Issue: 1208
· Global mobile money
transactions crossed $2.1 trillion in 2025, doubling in four years amid rapid
digital payments growth.
· India’s fintech funding
remained steady at $513 million in Q1 2026, but deal volumes dropped sharply by
54%, indicating consolidation.
· Bank lending to NBFCs surged
26% in FY26, the fastest growth in recent years due to regulatory easing.
· RBI/FinMin push banks to
adopt AI tools like MuleHunter to curb cyber frauds.
· Electric vehicle demand
surges globally as high fuel prices shift consumer preferences.
· UK banking sector benefits
from “higher-for-longer” interest rates boosting profitability.
Middle East crisis may spur
India's capex boom: Morgan Stanley lifts investment outlook to 37.5% of GDP: While global investors remain
nervous about oil prices and the Middle East conflict, Morgan Stanley is
finding opportunity in the crisis for India. In its latest note, the
brokerage has raised its forecast for India’s investment rate. It now expects
the investment-to-GDP ratio to reach 37.5% by FY30, up from 36.5% earlier. This
implies an extra US$800 billion in cumulative capital spending over the next
five years. Nearly 60% of this fresh investment is likely to go into energy,
data centres, and defence. This upgrade is significant for Indian equities.
Higher capex should lift corporate profit share in GDP and support earnings
growth of more than 15% CAGR over the next five years.
(Moneycontrol)
Fuel demand splits: Petrol
up 6%, LPG falls 16%, diesel flat: India’s fuel consumption
trends diverged sharply in April, with petrol demand rising 6.36% year-on-year
to 3,669 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) even as LPG consumption fell 16.16% to
2,198 TMT, reflecting early signs of disruption linked to the ongoing West Asia
conflict, according to PPAC data. Diesel demand, the largest component of the
fuel basket, remained nearly flat at 8,282 TMT, up just 0.25% from 8,261 TMT a
year ago, indicating stable but cautious industrial and transport activity. Aviation
turbine fuel (ATF) consumption declined 1.37% to 761 TMT from 772 TMT, pointing
to a marginal moderation in aviation fuel demand amid global volatility.
(Financial Express)
DEA notifies Fema FDI
easing for firms with up to 10% Chinese stake: The Finance Ministry has
notified a decision to allow overseas companies with Chinese shareholding of up
to 10 per cent to invest in India under the automatic route under FEMA,
according to a notification. In March, the Union Cabinet approved amendments in
the press note (PN) 3 of 2020 of the DPIIT. As per the amendments, foreign
companies having a Chinese/Hong Kong shareholding of up to 10 per cent will be
eligible to invest in India in sectors where FDI is permitted under the
automatic route subject to sectoral conditions. However, these relaxed FDI
rules will not apply to entities registered in China or Hong Kong or other
countries sharing land borders with India.
(Business Standard)
Women hold less than a
quarter of demat accounts: Despite significant expansion
of India’s capital markets, women continue to hold a disproportionately small
share of demat accounts, according to the latest edition of the Women & Men
in India 2025 report released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI). The report also revealed a wide and persistent
disparity between the number of men and women in managerial positions in the
corporate sector, and women’s much higher involvement in unpaid domestic work. As
of October 31, 2025, women accounted for only 19.8% of the total 167.5 million
demat accounts maintained with the Central Depository Services (India) Limited
(CDSL). Men held the remaining 80.2%. The absolute numbers stand at
approximately 33.1 million crore accounts for women compared to 134.4 million
for men.
(Financial Express)
Kotak Mahindra Bank Q4 PAT
up 13.4% YoY as provisions fall: Kotak Mahindra Bank’s net
profit for the quarter ended March was up 13.4% on year to Rs 4,027 crore on
the back of improving income and a fall in provisions. Analysts had pegged the
bottom line for the private sector bank at Rs 3,784 crore, according to
Bloomberg estimates. The net interest income of the lender was up 8% on year to
Rs 7872 crore, higher than the Bloomberg estimate of Rs 7,634 crore, for the
reporting quarter. The other income moderated by 2% on year to Rs 3116 crore.
However, on a sequential basis, the other income rose almost 10%.The asset
quality too improved for the bank, with gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio
at 1.20% as on March 31, as against 1.30% a quarter ago, and the net NPA ratio
stood at 0.25% as compared to 0.31% a quarter ago.
(Financial Express)
Public sector banks rush to
build up wealth management assets: Public sector banks are
stepping up their push into wealth management, traditionally dominated by
private lenders, by leveraging their large customer base, digital capabilities
and expanded advisory services. The move is aimed at improving
customer engagement as household savings shift from bank deposits to
market-linked instruments and risk products. Indian Bank plans to set up a
wealth management vertical targeting high net worth individuals, while sectoral
leader State Bank of India aims to grow its wealth assets under management
fivefold to Rs 15 lakh crore by 2030.
(Economic Times)
Centre allows
100% FDI in insurance via auto route: The finance ministry on Saturday notified
the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Second Amendment)
Rules, 2026, which allows 100% foreign investment in an insurance company
through the automatic route. The notification states that foreign investment in
Life Insurance Corporation continues to be capped at 20%.
(Economic Times)
Rohit Jain
appointed RBI Deputy Governor for 3 yrs, to succeed Rabi Sankar: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) approved Rohit Jain’s appointment as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank
of India for three years, effective on or after May 3, a notification from the
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said. Jain will succeed T Rabi
Sankar, whose term ends today. Jain was appointed as an executive director of
the RBI in December 2020. Jain has, over a span of about three decades, served
in supervisory, human resource management, banking, and other areas in the
Reserve Bank.
(Business Standard)
Spirit Airlines shuts down,
industry's first Iran war casualty: Bankrupt ?discount carrier Spirit Airlines,
opens new tab ceased operations on Saturday, the industry's first casualty
linked to the Iran war, after failing to secure creditor support for a U.S.
government bailout plan. The collapse of the carrier following a ?doubling in
jet fuel prices during the two-month-old Iran war will cost thousands of jobs.
It is a blow to President Donald Trump, who had proposed $500 million to save
Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many
Republicans in Congress.
(Reuters)
RBI caps unsecured lending,
tightens housing loan norms for UCBs: RBI has issued final guidelines on revised
lending norms for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) streamlining credit rules, and
strengthening risk-management practices across the sector. In the final norms,
RBI has limited the aggregate unsecured loans and advances at 20 per cent of
its total loans, while also setting limits of unsecured individual unsecured
loan at Rs. 5 lakh for Tier-1 UCBs, Rs. 7.5 lakh for Tier-II and Rs. 10 lakh
for Tier-III and Tier-IV UCBs. Futhermore, unsecured advances up to Rs. 50,000
per borrower, which are eligible to be categorised as priority-sector loans
shall not be calculated under 20 per cent unsecured lending limit for UCBs,
which are compliant with RBI’s Eligibility Criteria for Business Authorisation
(ECBA).
(Business Standard)
No prior nod for BRICS Bank
investments: Govt: The government, while
notifying rules affirming prior government approval for Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) from countries sharing land borders with India, has kept the
New Development Bank (NDB) or BRICS Bank out of this regime. The notification
by Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) making changes to the Foreign Exchange
Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules has said, a Multilateral Bank or Fund,
of which India is a member, shall not be treated as an entity of a particular
country nor shall any country be treated as the beneficial owner of the investments
of such Bank or Fund in India.”
(Financial Express)
NFRA issues
stringent rules for Big Four firms; auditors to get 90 days to fix gaps: The National Financial Reporting
Authority (NFRA) has come out with “stringent” norms that’s going to force top
firms to fix gaps in their audit practice within a specified period. According
to the new norms issued by the NFRA, audit firms are mandated to submit a plan
within 90 days to fix lapses as flagged by the regulator in its annual
inspection reports on these firms. This is a major shift in NFRA’s stance
which, until recently, was asking the firms to take corrective steps basis its
inspection reports but never called for a “remediation plan”. The regulator has
also asked the firms to comply with all the findings contained in the detailed
inspection report within the timelines prescribed in the report or below 180
days from the issuance of the report.
(Financial Express)
ADB launches $70
bn push to connect Asia's power grids, digital networks: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on
Sunday said it will back $70 billion in new energy and digital infrastructure
initiatives across Asia and the Pacific by 2035, aimed at strengthening
cross-border connectivity and expanding access to electricity and broadband. Energy
and digital access will play a defining role in shaping the region's future,
adding that the initiatives seek to link power grids and digital networks to
lower costs and expand opportunities, ADB President Masato Kanda said while
speaking to the media at the 59th annual meeting of the bank here. The bank
announced two major programmes -- the Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative and the
Asia-Pacific Digital Highway -- with proposed investments of $50 billion and
$20 billion, respectively.
(Business Standard)
KEY CURRENCY
·
A key currency refers to a
currency which is stable, does not fluctuate much, and provides the foundation
for exchange rates for international transactions. Because of their global use,
key currencies tend to set the value of other currencies.
·
Also, these currencies tend to have a stable
valuation over time. A key currency usually comes from a country that is
financially strong, economically stable and developed, and one that is involved
in the global market.
·
The seven key currencies today
are the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the British pound, the Japanese yen, the
Canadian dollar, the Swiss franc, and the Mexican peso, although other
contenders, such as the Chinese yuan, also exist.
RBI KEY RATES
Repo
Rate: 5.25%
SDF:
5.00%
MSF
/Bank Rate: 5.50%
CRR:
3.00%
SLR:
18.00%
FOREX RATES (RBI REF. RATE)
INR
/ 1 USD : 95.2417
INR
/ 1 GBP : 128.1953
INR
/ 1 EUR : 111.0683
INR
/100 JPY: 59.2800
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
76913.50 (-582.86)
NIFTY:
23997.55 (-180.10)
Bnk NIFTY: 54863.35 (-540.25)
Historical
events: April 4th marks
significant historical events, including the 1968 assassination of Martin
Luther King Jr., the 1975 founding of Microsoft, and the 1905 Kangra earthquake
in India that killed 20,000. In India, it notably marks the start of the 1944
Battle of Kohima and the 1857 departure of Rani Lakshmibai from Jhansi.
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