific policies. “We find that the demand for health cover is now shifting towards non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and critical illnesses,” Sanjay Datta, Head - Underwriting & Claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, told BusinessLine. - Business Line

🍒 L&T Finance Holdings’ Q2 net profit down 15.5% : L&T Finance Holdings reported a 15.5 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter of the fiscal. Its net profit stood at ₹224.03 crore for the quarter-ended September 30, 2021 as against ₹265.12 crore in the same period last fiscal. However, on a sequential basis, it posted a 26.5 per cent jump from its net profit of ₹177.02 crore in the June 2021 quarter. Its total revenue from operations increased by 10.5 per cent to ₹3,051.82 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal from ₹3,408.1 crore a year ago. However, other income declined by 18 per cent on a year-on-year basis to ₹82.64 crore in the July to September 2021 quarter. “In the second quarter of the fiscal, all L&T Finance Holdings businesses witnessed robust disbursement momentum,” it said in a statement on Wednesday. - Business Line

🍒 BNP Paribas keen to become ‘go to’ bank for India Inc’s overseas buys : BNP Paribas,which operates in over 70 countries, sees itself emerging as the “go to” investment bank for Indian corporates looking to expand their global footprint through the mergers & acquisitions (M&A) route, Aymar de Liedekerke Beaufort, Head of Territory, India, has said. “We do see several Indian corporates emerging as champions (at the global stage). We want to work with the top 100 Indian corporates and believe many of these will have specific acquisitions to do in Europe and this is where they may need a bank like us,” Beaufort told BusinessLine in an interview. - Business Line

🍒 NPCI launches NTS platform for card tokenisation : National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Wednesday announced the launch of NPCI Tokenization system (NTS) to support tokenisation of cards as an alternate to storing card details with merchants. “The NPCI Tokenization System (NTS) will support the tokenisation of RuPay cards to further enhance the safety of customers and provide a seamless shopping experience to consumers,” it said in a statement. With NTS, acquiring banks, aggregators, merchants and others can get themselves certified with NPCI and can play the role of Token Requestor to help save the token reference number (Token Reference On File or TROF) against all card numbers saved, it further said. “All these businesses can maintain their RuPay consumer base utilising TROF for future transactions initiated by their respective RuPay consumers,” it said. - Business Line

🍒 RBI imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1 crore on Paytm Payments : The RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1 crore on Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) and ₹27.78 lakh on Western Union Financial Services Inc (WUFSI). RBI said the monetary penalty on PPBL has been imposed for an offence under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act). The penalty on WUFSI, a money transfer service – cross-border in-bound service (customer-to-customer only) operator – has been imposed for non-compliance with certain provisions of RBI’s directions contained in its Master Direction on Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS Directions), according to a central bank statement. - Business Line

🍒 EPFO adds 14.81 lakh members in August : The provisional payroll data of EPFO continued to show a growing trend consecutively for the last five months and added around 14.81 lakh net subscribers in August. The net subscriber addition has increased by 12.61 per cent as compared to July’s figures. Out of the total 14.81 lakh net subscribers, around 9.19 lakh workers are new members of the EPFO. Around 5.62 lakh workers exited but rejoined the EPFO by changing jobs. Workers in the age-group of 22-25 years registered highest number of net enrolments with 4.03 lakh additions during August, the Union Labour Ministry claimed in a release. - Business Line

🍒 RBI rule on recurring payments: Small businesses, start-ups feeling the heat : Small businesses and start-ups running on a subscription model are losing out on users and timely payments due to the Reserve Bank of India’s new rule on recurring payments.  For instance, the non-profit digital rights advocacy group, Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), which runs on a monthly donorship model, lost nearly 70 per cent of its existing membership base of close to 423. Apar Gupta, Advocate and Executive Director, IFF, told BusinessLine: “It took us three years to build our member base. Most of our donors signed up using their debit and credit cards, which has been the primary mode of recurring online payments in India. After the RBI mandate came into being post-September 30, they weren’t able to sign up or make those payments. - Business Line

🍒 Govt to soon reach out to potential buyers of debt-laden IDBI Bank : The government will soon reach out to interested buyers of IDBI Bank and inform them about the broad contours of the strategic disinvestment, which is going to lay the groundwork for privatisation of public sector banks. The Centre, through its advisors, will share the strategic sale plan with investors, and how the deal is expected to be structured, an official said. The exercise would be undertaken before the government comes out with the preliminary information memorandum (PIM) and invites expression of interest (EoI) for the IDBI Bank sale, said an official. The investors’ interest would be gauged, and suitable structuring of the transaction would be done, he added. - Business Standard

🍒 Gold prices jump above Rs 47,500/10 gm on firm global trend, festive demand; Silver costlier by Rs 1,386 a kg : Gold prices rose by Rs 164 to Rs 47,548 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market tracking firm global trend and festive demand. The precious metal upside was capped by sharp appreciation in rupee, firm dollar and rising Treasury yields. The price of 10 gram, 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 43,554 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram stood at Rs 47,548 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 35,661 plus GST in the retail market. Silver prices surged by Rs 1,386 to Rs 64,496 per kg against its closing price on October 18. - Moneycotrol.

🍒 Sensex drops over 200 pts in early trade; Nifty slips below 18,400 : Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled over 200 points in opening trade on Wednesday, tracking losses in index majors TCS, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank as market participants booked profits at higher levels.  The 30-share index was trading 209.46 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 61,506.59 in initial deals. Similarly, the Nifty dropped 85.45 points or 0.46 per cent to 18,333.30. Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel and Axis Bank.  On the other hand, Nestle India, HUL, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and HCL Tech were among the gainers.

🍒 Rupee ends 47 paise higher against the dollar on Wednesday : The rupee ended 47 paise stronger on Wednesday due to dollar inflows in the backdrop of foreign portfolio investors eyeing investments in public offerings by Indian companies and due to the weakening of the greenback.  The Indian unit closed at 74.88 per dollar against the previous close of 75.35. In intraday trade, the rupee saw a high of 74.83 to the dollar and a low of 75.1350.

Banking and Financial Awareness for Today 17, October 2021

 

 *Financial News Bulletin Dt. 17th October , 2021*

Private sector banks recorded higher loan growth compared to PSBs and foreign banks, with their share in total credit steadily increasing to 35.4% in March 2021 from 20.8% in March 2015, according to RBI.  This has been at the cost of PSBs, whose share in total credit has come down from 71.6% to 56.5% over the same period, said the central bank. As of March-end 2021, foreign banks had a 4% market share (4.9% as of March- end 2015); regional rural banks (3.1% vs 2.6%); and small finance banks/ SFBs (1%).  At the end of March 2021, gross outstanding credit of scheduled commercial banks amounted ₹1,10,78,050 crore (₹68,78,400 crore as of March-end 2015).

-Business Line

HDFC Bank’s standalone net profit rose by 17.6% for the second quarter of the fiscal, supported by a robust growth in net interest income. For the quarter ended Sept 30, 2021, the bank reported net profit of ₹8,834.3 crore, as against ₹7,513.11 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. 

-Business Line

Bank of Baroda today launched centralised agri-loans processing units across 16 Zonal Offices. Christened as the Centre for Agriculture Marketing and Processing (CAMP), the unit is a dedicated credit delivery model with a focus on financing non-traditional agricultural products and handling agri-marketing activities, the bank said in a statement.

-Business Line

Karnataka Bank has received approval from the RBI to appoint Pradeep Kumar Panja, an Independent Director of the bank, as part-time non- executive Chairman with effect from Nov14, for a period of 3 years. He will succeed P Jayarama Bhat, who will complete his term on November 13.

-Business Line

Max Life Insurance has sought insurance regulator IRDAI’s approval to set up a subsidiary to undertake pension fund management business, said Prashant Tripathy, MD & CEO. Pension regulator PFRDA had recently granted approval to MLI to become a sponsor of a pension fund manager.

-Business Line

Petrol and diesel prices on Saturday were hiked again by 35 paise a litre to take retail rates across the country to new record highs. With this hike, petrol is now at the ₹100-a-litre mark or more in all State capitals, while diesel has touched the ₹100-level in a dozen States. Diesel is nearing the ₹100-a-litre mark in Goa and Bengaluru.

-Business Line

Daily General & Financial Awareness Update for 16 October 2021

16.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial Bulletin

🍒 ‘Higher loan growth for private banks’ : Private sector banks recorded higher loan growth compared to other bank groups (PSBs and foreign banks), with their share in total credit steadily increasing to 35.4 per cent in March 2021 from 20.8 per cent in March 2015, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This has been at the cost of public sector banks, whose share in total credit has come down from 71.6 per cent to 56.5 per cent over the same period, said the central bank. - Business Line

🍒 PNB Housing shelves ₹ 4,000-cr share sale plan to Carlyle Group, other investors : PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL) has called off it’s proposed ₹ 4,000 crore share sale plan to Carlyle Group and other marquee investors including General Atlantic and Ares SSG, citing protracted delays and uncertainty over regulatory approvals required for the preferential issue.  At a Board meeting held on Thursday evening, PNBHFL decided not to proceed with the proposed preferential issue and therefore will now evaluate other alternatives to raise capital. Also, all the share subscription agreements executed with the proposed allottees have been terminated. - Business Line

🍒 Fintech firm Tala raises $145 m in Series-E round : Tala, a financial services company, has raised $145 million in Series E fundraise led by Upstart, taking the total funds raised to $350 million.  Stellar Development Foundation, Kindred Ventures and the J. Safra Group, IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital, and PayPal Ventures also joined the round. Tala will use the investment to accelerate the rollout of its new financial account experience, which provides customers with fresh tools to borrow, save and manage their money, all through Tala’s top-rated consumer finance app,” a Tala statement has said. - Business Line

🍒 India's Forex reserves rise by $2.04 billion to $639.51 billion : The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.039 billion to $639.516 billion in the week ended October 8, according to RBI data. In the previous week ended October 1, the reserves had dipped by $1.169 billion to $637.477 billion. The reserves had surged by $8.895 billion to a lifetime high of $642.453 billion in the week ended September 3. During the reporting week ended October 8, the rise in the reserves was on account of an increase in the Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data released on Friday showed. FCA rose by $1.55 billion to $577.001 billion in the reporting week, as per the data. - Economic Times

🍒 Bitcoin nears $60,000 as investors eye first US ETFs : Bitcoin hit a six-month high on Friday,approaching the record hit in April, as traders became increasingly confident that US regulators would approve the launch of an exchange-traded fund based on its futures contracts.  The world’s biggest cryptocurrency rose nearly 4 per cent to as high as $59,664, its highest since mid-April. It has doubled in value this year and is near April’s record high of $64,895. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is poised to allow the first US bitcoin futures ETF to begin trading next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. - Business Line

🍒 RBI Guv to IMF, World Bank: Will remain accommodative in monetary policy : India, which is experiencing robust economic recovery although uneven across sectors, has decided to remain accommodative in its monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India Governor told the international community on Thursday. India is witnessing a very robust economic recovery, but there is still unevenness across sectors, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in his address to the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. - Business Line

🍒 Karnataka Bank to get Centenary building : Foundation stone for the establishment of the centenary building of Karnataka Bank was laid in Mangaluru on Friday. Established in 1924, the bank will observe its Centenary Year during the financial year 2023-24.  To be constructed adjacent to the present Head Office premises of the bank in Mangaluru, the proposed new building will be of 2.41 lakh sq ft of area. Laying the foundation stone for the centenary building, Mahabaleshwara MS, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank, said the bank has always travelled ahead of time to cater to the varying demands of the customers from all walks of life. - Business Line

🍒 Unity Small Finance Bank plans to tap 100 million Payback users : Unity Small Finance Bank (SFB), promoted by the Centrum-BharatPe combine, is looking to target over 100 million members of Payback - a loyalty programme company BharatPe acquired in June - to become a digital bank. Jaspal Bindra, chairman of Centrum Capital, had said that the proposed business model is one of collaboration and open architecture, to deliver a seamless digital experience, and aspire to be India’s first digital bank. Elaborating on the bank's approach on a digital platform, Ashneer Grover, co-founder and managing director, BharatPe, said it would need all possible digital channels, including Payback's 100-million-plus customer base. "This will be done within what the regulatory framework allows us to do at arm's length. This (Payback) is an independent business,” said Grover. - Business Standard

🍒 Public insurers lost 30% motor segment business since FY18: Care Ratings : Even as the motor insurance segment, which had a massive decline in FY21, is returning to the growth path, public sector general insurers have been steadily losing ground to the private insurers overall and more so in the bread and butter motor segment, with pie crimping to 32.6 per cent in August, down from 36.6 per cent a year ago. As against this, the private sector has improved their market pie to 67.4 per cent in the reporting month from 63.4 per cent in the same period last year, shows an analysis of the monthly data by Care Ratings. - Business Standard

🍒 Sensex jumps 50% from last Dussehra to scale 61,000 mark. 169 stocks give multibagger returns : India’s equity markets have generated huge wealth for investors since Dussehra last year as the benchmark indices scaled new highs, even though there was a pause in April-May due to the second Covid-19 wave.  The BSE Sensex has rallied more than 50 percent since last Dussehra on October 25, 2020, to surpass the 61,000 milestone on October 14, a day before Dussehra celebrations across the country this year. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 The 4 largest US consumer banks posted another strong quarter this week as the rebounding economy allowed them to release more cash they had set aside for pandemic losses, while sizzling deals, equity financing and trading also boosted their bottom lines. JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup, Well Fargo & Co and Bank of America Corp, seen by analysts and economists as bellwethers of the broader economy, reported a combined profit of $28.7 billion for the third quarter, beating analyst estimates. - Moneycontrol

🍒 Max Life seeks IRDAI nod to launch subsidiary ; Max Life Insurance (MLI) has sought insurance regulator IRDAI’s approval to set up a subsidiary to undertake pension fund management business, said Prashant Tripathy, Managing Director & CEO. Pension regulator PFRDA had recently granted approval to MLI to become a sponsor of a pension fund manager. - Business Line

🍒 RBI approves appointment of Pradeep Kumar Panja as Chairman of Karnataka Bank : Karnataka Bank Ltd has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to appoint Pradeep Kumar Panja, an Independent Director of the bank, as part-time non-executive Chairman with effect from November 14, for a period of three years. He will succeed P Jayarama Bhat, who will complete his term on November 13. Pradeep Kumar Panja retired as Managing Director (Corporate Banking) of State Bank of India (SBI). Prior to this, he also held the post of Managing Director of State Bank of Travancore for about a year. - Business Line

🍒 IL&FS seeks NCLT approval to place Rs 4,000 crore of assets in InvIT : The IL&FS group has sought approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to move five highway assets of the beleaguered group to an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT). An independent assessment has valued the projects at Rs 4,000 crore, said a company spokesman while confirming the development. The valuation is a regulatory requirement under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) rules. With the NCLT approval, a total of 11 projects would be ready for monetisation through the InvIT route. The first tranche of six projects valued at around Rs 9,200 crore already have the NCLT approval. - Business Standard.

Banking and Financial News for October 14, 2021

14.10.2021 : Today's Banking / Financial News at a Glance

🍒 PNB reduces gold loan interest rates: : Punjab National Bank (PNB) has announced that it has reduced interest rates on loans against gold jewellery and Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) by 145 basis points (bps); this is part of its festive season offerings. According to a press release issued by PNB, the bank is now offering loans against Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) at 7.20% and loans against gold jewellery at 7.30%. "Additionally, PNB has slashed the home loan rate which now starts from 6.60%, while customers can avail car loans starting from 7.15% and personal loans from 8.95%," stated the release. - Economic Times

🍒 Dish TV board cites rules, rejects YES Bank's demands to hold EGM : The board of Dish TV Ltd (DTL) rejected on Wednesday, YES Bank's demand to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to consider resolutions, citing regulatory limitations and absence of prior approvals from the government and lenders. Private lender YES Bank, which holds 25.93 per cent stake stake in DTL, had sought the removal of DTL directors Jawahar Lal Goel and others, and appointment of the bank's own nominees. - Business Standard.

🍒 Shivalik Small Finance Bank partners with Go Digit Insurance : Shivalik Small Finance Bank on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership with Bengaluru-based insurtech company, Go Digit General Insurance, to provide an array of instant, easy-to-understand insurance products through the bank’s network of branches across India. This will include health insurance plans, motor insurance, and home and shop insurance. This partnership will enable over 4.5 lakh customers of Shivalik Small Finance Bank to instantly access and purchase from Digit’s list of offerings, through paperless processes, in real time. - Business Line

🍒 Government announces conversion of two G-Secs into six FRBs : The government on Wednesday announced the conversion or switch of two Government Securities (G-Secs), both maturing in 2022 and aggregating ₹36,000 crore (face value) into six floating rate bonds (FRBs) maturing between 2028 and 2034. Thus, the government does not have to redeem the aforementioned G-Secs on their maturity dates — April 13, 2022 (for the security carrying 5.09 per cent coupon rate) and August 02, 2022 (for the security carrying 8.08 per cent coupon rate). Redemption pressure on the government is alleviated to the extent of the face value of the securities being converted or switched. - Business Line

🍒 Mobikwik sees ‘BNPL’ as its fastest growing business segment : IPO-bound One Mobikwik Systems (Mobikwik) sees it’s ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ product — which enjoys higher margins — as a major growth driver and it’s fastest growing business segment in the days to come, said Co-founder Upasana Taku. This digital financial services firm is also aiming to launch its ₹1,900 crore initial public offering (IPO) by this month end, Taku told BusinessLine in an interview. - Business LIne

🍒 PhonePe and NBBL partner to launch ClickPay : Digital payment platform PhonePe has, in association with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL), launched ClickPay for its customers. ClickPay is a unique payment link that enables customers to make recurring online bill payments (electricity, water, gas, loan, etc) and removes the need to remember tedious account details associated with each biller or service. This link sent by the biller will lead the customer directly to the payment page, fetching the bill amount instantly. - Business Line

🍒 Shriram Housing gets ₹300-cr equity capital from parent firm : Shriram Housing Finance Ltd (SHFL) on Wednesday said it has received the second round of equity capital infusion of ₹300 crore from parent company, Shriram City Union Finance (Shriram City). With this round, the total equity infusion in FY22 stands at ₹500 crore, SHFL said in a statement. The current infusion will increase Shriram City’s holding in SHFL from 81 per cent to 85.02 per cent. SHFL is an affordable housing finance company with Assets Under Management (AUM) of about ₹4,000 crore as of June 2021. - Business Line

🍒 U GRO Capital and Kinara Capital enter into strategic co-origination partnership : U GRO Capital and Kinara Capital have entered into a strategic co-origination partnership to offer collateral-free business loans to small business entrepreneurs in India. Together, both companies plan to disburse ₹100 crores by the end of FY22 to MSMEs in manufacturing, trading and services sectors, per a joint statement. “Available financing for MSMEs will range from ₹1 lakh to ₹30 lakh with tenure ranging from 12–60 months. “Financing can be availed for working capital and asset purchase directly from Kinara Capital, and women-led businesses receive an automatic, upfront discount with the HerVikas program,” according to the statement. - Business Line

🍒 RBI imposes monetary penalty on The Sahyadri Sahakari Bank : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 13 imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 3 lakh on Mumbai-based The Sahyadri Sahakari Bank Limited over non-compliance with RBI directions on Frauds - Classification and Reporting, the central bank said in a release. The inspection report of the bank with the bank's position as of March 31, 2019, revealed the bank had not transferred unclaimed amounts in accounts for more than ten years to Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEA Fund). Further, the bank had reported frauds to RBI with an inordinate delay. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Banks' loan growth picks up pace at 3-5%, asset quality stress to remain elevated in Q2 : As the economy revives post deadly second wave of COVID-19, backed by festive demand and season, banks have started seeing growth in their loan disbursals.  In the second quarter of FY22, data released by lenders reveal the loan growth has been around 3-5 percent on a sequential basis. India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, saw a 4.4 percent sequential growth in its loans and advances. Its outstanding advances were at Rs 11,98,500 crore in the September quarter as compared to Rs 11,47,700 crore in the June quarter of FY22. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Rupee recovers 15 paise to close at 75.37 against US dollar : The rupee on Wednesday rebounded by 15 paise to close at 75.37 (provisional) against the US dollar following a rally in domestic equities and weak American currency in the overseas markets. In addition, lower crude prices also supported the rupee sentiment, forex deals said. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened strong at 75.29 against the greenback. During the session, the domestic unit swung between 75.19 and 75.51. On Tuesday, the rupee had closed at 75.52 against the dollar

🍒 M-cap of BSE-listed companies at fresh record high of over Rs 270.73 lakh crore ; Helped by the ongoing rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies has reached a fresh record high of Rs 2,70,73,296.03 crore on Wednesday. Rallying for the fifth straight session on Wednesday, the 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 452.74 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at its all-time closing high of 60,737.05. During the day, it rallied 552.32 points to its intra-day all-time high of 60,836.63. In five trading days, the BSE benchmark index has gained 1,547.32 points. - Moneycontrol.

🍒 Sensex, Nifty up nearly 1% after fresh highs, Nifty tops 18,100 : At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was trading at 60,748.56, up 464.25 points or 0.77 per cent, near its new all-time high of 60,755.70. It recorded an intraday low of 60,452.29. The Nifty 50, after recording a fresh high of 18,162.90, was trading at 18,156.85, up 164.90 points or 0.92 per cent. It recorded an intraday low of 18,050.75. Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, Powergrid and Tata Consumer were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Maruti, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever, Coal India and Eicher Motor were the top laggards.

Important Banking Related GK (General Awareness) Questions I

Canara Bank gets new executive director:The Government of India has appointed Mr Ashok Kumar Gupta, General Manager of Punjab National Bank, as the Executive Director of Canara Bank. He succeeds Mr Jagdish Pai K.L., who retired on June 30. According to a press release from Canara Bank, Mr Gupta assumed office on Thursday. He started his career as management trainee in Punjab National Bank in 1976. He also served as the Managing Director of PNB GILTs, a subsidiary of PNB. Before his elevation to the post of Executive Director of Canara Bank, Mr Gupta was in Chandigarh as Field General Manager for Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh. (BL dt. 30.07.2011 p. 6)

PNB to accept 'cash' from door steps:Punjab National Bank said it would start accepting cash up to the value of Rs.2 crore from the premises of its customers, facilitating high value cash collection at their door steps. "We will soon start our new initiative in Chandigarh, where we will be accepting high amount of cash from customers' premises," GM Rohtash Kumar said. The minimum amount of cash to be collected from customers' premises would be Rs 1 Lakh, with maximum ceiling of Rs 2 crore without any charge. A dedicated team of bank officials will be set up which will look after door step banking services. The bank would also allow making payments to customers as per their requirement but within ceiling of Rs 2 crore. (DH dt 26.07.2011 p.15)

Canara Bank may hire 3,000 personnel this year:Canara Bank is likely to fill-up 3000 vacancies in various categories during this year, according to its Executive Director, Ms Archana S Bhargava. Speaking to newspersons on Friday, Ms Bhargava said apart from clerks, probationary officers, and agricultural officers, specialist positions in areas such as information technology would also be filled-up. “We have significant retirements which are to be replaced and branch expansion programme during the current year,’’ she said. Over 250 branches were likely to be added before March 2012 to the present network of 3,350 branches, she added. As part of its focus on microfinance and Self Help Group (SHG) linkage, three new microfinance branches would be opened in Andhra Pradesh. (BL dt. 23.07.2011 p. 15)

Canara Bank to open branches in 7 nations:Aiming to expand its overseas footprint, Canara Bank said on Thursday that it plans to open offices in seven countries, including Germany and US soon. The bank had already received the permission to open a branch in Germany, while in other countries including US, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Australia, the process of getting permission has started, the bank’s ED Smt. Archana S Bhargava told reporters. Currently, the Bank has overseas branches in the UK, Hong Kong and China. It also has a joint venture with SBI in Moscow. The Bank, which has around 3,300 branches at present in the country, is also planning to add another 300 by end of this fiscal, she said adding that most of the new branches will be opened in rural and semi urban areas. She also said that the Bank has its presence in 452 districts of the total 644 districts in the country. As corporate social responsibility, bank has opened four computer training centres to impart free computer training to poor unemployed youth. Earlier, bank’s first specialised Government Business branch was opened at National Archives of India (NAI) office premises on Thursday. (DH dt. 22.07.2011 p. 17)

State Bank of Mysore, National Insurance join hands:State Bank of Mysore has announced three deposit schemes with free accident death insurance cover for savings bank and term deposit accounts. The bank has tied up with National Insurance Company. “This is an additional service we are offering for our customers. This will be on a trial basis, and we hope to come up with more such products in the future,” said Mr Dilip Mavinkurve, Managing Director, State Bank of Mysore. The schemes will offer insurance cover initially for one year and will be subject to review at the end of one year. These new products - MyBank Suraksha Savings account, MyBank Suraksha Savings Plus account and MyBank Suraksha Deposit account will be offered through the group insurance model to individuals, excluding NRI customers. (BL dt. 22.07.2011 p. 23)

Snag in your ATM? If unresolved, get Rs 100 a day:Ever thought that you could get paid by an ATM? Well, that is now a distinct possibility, thanks to RBI’s decision. If an ATM-related complaint isn’t redressed within seven days, it can potentially earn you Rs 100 a day. The Reserve Bank of India has reduced the mandatory time for resolving complaints related to ATM transactions to a week from the earlier 12 days, starting July 1. Complaints include wrong debits, non-receipt of cash and receipt of a lesser amount than specified in a withdrawal. It is important that one should immediately register his/her complaint with the bank, as the mandatory compensation after seven days is not applicable if the complaint is not brought to the notice of the bank within 30 days. (BL dt. 17.07.2011 p. 1)

SBI, ICICI Securities among four to manage PF corpus:State Bank of India, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, Reliance Capital and HSBC Asset Management will manage the Rs 3.5 lakh crore-retirement corpus for three years, beginning September 1, 2011. The decision was announced on Thursday by the Central Board of Trustees, the tripartite decision-making body of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The selection was done after evaluating the bids on both financial and technical grounds. Eighty per cent weightage was given to technical qualifications and 20 per cent to financial quotations, an official release said. Expressing hope of getting good returns for close to 5 crore provident fund depositors this year, the Union Labour Minister, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We will see their performance for one year, and based on that, an appropriate decision will be taken by the trustees for extensions.” Sources said ICICI Securities had quoted the lowest rate of 3 paise annually for managing Rs 10,000. Reliance Capital quoted a rate of 4 paise, HSBC AMC 36 paise and SBI Re 1. (BL dt. 15.07.2011 p. 9)

BoB to open 10-12 overseas branches:Public sector lender Bank of Baroda plans to open 10 to 12 overseas branches in the current fiscal. “We have plans to open another 10 to 12 branches in the current financial year in our various overseas territories. That would take our branch and office network abroad to around 100 by March, 2012, Bank of Baroda C&MD Mr M D Mallya said. (BS dt. 11.07.2011 p. 2)

Cost of convenience:ATM Charges Changes Walking into any bank's ATM and checking your account balance will come at a cost now. From July 1, banks have clubbed together all the services, some which were being offered free earlier, and started charging from the sixth service. So whether you withdraw cash, go for balance enquiry or take a mini statement, there will be a cost.
• Cash withdrawal: Allows cash withdrawals up to specified limit. Maximum charge is Rs.20/-
• Balance enquiry: Check the existing balance on ATM screen or get a printout, maximum charge is Rs.8.50/-
• Mini Statement: Some banks list out the previous six or ten transactions in the account, Maximum charge is Rs.8.50/-
• Pin change: Change the pin number for one ATM card, maximum charge is Rs.8.50/-
(BS dt 08.07.2011 p.5)
State Bank of India pushing ahead with green channel counters:SBI has started over 5,000 green channel counters (GCCs) at its branches across the country, according to the Chairman, Mr Pratip Chaudhuri. The GCC aims at providing customers with a simple, secure and quick way of executing banking transactions without carry passbooks or filling in pay-in-slips/withdrawal forms, or drawing cheques. All that is needed is the ATM-cum-Debit-Card and PIN for identifying the customer and his account. Cash deposits, cash withdrawals and funds transfers to the tune of Rs 40,000 per transaction are enabled through GCC. Registration of mobile numbers for the bank’s Mobile Banking Service will be introduced shortly through GCCs. In the last one year, 16 lakh transactions have been routed through GCCs, said the SBI chief. (BL dt. 02.07.2011 p. 6)

Gurgaon fraud: Citi fined R25 lakh:The Reserve Bank of India has fined Citibank a sum of Rs 25 lakh under Section 47(A)(1)(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, which deals with the contravention of guidelines and instructions relating to know-your-customer (KYC) and anti money laundering (AML) regulations. In a statement on Monday, Reserve Bank of India said the bank’s failure to follow the KYC/AML guidelines, while opening accounts, led to the perpetration of a fraud at its Gurgaon branch. The Reserve Bank of India had issued a show cause notice to the bank on April 21st in response to which the bank submitted a reply dated May 6, 2011. After considering the facts and the bank’s reply, Reserve Bank of India concluded that the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of the penalty.In December last year Citibank discovered a fraud at it's Gurgaon branch, perpetrated by an employee estimated at over Rs 400 crore. (FE dt. 05.07.2011 p. 18)

Post offices to offer core banking solution by next year:In its exercise to boost its profitability, the Department of Posts (DoP) plans to introduce core banking solution besides setting up India Post ATMs and debit cards for its customers. “We have set a target of bringing in core banking solution by 2012. It will ensure smooth online transactions. We are giving some e-payment services, but they are fragmented,” a DoP official said. He said the work for setting up 1,000 India Post ATMs was in advanced stage and DoP had held parleys with vendors on this front. “We will also issue debit cards to our existing savings account-holders,” the source added. (FE dt. 05.07.2011 p. 18)

19 banks to hold common exam for officers’ posts in Sept:The Institute of Banking Personal Selection (IBPS) has notified the Common Written Examination on behalf of the participating banks on Wednesday. Except SBI, almost all other major banks have come together for conducting the exam. SBI has its own set up for recruitment which is also being handled by IBPS. A score in the IBPS exam is now mandatory for selection of probationary officers/management trainees, as per the IBPS notification. (BL Dt. 07.07.2011 p.6)