All stories by TAMAL BANDYOPADHYAY
SC ruling: Banks could be hit for Rs 100 bn
Rediff.com14 Apr 2021How much will the banks' bad assets grow in March? It could be anywhere between Rs 1.2 trillion and Rs 2 trillion, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Will gold loans lose sheen?
Rediff.com5 Apr 2021While taking gold out of the closet to borrow money is no longer taboo in Indian households, the sharp drop in gold prices is hitting the newest loan product on the banking turf hard, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
When will EC ban loan waiver poll promises?
Rediff.com18 Mar 2021Every political party loves to use the bait of loan waiver to woo the electorate. If their hearts bleed for the poor, they can always use the party funds to pay off the lenders, suggests Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
What is the RBI governor up to?
Rediff.com10 Mar 2021What is killing the risk appetite of the bond buyers is the inconsistency in the central bank's approach. It needs to allow the yield to find its own level, gradually. To ensure that, the RBI may adopt a similar approach with which it handles a slipping rupee, asserts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Will PMC Bank find salvation?
Rediff.com6 Mar 2021Mired in corruption, politics and with a history of suicides by its hapless depositors, PMC Bank's revival is a challenge very different from Yes Bank and LVB, both for the regulator and the rescuer, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Questions to ask about the Bad Bank
Rediff.com3 Mar 2021Why do we need a bad bank, owned by the banks themselves when there are at least 28 ARCs around, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Budget has a vaccine for banking's virus
Rediff.com17 Feb 2021Of the three major Budget announcements related to the banking sector, privatisation of PSBs is the most audacious, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
For banks, the option is to go digital or die
Rediff.com16 Feb 2021Bankers need to take a call on whether they will allow technology firms to run banks or banks themselves will turn into tech firms, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Two cheers for the Budget!
Rediff.com10 Feb 2021While a DFI will help banks derisk their loan portfolios, creation of a bad bank will clean up their balance sheets.
Complacent banks will turn dinosaurs this decade
Rediff.com13 Jan 2021In the new decade, the scene will change because the banks till recently had been challenged by the fintechs, but the techfins have now entered the arena, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Should we be afraid of corporates entering banking?
Rediff.com10 Dec 2020If indeed the gate opens for big industrial houses, the RBI needs to be smarter than them and demonstrate it through action, not reaction, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank had dug its own grave
Rediff.com4 Dec 2020Its obsession for growth, chasing corporate clients and giving up its original mandate of meeting the needs of local trade and businesses. A quarter of its loan book has gone bad. That's an error of business strategy, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Covid is driving demand for gold loans from banks
Rediff.com25 Nov 2020For the first time, consumers, including those at the so-called bottom of the pyramid, are monetising gold by taking loans from banks, offering the yellow metal as collateral, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Arrest of a Banker
Rediff.com3 Nov 2020This is one of the many such cases that helped to create an acute fear psychosis among public sector bankers, reveals Tamal Bandyopadhyay in his fascinating new book Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy.
How RBI can prevent frauds
Rediff.com29 Oct 2020Historically, the RBI has tried to keep the crooks at bay by issuing a circular a day. What it needs is more onsite supervision. Merely checking high-frequency data with the help of technology is insufficient, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Meet SBI's new boss
Rediff.com15 Oct 2020DDinesh Kumar Khara is someone who cares for others's ideas and suggestions.
If he takes the people along with him (which he always does); cares for the customers (80 per cent of SBI's new customers are in the 20-40 age group); and doesn't take his eyes off technology, his job is done, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Why is RBI allergic to 55-year-old bankers?
Rediff.com6 Oct 2020Is the RBI unable to accept with grace that beyond 55, one can have the ability to head the compliance functions in a bank, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Loan moratorium: Who will pay interest?
Rediff.com24 Sep 2020If banks cannot charge interest from borrowers during the moratorium, who will bear that cost? Should the depositors subsidise the borrowers by foregoing interest on deposits? In that case, we will turn banking on its head! notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Rs 8 trillion of banks loans will be restructured!
Rediff.com16 Sep 2020What will be its impact on the banks's balance sheets? Since banks need to provide for 10 per cent of the loans restructured, they would need Rs 50,000 crores to Rs 80,000 crore for this purpose, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The 5 wise men who will decide corporate loan recast
Rediff.com31 Aug 2020Under the watchful eyes of five wise men, who know the industry well, banks will not find it easy to hoodwink the system, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.