Banking Sector

Banks likely to post robust Q4 numbers; profit may hit record high in FY23

The banking sector is likely to post good numbers in the fourth quarter ended March 2023, and the total profit of public sector banks (PSBs) is expected to touch a record high of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY23, aided by the decline in bad loans and healthy loan growth. According to a senior bank official, the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) expected to earn a profit above Rs 40,000 crore in the financial year ended March 2023. In the first nine months of the previous financial year, the bank's bottomline stood at Rs 33,538 crore, higher than Rs 31,675.98 crore recorded in FY22. Similarly, other public sector lenders are also likely to report encouraging numbers, helped by a decline in non-performing assets (NPAs), moderation in slippages, double-digit credit growth and rising interest rate. For the first nine months of 2022-23, all 12 PSBs have earned a cumulative profit of Rs 70,166 crore compared to Rs 48,983 crore in the year-ago period, an increase of 43 per cent. "

Asian banks lure investors with safety amid US-led banking turmoil

Economists say one factor working in favour of Asia-Pacific is generally softer pivot in monetary policy, with central banks in Australia, S Korea, Indonesia and India pausing their tightening cycles

IMF warns five-year global growth outlook is weakest since 1990

For 2023, global gross domestic product will likely expand by less than 3%, she said. That's in line with the fund's January forecast of 2.9%

BlackRock Inc to sell $114 billion in securities of failed banks'

BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory Group was established in 2008 to provide advice to governments, central banks and financial institutions

Int'l banking system is headed for more trouble, says Raghuram Rajan

His comments add to warnings that the troubles at SVB and Credit Suisse are indicative of deeper underlying problems in the financial system

Credit Suisse's fatal bank run points to gaps in liquidity regulations

As Swiss officials and Credit Suisse executives emphasized this week that the firm's emergency sale staved off imminent collapse, they highlighted how sharp the run was

BOE economist says interest rates may have to rise as prices fall

Inflation is set to drop sharply from the current 10.4% level in the coming months due to lower energy prices and base effects, as last year's sharp price jumps are not repeated

Signature Bank insiders sold $100 mn in Stock, Wall Street Journal Says

They sold many of the shares in 2021 at around $220, before the stock hit an all-time high of $366 in early 2022, according to the report

US's Credit Suisse violates deal on tax evasion of its rich clients

Credit Suisse violated a plea agreement with US authorities by failing to report secret offshore accounts that wealthy Americans used to avoid paying taxes, US lawmakers said Wednesday, releasing a two-year investigation that detailed the role employees at the embattled Swiss bank had in aiding tax evasion by clients. The US Senate Finance Committee pointed to an ongoing, possibly criminal conspiracy tied to nearly USD 100 million in accounts belonging to a family of American taxpayers that the bank did not disclose. It also said Credit Suisse helped a US businessman hide more than USD 220 million in offshore accounts from the IRS. Credit Suisse revealed that it had found 23 accounts each worth more than USD 20 million that were not declared to tax authorities, many of them unveiled just days before the report was released, according to the committee. It said its findings show that more than USD 700 million was concealed in violation of the bank's 9-year-old plea deal with the US ...

Banks need to strike balance for economic progress: President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said that banks need to strike the right balance between creation of assets and protecting people's money to ensure economic progress. Speaking at an event of UCO Bank here, the President said if this balance is disturbed, there will be a problem, which could upset the development process. "The first responsibility of banks is to protect people's money. The other important aspect of banks is creation of assets. This balance has to be maintained, and if disturbed, there will be an economic problem, Murmu said. Stating that she belongs to family of bankers, Murmu said fintech has done enormous job during the COVID-19 pandemic for settling transactions. "Fintech has helped in forging social equity. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) has also helped in building the digital infrastructure of the country and in settling transactions during the pandemic years, she said. The President virtually inaugurated 50 branches of UCO Bank across 18 states in the .

Now boarding: Is India on the cusp of a tectonic shift in retail credit?

First-time customers are emerging as a huge catchment area for retail finance, but dangers lurk in the nooks and crannies

Govt tells PSBs to monitor, make provision for companies' pledged shares

Directs banks to double down on comprehensive stress testing of portfolios at micro-cluster level

How Indian tech cos banded together to help each other during SVB crisis

The SVB collapse has alerted hundreds of Indian investment and tech companies. They came together to help each other and share knowledge to deal with the impact

RBI directs all banks to keep branches open till Mar 31 for annual closing

With annual closing of accounts scheduled for March 31 as the financial year 2022-23 is ending, RBI has directed all banks to keep their branches open till working hours of the above-mentioned date

Bank situation 'stabilising', system is 'sound': US Treasury Secretary

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is trying project calm after regional bank failures, saying the U.S. banking system is sound but additional rescue arrangements could be warranted if any new failures at smaller institutions pose a risk to financial stability. Yellen, in an excerpt of remarks prepared for delivery to the American Bankers Association on Tuesday, says that overall the situation is stabilising." "And the U.S. banking system remains sound, Yellen says. Yellen's remarks come after a series of troubling bank developments this month. Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid anxiety over the bank's health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York-based Signature Bank also had failed. They said that all depositors at both banks, including those holding uninsured funds, those exceeding USD 250,000, would be

Bank stocks steady after Credit Suisse rescue, focus turns to Fed, US banks

The demise of 167-year-old Credit Suisse was triggered by the collapse of U.S. mid-sized lenders Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, and investors are concerned about potential bombs ticking

JPMorgan CEO leading talks for new First Republic rescue plan: Report

A spokesperson for First Republic pointed to an earlier statement where the bank said it was "well-positioned to manage short-term deposit activity"

Top headlines: UBS to buy Credit Suisse for nearly $3.25 bn amid turmoil

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Top headlines: UBS eyes Credit Suisse takeover, Amritpal declared fugitive

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Credit Suisse got a $54 bn lifeline, now it needs to win back clients

In Asia, several ultra-wealthy clients continued to cut back their exposure amid the tumult this week. In the Middle East, some customers asked the bank to convert cash deposits into treasury bills