Banking Sector
Banks hike deposit rates ahead of festive season
The hike in deposit rates are in line with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 50 basis points hike in repo rate in the August monetary policy. The rise in deposit will help banks fund the demand for loans during the festive season. "Going forward, banks are expected to raise deposit rates for boosting deposits to support this rising credit offtake given that liquidity is narrowing in the banking system.
CCI approves merger of HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd
"Commission approves proposed combination involving amalgamation of HDFC Limited, HDFC Bank, HDFC Investments and HDFC Holdings," CCI said in a tweet on the microblogging platform Twitter on Friday. Whenever a deals over certain limit has been struck in the marketplace then it needs an approval from the regulator to keep a tab on unfair business practices.
Indian general insurance sector logs 21% premium growth in July
According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) the non-life insurance sector had earned a premium of Rs 23,392.46 crore in July 2022 up from Rs 20,157.23 crore. The growth would have been higher but for the negative premium growth posted by Agricultural Insurance Company of India Ltd and ECGC Ltd.
ICICI Bank market-cap hit Rs 6 lakh cr, stock rises record high
The stock has surpassed its previous high of Rs 859.70, which had hit on October 25, 2021. At 2.48 p.m., shares of the bank were trading at Rs 860.25, up 11.50 or 1.35 per cent from its previous close. In the last one month, the stock of private lender has gained more than 12 per cent. Before ICICI Bank hitting Rs 6 lakh crore market-cap mark, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever have also hit this mark.
Battered SoftBank selling Alibaba shares to pocket $34 bn
"The current equity market environment is challenging and may be prolonged. Considering the said market environment, "SBG (SoftBank Group Corp) has determined that the best option at this time is to settle these prepaid forward contracts in physical form," said the company, adding that this "will further strengthen our defense against the severe market environment".
Interest coverage ratio in FY23 is likely to deteriorate: Bank of Baroda study
Interest payments will also rise due to global financial conditions and inflationary pressure. Earlier, falling interest rate regime has helped in improving the debt servicing ability of companies. Thus interest coverage ratio have improved in FY22. But improvement is skewed in favour of large enterprises, with MSME sector still under pressure. Small industries continued to remain vulnerable in terms of interest coverage ratio.
Non-life insurers violate law offering premium discount on vehicle third party liability insurance
Eden had asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman whether the government is aware of the 'cut and pay' system practiced by some private non-life insurers in the case of vehicle third party insurance? The cut and pay system is one where the insurers collect a lower sum than what is stipulated but print the actual premium figure on the policy.
Long, harsh funding winter ahead for unicorns: SoftBank's Masayoshi Son
In the earnings call after reporting $23.4 billion net loss in the June quarter, Son said that unicorn leaders "still believe in their valuations and they wouldn't accept that they may have to see their valuations go lower than they think". The winter for publicly-listed companies is still continuing, but a similar downturn for startups may last "longer," warned the 64-year-old executive.
Today's 50 bps hike sign RBI more concerned about rupee, external situation: SBI Ecowrap
Even though the RBI may have frontloaded the rate hikes, it remains to be seen how it influences the trajectory of rupee over the medium term. While the rupee did witness a smart recovery after the policy announcement, it was unable to hold onto the gains. Research suggests that countries with low prior FX reserves are more likely to choose an interest rate defence than countries with high reserves. This is probability, not the case for India (FX reserves: $572 billion).
Benchmark bond yield rises just over 14 bps after repo rate hike
"The bond market sold off after the policy announcement with yields moving higher by 15-20 basis points across the curve. Given that the bond yields have come down significantly over the last month, there is a possibility of a further rise in bond yields in the short term," said Pankaj Pathak, Fund Manager - Fixed Income, Quantum AMC.
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