All stories by SUBRATA PANDA
Fall in HDFC-HDFC Bank share prices is short term: Keki Mistry
Rediff.com23 Apr 2022We have not been able to communicate in a very articulate manner and clear manner on the merger as earnings were due, says HDFC CEO.
RBI caps lending limits of NBFCs to bring them on par with banks
Rediff.com20 Apr 2022In yet another move to close the regulatory gap between banks and shadow banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated exposure limits to the non-banking finance companies, in line with commercial banks. In the large exposure framework released on Tuesday, the regulator capped aggregrate exposure of NBFCs which are in the upper layer toward one entity at 20 per cent of capital base. The limit can only be extended by another 5% with board's approval. For a particular borrower group, the cap is at 25 per cent, with additional 10 per cent if exposure is towards infrastructure.
Insurance: Rs 100 cr entry cap for new players may be removed
Rediff.com8 Apr 2022The insurance regulator wants the removal of the minimum entry capital requirement of Rs 100 crore for setting up an insurance business in a bid to facilitate the entry of multiple players such as standalone micro insurers and niche players. Debasish Panda, chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), said it should be left to the regulator instead to decide what should be the entry fee for interested players, depending on the size of the business and operations. According to the current norms, insurers are required to have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 100 crore.
How Policybazaar-LIC Tie-Up Is Working Out
Rediff.com6 Apr 2022'From our perspective, it will bring additional customers and from their perspective, it will get them younger customers.'
Citi credit card business losing steam in India
Rediff.com1 Apr 2022At a time when banks are engaged in a fierce battle to gain market share in the credit card segment, Citibank India has been losing its share, both in terms of outstanding cards and spends in the last few years. Still, average spends on Citi cards are higher than any other Indian bank. Last year, the global banking behemoth announced exit from its consumer banking franchises in 13 markets across Europe, Middle East and Asia, including India, citing lack of scale.
Ahead of IPO, LIC's Q3 net profit zooms on surplus model change
Rediff.com12 Mar 2022Under the new model, the surplus distribution in the participating policyholders' fund has been modified to 90:10 in a phased manner, wherein 90 per cent will go to policyholders and 10 per cent to shareholders. Further, 100 per cent of the surplus generated out of the non-participating business will be available for distribution to all shareholders.
Sebi asks Indiabulls to take a few corrective measures
Rediff.com5 Mar 2022Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its investigation against Indiabulls Housing Finance has found the mortgage financier non-compliant with regards to unavailability of certain information on its website as well as its internal policy. Thereby, it has directed the company to take corrective measures and inform the stock exchanges in a months' time. Several public interest litigations (PILs) and FIRs were filed against Indiabulls Housing Finance back in 2019, alleging irregularities, siphoning of funds, and other violations committed by the promoters of the company.
Explained: Why RBI kept key rates unchanged
Rediff.com25 Feb 2022Members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) felt that though the Indian economy was resilient in the third wave, it, however, lost some momentum and with inflation likely to soften, there is room to continue with the accommodative stance and support revival, the minutes of the MPC meeting released on Thursday revealed. The six-member MPC voted to keep the policy rate unchanged and continued with the accommodative stance at its meeting on February 10. However, external member Jayanth Verma voted against the stance because he felt a switch to neutral was long overdue and the current stance has become counterproductive and deflects focus away from addressing recessionary trends that date back to at least 2019.
LIC gets until Jan 2023 to dispose of 'other investments'
Rediff.com15 Feb 2022Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has received the insurance regulator's nod for time till January-end 2023 to dispose of investments in pension, group and life annuity funds, which do not fall in the "approved investment" category. Had the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai) denied more time to transfer the investments to shareholders' fund at amortised cost, the loss that would have accrued in the profit and loss account (shareholders account) would have been Rs 5,365.83 crore as of September 2021, LIC said in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).
LIC AUM rose Rs 1 trn from March-Sep '21
Rediff.com10 Feb 2022Initial public offering (IPO)-bound Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India's assets under management (AUM) increased to Rs 38 trillion as of September 2021, compared with Rs 37 trillion as of March 2021, said sources in the know. Its AUM is almost 3x the AUM of all the private life insurers in the country and over 15x more than the AUM of the second largest life insurer, SBI Life, as of September 2021. SBI Life's AUM was approximately Rs 2.4 trillion as of September 2021, said sources.
HDFC Bank issues record credit cards in third quarter
Rediff.com24 Jan 2022In the quarter gone by (Q3 of FY22), private lender HDFC Bank issued around 950,000 credit cards, its highest ever credit card issuance in any single quarter. Since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revoked the embargo on it in August 2021 to issue new credit cards, the lender has issued 1.37 million credit cards. This is according to a senior bank executive, who was present in an analysts' call after the lender's Q3 earnings. In Q3, we achieved the highest ever issuance, with 950,000 card issuances.
Omicron impact: Demand for health insurance products picks up pace
Rediff.com11 Jan 2022With Covid-19 cases across the country rising rapidly once again, demand for health insurance products has spiked. Insurers are seeing an uptick in inquiries for such products and underwriting more premiums in the segment. Already, health insurance was growing at a rapid pace since the onset of the pandemic as awareness around risk had heightened among consumers. But the country recorded more than 600,000 Covid-19 cases in the past week, which is almost a six-fold rise than the previous week. Owing to this, the spike in demand for health insurance products is inevitable, experts said.
Covid Cost Insurers Rs 250 Billion
Rediff.com8 Jan 20222.75 million of the 3 million Covid-related health claims were settled.
IPO hard sell: LIC boasts of Rs 37-trillion AUM before overseas investors
Rediff.com30 Dec 2021At a closed-door meeting with global investors, the largest asset manager in the country boasted of its nearly Rs 37 trillion assets under management (AUM) - 16.6 times that managed by the second-largest insurer SBI Life. The numbers are as of March 31, 2021. The assets of LIC are 1.2 times the net assets of the entire Indian mutual fund industry, which had AUM of Rs 31.43 trillion as of March 31, 2021 (about Rs 37.3 trillion until November this year). The standalone assets that LIC manages are equal to 18.7 per cent of India's GDP and worth more than gross domestic product (GDP) of the UAE, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, New Zealand, and Pakistan.
Why RBI Is Wary About Big Techs
Rediff.com29 Dec 2021They straddle many different (non-financial) lines of business with sometimes opaque overarching governance structures.
'I have raised Rs 90,000 crore'
Rediff.com28 Dec 2021'The ship has been stabilised.' 'For the last 6-7 quarters, profitability is stable around Rs 250-Rs 300 crore.'
Life insurers' new business premium spikes 42% at Rs 27,177 cr in Nov
Rediff.com9 Dec 2021Life insurers' new business premium (NBP) reported stellar performance in November after a poor showing in October, on the back of strong growth in group single premiums for both private insurers and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. In November, 24 life insurers, including LIC, reported NBP to the tune of Rs 27,177 crore, up 42 per cent year-on-year (YoY) from the year-ago period. Private insurers' NBP rose 58.63 per cent YoY to Rs 11,209.75 crore as group single premiums more than doubled during this period.
Term insurance plan premiums may go up by 20% in Dec-Jan
Rediff.com29 Nov 2021Life insurers, on the prodding of global reinsurers, are set to hike premiums on term plans because rising mortality after the second wave of the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of settlements. Some will do so next month while others may wait till January. Global reinsurer Munich Re had nudged its insurance partners on the hike in September and insurers have been engaged in negotiations with the reinsurer on the amount of the increase. Term plan prices in India were among the lowest in the world for a long period but in the past couple of years, they have been increased a few times.
'Insurance paid Rs 25,000-30,000 cr in Covid claims'
Rediff.com18 Nov 2021'Last year (FY21), we had about 1 million intimated claims for Covid.' 'This year (FY22), in six months, we got about 1.6 million claims.'
Banks should not feel threatened by fintech companies
Rediff.com15 Nov 2021'There will be partnerships between banks and fintech firms, but there will also be areas where they will be direct competitors.'