Issue: 1192
· Citigroup posted 39% surge in
equities trading revenue, boosting overall profitability.
· International Monetary Fund
cut emerging market growth forecast to 3.9% for 2026 amid global conflict
risks.
· India’s growth outlook
slightly upgraded to ~6.5% by IMF, showing resilience despite global
uncertainty.
· IMF warned of possible global
slowdown toward 2.5% growth scenario if risks intensify.
· India’s new ECB & FDI
policy reforms aim to ease cross-border borrowing and attract foreign
investment.
IMF cuts emerging
economies' growth estimate as war darkens outlook: The IMF on Tuesday lowered its
2026 growth forecast for emerging market ?and developing economies to 3.9% from
its view of 4.2% in January, with higher energy and food costs and uncertainty
from the ?war in the Middle East expected to hurt more vulnerable,
commodity-importing countries the hardest. The broad emerging-markets
aggregate in the ?reference scenario also masks ?sharp regional divergence.
Emerging and developing Asia is still expected to post the fastest growth among
major developing regions, but growth there is seen slowing to 4.9% in 2026 from
5.5% in 2025, before easing further to 4.8% in 2027. India was a notable exception,
as its 2026 growth forecast ticked up by ?0.1 point to 6.5%, with tariff relief
?and momentum carried over from 2025 ?more than offsetting the
impact of costlier energy.
(Reuters)
India may go slow on trade
deal till US mid-term polls: India is likely to stall for
time in its trade negotiations with the US when negotiators meet in Washington
soon, as it wants the upcoming US mid-term elections to provide clarity on the
American legislative landscape, sources have said. Following the US Supreme Court’s invalidation
of reciprocal taxes on February 20, 2026, the current 10 per cent global
tariffs imposed by the Trump administration for a 90-day period have become a
temporary floor that India does not want to negotiate with until the “end game”
numbers are settled. “India would want to continue
to talk, but obviously it needs to know where the US stands before it gives
anything. We will not know that before the mid-term elections in November as
the fate of tariffs is tied to how the Trump regime fares,” a source explained.
(Business Line)
Household financial debt
jumps to 6.2% of GDP: According to a whitepaper
shared by Client Associates Private Wealth Management, household financial debt
has jumped to 6.2% of GDP as of FY24 compared to pre-pandemic average of 4.1%.
Net financial savings has also reduced from 7.7% to 5.2% of GDP. Indian
households contribute nearly 60% of the national domestic savings averaging
close to 20% of the GDP each year, making them the largest and most reliable
source of domestic capital. Real estate investment increased to 12.8% of GDP in
FY24, making it the biggest savings category. The investment flows in stocks
and mutual funds have also increased from about 4% of the financial asset flows
in FY20 to an estimated 15% in FY25.
(Financial Express)
Banks increase mark-up over
repo-linked external benchmark loans to protect margins: Banks have increased their
spreads for repo-linked external benchmark loans, dampening the extent of
transmission of the cumulative 125 bps repo rate cut into such loans. This
comes amid deposit rates turning sticky in the wake of higher interest rates
being offered by small scale instruments (SSIs). In the current easing cycle
(up to February 2026), as against the 125 bps cut in the repo rate, the WALR
(weighted average lending rate) on outstanding loans declined 87 basis points
(bps). For fresh rupee loans, the WALR declined 89 bps, according to RBI’s
latest monetary policy report (MPR). The WADTDR (weighted average domestic term
deposit rate) on outstanding deposits declined by 47 bps. For fresh deposits,
the WADTDR declined by 97 bps.
(Business Line)
Gold loan delinquency rates
send red signal: Borrowers
with more than Rs.2.5 lakh outstanding showed a delinquency rate of 1.5% at the
end of December, about 2.2x higher than those with lower exposures, the credit
information company said in a report. The delinquency rate was higher at 1.9%
for those accumulating more than five loans. This trend of borrowers
overextending themselves has raised the credit risk at such elevated exposure
levels, said TransUnion CIBIL, though lenders generally expect to recover their
dues fully by auctioning the gold mortgaged with them.
(Economic Times)
Paytm becomes majority
Indian-owned as domestic stake rises to 50.3%: One 97 Communications Ltd,
which operates the Paytm brand, has become a majority Indian-owned and
controlled company after domestic investors increased their stake to 50.3 per
cent as of March-end 2026. The shift marks a structural change in ownership for
the fintech firm, with domestic shareholding rising steadily in recent
quarters, reflecting growing investor confidence. Domestic institutional
investors raised their stake to a record 23.1 per cent in the March quarter, up
2.8 percentage points sequentially and 9.1 percentage points from a year
earlier, according to regulatory filings.
(Business Standard)
UPI processes
228.5 billion transactions in 2025, reshaping India’s payments landscape: India’s digital payments ecosystem has
witnessed a transformative year, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
processing a staggering 228.5 billion transactions in 2025, marking a 33%
year-on-year increase, according to a report by Worldline. The total
transaction value reached Rs 299.74 trillion, solidifying UPI’s position as the
default payment method for everyday commerce in India, according to Worldline’s
annual report, “India Digital Payments Report - Year 2025 in Review”.
(Business Line)
Nirav Modi’s return likely
soon as CBI teams reach London, extradition enters final stage: Report: In a significant development in one of India’s
most high-profile economic fugitive cases, fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi
could be brought back to India soon, with top government sources indicating
that the extradition process has entered its final phase. Sources told CNN-News18
exclusively that teams from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are
already in London to facilitate the process, suggesting that operational steps
to bring Modi back are underway. Sources indicated that the United Kingdom has
effectively exhausted most major legal hurdles, paving the way for his return.
The deployment of CBI teams to London is being seen as a sign that the process
has moved beyond legal proceedings into its final execution stage.
(Moneycontrol)
US SEC approves plan
removing day-trading limit for small investors: The US Securities and Exchange Commission gave
the go-ahead for sweeping changes to a restriction on day-trading activity by
small investors on Tuesday in a move cheered by retail brokers. The Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulatory watchdog, had proposed
reworking the pattern day trading rule, which bans a trader from making
more than four day-trades in a five-day period if their margin account has less
than $25,000 in assets. The new margin standards, which require customers to
have enough equity in their account to cover the risks they run at that moment,
will apply to all investors rather than just small ones.
(Business Line)
India’s gems and jewellery
exports plunge 35% in March amid weak demand: Gems and jewellery exports from India plunged
35 per cent to $1.78 billion in March, as demand dipped due to the ongoing Iran
war and disruptions in trade flows. In contrast, imports increased by 17 per
cent to $2.31 billion as the industry purchased additional raw materials,
including gold and diamonds, in anticipation of a revival in demand, according
to data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
(Business Line)
EPFO looks to frame exit
strategy amid rising stressed debt exposure: The Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) is working on a formal exit policy for its investment
portfolio as it addresses rising exposure to downgraded and stressed corporate
debt within its more than Rs.30 trillion corpus, according to two people
familiar with the matter. EPFO’s investment book is largely focused on fixed
income, with debt instruments forming a significant share. As of December 2025,
about 18.9 per cent of its investments fall under Category II, which mainly
includes corporate bonds, along with exposure through other debt segments.
Within this, the organisation is currently dealing with at least 17 downgraded
securities, the people said.
(Business Standard)
Andhra Pradesh
launches India's first quantum reference facility: Andhra Pradesh’s capital, Amaravati, on
Tuesday marked India’s formal entry into the era of quantum computing,
positioning itself at the centre of the country’s technology ambitions. Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched a quantum reference facility aimed at
building India’s “first sovereign hardware ecosystem” and accelerating
indigenous manufacturing of advanced computing systems. “The launch of the
country’s first quantum reference facility marks a major milestone in India’s
journey towards self-reliance in advanced technologies and positions the state
as a hub for quantum innovation,” Naidu said while inaugurating the Amaravati
Quantum Reference Facilities (AQRF). The initiative includes Amaravati 1S at a
private college and Amaravati 1Q at Medha Towers.
(Business Standard)
UP govt raises
minimum wages rates by up to 21% from April 1 after violent protests by workers: The UP government has announced an
interim increase in minimum wages for workers, effective from April 1, on the
recommendation of a high level committee constituted following violent protests
in Noida demanding better remuneration and working conditions. The revised
minimum wage rates, which have gone up from a minimum of 9.21 per cent to
maximum of about 21 per cent, will be implemented across three different
categories -- Gautam Buddh Nagar or Noida-Ghaziabad, for districts with
municipal corporations, and remaining districts of UP.
(Business Line)
UNEARNED INCOME
§ The term unearned income refers to any income that
is not acquired through work. Put simply, unearned income is any money you earn
by doing nothing. This is in contrast to earned income, which is any
compensation received for performing a service like work.
§ There are many types of unearned or passive income,
including interest from savings accounts, bond interest, alimony, and dividends
from stocks.
§ Unearned income, which can serve as a supplement to
earned income before retirement, is often the only source of income in
post-retirement years.
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 : 93.3684
INR
/ 1 GBP : 125.2176
INR
/ 1 EUR : 109.1539
INR
/100 JPY: 58.4900
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
76847.57 (-702.68)
NIFTY:
23842.65 (-207.95)
Bnk NIFTY: 55605.05 (-307.70)
World Art Day: April 15 is
primarily celebrated as World Art Day, an international observance dedicated to
promoting awareness of creative activity worldwide and honoring Leonardo da
Vinci's birthday. In India, it is observed as Himachal Day, marking the
formation of the state, and celebrated as the Bengali New Year (Pohela
Boishakh) and the start of the harvest season (Bohag Bihu) in Assam.
Historical
events: April 15 is a
significant date marked by the birth of Guru Nanak (1469), the formation of
Himachal Pradesh (1948), and global events like the sinking of the Titanic
(1912). It commemorates
major historical shifts, including the 1658 Battle of Dharmat in India and the
1947 breaking of the MLB color barrier by Jackie Robinson.
****Have a nice Day****
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