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Indian Banking Sector
A sustained improvement in the financial performance of Indian banks bodes well for the sector's intrinsic risk profiles, according to global rating agency Fitch. The pace of asset quality and profitability improvement has exceeded expectations, while capital buffers are broadly in line with the projections, it said in a statement. The sector's impaired-loan ratio declined to 4.5 per cent in the first nine months of financial year ended March 2023 (9MFY23), from 6 per cent at FY'22, it said, adding, this was nearly 60 basis points below Fitch's FY23 estimate. Increased write-offs have been a key factor, but higher loan growth, supported by lower slippages and improved recoveries, have also played a role, it said. Fitch expects a further improvement by FY23, although banks still face the risk of asset-quality pressure associated with the unwinding of loan forbearance in FY24. "The sector's improving provision cover (9MFY23: 75 per cent, FY22: 71 per cent) also supports banks' abili
Bankers are "highly optimistic" about credit demand across all the main sectors in the short term, a RBI survey of lenders said on Friday. After sagging for the last two years, the non-food credit growth has been hovering above 15 per cent in FY23. "We observe that bankers are highly optimistic of credit demand across all the main sectors in the coming quarters, viz., Q4:2022-23 to Q2:2023-24," a paper based on the survey released in the February bulletin of the RBI said. The Bank Lending Survey provides sentiments of banks on loan demand, loan terms, and their outlook in the near term across major sectors. It captures senior loan officers' expectations on future credit demand along with adjustments in its terms and conditions and also seeks feedback on prevailing credit market conditions. The current survey covers a panel of top 30 scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), which account for more than 90 per cent of the total outstanding, it said. The paper said bankers' sentiments on ..
The Reserve Bank on Tuesday announced its second global hackathon -- 'HARBINGER 2023 - Innovation for Transformation' with the theme 'Inclusive Digital Services'. Fintechs have been invited to develop solutions that have the potential to make digital financial services accessible to the differently-abled, facilitate efficient compliance, extend the reach of Central Bank Digital Currencies and enhance the scalability of blockchains. "Being part of HARBINGER 2023 gives an opportunity to the participants to get mentored by industry experts and exhibit their innovative solutions before an eminent jury and win exciting prizes in each category," the RBI said. Registration for the hackathon starts from February 22, 2023. The RBI has invited innovative ideas in four segments. 'Innovative, easy-to-use, digital banking services for differently-abled (Divyaang); RegTech solutions to facilitate more efficient compliance by Regulated Entities (REs)'; Exploring use cases/solutions for CBDC-Reta
Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Monday reported a 44 per cent decline in standalone net profit at Rs 629 crore in the third quarter ended December. The state-owned bank had earned a net profit of Rs 1,127 crore in the year-ago period. However, total income during October-December 2022 increased to Rs 25,722 crore as against Rs 22,026 crore in the year-ago period, PNB said in a regulatory filing. On the asset quality front, the bank recorded an improvement with gross NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) declining to 9.76 per cent as compared to 12.88 per cent at the end of third quarter of previous fiscal. At the same time, the net NPAs eased to 3.30 per cent as against 4.90 per cent in the same period a year ago. However, provisions for bad loans increased to Rs 3,908 crore during the quarter as against Rs 3,654 crore a year ago. The capital adequacy ratio rose to 15.15 per cent in the December quarter as against 14.91 per cent.