Issue: 1138
US treasuries fall as China banks asked to limit US bond
holdings: US
treasuries extended losses after Chinese regulators were said to have advised
the nation’s financial institutions to rein in their holdings of US government
bonds due to concerns over market volatility. Yields on benchmark Treasuries
climbed as much as four basis points to 4.25% after trading around 4.22%
earlier, while those on 30-year notes rose three basis points to 4.88%. The
Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.2%. Chinese officials had urged banks to
limit purchases of US government bonds, and instructed those with high exposure
to pare their positions, according to people familiar with the matter. The
directive doesn’t apply to China’s state holdings of US Treasuries.
(Business Line)
Moody's projects India's GDP to grow 6.4% in FY'27, fastest
among G20 economies: Moody's Ratings on Monday projected India's GDP to
grow at 6.4 per cent in the next fiscal, the fastest pace among G-20 economies,
driven by strong domestic consumption, policy measures, and a stable banking
system. In its banking system outlook report, Moody's said their asset quality
will remain resilient, with some stress among micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs). Regardless, banks have sufficient reserves to absorb loan
losses, it said.
(Business Line)
Goldman Sachs raises India GDP forecast to 6.9% after India-US
trade deal:
Goldman
Sachs has upgraded India’s real GDP growth for 2026 by 20 basis points to 6.9%
year-on-year (YoY) after the US lowered the tariff to 18%. Goldman Sachs
estimates that the effective tariff rate imposed by the US on Indian imports
may be around 20 percentage points lower than the 34% earlier. However, it
noted that component-level details will provide clarity. How will this impact
the key economic parameters? Goldman Sachs has reduced the estimates for the
current account deficit but see limited upside for the currency. The brokerage has lowered
its estimate of India’s current account deficit by around 0.25% of GDP to 0.8%
in 2026, citing improved trade conditions.
(Financial Express)
Select MSMEs can get up to Rs 25 lakh collateral-free loans: Lenders
can now extend collateral-free loans of up to Rs 25 lakh to borrowers with a
strong credit profile as per their internal policies, according to the revised
lending guidelines for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). “Banks may,
on the basis of good track record and financial position of MSE units, increase
the limit to dispense with the collateral requirement for loans of up to Rs 25
lakh as per their internal policy,” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a
release on Monday. This is in addition to the mandatory
collateral-free lending limit for MSMEs being raised to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10
lakh, as announced by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra in the monetary policy
review on on February 6.
(Financial Express)
RBI allows gold, silver pledged voluntarily for collateral-free
MSE loans: The
Reserve Bank of India has issued new guidelines for micro and small
enterprises. Banks can now accept gold and silver as collateral for loans up to
a certain limit. This move aims to support these businesses. Collateral-free
loans will be available up to Rs 20 lakh. The revised rules apply from April 1,
2026.
(Economic Times)
Bank of Baroda slashes car loan rates by 30 basis points to 7.6%: State-owned Bank of Baroda
(BoB) on Monday announced a 30-basis-point reduction in its car loan interest
rates, effective immediately. The bank's floating rate now
starts from 7.6 per cent per annum, BoB said in a statement. The bank also
offers an attractive fixed rate of interest on Baroda car loans, starting at
8.5 per cent per annum.
(Economic Times)
Kotak Mahindra Bank CTO Bhavnish Lathia resigns less than a year
after appointment: Kotak Mahindra Bank faces
leadership churn as CTO Bhavnish Lathia resigns citing personal reasons for a
US relocation, less than a year into his role. This follows a series of senior
exits, including former CTO Milind Nagnur. Nilesh Chaudhari is now the new CTO,
with Aravamudham Narayanan heading innovation and AI.
(Economic Times)
Life insurance premiums jump 21.5% in Jan; non-life insurers up
15%: Both
life and non-life insurers reported robust premium growth in January, aided by
a favourable base effect and supported by the reduction in goods and services
tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums from 18 per cent to
zero. Life insurers reported a 21.58 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in new
business premiums (NBP) to ?37,478.35 crore in January. Non-life insurers
posted 15 per cent Y-o-Y growth, with premiums reaching ?33,346.25 crore during
the month. According to data from the Life Insurance Council, state-owned Life
Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) recorded 25.46 per cent Y-o-Y growth in
NBP at ?20,441.02 crore in January. Private life insurers reported 17.24 per
cent Y-o-Y growth, with premiums of ?17,037.34 crore.
(Business Standard)
Public sector banks post 18% growth to record ?52,603 cr profit in Q3 FY26: Led by the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI), public sector banks logged a record cumulative profit of ?52,603 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting an 18 per cent year-on-year growth. All 12 public sector banks (PSBs) together made a profit of ?44,473 crore in the December quarter of FY25. Thus, the increase in profit in absolute terms was ?8,130 crore as compared to the same quarter of the previous financial year. Market leader SBI alone contributed 40 per cent to the total earnings of ?52,603 crore, as per the published numbers on stock exchanges.
(Business Standard)
DIIs now holding a larger share than FIIs in Nifty50: Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have
surpassed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in Nifty50 holdings. As of
December 2025, FII stakes dropped 90 basis points year-on-year (YoY) and 20
basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 24.3 per cent, according to
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL). This development highlights
surging domestic participation amid the recent FII caution. "DIIs now
holding a larger share than FIIs in Nifty50 underscores a fundamental shift
toward stronger domestic participation in India's equity markets. This reflects
the growing strength of domestic capital pools. The change has been driven by
sustained mutual fund SIP inflows, rising retail participation, and steady
allocations from insurance and pension funds, even as FIIs turned cautious amid
global macro uncertainty, elevated overseas rates, and a stronger dollar,"
(Business Today)
India will need $22.7 trillion to accomplish net-zero goal: India can achieve its net-zero emissions
target by 2070 while remaining on track to become a developed economy by 2047,
but doing so will require an additional $6.5 trillion in investment from developed
nations over current policy pathways, Niti Aayog said in a report on Monday. The
Niti Aayog report, titled Scenarios Towards Viksit Bharat and Net Zero, said
achieving net zero demands unprecedented capital mobilisation, rapid deployment
of clean energy, and sustained policy reforms across sectors. Under the
net-zero pathway, cumulative investment needs rise to $22.7 trillion by 2070,
compared with $14.7 trillion under the current policy scenario.
(Financial Express)
RBI's voluntary retention route move removes parallel limits for
FPIs: The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has streamlined the Voluntary Retention Route (VRR)
framework by effectively merging it with the general route for foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs). The move eases exit constraints, migrates existing VRR
investments into a unified framework from April 1, and removes the parallel
investment limit, market participants said. On Friday, the RBI removed the ?2.5
trillion investment cap under VRR for FPIs. Foreign investors had utilised over
80 per cent of this limit, highlighting strong demand for long-term exposure to
India’s debt market.
(Business Standard)
LIC Mutual Fund launches India's first women-centric AMC branch
in Delhi: LIC
Mutual Fund Asset Management on Monday inaugurated its women-centric branch in
South Delhi, becoming the first asset management company in the country to set
up a branch aimed at increasing women's participation in mutual fund investing.
The initiative aims to bridge the gender gap in investment participation by
encouraging women to take greater ownership of their financial futures, said
Ravi Kumar Jha, Managing Director & CEO of LIC Mutual Fund. The South Delhi
branch is staffed and managed entirely by women.
(Business Standard)
EPFO to launch new app with UPI-based PF withdrawals by
March-end: The
Centre is likely to roll out a new Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation
mobile app by March-end that would allow subscribers to withdraw provident fund
money through UPI, two senior officials familiar with the matter told. The new
EPFO app, which will differ from the UMANG app, will be linked to the
subscriber’s bank account. It will also be linked to the BHIM app and other UPI
apps. "This will allow the EPFO subscribers to transfer the funds in EPFO
to their respective bank accounts…and then the withdrawal could be done through
the UPI," one of the officials said, requesting anonymity. Currently, EPFO
withdrawals can be done online through the UAN portal, but there is no facility
for withdrawing funds via UPI.
(Moneycontrol)
SEBI proposes slashing minimum investment in social impact funds
to ?1,000: SEBI on Monday proposed a sharp reduction in
the minimum investment required from individual investors in social impact
funds to Rs 1,000 from the existing Rs 2 lakh, in a move aimed at widening
retail participation and easing fundraising for not-for-profit organisations
(NPOs) on the Social Stock Exchange (SSE). In its consultation paper, Sebi also
proposed extending the registration period for NPOs on the SSE without
fundraising and lowering the minimum subscription requirement for issuing Zero
Coupon Zero Principal Instruments (ZCZP).
(Business Line)
BENIGN INFLATION
§
Benign
inflation refers to low, stable, and predictable price increases (around 2%)
that encourage economic growth without harming purchasing power or stability,
often seen as a "Goldilocks" scenario with healthy growth and
controlled price rises, allowing central banks room to maneuver interest rates.
§ The RBI described a recent period as "benign"
(around 2.2%) alongside strong GDP growth (8%) as a "rare goldilocks
period," enabling interest rate cuts.
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 : 90.4006
INR /
1 GBP : 123.0834
INR /
1 EUR : 107.0458
INR
/100 JPY: 57.7700
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 84065.75 (+485.35)
NIFTY: 25867.30 (+173.60)
Bnk
NIFTY: 60669.35 (+548.80)
World Pulses Day,: February 10 is
widely celebrated as World Pulses Day, an international observance recognized
by the UN to highlight the nutritional and environmental benefits of pulses.
Within the context of Valentine's Week, it is also celebrated as Teddy Day.
Historical events: February 10 marks
significant historical milestones, including New Delhi officially becoming the
capital of India in 1931, JRD Tata becoming India’s first authorized pilot in
1929, and the 1763 Treaty of Paris ending the French and Indian War. Globally,
this day is noted for the 1962 spy swap of Gary Powers and the 1996 chess
victory of IBM's Deep Blue over Garry Kasparov.
****Have a nice
Day****
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