All stories by Raghu Mohan
'Idea behind SROs is not to make them more regulatory'
Rediff.com3 hours ago'One of the aspects for transparency and fair governance is to give the industry being represented the chance of lobbying with the regulator.'
Why RBI Flagged Small Loans As Risky
Rediff.com6 Aug 2024In FY24, loans given out by such firms had topped a whopping Rs 146,517 crore, up by 49 per cent year-on-year and spread over 10.19 million accounts (up 35 per cent).
Payout to top NBFC execs on RBI radar
Rediff.com5 Jul 2024Payouts to key management personnel in non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are under the banking regulator's scrutiny. Top industry officials said this is a follow-through on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) circular of April 29, 2022, which asked NBFCs in the "middle" and "upper" layer of its four-tiered scale-based regulatory (SBR) framework to put in place a board-approved compensation policy.
Gold loan business is shining as regulatory scrutiny of sector grows
Rediff.com27 May 2024In mid-March this year, the finance ministry asked state-run banks to review their gold loan portfolio for the two-year period between January 1, 2022, and January 31, 2024. This business had grown at a fast clip. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data has it that it grew 15 per cent to Rs 1 trillion in FY24. Now, in recent times, any kind of exuberance in financial services has seen the authorities swoop down - be it pushing the lines on governance or unsecured credit.
ATM Charges To Go Up After Polls
Rediff.com16 May 2024The interchange fee -- paid by the card-issuing bank when a customer swipes at another bank's ATM, including at white-label ATMs -- may be raised to Rs 20 to Rs 23.
It's back to the drawing board for payment banks
Rediff.com15 Mar 2024RBI's exercise will take into account standards of governance, the viability of the payment bank (PB) business model, and changes, if any, if needed.
Why RBI Was Worried About Consumer Credit Growth
Rediff.com13 Mar 2024The banking regulator was uncomfortable with the runaway pace at which consumer credit was growing.
Paytm Payments Bank fiasco: Independent directors raised concerns
Rediff.com18 Feb 2024At a time when the role of corporate boards is once again under the scanner, independent directors on the Paytm Payments Bank board have indicated that red flags were raised over regulatory issues but they may have been late in doing so. "As independent directors, we asked questions and monitored responses to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many changes were made on compliances. "Obviously, in retrospect, it was not found to be enough," said one of the independent directors on the condition of anonymity.
Banks, FinTech Need IT Experts Urgently!
Rediff.com14 Feb 2024Senior bankers point out that while they will eventually attract qualified professionals, onboarding them takes time.
'Money lending has become prudent and conservative'
Rediff.com2 Feb 2024'We need to be far more careful given the fact that while this is group lending, it's essentially unsecured.'
Will RBI Governor Get An Extension?
Rediff.com9 Jan 2024'After a long time, we have a governor who is approachable. The RBI's interactions with us are now much better.'
NBFC business has to hit the reset button after RBI strengthens norms
Rediff.com11 Dec 2023"We will raise Rs 300 crore via bonds of two-, three- and five-year tenures. This will be our maiden bond issuance and is part of our effort to widen funding sources," says Vimal Bhandari, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Arka Fincap. The firm, a subsidiary of Kirloskar Oil, is only five years old and small (assets of around Rs 5,000 crore with an "AA" rating), but the response to this float will be closely watched: It would be the first by a non-banking finance company (NBFC) after Mint Road upped the risk weights on bank exposures to them by 25 percentage points. The move by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has caught NBFCs off guard even though the issue had been flagged by Governor Shaktikanta Das with their corner-room occupants (and that of banks) in July and August 2023 - on consumer credit and the dependency on bank borrowings.
JP Morgan's inclusion of India to emerging market debt index may boost G-secs
Rediff.com24 Oct 2023India's inclusion in JP Morgan's bond index can channel billions of dollars into India. How will the government securities market handle it?
Fintech Lenders Gave Rs 29,875 Crore
Rediff.com23 Oct 2023'The last year's growth is a foretaste of things to come in the retail credit market.'
'We want to be No. 1 in affordable housing by FY26'
Rediff.com11 Oct 2023'This segment has performed very well for us and this is reflected in our bounce rate which is about three to four per cent.'
'Our Aim Is Housing Finance's Siginficant Role In Economic Growth'
Rediff.com1 Oct 2023'We are working with a few housing finance companies to drive affordable lending because that's where we believe our sweet spot is.'
Has India's 'Bad Bank' Worked Or Not?
Rediff.com26 Sep 2023The target was for banks to sell Rs 2 trillion worth of non-performing assets to NARCL, the so-called 'bad bank, by 2021-2022. Only 10 per cent of this has been executed.
'ESG means doing business the right way'
Rediff.com22 Sep 2023'ESG is actually a concept which cannot be applied effectively in the very short run.'
Debt Collection Goes Digital
Rediff.com10 Aug 2023Companies don't have to be in the field to nudge people to return money they owe lenders.
Do top execs of PSBs need a pay overhaul?
Rediff.com4 Jul 2023In FY23, the State Bank of India (SBI) reported a 57.4 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs 55,684.17 crore. But the chairman of the country's largest bank, Dinesh Khara's annual pay for this creditable performance was just Rs 37 lakh (his peers at state-run banks are no better off). Look at his private bank rivals - most pocketed in excess of Rs 7 crore annually - plus stock options.