Unified Payments Interface becomes operational

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application has become operational. The application will allow customers to make easier real-time payments via digital means using smartphones. Key Facts The payment gateway became operational after it received the Reserve Bank of India’s clearance that allowed banks’ UPI

Merger with associates to add $120 billion to asset base: SBI

State Bank of India on Saturday said the ongoing merger of five of its associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank will add $120 billion to its assets and will create a banking behemoth with global scale. The bank also said the merger of State Banks of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ), Travancore (SBT), Patiala (SBP), Hyderabad (SBH) and Mysore (SBM), and also of Bhartiya Mahila Bank, a bank for women set up in November

India Post Payments Bank incorporated

The India Post Payments Bank Limited (IPPB) on 17 August 2016 was incorporated. In this regard, it has received the Certificate of Incorporation (CI) from the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs under the Companies Act, 2013. The incorporation also paves the way for the constitution of the Board of the India Post Payments Bank Limited.

RBI May Cut Key Rates By 0.25% In October 4 Policy Review: BofA-ML

New Delhi: Notwithstanding the significant jump in consumer price inflation, the Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut key policy rates by 25 basis points in its policy review meet on October 4, as good monsoon is likely to damp inflationary pressures, says a report. According global financial services major, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML), the CPI inflation print was broadly in line with its above

Times Internet partners HDFC Bank to launch co-branded Debit Card

Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group, and private sector lender HDFC Bank entered into a partnership to launch co-branded debit cards. This is the second co-branded card launched by Times Internet with HDFC Bank, after launching a (co-branded) credit card targeted at the entertainment segment in 2013.The Times Points HDFC Bank Debit Card will offer customers the best deals in the online space as

Central Bank of India Q1 loss at Rs 600 cr

Central Bank of India on Friday reported a net loss of Rs 599.8 crore for the first quarter ended June as provision for bad loans witnessed over two-fold jump. The bank had earned a net profit of Rs 203.6 crore in the April-June quarter of last financial year, the state-owned bank said. Total income of the bank declined to Rs 6,662.6 crore as against Rs 7,099 crore last year. Provision for bad loans witnessed over two-fold rise

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e-Marketplace launched

Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday launched the government e-marketplace. It's a one stop online marketplace for govt buyers and is expected to be a game changer. The "e-marketplace" has been launched online purchase of goods and services by various central government ministries and departments. The e marketplace is expected to bring tranparency and improve governance. To begin with common use

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Finance ministry starts studying rail, general budget merger

NEW DELHI: The Indian railway budget may no longer be a standalone financial plan and may instead be merged with the general budget as early as next year, with the government considering a proposal to combine them. "It's a possibility next year," Arvind Panagariya, vice chairman of NITI Aayog, the government's policy-making body, said on Monday, responding to a query on the possibility of merging the

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HDFC Life reaches deal with Max Life to create $10 billion insurer

MUMBAI: HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd reached agreement on Monday to take over smaller rival Max Life Insurance in an all-stock deal to create the nation's top private life insurer valued at nearly $10 billion. The companies, which began deal talks in June, said HDFC Life shareholders would own 69 per cent of the new company and Max Life shareholders 31 per cent. As part of the deal, Max Life is to be merged

SBI directs five associate banks to clean up books before proposed merger

MUMBAI: State Bank of India has directed five associate banks to clean up their books as a prelude to the proposed merger — the move that has led to Rs 2,018 crore combined losses of associate banks in the first quarter ending June this year. Senior officials from the State Bank group told ET that the associate banks were told to align the classification of loans with the parent bank, even if it requires them to take a hit on

S&P downgrades ICICI Bank's standalone credit profile

Gobal rating agency Standard & Poor's has lowered private lender ICICI Bank's standalone credit profile (SACP) to 'bbb-' from 'bbb' on weakening asset quality. The bank's asset quality will remain under pressure over the next 12 months. The agency affirmed 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term foreign currency issuer credit ratings for ICICI Bank. The outlook for the long-term rating is stable. Referring to lowering of SACP,

RBI launches Sachet portal to check illegal money collection

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Raghuram Rajan, on 4 August 2016 launched Sachet portal, sachet.rbi.org.in, to check illegal money collection. The portal will help anyone can obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to accept deposits, lodge complaints and share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.

RBI sets up committee to look at household finances in India

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said it has set up a committee to look at the various facets of household finance in India and to benchmark the country’s position vis-à-vis both peer countries and advanced countries. The committee will benchmark the current depth of household financial markets in India vis-a-vis those in other major world markets and identify areas of priority for growth and change and

ICICI, Axis bank join Swift’s global payments initiative

SWIFT announced  that ICICI Bank and AXIS Bank are the first Indian banks to sign up for its global payments innovation initiative. Both banks will be joining forces with more than 70 other leading banks globally. The initiative aims to enhance cross-border payments by leveraging SWIFT’s proven messaging platform and global reach. In its first phase, the initiative will focus on business-to-business payments.

IRCTC, SBI sign MoU on promotion of rail ticketing activities

The country’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to hammer out a detailed plan for promotion of rail ticketing activities, including internet ticketing and unreserved ticketing system. Under the MoU, the signatories “will jointly explore areas of cooperation and draw up a detailed

SEBI’s first phase of new enterprise portal goes live

MUMBAI, JUL 31:  Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has initiated the first phase of its new enterprise portal to facilitate accurate and timely dissemination of information to the watchdog’s internal and external stakeholders. The new portal, which would replace the regulator’s existing portal in a phased manner, went live on July 29 and is being developed by IT major Tech Mahindra. The first

Bank strike affects operations in 80,000 branches

Services at around 80,000 bank branches in the country were hit on Friday as employees of public sector banks went on a one-day strike to protest the proposed merger of the State Bank of India (SBI) associates with the parent and other issues. However, private sector banks were working as usual. Most of the public sector banks including SBI had earlier informed their customers of inconvenience if strike materialises.

SBI, associates merger by March 2017: Chairman

Unaffected by the nationwide strike by employees of public sector banks, State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said on Friday the merger of five associate banks and Bhartiya Mahila Bank with the country’s largest lender should be over by next March. On the sidelines of the launch of SBI’s wealth management offering called “SBI Exclusif,” Bhattacharya also said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

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SBI use IOC kisan seva centres to serve farmers

SBI has engaged Indian Oil Corporation’s Kisan Seva Kendras as banking correspondents to extend banking facilities to farmers across the country. The MoU was signed by K M Trivedi, CGM-Rural Business, SBI and Sivasis Dey, GM – Retail Sales, IOC. State Bank of India (SBI) has signed an MoU with IOC as part of its financial inclusion programme that will help the lender further its services to the farming

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SBI use IOC kisan seva centres to serve farmers

SBI has engaged Indian Oil Corporation’s Kisan Seva Kendras as banking correspondents to extend banking facilities to farmers across the country. The MoU was signed by K M Trivedi, CGM-Rural Business, SBI and Sivasis Dey, GM – Retail Sales, IOC. State Bank of India (SBI) has signed an MoU with IOC as part of its financial inclusion programme that will help the lender further its services to the farming