Issue: 1223
· The Supreme Court sought
Cabinet records in the Rs.8,415 crore Yes Bank AT-1 bond write-off case.
· HDFC Bank introduced a
two-day work-from-home policy for select employees in enabling functions.
· RBI announced a $5 billion
dollar-rupee swap auction scheduled for May 26 to inject liquidity into the
banking system.
· Bandhan Bank accelerated its
AI and digital banking transformation strategy.
· India emerged as a major
global banking and financial services technology hub with over 2,000 GCCs
operating in the country.
· NCDEX announced India’s first
exchange-traded weather derivatives contract linked to Mumbai rainfall.
RBI announces $5 billion US
Dollar/INR swap auction on May 26 to inject liquidity: The Reserve Bank will conduct
a USD 5 billion USD-INR buy and sell swap auction next week to inject long-term
liquidity in the banking system. The auction, to be held on May
26, also comes at a time when the rupee has significantly depreciated against
the American currency amid persisting global uncertainties. "On a review
of current and evolving liquidity conditions, it has been decided to conduct a
USD/INR Buy/Sell swap auction of USD 5 billion for a tenor of three
years," the central bank said in a circular. The swap is in the nature of
a simple buy/sell foreign exchange swap from the Reserve Bank side.
(Moneycontrol)
IMF flags fiscal risks for
India as oil prices rise: As rising crude oil prices
once again threaten India’s inflation outlook and fiscal math, the
International Monetary Fund has cautioned governments against relying on
blanket fuel subsidies and price caps to shield consumers from the ongoing
energy shock. In a policy note released amid escalating tensions in the Middle
East, the IMF said governments should ensure that “domestic energy prices
reflect international costs” while offering only “targeted, temporary support”
to vulnerable households and viable small businesses. The warning comes at a
critical time for India, which imports more than 80 per cent of its crude oil
requirements. With fears of supply disruptions around Iran and the Strait of
Hormuz pushing global crude prices sharply higher, economists are increasingly
worried about the impact on India’s current account deficit, inflation
trajectory, and the rupee.
(Business Today)
Core sector growth hits
two-month high at 1.7% in April: Production growth in eight
core infrastructure sectors rose to a two-month high of 1.7 per cent in April,
driven by higher output of steel, cement and electricity, according to government
data released on Wednesday. These eight sectors expanded by 1 per cent in the
same month last year. The pace of expansion was 1.2 per cent in March. Coal,
crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and fertiliser output recorded
negative growth during the month under review. Core sectors account for 40.27
per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
(Business Line)
India and Italy to increase
bilateral trade to €20 billion by 2029: Prime Minister (PM) Narendra
Modi concluded his visit to Italy, the final leg of his five-nation foreign
tour, on Wednesday, with India and Italy committing to raising annual bilateral
trade to €20 billion by 2029. Following talks between PM Modi and his Italian
counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, in Rome, India and Italy announced 15 outcomes.
These included an India-Italy defence industrial roadmap for cooperation in
defence manufacturing, collaboration on critical minerals, a pact to facilitate
the mobility of Indian nurses to Italy, and an agreement aimed at promoting
India’s marine exports to Italy. India-Italy bilateral trade stood at €14.25
billion in 2025. India’s exports were valued at €8.55 billion, while Italian exports
to India were recorded at €5.70 billion. Italy is India’s fourth-largest
trading partner in the European Union (EU) and has identified India as one of
the priority countries under its global trade strategy. Italy is also home to
the largest Indian diaspora in the EU, with 186,833 Indians living and working
there. More than 5,100 Indian students are currently studying at Italian
universities.
(PiB/Business Standard)
Banks step up hiring of
apprentices to cut costs, expand operations: The hiring priorities of
public sector banks are undergoing a structural shift with graduate apprentices
emerging as a low-cost workforce, partly substituting the much-coveted regular
clerical positions. Data on recent recruitment trends show that banks are
increasingly using apprentices to meet manpower requirements arising from the
expansion of marketing, customer outreach and digital banking operations,
resulting in substantial cost savings. Apprentices are paid a monthly
stipend ranging between Rs.15,000 and Rs.20,000, depending on the place of
posting. Of this, about Rs.4,500 per
month is reimbursed to banks by the Centre. In contrast, a newly recruited
clerk in a public sector bank, draws an initial monthly salary of over Rs.40,000,
apart from allowances, medical benefits and retirement-linked benefits.
(Business Line)
HDFC Bank announces 2-day
WFH policy for businesses and corporate verticals: HDFC Bank has rolled out a
two-day work-from-home arrangement for employees in its Business and Corporate
Enabling Functions, sources confirmed to financialexpress.com. The bank is yet
to make an official statement on the move. The arrangement has come into effect
immediately and will continue for the next 30 days, after which it will be
reviewed. The change will not impact branch employees or customer-facing
operations. Banking services across the country will continue as normal without
any disruption. With this decision, HDFC Bank
is bringing back a limited form of hybrid work, but only for
non-customer-facing roles and on a short-term trial basis.
(Financial Express)
BHIM Payments App sees 300%
growth in FY26 driven by cashbacks and user trust: BHIM Payments App saw a
significant 300% growth in FY26. Monthly transactions surged to 21.6 crore in
March 2026. Cashback offers are a key growth driver. The app aims to expand to
feature phones. NBSL is partnering with banks to embed BHIM technology into
their mobile applications. This move will deepen the digital payment ecosystem
across India.
(Economic Times)
RBI proposes rules to let
lenders disable phones for loan defaults: The Reserve Bank of India is
proposing to allow lenders to disable certain mobile phone functions for loan
defaulters, specifically for devices financed by the loan. These restrictions,
effective October 2026, will be tightly regulated, excluding essential services
and requiring a graduated approach. The RBI also introduced broader recovery
conduct rules, including agent certification and data privacy mandates.
(Economic Times)
IRDAI may ease norms for
insurance cos to invest more in REITs, InvITs: Insurers may soon see relaxed
investment rules for real estate and infrastructure trusts. The regulator is
considering a combined 6% exposure limit, up from the current 3% for each.
Strong investor interest in recent infrastructure offerings, like the Raajmarg
InvIT, has fueled demands for greater insurer participation in these
long-duration yield assets.
(Economic Times)
Irdai withholds variable
pay of some insurers' CEOs over expense targets: The performance-linked pay of the chief
executives of some insurance companies has been withheld by the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) after the insurers failed
to meet the targets regarding the “expense of management” (EoM) or adhere to
their glide paths, according to sources aware of the development. The action is
based on the regulator’s insurers’ performance in FY25 and the trends seen in
the opening quarters of FY26, followed by a review of the I in the first two
months of 2026.
(Business Standard)
SpaceX filing reveals $4.28
billion loss, Elon Musk’s tight grip: SpaceX filed publicly for what stands to be
the largest-ever initial public offering, revealing billions in losses and the
super-voting share plan allowing Elon Musk to keep the rocket, satellite and
artificial intelligence giant under his control.
The largest private
company, led by the world’s richest person, is targeting as much as $75 billion
in its listing at a valuation of more than $2 trillion, people familiar with
the matter have said. That would eclipse the $29.4 billion IPO record set
by Saudi Aramco in 2019. SpaceX had a net loss of $4.28 billion on revenue of
$4.69 billion for the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $528 million
on revenue of about $4 billion a year earlier, according to
a filing Wednesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
(Moneycontrol)
Nvidia posts record
quarterly revenue on AI boom, announces $80 billion share buyback: Nvidia, on Wednesday, reported record
quarterly revenue of $81.6 billion, beating Wall Street estimates as strong
global demand for artificial intelligence chips continued to fuel growth. The results for the first
quarter of fiscal 2027, which ended on April 26, marked an 85% increase from
the same period last year and a 20% rise from the previous quarter. The world’s
most valuable company forecast revenue of $91 billion, plus or minus 2%, for
the current quarter, ahead of analysts’ expectations of $86.84 billion,
according to LSEG data.
(Business Standard)
SEBI proposes
payroll-linked MF SIP just like PF and NPS, donation too via mutual fund units: SEBI, has floated a draft framework
to permit certain forms of third-party payments in mutual funds, a significant
move from the existing regime that requires investments to originate strictly
from an investor’s own bank account. The consultation paper, issued
on Wednesday, proposes allowing employers, mutual fund companies, and even
social contribution structures to participate in regulated third-party payment
mechanisms, while ensuring anti-money laundering safeguards and investor
protection norms. The proposals are part of SEBI’s broader effort to modernize
mutual fund operations and improve ease of investing without weakening
compliance standards under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
(Business Today)
Pension
regulator pitches for higher guaranted pension under key scheme: The Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (PFRDA) is discussing with the government how to enhance
the guaranteed pension offered under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), which
currently provides a maximum monthly pension of Rs 5,000, chairman S Ramann
said on Wednesday. Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju said the government
would examine proposals emerging from stakeholders and subscribers. The
subscriber base of the government’s flagship social security scheme is expected
to cross the 10-crore mark during the current financial year, driven by an 18%
annual growth rate, Ramann said.
(Financial Express)
Nabard survey shows only
about third of rural households reported increase in come last year: The impact of the West Asia
war on rural households’ sentiments has been evident with only 29.6% of
households reporting an increase in income during the last one year, according
to the latest survey conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (Nabard). This represents the lowest level of people’s reported
rise in income since the survey commenced in September, 2024, the Nabard
bio-monthly survey, titled ‘Rural Economic Conditions and Sentiments’ stated.
In the November, 2025 round of survey, 42.2% of households (highest) reported
an increase in income in the last one year.
(Financial Express)
KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
§ The
knowledge economy is an economy of products and services produced with human
capital, knowledge, skills, and intellectual property, rather than physical
assets such as land and physical labor.
§ It
refers to the ability to capitalize on scientific discoveries and applied
research.
§ The
knowledge economy represents a large share of the activity in most highly
developed economies.
§ A
significant component of its value might be intangible assets, such as the
value of its workers' knowledge or of intellectual property such as patents and
proprietary procedures.
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 : 96.8441
INR
/ 1 GBP : 129.7711
INR
/ 1 EUR : 112.3727
INR
/100 JPY: 60.9400
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
75318.39 (+117.54)
NIFTY:
23659.00 (+41.00)
Bnk NIFTY: 53562.20 (+153.05)
Historical
events: May 21 holds
profound significance in Indian and global history, primarily marked by the
tragic assassination of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1991.
In observance of this event, India annually commemorates this date as National
Anti-Terrorism Day to promote peace and non-violence. Globally, the day
celebrates diverse cultural and sporting milestones, as it is officially
recognized by the United Nations as International Tea Day and is celebrated by
sports fans worldwide as the anniversary of the founding of FIFA in 1904.
****Have a nice Day****
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