Amitabh Chaudhry

Private life insurer HDFC Life is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO). Its managing director and CEO AMITABH CHAUDHRY talks to M Saraswathy and Priya Nair about the company's future strategies. Excerpts: HDFC Life will be the first insurer to list on the exchanges. Has the process begun?As our chairman (Deepak Parekh) announced in the annual general meeting, the foreign direct investment (FDI) transaction (the proposed stake increase by foreign partner Standard Life) will have to be approved by FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) and Irdai (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India). He also mentioned there would be no progress on the IPO front for 12 months. However, IPO is something our shareholders have wanted for a long time and, hopefully, we will get there soon.Your profits in the first quarter have been lower. Why is this?Overall, we've done well. We hope it will grow at a faster pace. Profits are down because of our growth. However, we have repor

If customers want Ulips, we wont turn them away

Business Standard

Hasmukh Adhia

After announcing a seven-pronged strategy to revamp public sector banks, Financial Services Secretary Hasmukh Adhia hopes more of capital infusion would be given to public sector banks on the basis of their efficiency from next year than allocated this year. He tells Dilasha Seth the government is yet to come out with the exact contours of Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP) plans and whether it could be extended to manager and deputy manager levels as well. Edited excerpts:

M O Rego

Inteview with New MD & CEO, Bank of India

Will look at improving risk management: M O Rego

Q = what is going to be key priorities in new assignment at time when banks are battling with bad loan?Faced with slowdown banks have seen pressure on their books.  In this backdrop, improving asset quality will be a top priority.Q =   IDBI Bank is now operating commercial bank, while its origins are in development finance institution (DFI). Does that pose challenge?And - Project finance is a definite strength area inherited from DFI. I will reinforce and make is stronger.  Being commercial bank will also have to do realignment of business portfolios after systematic analysis.Q = IDBI is relatively younger bank amongst pack of state-owned lenders, does leading it become tough task in competitive market place?Ans -  The average age of bank employees' is quite low. We have plenty of young people who are technologically savvy. Will connect with them to tap potential for development and business growth.Q = While government has designated it as a large bank, it has relatively limited branch

Asset quality improvement a top priority: K P Kharat

Shyam Srinivasan

Kochi-based private sector lender Federal Bank believes the worst is over and the bank has decided to step up the focus on growth from this financial year. SHYAM SRINIVASAN, managing director and CEO, tells Nupur Anand that with an increased focus on digital, retail and small and medium enterprise, there will be an overall improvement in return on assets in the coming years. Excerpts: Asset quality pressure increased in the last quarter. Do you think the coming quarters will be better?We have been consistent in the past eight-nine quarters, but last quarter was an issue. If you look at our list, we don't have any exposure to any of the stressed assets. One of the reasons we grew much slower than some other players in the past three-four years is because we stayed away from the credit that we were not comfortable with. We, in fact, de-grew a lot of credit. The good thing is, we don't have the problematic, lumpy accounts. But the bad thing is that we don't have the revenue. Now that is o

Were going to step up the growth pedal

Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Mobile wallet player Paytm has decided to also focus on investments in the next round of its growth. In an interview, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO of Paytm, tells Nupur Anand that the wallet player has crossed 100 million users and they carry out over 75 million transactions every month. The company will now target a user base of 500 million wallet users by 2020. Edited excerpts:

Paytm looks to invest in 10-15 more firms in 2 years: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Private life insurer IDBI Federal Life Insurance says it will continue to focus on traditional products, at a time when the market is heavy on Unit-Linked Insurance Products (Ulips). In an interview with M Saraswathy, Vighnesh Shahane, CEO & whole time director, IDBI Federal Life Insurance explains this decision and the way forward. Edited excerpts:

Don't want to jeopardise banking relationship because of Ulips: Vighnesh Shahane

R Gandhi

Interview with Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India

Each public sector bank can pick a niche area: R Gandhi

Tarun Chugh

Private life insurer PNB MetLife India Insurance recently entered the online insurance space and now has a critical illness and a term plan. In an interview with M Saraswathy & Priya Nair, Tarun Chugh, MD and CEO of PNB MetLife explains the firm's product strategy and way forward.

We want to offer  product for every stage of life: Tarun Chugh

Raghuram Rajan

In an interaction with journalists after the monetary policy announcement, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan speaks on various issues. Edited excerpts:

I think, de facto, RBI is independent: Raghuram Rajan

The revised draft of the Indian Financial Code (IFC) has created a big controversy on whether it seeks to curtail the Reserve Bank of India's power over monetary policymaking. In a telephonic interview with Abhijit Lele on the role of the commission, Justice B N Srikrishna, chairman of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC), says it's the government's privilege to accept or reject the report with or without modifications. Edited excerpts:As a chairman of the FSLRC, how do you look at the controversy over the revised Indian Financial Code (IFC)?FSLRC's job was over when it submitted the report along with the draft Indian Financial Code.  It has no role in preparing the revised draft.What's your view on the provisions in the revised draft?It is the privilege of the government to accept or reject our (FSLRC's) recommendations. We prepared a report to help the government in policymaking. It is the evolution of policymaking.Did the government consult you while doing rev

FSLRC had no role in revised draft of the code: Justice B N Srikrishna

Interview with Chairman & CEO, Aegon Asia

We'll be one of the first to raise stake to 49%: Douglas Henck

Yaduvendra Mathur

"With US Exim Bank closing, we would have more market" Exports have been contracting for the past six months. What strategy has EXIM Bank adopted to counter the problem?We are not directly managing the exports and imports, as we are only into project exports. We have not noted any slippage in project exports; they continue to grow. Overall exports may have reduced, and my sense is that it might be because of the pricing of the petroleum. I think the slippage in the figures is not indicative of any slippage in the economy. There is a global slippage in demand, but in that if you see India's slippage is much lower in comparison to the other developing economies. Other economies have slipped by 5 or 6 per cent, while our slippage is by 2-3 per cent. You recently extended line of credit to Tanzania, and now with the Prime Minister visiting many countries across the globe, what is the plan on the line of credit front?In fact we are going to Bangladesh soon to extend a $2 billion dollar line

Q&A with Exim Bank CMD : "With US Exim Bank closing, we would have more market"

Shachindra Nath

Although Religare Enterprises could not secure a universal bank licence, it still aspires to become one. Religare Group Chief Executive Officer Shachindra Nath tells Neelasri Barman that the lending business and asset management business will continue to drive most of their revenue mix. Edited excerpts:

We are open to partnering with investors who like our business model: Shachindra Nath

Ratna Vishwanathan

The Micro-finance Institutions Network (MFIN), the representative body of MFIs, has been instrumental in bringing out several regulatory changes in the sector. With Bandhan set to become a bank and several other MFIs seeking to become small finance banks, the MFI industry is faced with new challenges and opportunities. Ratna Vishwanathan, the new chief executive officer of MFIN, in an interaction with Namrata Acharya, throws light on the road ahead for the sector. What is your outlook for the sector? The current size of the MFI industry is Rs 40,000 crore. The industry is going through a lot of changes, as a lot of new entities are coming up, offering different financial products.  Having said that the overall outlook for the MFI industry is positive. Of course, one has to take into account that one of our largest MFIs, Bandhan is moving out and becoming a bank. This means that the overall gross loan portfolio of the MFI industry will come down by nearly Rs 10,000 crore. However, at th

MFI sector can cover Bandhan gap of Rs 10k cr: Ratna Vishwanathan

Q&A: Arijit Basu, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, SBI LifeSBI Life Insurance plans a revamp of its digital processes, including sales and servicing, with an external consultant. ARIJIT BASU, managing director and chief executive officer, talks to M Saraswathy about the strategy and the way forward. Edited excerpts:SBI Life saw one of the highest of growth in new premiums last financial year. Do you expect it to continue?We grew both in terms of new premiums and number of policies, whereas several others saw a decline in the latter. The potential is much more, especially from the bancassurance channel. We had 50 per cent growth in the banca channel in the second half of FY15, which included State Bank of India (SBI) and its associate banks, apart from regional rural banks. In this quarter too, we expect to see 20 per cent growth. We hope to see 12-13 per cent of overall business coming from Q1 (April-June quarter). Since bancassurance is a big channel for you, do you believ

We expect 20% growth in new premiums this quarter: Arijit Basu

G C Rangan

Q&A with the CEO & whole-time director, L&T Insurance

We'll reach break-even by 2017-18: G C Rangan

We'll launch Ulip in the second quarter: S K Roy

Interview with Chairman and Managing Director, Union Bank of India

Not impacted due to Greece crisis: Arun Tiwari

Mumbai-based Dena Bank has taken its board's approval to sell unsecured small-ticket loans to asset reconstruction companies, which is seen as part of cleaning up the balance sheet. Ashwani Kumar, chairman and managing director, talks to Neelasri Barman and Abhijit Lele about his concerns on the rise in bond yields that could impact profitability in the current quarter with. Excerpts:

Better business climate, but treasury gains are a concern: Ashwani Kumar

Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

Q&A with Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, founder, chairman & MD of  Bandhan Financial Services

Page 18 - Interviews

If customers want Ulips, we won't turn them away: Amitabh Chaudhry

Top posts in PSBs will not be filled with private sector professionals this year: Hasmukh Adhia