RBI lifts per-borrower loan cap for MSMEs ► In view of the increasing importance of the services sector and to encourage banks to lend more to this sector, the Reserve Bank of India has decided to do away with the per borrower loan limits to Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises (Services) for classification under priority sector lending. ► So far, loans to Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises (Services) up to ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore, respectively, were classified as priority sector lending (PSL). ► Since the per borrower loan limits to Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises (Services) have been removed, all bank loans to MSMEs engaged in providing or rendering services as defined in terms of investment in equipment under the MSMED Act, 2006, will qualify under priority sector without any credit cap, the RBI said in a notification. ► According to the MSMED (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development) Act, 2006, in the case of the services sector, micro and small enterprises are entities where the investment in equipment does not exceed ₹10 lakh and more but not exceeding ₹2 crore. ► A medium enterprise is an entity where the investment in equipment is more than ₹2 crore but not exceeding ₹5 crore. ► Priority Sector lending usually includes lending to segments such as agriculture; micro, small and medium enterprises; export credit; education; housing; social infrastructure; and renewable energy.

► Digital payment major Paytm announced that it has registered 68 million Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in the 28 days of February alone, thus emerging as the largest contributor to the overall volume of UPI transactions. ► In December last year Paytm had contributed 33 million to the overall transaction volume for UPI, which rose to 51 million in January 2018 and 68 million in February. ► The spike, Paytm said, comes in the backdrop of its vast user-base, wide acceptability and the network effect of multiple use-cases. Paytm UPI IDs are also accepted across all banks and BHIM UPI apps, making Paytm a comprehensive payments system.

RBI allows higher position limit for FPIs in interest rate futures ► The Reserve Bank of India has eased position limit in interest rate futures (IRFs) for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). The banking regulator has allowed a limit of ₹5,000 crore for FPIs to go long in IRFs. ► An Interest Rate Futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a debt instrument at a specified future date at a price that is fixed in March, 2018. The underlying security for Interest Rate Futures is either a Government Bond or a Treasury Bill. ► Currently, the FPI limit for Government Securities (G-Secs) is fungible between investments in G-Secs and investment in IRF. ► FPI long positions in IRF are not allowed on G-Sec limit utilisation reaching 90 per cent. ► Accordingly, the aggregate long position of all FPIs, each of whom has a net long position in any IRF instrument, will be up to ₹5,000 crore, aggregated across all IRF instruments. This comes just days after the RBI allowed easier position limits for retail & HNI investors and foreign portfolio investor in India’s currency derivatives market. ► RBI has allowed positions (long or short), without having to establish existence of underlying exposure, up to a single limit of $100 million equivalent across all currency pairs involving the rupee, put together, and combined across all exchanges. ► Currently, domestic investors and FPIs are allowed to take a long (bought) or short (sold) position in USD-INR up to $15 million per exchange without having to establish existence of underlying exposure. 1|Page

www.exampundit.in

Paytm becomes largest contributor to Unified Payments Interface with 68 million transactions in February 2018

Centre directs PSBs to consolidate 35 overseas operations ► In the wake of the recent banking scams reported, the government has directed public sector banks (PSBs) to consolidate nearly 35 overseas operations without affecting the banks' international presence in these countries. ► In this regard, 69 operations were identified for further examination, including bank branches, joint ventures, subsidiaries, remittance centres and representative offices. ► As per the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services(DFS), Rajeev Kumar, the proposal of consolidation aims to improve cost efficiency and synergies in the overseas market. ► The ministry confirmed that a total of 216 overseas operations will be examined to ease the rationalisation of overseas operations. ► Furthermore, non-viable operations in the overseas market, the ministry proposed, would be terminated for greater cost efficiency and synergy. Operations in the same geography will be consolidated, and equity stakes will be consolidated in the case of joint ventures having multiple PSB partners.

► The Reserve Bank in March, 2018 said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Axis Bank for violation of NPA classification norms, and Rs 2 crore on Indian Overseas Bank for not complying with the KYC regulations. ► RBI said it had carried out a statutory inspection of private sector player Axis Bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2016. ► The inspection, inter alia, revealed "violations of various regulations issued by RBI in the assessment of nonperforming assets (NPA)",the central bank said in a statement. ► "The RBI has imposed, on February 27, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 30 million on Axis Bank Limited for noncompliance with the directions issued by RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms," it said. ► Regarding the state-owned Indian Overseas Bank, the regulator said in a separate release that a "fraud was detected" in one of the branches of the bank.

HDFC, Happay partner to help firms manage T&E expenses ► Happay, a business expense management solution provider, in collaboration with HDFC bank, introduced a new prepaid card-linked Travel and Entertainment (T&E) expense management solution to enable Indian enterprises to efficiently manage their business travel expenditure. ► The launch follows a report published by Forrester Research, an American market research company, which stated that Indian business travel is on the rise and T&E expense still remains the second most difficult operating expense to control in an organisation. ► With Happay-HDFC Bank prepaid cards and Happay mobile app in their pockets, business travellers will be able to easily seek trip advances, get trip itineraries pre-approved by management, do trip bookings and file trip expenses digitally and on the move.

Exim Bank, UNDP ink pact to extend financial support to MSMEs in N-E ► Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) in March, 2018 said it has signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for financing a project on ‘Capacity Building of MSMEs in North East India for Export Competitiveness’.

2|Page

www.exampundit.in

RBI slaps Rs 3 crore penalty on Axis Bank, 2 crores on Indian Overseas Bank

► The agreement was signed by David Rasquinha, Managing Director, Exim Bank, and Marina Walter, Country Director, UNDP. The project, according to an Exim Bank statement, looks at creating stronger MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) in the North-East region to boost exports, generate employment and provide livelihood opportunities to the youth and women. ► The key activities of the project include cluster-based support to grassroots MSMEs in North-East India in improving their export competitiveness through Exim Bank’s GRID (Grass Roots Initiative and Development) Initiative.

RBI creates sub-targets for foreign banks to lend to farmers, MSMEs ► The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed foreign banks with more than 20 branches to mandatorily create sub-targets to lend a portion of their loanbooks to small and marginal farmers, as well as micro enterprises. ► The banks that have more than 20 branches in India include banks such as Standard Chartered, Citibank and HSBC. ► According to the directive, the foreign banks in India will have to eventually lend 40 per cent of their total loan book to the priority sector by 2020. ► This mandate has been a issue of contention among the banks.

► In order to manage additional liquidity demand in the closing quarter of this financial year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will infuse about Rs 1 lakh crore into the banking system through special auctions this month. ► “After reviewing the current and evolving liquidity conditions in the banking system, it has been decided to conduct additional variable rate repo operations for longer tenors to provide additional liquidity support to the banks during March 2018,” the RBI said in a statement issued in March, 2018. ► According to the central bank, it will conduct four variable rate Term Repo auctions in March 2018. These auctions will be conducted in addition to the regular 14-day variable rate Term Repo auctions and will be held every Tuesday, starting from March 6, between 10:00 am to 10:30 am. The amount in each auction would be Rs 25,000 crore. ► On February 15, the RBI had said while the system liquidity was currently in surplus, it was moving steadily towards neutrality.

NERL inks pact with Bank of Baroda for pledge finance ► National E-Repository (NERL) has announced its partnership agreement with the Bank of Baroda (BoB) for pledge finance. ► NERL is a group company of the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange. ► With this partnership, public sender lender BoB has become the first in this domain to participate as a repository with NERL. ► According to the official communiqué, the bank will take part in the pledge finance under NERLs repository ecosystem for registered warehouses by the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).

Paytm Money to serve as registered investment adviser ► Digital payment provider Paytm announced that its wholly owned subsidiary 'Paytm Money Limited' has received the official approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to become a registered investment advisor. 3|Page

www.exampundit.in

RBI to infuse one lakh crore through special auction into banking system

► This license will allow the company to roll out investment and wealth management products to millions of consumers across India. ► Paytm Money is currently completing integrations with the respective compliance and regulatory authorities for KYC as per SEBI regulations. It is also integrating all leading asset management companies (AMCs) in India.

RBI slaps Rs 40 lakh penalty on SBI for flouting counterfeit notes norms ► The Reserve Bank has slapped a penalty of Rs 40 lakh on SBI for not complying with its directions on detection and impounding of counterfeit notes. ► "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, on March 01, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 4 million on State Bank of India for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on Detection and Impounding of Counterfeit Notes," the central bank said in a notification issued in March, 2018. ► RBI said it found deficiencies on SBI's part in regulatory compliance with counterfeit notes regulations. ► The penal action is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers, RBI added.

► The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 50 million on Airtel Payments Bank for violating operating guidelines and Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. ► The fine was imposed after RBI scrutinised the bank's documents relating to opening of accounts without any specific or clear consent from the customers. ► "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, on March 7, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 50 million on Airtel Payments Bank Limited (the bank) for contravening the Operating Guidelines for Payments Banks' and directions issued by RBI on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms," the central bank said in a statement. ► Based on the complaints and adverse media reports alleging that the bank had opened customer accounts without a clear/specific consent of the customers, RBI conducted a supervisory visit to the bank from November 20-22, 2017. ► According to reports, more than 2.3 million customers had reportedly received as many as Rs 470 million in their Airtel bank accounts, which they did not know had been opened.

RBI imposes Rs 10L fine on Equitas SFB for selling products without approval ► Reserve Bank has imposed Rs 10 lakh fine on Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) as the company was selling mutual fund, pension and insurance products without taking approval from the regulator. ► The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, on March 1, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 1 million on Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited for non-compliance with one of the licensing conditions stipulated by RBI, the apex bank said in a notification. ► "This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers," the RBI said. ► The RBI said Equitas had undertaken the activities of rolling out mutual fund units, pension products, insurance products and portfolio management services without obtaining its prior approval.

IBBI, RBI ink MoU for effectively implementing Bankruptcy Code ► The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) in March, 2018 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on cooperation for an effective implementation of the Bankruptcy Code, according to an official announcement here. 4|Page

www.exampundit.in

RBI slaps Rs 50-mn fine on Airtel Payments Bank for violation of KYC norms

► Under the agreement, periodic meetings would be held to discuss matters of mutual interest, including regulatory requirements that impact each party's responsibilities, enforcement cases, research and data analysis, information technology and data sharing, it said. ► According to the statement, other clauses of the MoU include cross-training of staff in order to enhance mutual understanding of their respective mission, as well as capacity building of insolvency professionals and financial creditors.

Power Grid inks pact with SBI for Rs5,000 crore loan ► State-owned Power Grid Corporation said in March, 2018 that it has entered into an agreement with State Bank of India (SBI) for Rs5,000 crore term loan for meeting its capital expenditure. ► In a BSE filing it said the company has entered into a term loan facility agreement for Rs5000 crore with State Bank of India (SBI) in March, 2018 for meeting “capital expenditure for expansion/ renovation and setting up various undergoing and new transmission and other projects in the company and in identified SPVs/JVs (special purpose vehicles/joint ventures) of the Company”.

RBI discontinues LOUs/LOCs issuance for trade credit for imports

ICICI launches instant online overdraft facility for MSMEs "InstaOD" ► Private banking major ICICI Bank in March, 2018 announced the launch of an instant overdraft facility for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) customers in a completely online and paperless manner. ► Titled 'InstaOD', this first-of-its-kind offering in the Indian banking industry enables a few lakhs of pre-qualified current account customers of the bank to instantly avail the facility without visiting a branch and submitting physical documents. ► This facility significantly improves customers' convenience, as they get an overdraft facility upto Rs. 15 lakh for a year anytime, anywhere, using the bank's internet and mobile banking app. The application procedure incorporates an additional level of authentication in order to make the security of the process robust.

SBI slashes charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance ► The State Bank of India (SBI) announced a substantial reduction of charges for non-maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB) in savings accounts, effective April 1. ► The charges for non-maintenance of AMB for customers in metro and urban centers have been reduced from a maximum of Rs. 50 to Rs.15 per month, excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST). Similarly, for semi-urban and rural centers, the charges have been reduced from Rs. 40 to Rs. 12 and Rs. 10 per month respectively, excluding GST. ► The bank contains Rs. 41 crores savings bank accounts, out of which 16 crore accounts under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), and Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBD) and of 5|Page

www.exampundit.in

► The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in March, 2018 announced discontinuation of the issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LOUs) and Letters of Comfort (LOCs) for trade credit for imports with immediate effect. ► The apex bank in its notification said,"It has been decided to discontinue the practice of issuance of LoUs/ LoCs for Trade Credits for imports into India by AD Category -I banks with immediate effect." ► The RBI added that the aforesaid Master Direction will be updated to reflect the changes. ► However, it mentioned that the changes will be applicable from the date of issuance of the circular. ► In the aftermath of Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, a couple of banks had clamped down on the issue of LoUs.

pensioner/minors/social security benefit holders were already exempted. In addition, students up to the age of 21 years are also exempted.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launches URCs in eastern states ► Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has launched 39 Unbanked Rural Centres (URCs) in the eastern states of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura and Orissa. ► The URCs were being set up in villages with a population above 5,000, and which do not have a brick and mortar structure of a bank, for customer-based banking transactions, a company release said. ► The aim is to get more unbanked and underbanked customers into the formal banking system, and help them become a part of Digital India, it said.

RBI issues corrective framework for PSBs

Mahagram, TJS Bank partner to integrate Bharat Bill Payment System ► Mahagram, a rising FinTech company announced its partnership with Thane Janta Sahakari Bank Ltd. (TJS Bank) for integrating the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). ► This follows the amalgamation of Mahagram's payment services with the BBPS monitored by the National Payment Corporation (NPCI). ► Mahagram has a digital financial services platform known as "eGramTM" that has brought a payment revolution by delivering an integrated range of services on a robust transaction platform. Aiming at BBPS, Mahagram is trying to resolve difficulties by assisting in a number of services to people's doorsteps. Like digital payment industry it offers services to help India go cashless.

Yes Bank launches a digitised trade finance solution ► Private sector lender Yes Bank has launched a robotics based ‘Digital export Import’ payments solution as a part of its Yes Transact Smart Trade product suite. ► The integrated product uses robotics process automation and helps in eliminating the requirement of documents submission for import and export payments. ► This also has inherent features and checks built in to ensure risk management and security. The initiative aims to bring over one lakh trade transactions going entirely digital, across major geographies including China, US, Singapore, Germany and Hong Kong. 6|Page

www.exampundit.in

► Amid the multiple scams unearthed recently in the banking sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework to maintain the sound financial health of banks. ► The framework facilitates banks in breach of risk thresholds for identified areas of monitoring, such as capital, asset quality (tracked in terms of the net Non-Performing Assets ratio) and profitability, to take corrective measures in a timely manner, in order to restore their financial health. ► Therefore, the RBI, through this corrective framework, intends to encourage banks to abstain from certain riskier activities, improve operational efficiency and focus on conserving capital to strengthen them, as stated by Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, Shiv Pratap Shukla, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha in March, 2018. ► Among the PSBs selected by the central bank for the PCA framework include Dena Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, UCO Bank, IDBI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Overseas Bank, Corporation Bank, Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and United Bank of India.

SBI, IMGC sign MOU to offer mortgage guarantee backed home loan ► India's largest lender SBI and India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) in March, 2018 signed a pact to offer mortgage guarantee scheme for prospective non-salaried and self-employed home loan customers. ► The offering will help increase home loan eligibility up to 15 per cent within the regulatory norms, the State Bank of India (SBI) said in a statement.

Punjab National Bank launches Mission Parivartan ► Punjab National Bank (PNB) has embarked on Mission Parivartan, a 10-pronged transformation strategy to strengthen one of the oldest public sector banks in India on all counts. ► The strategy includes profit maximization, improvement of asset quality and recovery, increasing productivity, new ideas for augmenting retail business, innovative vigilance practices and reducing error and complaints. ► In a letter written to the employees, PNB managing director Sunil Mehta said an independent think tank named “Mission Parivartan Division” will act as the catalyst to ensure the 3Cs—Commitment, Collaboration and Communication—bring together all internal stakeholders. ► As part of the participative approach, the bank has created the “Lead the Parivartan” portal to engage all in the transformation process and involves crowd-sourcing of suggestions and ideas from all PNBians.

► Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy has partnered with ICICI Bank to roll out two digital solutions to facilitate a convenient and hassle-free way for its delivery partners to transfer funds. ► Through the partnership, Swiggy has enabled Unified Payment Interface (UPI)-based solution for instant fund transfers on-the-go and an option for facilitating cash deposits at automated Cash Deposit Machine (CDM) available at ICICI Bank branches and ATM locations across the country. ► By integrating UPI, Swiggy’s delivery partners will have their own UPI handle (VPA) to which they can link their savings bank account and start transacting by using UPI-enabled apps like BHIM, ICICI Pockets, Google Tez, PhonePe, PayTM among others.

Equitas ties up with CSK, launches yellow army savings account ► To commemorate its association with the Indian Premium League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Chennai-based Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB), in March, 2018, rolled out ‘Yellow Army Savings Account’. ► The IPL franchisee is making a come back after a two-year suspension. Equitas has been in business since September 2016. The 11th edition of IPL starts on April 7. ► CSK players Dwayne Bravo and Murali Vijay unveiled the Yellow Army debit card with images and illustrations of Mahindra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja. As part of the deal, jersey of CSK players would bear Equitas SFB logo on the lead arm and back of the helmet and cap.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Fisdom team up for digital NPS ► Bengaluru-based start-up Fisdom and Lakshmi Vilas Bank have entered into a partnership to enable investments in the National Pension Scheme (NPS) in a completely digital and paperless manner. ► Fisdom provides the NPS digitally through its mobile app with which any registered user can invest in the NPS within a couple of minutes, according to a statement. 7|Page

www.exampundit.in

Swiggy ties up with ICICI Bank to offer digital payment solutions to its delivery fleet

► Under the partnership, the customers of LVB will be able to plan their investments under the pension scheme in accordance with their goals.

Metro Plus card for IndusInd Bank customers launched ► The Delhi Metro, in association with IndusInd Bank, in March, 2018 launched a dual purpose Metro Plus' debit card that will enable customers of the bank to use it for metro train rides, besides other transactions. ► The card was jointly launched by managing director of Delhi Metro Mangu Singh and IndusInd Bank executive vice president Ritesh Raj Saxena. ► The dual purpose Metro Plus' card' will enable the IndusInd Bank debit card holders to use it as a Delhi Metro Smart Card, in addition to using it for all other regular debit card transactions, a statement from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) said.

SBI to soon set up blockchain-based exchange for bad debts ► State Bank of India will soon have a blockchain-based exchange for bad debts along with other banks, asset reconstruction companies and investors on the same infrastructure, according to Sudin Baraokar, Head Innovation, SBI. ► India’s largest public sector bank, which is also among the top 40 globally, will implement four or five blockchain-ready business solutions. ► With Indian banks saddled with an estimated $210 billion of non-performing assets (NPAs), of which over $30 billion are with SBI alone, a blockchain-based exchange will provide a common platform that will enable datadriven price discovery. Similarly, trade finance and loan exchanges are also planned, he said.

► Brickwork Ratings has downgraded six banks including Bank of India and Union Bank of India, the rating firm said In March, 2018. ► It said that almost all banks have shown significant reduction in non-interest income owing to lower treasury income while stress on asset quality further deepened. ► The cases being referred to the National Company Law Tribunal under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code are taking more time to resolve and some of the high profile cases are attracting multiple litigations, delaying the debt resolution exercise.

Equitas Small Finance Bank launches Digi-Chengai ► The Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESFB) in March, 2018 launched ‘Digi-Chengai’, a project aimed at transforming the Chengalpattu town into a less cash economy by enabling digital payment solutions. ► The initiative was in line with the Central Government’s dream of 'Digital India' to move towards a less cash economy adopting digital payments. ► Equitas offers variety of digital services such as POS (Point of Sale) at merchants, QR (Quick Response) based acquiring, payment solutions, net and mobile banking, mobile top-ups and corporate net banking.

8|Page

www.exampundit.in

Brickwork Ratings downgrade Bank of India, Union Bank of India and four others

SBI Card to launch exclusive credit card for doctors ► Credit card issuer SBI Card has partnered with Indian Medical Association (IMA), the voluntary representative organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine, to launch ‘Doctor’s SBI Card’, an exclusive credit card for doctors which is designed to complement the distinct lifestyles and needs of doctors.

Rivigo ties up with IDFC, YES Bank for truck loans ► Rivigo, a homegrown logistics start-up that owns as well as acts as an aggregator of trucks, is tying up with YES Bank, IDFC and 10 other financial institutions to make cheaper funds available to truck owners and operators on its platform. ► The funds will be available at an interest rate of 1-2 per cent per month, lower than the usual industry standard of 2-3 per cent, said Deepak Garg, Rivigo’s founder and CEO. Instead of waiting for funds from their customers, they can get the money from the banks for a duration of 30-60 days, he explained.

Fino Payments Bank to deploy mPoS devices across 10,000 banking points ► Fino Payments Bank has said it plans to deploy multi-utility Android-based mPoS (mobile point-of-sale) devices across 10,000 banking points in the country in a phased manner. ► The mPoS is a portable device with an in-built fingerprint scanner, card reader, camera, printer and a tablet, the payments bank said. ► The device will gradually replace the combination of devices currently used to facilitate fingerprint authentication and digital transactions.

► In a rare move, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in March, 2018 imposed monetary penalty worth Rs. 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank, the country's biggest private bank, for failing to abide by rules on the sale of bonds in the heldto-maturity (HTM) category. ► "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed through an order dated March 26, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs. 589 million on ICICI Bank Limited (the bank) for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on direct sale of securities from its HTM portfolio and specified disclosure in this regard," RBI mentioned in a release.

IBBI notifies amendments to insolvency code; applicable from Apr 1 ► The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) in March, 2018 notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Professionals) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (Amendment Regulations), effective April 1. ► According to the amendment regulations, subject to meeting other requirements, an individual shall be eligible for registration as an insolvency professional if he has passed the Limited Insolvency Examination within the last 12 months and has completed a pre-registration educational course from an insolvency professional agency, as may be required by the IBBI. ► Furthermore, the syllabus, format, qualifying marks and frequency of the aforementioned examination shall be published on the website of the IBBI at least three months before the examination. ► As per the amendments, an individual with the required experience of 10/15 years is eligible for registration as an insolvency professional.

9|Page

www.exampundit.in

RBI imposes monetary penalty worth Rs 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank

JOIN TELEGRAM CLICK HERE

To help you in your exam preparation, AIMBANKER TEAM is regularly posting helpful posts, please subscribe, follow & Share ,LIKE US ON FACEBOOK PAGE OF AIMBANKER.

JOIN FACEBOOK CLICK HERE

Join Whatsapp @Click Here

8/8

RBI keeps interest rates unchanged at six per cent, reserve repo rate at 5.75 per cent 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in February kept the repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged at 6 percent and 5.75 percent respectively.



The central bank's six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), in its Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2017-18, noted that the GVA growth as per the first advance estimates (FAE) released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is estimated to drop to 6.1 percent in 2017-18 from 7.1 percent in 2016-17



Consumer price index (CPI) inflation for 2018-19 is estimated in the range of 5.1-5.6 per cent in H1, including diminishing statistical HRA impact of central government employees, and 4.5-4.6 per cent in H2, the RBI said in its statement.

Rate Name Policy Repo Rate Reverse Repo Rate Marginal Standing Facility Rate Bank Rate CRR SLR Base Rate MCLR (Overnight) Savings Deposit Rate Term Deposit Rate > 1 Year

Rate % 6.00% 5.75% 6.25% 6.25% 4% 19.5% 8.65% - 9.45% 7.65% - 7.80% 3.50% - 4.00% 6.00% - 6.75%



In a bid to relieve Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of payment-related woes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in February announced that select companies would be provided additional time to repay loans.



Post the announcement of the sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, the RBI's six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said Goods and Services Tax (GST)-registered MSMEs with aggregate standard exposure of up to Rs. 25 crore with amounts overdue as on September 2017 would be allowed 180 days more to make repayments.



Presently, banks and NBFCs in India classify a loan account as Non-Performing Asset (NPA) based on 90 and 120-day delinquency norms, respectively.



To this, the RBI noted that formalisation of business through registration under GST had adversely impacted the cash flows of the smaller entities during the transition phase with consequent difficulties in meeting their repayment obligations to banks and NBFCs.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India amends regulations for insolvency resolution process 

Insolvency resolution professionals will now be required to assess the fair value and liquidation value of the entity undergoing insolvency proceedings, with the latest set of amendments to the regulations.



The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has amended the norms pertaining to insolvency resolution process for corporate persons.

1|Page

www.exampundit.in

RBI grants payment extension to select MSMEs

RBI launches Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched ‘Ombudsman Scheme’ for non-banking financial companies (NBFC) for redressal of complaints against them.



As per the RBI, this Scheme will offer a speedy and cost-free complaint redressal mechanism relating to deficiency in the services by NBFCs covered under the Scheme.



The Scheme will be known as ‘Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018’.



According to the apex bank, the Scheme will cover all deposit-taking NBFCs for now and based on the result and experience gained, it would extend the scheme to cover those NBFCs who have the asset size of Rs. 100 crore and above with customer interface.



The Ombudsman Scheme will provide an Appellate mechanism under which the complainant/ NBFC has the option to appeal against the decision of the Ombudsman before the Appellate Authority.



The NBFC ombudsmen will function and the complaints of customer as per zone wise. For this NBFC ombudsmen will discharge their functions from four offices in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi.



As per the RBI notification, for redressal of grievance under Ombudsman Scheme, the complainant must first approach the concerned NBFC.



NBFC Ombudsman will not charge any fee for filing and resolving customers’ complaints.



If the NBFC does not reply within a period of 30 days (one month) after receipt of the complaint from complainant or the NBFC rejects the complaint, or if the complainant is not happy with the reply given by the NBFC, then the complainant can file the complaint with the NBFC Ombudsman.



The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in February said that it will link the base rate with the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rates (MCLR) from April 1 to ensure expeditious transmission of its policy rate to borrowers.



Although the RBI had introduced the MCLR system with effect from April 1, 2016, the central bank in a statement said that a large proportion of bank loans continue to be linked to the base rate.



The RBI Deputy Governor NS Vishwanathan on February 7, after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, had said that the apex bank had decided to harmonize the methodology of determining benchmark rates by linking base rate to MCLR, as it is more sensitive to policy rate signals.

Bank of Baroda launches 'Baroda DigiNext' 

Bank of Baroda in February launched 'Baroda DigiNext', a product for digitising cash management of corporate and government customers, the public sector lender said in a release.



Baroda DigiNext aims at bringing the benefits of the new digital landscape to its corporate and government customers by seamlessly connecting them with their customers, suppliers, employees and revenue departments, it said.

2|Page

www.exampundit.in

Reserve Bank of India to link base rate with MCLR

BoB signs MoU to become preferred lender for FPOs in Maharashtra 

Nationalised banks are hopeful of increasing lending to the priority sector following the Budget announcement of 100 per cent tax deduction for the next five years for farmer producer organisations (FPOs) with a turnover of up to Rs 100 crore.



The Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bank of Baroda, which has become a preferred lender for FPOs in Maharashtra.



It has already entered into an agreement with the consortium for lending to FPOs in the rest of the country. India has about 4,000 FPOs promoted by various organisations such as SFAC, Nabard and other development institutions.

RBI panel bats for self-regulation, legal reforms for fintech companies 

The Reserve Bank of India has recommended innovation labs, more partnerships and data protection laws, dedicated organization structure under each financial regulator tighter regulations and a self-regulatory body for FinTech companies.



Last year, RBI had set up an inter-regulatory Working Group to study the entire gamut of regulatory issues relating to FinTech and Digital Banking in India. Chaired by Sudarshan Sen, Executive Director of RBI, the group includes members of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), CRISIL rating agency and technology heads from State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and A.P. Hota, former CEO of NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India).



Punjab National Bank has signed an agreement for information utility with National e-Governance Services Limited.



The objective of the agreement is to augment the information infrastructure in India.



The agreement will enable storing of financial information that will help substantiate defaults and verify claims expeditiously. This will in turn facilitate resolution in the National Company Law Tribunal in a time bound manner, according to a PNB release.

RBI announces Revised Framework for Resolution of Stressed Assets; withdraws CDR, SDR, S4A and JLF 

The Reserve bank of India (RBI) on February 12, 2018 has revised the new stressed assets framework to tighten its rules around bank loan defaults and asked banks to immediately identify defaults and make disclosures every Friday to the RBI credit registry from February 23.



In order to accelerate resolution of the bad loans problem at Indian Banks, the RBI has abolished half a dozen existing loan-restructuring mechanisms which includes Corporate Debt Restructuring Scheme, Flexible Structuring of Existing Long Term Project Loans, Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme (SDR), Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets, Change in Ownership outside SDR, and Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) and the Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF) with immediate effect.



RBI, according to its release, said that in view of the enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), it has been decided to substitute the existing guidelines with a harmonised and simplified generic framework for resolution of stressed assets. 3|Page

www.exampundit.in

PNB signs pact with National e-Gov Services

Revised Framework Early identification and reporting of stress As per the RBI circular, lenders shall identify incipient stress in loan accounts, immediately on default, by classifying stressed assets as special mention accounts (SMA) as per the following categories: SMA Sub-categories

Basis for classification – Principal or interest payment or any other amount wholly or partly overdue between

SMA-0

1-30 days

SMA-1

31-60 days

SMA-2

61-90 days



The RBI said that lenders shall report credit information, including classification of an account as SMA to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) on all borrower entities having aggregate exposure of Rs 50 million (Rs 5 crore) and above with them.



The CRILC-Main Report will now be submitted on a monthly basis with effect from April 1, 2018.



In addition, the lenders shall report to CRILC, all borrower entities in default (with aggregate exposure of Rs 5 crore and above), on a weekly basis, at the close of business on every Friday.



If Friday happens to be a holiday in that particular week then on the preceding working day. The first such weekly report shall be submitted for the week ending February 23.

In respect of accounts with aggregate exposure of the lenders at Rs 2,000 crore and above, on or after March 1 (Reference date), including accounts where resolution may have been initiated under any of the existing schemes as well as accounts classified as restructured standard assets which are currently in respective specified periods, the Resolution Plan (RP) shall be implemented as per following timelines. i)

If in default as on the reference date, then 180 days from the reference date.

ii)

If in default after the reference date, then 180 days from the date of first such default.

Immediate Resolution Plan 

The central bank has asked all lenders to put in place Board-approved policies for resolution of stressed assets under this framework, including the timelines for resolution.



As soon as there is a default in the borrower entity’s account with any lender, all lenders (singly or jointly)shall initiate steps to cure the default.



As per the RBI, the resolution plan (RP) may involve any actions / plans / reorganization including, but not limited to, regularisation of the account by payment of all over dues by the borrower entity, sale of the exposures to other entities / investors, change in ownership, or restructuring.

Supervision from RBI 

RBI said that if there is any failure from the lenders in meeting the prescribed timelines or any actions by lenders with an intent to conceal the actual status of accounts or evergreen the stressed accounts, will be subjected to stringent supervisory/enforcement actions.

4|Page

www.exampundit.in

Timelines for large accounts

Equitas Small Finance Bank launches selfeSavings 

Equitas Small Finance Bank, the first private sector bank from Tamil Nadu post-Independence, has launched ‘selfeSavings’, an interactive digital savings account. selfeSavings account can be opened with a web-based interactive video form hosted on www.equitasbank.com by using the Aadhaar number, PAN and other basic details, all in under five minutes.



Customers can set up a mobile banking PIN and start using their account instantly.

Yes Bank lists country’s first $600m MTN bond on IndiaINX 

Private sector lender, Yes Bank in February announced the listing of the Bank’s debut US $600 million bond issue under its maiden US $1 billion medium-term note (MTN) bond on country’s first international exchange BSE’s IndiaINX at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City.



The Yes Bank’s MTN programme — a debt note that matures or has a payback period of 5 years — on Global Securities Market (GSM) became the country’s first capital raising platform for international investors in any currency.



State Bank of India has launched its Global NRI (GNC) center at Kochi - the state that receives highest number of remittances in the country.



Announcing the launching at a news conference in February, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said that the Global NRI center will be a one-stop customer service center for all NRI banking related services.



To further enhance the service experience for NRIs, the bank also launched related other services such as Wealth management, SBI Intelligent Assist, Free Post box service, SBI Mingle for NRI’s, Remittance facility for US based customers, he added.

RBI sets up Y.H. Malegam panel to look into factors leading to bank frauds 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a panel under board member Y.H. Malegam, a former president of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), to look into the factors leading to increasing incidents of bank frauds.



The move comes a week after Punjab National Bank said it has fallen victim to a Rs11,400 crore fraud, at the centre of which is billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi.



The Maelgam panel will also look into reasons for high divergence in NPA classification and provisioning by banks.



The central bank said it had alerted banks thrice on potential malicious use of SWIFT infrastructure since August 2016.

5|Page

www.exampundit.in

SBI Launches Global NRI center in Kochi

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank commences operation 

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank (Mumbai) Limited has commenced operations as a payments bank with effect from February 22, 2018, the Reserve Bank of India release said Aditya Birla Idea Payments bank is among seven entities to get a final approval from the banking regulator.



Airtel Payments Bank Ltd was the first payments bank to start operations in January 2017 followed by India Post.



The other payments banks that have started operations include Paytm Payments Bank Ltd and Fino Payments Bank Ltd.



One of the challenges for the payments banks is they have to fully meet the KYC (know your customer) norm requirement by RBI before February 28.



Idea Cellular had applied for a Payments Banks license in a 49:51 joint venture with Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited.



Google in February announced a deeper integration with the State Bank of India (SBI) for its digital payment app "Tez" that will allow users to now create a SBI UPI Id -- @oksbi and get access to exclusive offers for the SBI customers.



Launched in September last year, "Tez" claims to have processed over 250 million transactions till date and has over 13.5 million monthly active users across the country.



"Tez" is built on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), allowing users make payments from their bank accounts to other accounts from over 70 UPI-enabled banks.

IndusInd ties up with blockchain service Ripple to aid global payments 

Private sector IndusInd Bank has tied up with blockchain solution provider Ripple to enhance global payment transactions in and out of India.



With this affiliation, Ripple can now provide instant access in emerging markets such as India, Brazil and China, IndusInd Bank said in a release.



The bank said India witnessed $65 billion move into the country in 2017.

Catholic Syrian Bank ties up with Celebrus Capital for online trading services 

Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd and Celebrus Capital Ltd have announced a new partnership to offer CSB’s customers online trading and demat services.



With this partnership, CSB’s customers can open a Celebrus trading account free of cost and also enjoy preferred rates on brokerage charges/ AMC fees on the demat account.



CSB customers will have access to Celebrus’ mobile trading and investment platform – LEAP – created in association with Thomson Reuters, while enjoying seamless integration between deposits, demat and trading accounts.

6|Page

www.exampundit.in

Google's digital payment app Tez integrates with SBI

Moody's upgrades outlook on IDBI Bank to positive on recapitalisation 

Moody's Investors Service in February affirmed the long-term local and foreign currency bank deposit rating of IDBI Bank at B1 and changed the outlook to positive from stable. Moody’s headquarter is in New York, USA.



The rating agency also affirmed the state-run lender and its DIFC branch's long-term foreign currency senior unsecured debt rating at B1 and changed the outlook to positive.



The positive outlook also factors in the rating agnecy's view on the expected evolution of the bank's balance sheet, including a stabilization in asset quality and continued stable funding and liquidity positions.



Under the recapitalisation plan, the bank will get Rs 7,881 crore in new capital by March.

Capital First gets NHB nod for merger with IDFC Bank 

Capital First in February said the regulator National Housing Bank (NHB) has approved the merger of the company along with Capital Home Finance and Capital First Securities Limited with IDFC Bank.



Earlier in January, the company had informed the decision of the board of directors approving amalgamation of the company, Capital First Home Finance Limited, and Capital First Securities Limited (collectively, the 'Amalgamating Companies') with IDFC Bank Limited.



The Reserve Bank in February raised the exposure limit under exchange traded currency derivatives (ETCD) trading for residents and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to USD 100 million across all currency pairs involving the Indian rupee. The RBI's decision to raise the limit will help entities engaged in forex transactions to maintain their currency risks in a better manner.



Earlier, the RBI had imposed a limit of USD 15 million for USD-INR and USD 5 million for other currency pairs of Indian rupee with Euro, Japanese Yen and British Pound.

Razorpay enables UPI payments on IRCTC 

India's first converged payment solutions company, Razorpay, in February announced its collaboration with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to help customers make online payments on IRCTC website and mobile app through Unified Payment Interface (UPI), in addition to payments through netbanking, wallets and credit/debit cards.

SBI hikes deposit rates by up to 50 bps across tenors 

State Bank of India has upped interest rates on domestic retail term deposits (up to Rs 1 crore) by up to 50 basis points across tenors with effect from February 28. With India’s largest bank hiking retail deposit rates, other banks are likely to follow suit.



The maximum increase of 50 basis points is in four maturity buckets – 7 days to 45 days; 2 years to less than 3 years; 3 years to less than 5 years; 5 years and up to 10 years. The new interest rate on the 7 days to 45 days maturity bucket is 5.75 per cent (5.25 per cent earlier). On the three maturity buckets above two years, the new interest rate is 6.50 per cent (6 per cent earlier). 7|Page

www.exampundit.in

RBI raises currency derivative trade limit to USD 100 mn

JOIN TELEGRAM CLICK HERE

To help you in your exam preparation, AIMBANKER TEAM is regularly posting helpful posts, please subscribe, follow & Share ,LIKE US ON FACEBOOK PAGE OF AIMBANKER.

JOIN FACEBOOK CLICK HERE

Join Whatsapp @Click Here

8/8

Only Banking! The Banking Awareness PDF from Current Affairs

Issue #2 – January, 2018

Only Banking is a PDF which contains only the Banking Awareness from Current Affairs. Which means, if you want to study Banking Awareness or keep your banking awareness up to date. This is the PDF you are looking for.

1. Professionals carrying out asset valuations under Companies Act and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code will have to get themselves registered with Insolvency Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) from April to conduct such activities.

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is the regulator for overseeing insolvency proceedings and entities like Insolvency Professional Agencies (IPA), Insolvency Professionals (IP) and Information Utilities (IU) in India. Dr. M. S. Sahoo, Chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is the bankruptcy law of India which seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha in December 2015. It was passed by Lok Sabha on 5 May 2016.

2. State Bank of India and the transporter’s arm Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will launch

3. State Bank of India has joined hands with National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (Nabard) to grow its priority lending book as the country's largest lender plans to raise its stake with small and medium farmers, a majority of whom do not enjoy the access of bank loans. SBI is the first one to join hands with Nabard and its partner NGOs in West Bengal to promote JLG method of lending to farmers at 7% interest in the state, which is characterised by fragmented landholdings and low credit penetration.

About Joint Liability Group  

Joint Liability Group is a concept established in India in 2014 by the rural development agency National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to provide institutional credit to small farmers. Joint Liability Group is a group of 4-10 people of same village/locality of homogenous nature and of same Socio Economic Background who mutually come together to form a group for the purpose of availing loan from a bank without any collateral.

Purpose of JLG 

Providing Credit to Small and Marginal Farmers, Tenant Farmers, Oral Lessee, Landless Labourers and Artisans 1|Page

www.exampundit.in

a co-branded debit card.

   

Providing Collateral free Loan to Groups Building Confidence between Groups and Banks To mitigate the credit risk by way of group dynamics, peer pressure, credit discipline and cluster approach. To provide self-employment and increase production of agricultural products.

About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Chairman: Harsh Kumar Bhanwala

Established: 12 July 1982

Headquarters: Mumbai

About State Bank of India Chairman: Rajnish Kumar

Established: 1 July, 1955

Headquarters: Mumbai

4. Investment manager Principal Financial Group Inc said it would purchase Indian lender Punjab National Bank's (PNB) minority stakes in their joint ventures. About Punjab National Bank Headquarter: New Delhi

5. The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and India Post Payments Bank in January signed an agreement for the training of employees of the latter in the area of payment banking. About India Post Payments Bank The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been incorporated as a public sector company under the Department of Posts with 100% GOI equity. First branches opened in Raipur and Ranchi. IPPB offers 3 distinct accounts, tailored to suit the requirements of people everywhere   

Regular Account – Safal Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) - Sugam BSBDA Small - Saral

MD & CEO of India Post Payments Bank - Suresh Sethi

2|Page

www.exampundit.in

Chairman: Sunil Mehta

6. Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) has operationalised it’s first desktop ATM at Kasibugga in Mandi Bazar of Warangal in Telangana. The ATM is designed to work in harsh climatic conditions and minimum power requirements. They can dispense small denominations and cater to small cash needs of rural customers, who can use their Rupay ATM debit cards.

Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank is sponsored by State Bank of India.

7. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHD-CCI) recently singed collaboration with the IDFC bank. The main focus of the MoU between the PHDCCI and IDFC would be to facilitate credit support to the MSMEs in the country. Also the chamber will assist the micro, small and medium enterprises with the documentation procedures.

IDFC Bank Ltd. (Infrastructure Development Finance Company) Headquarter: Mumbai

Chairman: Rajiv B Lall

8. The NABARD has sanctioned Rs 372.51 crore loan assistance under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to Odisha towards irrigation and rural bridge projects for the last quarter of this fiscal.

9. India's Allahabad Bank said the central bank has initiated 'prompt corrective action' (PCA) against the state-run lender over its high bad loans.

Allahabad Bank Headquarter: Kolkata

Chairperson: Usha Ananthasubramanian (CEO & MD)

3|Page

www.exampundit.in

The bank IDFC Bank is the first in India to launch aadhaar-linked cashless merchant solution.

10. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is going to issue new Rs 10 notes under the Mahatma Gandhi series with chocolate brown colour as the base. The new note will bear the picture of the Konark Sun Temple.

Specimen of New ₹10 Note:

11. State-owned Air India has tied up with UAE-based First Abu Dhabi Bank as well as Standard Chartered Bank and Mashreq Bank to avail short-term loans for acquiring three Boeing 777 aircraft.

Bank Info Standard Chartered Bank – London, UK

First Abu Dhabi Bank – Abu Dhabi, UAE

12. Fintech startup Nearby Technologies has tied up with Yes Bank to provide Aadhaar- enabled cardless and pinless ATM service by which customers can deposit or withdraw money at retailers' place.

About Yes Bank Chairperson: Rana Kapoor

Headquarter: Mumbai

4|Page

www.exampundit.in

Mashreq Bank – Dubai, UAE

13. Paytm Payments Bank in January said it has partnered Induslnd Bank to introduce a facility to create a fixed deposit when the customer balance exceeds Rs 1 lakh at the end of day.

About Paytm Payments Bank Chairperson: Reenu Satti

Headquarter: Noida, Uttar Pradesh

About IndusInd Bank Chairperson: R. Seshasayee

Headquarter: Mumbai

14. Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd (TIHCL), a State government initiative, has got RBI clearance to register and function as a non-banking finance company (NBFC). It will be the first State promoted and co-financing NBFC.

15. Urban Cooperative Bank Janata Sahakari Bank Pune has recently launched the application called “Jet Pay” which

16. IndusInd Bank and Dynamics Inc. at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) announced plans to introduce the first battery-powered, interactive payment cards to the Indian market in 2018. The new IndusInd Bank card from Dynamics has multiple buttons that let the consumers use a single card to pay in multiple ways. Note: 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

5|Page

www.exampundit.in

is based on latest technology of Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It is headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra.

17. Punjab National Bank (PNB) and National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) have tied up to provide financial assistance for economic empowerment of persons belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) families living below Double Poverty Line (DPL). What is Double Poverty Line? At present persons whose family income is below ₹20,000/- per annum in rural areas and ₹27,500/- per annum in urban areas are considered to be below poverty line, and those whose family income is below ₹40,000/per annum in rural areas and ₹55,000/- per annum in urban areas respectively are considered to be below double poverty line.

18. Taxi aggregator Ola in January announced signing of an MoU along with ICICI Bank to bring forth a range of integrated offers to their customers and driver-partners.



 



Ola booking facility on ICICI Bank's mobile banking platforms: It will enable ICICI Bank customers to seamlessly book an Ola and pay the fare by using the bank's mobile banking applications; 'iMobile' and 'Pockets'. Access to instant small ticket digital credit: The facility will help Ola customers to get small ticket digital credit instantaneously from ICICI Bank, on the Ola Platform. Enable digital payments to driver partners: ICICI Bank will offer a 'Pay Direct' card for Ola's driver partners. With this, Ola's auto and cab driver partners will be able to get their daily earnings directly into their 'Pay Direct' card accounts. Co-branded credit card: ICICI Bank will launch a new co-branded credit card in association with Ola.

About ICICI Bank Headquarter: Mumbai

Chairperson: Chhanda Kochhar

19. The Union Bank of India (UBI) in January launched project Utkarsh, aimed at providing better services to its customers. Under Utkarsh, UBI would provide home loans in five days to savings bank account holders. About Union Bank of India

Chairperson: Rajkiran Rai G.

Headquarter: Mumbai

6|Page

www.exampundit.in

Through this alliance, two of India's most popular and trusted brands will bring together their respective technology platforms to offer the following facilities:

20. The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry in January inked an MoU with Allahabad Bank for setting up an online portal for processing interest subsidy to be paid to people who availed loans under the Centre's DAY-NULM scheme. About Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission scheme Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana or DAY is a Government of India scheme for the helping the poor by providing skill training. It replaces Aajeevika. The Government of India has provisioned ₹50,000 crore (US$7.8 billion) for the scheme.

21. Public sector lender Bank of India (BoI) in January said it has entered into an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Receivables Exchange of India Ltd (RXIL) as a Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) partner for discounting invoices of MSMEs on digital platform. About Bank of India Chairperson: Dinbandhu Mohapatra (MD & CEO)

Headquarter: Mumbai

current chairman of Capital First, will become the MD and CEO of the merged entity, succeeding Rajiv Lall.'

23. YES Foundation, the social development arm of YES Bank, in January launched a programme to inculcate the spirit of responsible youth citizenship and drive social impact through the medium of films. The fifth edition of 'YES! i am the CHANGE' (YIAC) aims at providing youth, NGOs/ social enterprises with a platform to use films as a storytelling medium to drive social impact, Yes Bank said in a statement. The foundation has invited participation in the 'YIAC Social Filmmaking Challenge', to depict stories of change in a three-minute film. YES Foundation would support these NGOs with Grant of INR 7.5 Cr, towards scale up & capacity building. The grantee organizations will also receive 3year mentoring to ensure onground tangible social impact.

7|Page

www.exampundit.in

22. IDFC Bank will merge with Warburg Pincus-backed Capital First in an all-share deal, and V Vaidyanathan, the

24. Federal Bank has entered into a strategic partnership with Hedge Equities Ltd for providing Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) services to NRIs. About Federal Bank Chairperson: Shyam Srinivasan

Headquarter: Kochi, Kerala

25. The Haryana government has decided to form a non-banking financial company (NBFC) — Haryana State Financial Services Limited — to act as an in-house treasury manager for efficient management of surplus funds of State public enterprises and autonomous bodies.

26. Digital invoice discounting marketplace - Invoicemart has tied up with state-run lender Bank of Baroda to discount invoices for MSMEs. Buyers and sellers registered on the marketplace will now be able to access funding from Bank of Baroda. Invoicemart is a joint venture between Axis Bank Ltd and mjunction services ltd. About Bank of Baroda Headquarter: Vadodara, Gujarat

27. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services, in January announced the launch of its Tax Saver Fixed Deposit (FD) across all bank branches nationally. About Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited Chairperson: Samit Ghosh

Headquarter: Bengaluru

Tagline: Build a Better Life

28. State Bank of India in January said its board has given nod to raise Rs 20,000 crore for financing affordable housing and infrastructure projects through long- term bonds.

8|Page

www.exampundit.in

Chairperson: P. S. Jayakumar

29. India’s most-valued lender HDFC Bank Ltd in January crossed ₹5 trillion market capitalisation for the first time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) are the other two companies which crossed market capitalisation of ₹5 trillion. About HDFC (Housing Development Financial Corporation) Bank Limited Chairperson: Aditya Puri

Headquarter: Mumbai

30. State Bank of India (SBI), the largest commercial bank in India, in January announced tie-up with Transfast Remittance LLC, the USA based payment network since 25 years with a network that covers over 6 billion people across 120 plus countries for inward remittance from the USA to India.

31. Amplus Energy Solutions in January announced entering into a pact with private sector lender Yes Bank for

32. Paytm Payments Bank in January announced the launch of physical Debit Cards “RuPay Debit Cards” for its banking customers to seamlessly make payments across online platforms and offline stores.

33. Banking finance company AU Small Finance Bank has signed an MoU with LIC to offer Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), a company official said. Under the MoU, LIC will give a life cover of ₹2 lakh in case of death to the customer at a nominal premium of ₹330 per annum. AU Small Finance Bank Chairperson: Sanjay Agarwal

Headquarter: Jaipur

9|Page

www.exampundit.in

strategic tie-up to co-finance projects in the solar energy space in India.

34. Axis Bank is partnering with NGO Srijan through an initiative called Buddha Fellowship Programme to help nurture talent for the development sector. The bank is mentoring 15 graduates from the Indian Institutes of Management at Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Shillong, who have been taken on board by Srijan as campus hires. About Axis Bank Chairperson: Shikha Sharma

Headquarter: Mumbai

35. Kerala based lender Federal Bank has launched a chatbot based virtual assistant in the bank's mobile application FedMobile in partnership with Niki.ai. Using the Chatbot feature, the users of the app can avail a host of m-commerce services by simply chatting on the application, said the company in a release.

36. Prodigee Finance Limited recently crossed that milestone and received their NBFC license from RBI, making it possible for the firm to provide Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) loans as part of their services. About NBFCs

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Asset Finance Company (AFC) Investment Company (IC) Loan Company (LC) Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC) Infrastructure Debt Fund: Non- Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) Gold Loan NBFCs Residuary Non-Banking Companies (RNBCs)

NBFCs perform functions similar to that of banks but there are a few differences       

Provides Banking services to People without holding a Bank license, An NBFC cannot accept Demand Deposits, An NBFC is not a part of the payment and settlement system and as such, An NBFC cannot issue Cheques drawn on itself, and Deposit insurance facility of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available for NBFC depositors, unlike banks, An NBFC is not required to maintain Reserve Ratios (CRR, SLR etc.) An NBFC cannot indulge Primarily in Agricultural, Industrial Activity, Sale-Purchase, Construction of Immovable Property Foreign Investment allowed up to 100%.

10 | P a g e

www.exampundit.in

Types of NBFCs in India

37. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) had in January signed an MoU with National Housing Bank for implementing the Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS) of the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). About Indian Overseas Bank Chairperson: R. Subramania Kumar

Headquarter: Chennai

About National Housing Bank National Housing Bank (NHB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), was set up on 9 July 1988 under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987. Chairperson: Sriram Kalyanaram

Headquarter: New Delhi

38. The Union Government has allowed Small Finance Banks and Payments Banks to offer Atal Pension Yojana (APY). The Payments Banks and Small Finance Banks are a new model of banks conceptualised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In total, 11 Payment Banks and 10 Small Finance Banks have received the license from Reserve Bank of India to start banking operations in India. The Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks are new age banks and given the strength, expertise and reach of these banks, they can play a pivotal role in the outreach of subscribers under APY.

lenders. The bonds, which are split into six instalments, will bear interest rates between 7.35 per cent and 7.68 per cent and will mature between 2028 and 2033. State Bank of India will receive the largest chunk of capital from the bonds, estimated at ₹ 8,800 crore, followed by IDBI Bank at ₹ 7,881 crore and Bank of Baroda, ₹ 6,975 crore. Last year, the Finance Ministry had unveiled plans to infuse ₹ 2.11 lakh crore capital in public sector banks that have been staring at mounting bad loans pegged at ₹ 6.9 lakh crore at the end of September 2017.

40. POORTI Agri Services, a Mumbai-headquartered start-up, dedicated to farmer's welfare, launched its mobile shopping app "FarmCart" and delivery management app "Dealer Bandhu" nationally here in January in presence of Guest of Honour Chairman, of their partner bank SBI, Rajneesh Kumar.

41. State Bank of India is exploring the possibility of issuing credit cards to farmers. The bank, through its credit card arm SBI Card, a joint venture company between SBI and GE Capital, currently issues credit cards to farmers on pilot basis in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

11 | P a g e

www.exampundit.in

39. The Finance Ministry has notified the recapitalisation bonds that will allocate ₹ 80,000 crore to 20 public sector

JOIN TELEGRAM CLICK HERE

To help you in your exam preparation, AIMBANKER TEAM is regularly posting helpful posts, please subscribe, follow & Share ,LIKE US ON FACEBOOK PAGE OF AIMBANKER.

JOIN FACEBOOK CLICK HERE

Join Whatsapp @Click Here

8/8