Present banking scenario

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BOB and NPCI launch RuPay Platinum debit card: BOB in association with NPCI launched RuPay Platinum Debit Card, tha bank said in a statement. Mr. Ranjan Dhawan, MD & CEO, BOB said, “Digital product innovation and digitization of processes are keys to driver convenient service to customers and to improve operational efficiency”. (FE)

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Repo rate cut is direct way to reduce cost of funds for banks: Though some bankers have been demanding a cut in CRR on and off, RBI is of the view that a repo rate cut is a direct way to reduce cost of funds for banks. “If we want to reduce the cost of capital and reduce lending rates, the more direct instrument to use is the policy rate which we have used,” RBI Governor said in his post-policy conference call with researchers and analysts. (BL)

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Forex reserves rise $917 mn to $352 bn, rupee rises 25p: The country's foreign exchange reserves rose $917.5 million in the week ending May 29 to $352.47 billion. In the previous week, the reserves had fallen by $2.32 billion. Foreign currency assets, a key component, rose $980.4 million to $327.82 billion. (BS)

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FinMin working on Financial Redress Agency: Taking forward the suggestions of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, the finance ministry has begun work on setting up a Financial Redress Agency that would be the first forum for independent grievance redressal of consumers. (IE)

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PSBs may feel the heat of accounts’ ‘window dressing’: The government is set to overhaul annual targets for PSBs this month, ending a focus on size that has long encouraged banks to inflate their loans and deposits at the year end to hit growth objective. (FE)

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NPAs may hit Rs. 8 lakh cr by fiscal end: Stressed assets of Indian banks could stand at an outstanding Rs 8 lakh crore by the fiscal end and a large part of this would have gone bad given that corporate balance sheets continue to be highly leveraged and profitability weak. Global rating agency S&P’s expects stressed assets of Indian banks to grow 11-12% in FY16. Currently, the value of stressed assets is Rs 7.4 lakh crore, going by RBI estimate that 10.9% of all loans are stressed. (FE)

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Ex-FM Sinha warns against evergreening bad loans: Former finance minister Mr. Yashwant Sinha cautioned banks to desist from evergreening of loans or restructuring of debts as it was not good for the health of financial sector. Evergreening refers to the practice of giving a fresh loan to repay an old one. (BS)

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More banks cut lending, deposit rates: More PSBs, resisting a cutting of interest rates so far, have started falling in line. Syndicate Bank and Central Bank of India said they’d cut their base rates (BRs), to which all loans are linked, from Monday. The latter reduced its BR by 30 bps to 9.95%; Syndicate Bank reduced its by 25 bps to 10%. (BS)

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RBI's bond auction devolves partially: RBI’s bond auction worth Rs 16,000 crore devolved partially on primary dealers to the tune of Rs 889 crore, signalling the central bank continues to be uncomfortable with high bond yields in the market. (BS)

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Credit ratings essential to ‘capture likelihood of default’: Credit rating has become an important area of focus for bankers and Chief Financial Officers and optimised credit ratings not only result in improving cost efficiencies but spur economic activity as well, according to Mr. Rohit Mahajan, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Works. (BL)

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SBI hired detective, fail to track Mallya properties: SBI efforts to track down properties owned by Vijay Mallya through a detective agency yielded no results. Sources said the detectives were unable to trace property registered in Mallya’s name. According to sources, the bank had employed a detective agency to trace properties of Mallya in India. (FE)

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SBI to e-auction distressed property on June12: SBI said it will be selling its distressed assets through an online auction on June 12. This is the second e-auction which the bank will be conducting in this year after its maiden attempt in March. (FE)

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IDBI bank credit standing gets Moody’s downgrade: Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded IDBI Bank’s base-line credit assessment to ‘b1’ from ‘ba3’ and the medium-term notes citing weak asset quality. (FE)

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ICICI to grow loan book 3-4% ahead of system growth: At a time when credit growth has been under pressure for most lenders, ICICI Bank — the country’s largest private sector lender — is confident of growing its loan book three-four per cent ahead of the system. (BS)

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Kotak Mahindra, ING Bank ink MoU for cross-border business: Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Bank have joined hands for exploring opportunities arising from cross-border business, investment and trade flows across various regions, including Europe. (BS)