Banking news update

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RBI to sell Rs. 10k Cr. bonds in Open Market Operations to suck out liquidity: RBI has said it would sell bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore in open market operations to suck out liquidity which is pulling market rates below the policy rates. (ET)

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Forex reserves down $704 mn to $354 bn: The country’s Forex reserves declined by $704 million to $354.517 billion in the week to July 3 on account of a fall in foreign currency assets, according to the weekly RBI data. Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which is a major component of overall reserves, dipped by USD 410.1 million to USD 330.090 billion, the data showed. (BS)

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Trading volumes in interest rate futures hit as rate cut hopes seen limited: Trading volumes in interest rate futures (IRFs), which had touched an all-time high earlier this year, have been coming down, as the scope for further rate cuts is seen limited by the Street.

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Manufacturing slows industrial growth to 2.7%: India’s industrial output grew a disappointing 2.7 per cent year-on-year in May, compared with 4.1 per cent in April, primarily due to weak growth in the manufacturing sector, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. (BS)

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Banks to auction mortgaged assets to recover Winsome Diamonds dues: Bankers to Winsome Diamonds & Jewellery have begun the process of selling its mortgaged assets to recover dues estimated at Rs 4,300 crore. PNB will conduct an electronic auction of properties next month. The reserve price for the 28 units put on auction is Rs 38 crore. (BS)

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SME listing cost is lowest in India, says global market regulator: The international policy forum of securities regulator worldwide — the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) — has said the cost of an SME IPO as a percentage of funds raised in India was the lowest at 0.49 per cent with Singapore at 20-30 per cent being the highest. (BL)

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How banks are becoming vulnerable to cyber frauds: There has been a 324 per cent increase in the money involved in online fraud cases in three years despite a 46 per cent decline in the number of cases, according to a joint report by Assocham and PwC. In India, frauds worth Rs. 11,022 crore were unearthed in PSBs between April-December 2014, and 2,100 cases of fraud were reported to the RBI, said the report. (BL)

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RBI may undertake debt restructuring of State run DVC soon: RBI may soon go for a debt recast of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), the three way venture of the West Bengal, Jharkhand and Union governments which is reeling under pressure with excess capacity lying idle for lack of power purchase agreements. (FE)

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Doha Bank may move one of its two branches out of Mumbai: Qatar-based Doha Bank, which began operations in India earlier this year, is likely to relocate one of its two branches in Mumbai to a different State. The bank currently has three branches in the country – two in Mumbai and one in Kochi. (BL)

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Officers’ body seeks merger of Dhanlaxmi Bank with a PSB: AIBOA said RBI should initiate immediate steps to merge the loss-making Dhanlaxmi Bank with a nationalised bank. The bank posted a loss in the last two financial years –  Rs. 241 crore in FY2015 and  Rs. 252 crore in FY2014. In FY2013, it made a small profit of  Rs. 2.62 crore. (BL)