'Earlier, our cost of funds was higher than most in the peer group.'

Private sector banks that announced their earnings for the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25 (FY25) reported a rise in credit costs due to higher provisions, mainly for unsecured retail loans.

The new business premium (NBP) of life insurance companies dropped 21.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 30,218.71 crore in December 2024 on the back of a steep fall in business. According to data published by the Life Insurance Council, LIC's premium dropped 41.15 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 13,523.87 crore while private insurers reported 7 per cent growth in NBP to Rs 16,694.85 crore as the industry absorbs the impact of the revised surrender value norms.

The Indian insurance industry is set to focus on customer-centric technological adoption and expansion into rural areas to drive growth in 2025.

Shares of state-owned bank stocks were under pressure on Monday due to muted deposit and credit growth numbers reported by these lenders in the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25 (FY25). The Nifty PSU Bank index was down 4 per cent, with Union Bank of India emerging as the biggest loser as its shares fell 7.5 per cent to close at Rs 114.7, followed by a 5.7 per cent drop in shares of Bank of Baroda (BoB) to Rs 228 and a 4.7 per cent slide in shares of Bank of India to Rs 99.8 on the National Stock Exchange.

In 2025, Indian firms may face higher premiums for fire and engineering insurance covers as reinsurers are likely to revise rates due to rising claims from catastrophic events and higher loss ratios, according to people in the know.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday said the central bank has developed an innovative artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) based model MuleHunter.ai to address the growing issue of mule bank accounts that are often used for committing financial fraud. Developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, the new initiative is piloted with two public sector banks.

It is similar to top-up health insurance plan, but provides for one or more claims cumulatively crossing the threshold limit.

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has realigned its commission structures for its distributors in accordance with new surrender value norms but has no plans to introduce any "clawback", it said in a post-earnings analyst call on Friday. "It depends on our experience because the new products have been filed from October 1," said Siddhartha Mohanty, managing director and chief executive officer. The insurance regulator has revised the surrender value norms, and the revised ones came into effect on October 1.

Life insurance companies reported a 13.16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premium (NBP), totting up Rs 30,347 crore in October, even as the number of policies sold saw a sharp decline. The growth was largely driven by strong performance from private sector life insurers.

Credit card spending in September recorded strong growth of 25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), marking the highest increase in six months. Even as many banks saw higher slippages during the July-September quarter of 2024-25, spending growth exceeded 20 per cent for the first time since February. According to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), September spending reached Rs 1.76 trillion, compared to Rs 1.42 trillion in the same period a year ago. In August 2024, credit card spending was Rs 1.68 trillion.

'There is more expansion in the industry happening in retail lines, so we will continue to focus on those lines.'

Banks recorded a higher growth year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in raising deposits during the second quarter of financial year 2025 (Q2FY25) compared to Q1FY25, owing to intensified efforts to raise liabilities by offering higher rates and innovative schemes.

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is not keen on a composite license but it is looking to buy less than 50 per cent stake in a standalone health insurance company to enter the health insurance segment such that they have a say in the management of the company, without having to run the company, sources in the know said. "LIC doesn't need a composite licence. "Even if it is introduced, they will not opt for it.

'It is difficult to write business internationally, without an 'A-' rating. It becomes more expensive.'

State-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has committed Rs 600 crore for its digital transformation journey, Sunder Krishnan, chief risk officer said on Wednesday. The insurance giant is also aiming to become completely "paperless" in two years. "We have hired a large system integrator for more than Rs 400 crore, a consultant for digital transformation for Rs 100 crore, and Rs 100 crore for agency transformation.

The alarming level of life insurance policy misselling has caught the attention of policymakers amid efforts by the insurance regulator to boost insurance penetration, a top official from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said on Tuesday. According to Satyajit Tripathy, member-distribution at Irdai, while life insurance grievances often relate to product issues, non-life insurance complaints typically concern claim payments and exclusions. Addressing these grievances is essential to increasing insurance penetration, he said.

The share of life insurance policies sold by top private insurers in the rural areas declined in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) compared to previous year. SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance -- the top three players from the private sector-- have seen the share of insurance policies sold in rural areas drop in FY24 as compared to the previous financial year. Max Life Insurance's share of rural policies recorded an increase in FY24.

Banks reported muted treasury gains during April-June of FY25 (Q1FY25) following Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) revised norms on investment portfolio effective from April 1, 2024, despite softening of government bond yields. "Banks have reported muted treasury gains during Q1 of FY25 despite softening of yields across the curve. "The main reason was change in the investment valuation and classification guidelines by the RBI.

The net credit card additions in the banking sector nearly halved to 2 million in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25) from the previous quarter due to seasonal and regulatory factors. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the net credit card additions during the April-June quarter of FY25 stood at 2 million, 48 per cent lower than 3.9 million in the December-March quarter of FY24.