Issue: 1274
· ICICI Bank Q1FY27 results:
Net profit up 16% to Rs 14,804.50 crore, NII climbs 12.7% while asset quality
remains stable.
· Axis Bank reported 23% jump
in its Q1FY27 net profit at Rs 7,113.92 crore from Rs 5,806 crore in Q1FY26.
· Axis Bank weighs raising
stake in its insurance venture to 30%
· Axis Bank appoints ex-Bandhan
Bank CFO Rajeev Mantri as finance chief.
· APEDA Facilitates First
Export of Premium Areko Cherries and Scentrose Plums from Jammu & Kashmir
to Singapore.
Centre ring-fences 72 lakh
tonne of FCI rice for ethanol push: As the Centre scales up grain-based ethanol
production to support higher blending targets and reduce dependence on imported
fossil fuels, the food ministry has reserved 72 lakh tonne (lt) of rice from
official stocks for distilleries in the next ethanol season, up from 52 lt
allocated in the 2025-26 supply year. It has also allocated an additional 55
lakh tonne (lt) of 100 per cent broken rice for sale through e-auction, which
ethanol producers can procure, potentially making biofuel production more
profitable.
(Business Line)
India bought record $5.14
billion worth of Russian crude oil in June: Indian refiners bought record
quantities of Russian crude oil, valued at more than $5 billion, in June 2026
with Moscow transforming into New Delhi’s strongest energy security hedge,
particularly since the strait of Hormuz (SoH) disruptions. Centre for Research
on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in its latest commentary on Russia’s earnings
from its hydrocarbon trade pointed out that India imported Euro 4.5 billion
with of crude oil in June 2026, a growth of 32 per cent M-o-M and 25 per cent
Y-o-Y.
(Business Line)
Banks post modest treasury
gains in Q1 despite softer bond yields: Banks booked modest treasury
gains during April-June this financial year even as bond yields softened
through June. Bankers said the decline in treasury income on a year-on-year
(Y-o-Y) basis was largely due to a high-base effect as lenders had booked outsize
treasury gains in Q1FY26. Most large banks reported a decline in treasury
income on a Y-o-Y basis for the quarter.
(Business Standard)
India’s private lenders bet
on corporate loan revival for growth: India’s top private banks are
betting on a sustained pick up in lending after reporting healthy numbers in
the first quarter of the fiscal year, as more companies shift away from pricier
bond market borrowings to cheaper loans. At least six private banks reported
robust loan growth in the three months to June, driven by corporate lending, as
high bond yields make market funding less attractive. HDFC Bank Ltd., India’s
largest private lender by assets, reported a nearly 19% jump in corporate loans
in the quarter, compared with a 1.7% growth a year earlier. ICICI Bank Ltd.’s
domestic corporate loans rose 18.5% from a year earlier, while Kotak Mahindra
Bank Ltd. posted a 15% increase.
(Moneycontrol)
IFSCA proposes allowing
GIFT City distributors to offer EU, UAE, Singapore, Australia investment
products to retail investors: The International Financial
Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has proposed allowing registered
distributors in GIFT City to offer capital market products, including
investment funds, domiciled in the European Union (excluding Croatia), the UAE,
Singapore and Australia to retail investors, significantly expanding the range
of global investment products available through India’s international financial
services centre. The proposal, issued through a consultation paper, seeks to
expand the list of overseas jurisdictions from where capital market products
and services can be distributed by IFSCA-registered distributors to all
categories of investors. If implemented, the move would also open the door for
distributors in GIFT City to offer products domiciled in major global fund hubs
such as Luxembourg and Ireland, both of which fall within the European Union
and are among the world’s largest fund jurisdictions.
(Business Line)
IDBI Bank sale move faces
call for review on governance, sovereignty grounds: The United Forum of IDBI
Officers and Employees has expressed profound concern over the Centre’s
reported decision to proceed with strategic disinvestment of controlling stake
in IDBI Bank in favour of Fairfax Financial Holdings, subject to regulatory and
statutory approvalsIDBI Bank was established as an institution for national
development. Over the decades it played a historic role in financing
industrialisation, infrastructure development and nation-building. During
periods of financial stress, substantial public resources were deployed for its
revival, the Forum leaders said. Employees and officers accepted difficult
restructuring measures and worked tirelessly to restore the institution to profitability.
Today, when the bank has returned to sustained profitability and financial
stability, proposal to transfer ownership raises serious questions of public
policy.
(Business Line)
HDFC Bank reports steady
Q1; net up 5%: HDFC
Bank’s net profit for the quarter ended June grew 5% on-year to Rs 19,060
crore, missing analyst expectations. The bottomline for the lender was pegged
at Rs 19,720 crore as per Bloomberg estimates. Net profit was up on the back of
falling provisions and steady growth in net interest income (NII). NII was up
7% on-year to Rs 33,534 crore in the reporting quarter. However, it was lower
than Bloomberg estimates of Rs 34,257 crore. Net interest margin (NIM) for
April-June stood at 3.26% as against 3.40% a quarter ago. In
terms of asset quality, the gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio inched up to
1.17% from 1.15% a quarter ago. Net NPA ratio stood at 0.41% as against 0.38% a
quarter ago.
(Financial Express)
PNB profit jumps threefold
to Rs 5,253 cr in Q1: Punjab National Bank’s (PNB)
net profit has surged three-fold in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, to Rs
5,253 crore from Rs 1,675 crore a year ago on back of lower tax expense and
consistent performance in core parameters. The domestic loan book grew
11.6% to Rs 12.04 lakh crore as on June 30, 2026. The RAM (retail, agriculture
and MSME) segment grew 12.8% y-o-y to Rs 6.88 lakh crore, while corporate loans
rose 10% to Rs 5.15 lakh crore. The bank’s asset quality
improved, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declining to 2.78% of gross
advances, from 3.78% a year ago and 2.95% in the preceding quarter. Net NPAs
declined by 10 bps y-o-y to 0.28%.
(Financial Express)
Punjab National Bank
scouting for partner to build its M&A financing portfolio: CEO: Punjab National Bank is
seeking a partner for its merger and acquisition financing portfolio. The bank
aims to gather $2.5 billion in special FCNR(B) deposits and has already
mobilized funds. Its corporate loan book is projected to exceed four lakh crore
rupees this fiscal year. PNB is actively focusing on renewable energy and
emerging sectors like hydrogen capacity.
(Economic Times)
IDBI Bank privatisation
protest – Nationwide hunger strike on July 27, sale likely by August: Report: Officers and employees of IDBI Bank will hold a
one-day nationwide hunger strike on July 27 to protest the proposed
privatisation of the lender, with the strategic sale expected to be completed
by the end of August, news organization BusinessLine reported on Saturday. The
protest has been reportedly called by the United Forum of IDBI Officers and
Employees, which has raised concerns over job security, social security
benefits, reservation policies, public accountability and the future of the
bank’s developmental role.
(Financial Express)
Trade, NBFC credit to remain
fastest-growing lending segments: Report: Trade and NBFC credit are expected to remain
among the fastest-growing segments of India's banking system, supported by
rising formalisation of economic activity, deeper financial penetration and the
expanding reach of organised lenders, according to a report by Ashika
Institutional Equities. The report said continued adoption of GST, digital
payments and cash-flow-based underwriting will support credit expansion, while
banks are likely to increasingly favour well-capitalised NBFCs with with
diversified funding profiles and healthy asset quality.
(Economic Times)
Banks align on
Vodafone Idea's projections, seek promoter promise: Vodafone Idea’s (Vi’s) lenders have
broadly agreed on the telecom company’s financial projections, including its
revenue outlook, after scaling back its own assumptions. However, they await
more comfort from Vi’s promoters before signing off on a fresh round of funding,
two persons informed about the development said. The country’s third-largest
telco - after Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti
Airtel- has sought funding of Rs.35,000 crore to support its capital
expenditure (capex) plan that includes 5G network rollout. Lenders, however,
are holding back from formally approving the funds as they expect guarantees
from group companies or explicit commitments from promoters to infuse
additional capital or to provide a backstop in event of a default.
(Business Standard)
RBI asks banks to clear old
trade and payment mismatches: For years, missing numbers,
lost documents, and wrong entries have led to mismatches between trade and
payment flows, growing over time and lying unreconciled with banks. The RBI has
asked banks to resolve long-pending mismatches between trade and payment
records worth thousands of crores. Banks must verify documents and transactions
to regularise genuine export-import cases. Clearing old EDPMS and IDPMS entries
could improve compliance, prevent businesses from being flagged and ensure more
accurate trade data.
(Economic Times)
Banks pare FCNR (B) inflow
expectations amid leverage and tax hurdles: Banks have turned cautious about their
forecast on potential fund mobilisation via the Reserve Bank of India’s Foreign
Currency Non-Resident (Bank) or FCNR (B) deposit scheme owing to a combination
of challenges posed by tax disadvantages in the US and Europe, among other
markets, leverage restrictions in certain jurisdictions, and a heavy reliance
on overseas lenders for leverage. While the interest from non-resident Indians
(NRIs) remains strong, leverage availability is likely to determine the final
mobilisation, with the bulk of inflows expected over the next two months,
bankers said. There is intense competition among banks to secure funding lines
from foreign lenders. According to Sashidhar Jagdishan, managing director and
chief executive officer (MD & CEO), HDFC Bank, it does not make economic
sense for customers to take leverage and invest in FCNR (B) deposits in in
Australia, Europe and the US where taxation is levied on the gross interest
earned.
(Business Standard)
YIELD CURVE INVERSION
A Yield Curve shows
interest rates of bonds across different maturities.
Meaning:
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 : 96.3665
INR
/ 1 GBP : 129.8323
INR
/ 1 EUR : 110.3384
INR
/100 JPY: 59.3500
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
78151.45 (+964.58)
NIFTY:
24334.30 (+261.55)
Bnk NIFTY: 58521.40 (+939.15)
International Moon Day: July 20 is
primarily celebrated worldwide as International Moon Day (also known as
National Moon Day or Space Exploration Day), commemorating the Apollo 11 lunar
landing in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to
walk on the Moon. Today is also
globally celebrated as International Chess Day by the World Chess Federation
(FIDE) to mark its founding in 1924.
Historical events: July 20th holds
monumental significance in Indian history, most notably marking the 1905 approval
of the first Partition of Bengal by the British. Other key milestones include
the 1997 historic Teesta River water-sharing treaty between India and
Bangladesh, and in 1969, M. Hidayatullah taking oath as the first acting
President of the country.
****Have a nice
Day****
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