Issue: 1153
CEO of World Economic Forum
quits after Epstein ties come to light: The U.S. Treasury Department
proposed a rule on Thursday that, if finalized, would sever MBaer Merchant Bank
AG's access to the U.S. financial system on the grounds the Swiss bank had
supported illicit actors linked to Iran and Russia. The Treasury alleged MBaer
and its employees had facilitated corruption linked to Venezuelan and Russian
money laundering as well as money laundering and terrorist financing on behalf
of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force, which are under
sanctions from the U.S.
(Reuters)
UPI link, 50,000 worker
quota, AI cooperation: India, Israel unveil 27 bilateral agreements as Modi’s
visit concludes: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday elevated India-Israel ties to a
“Special Strategic Partnership”. The two sides announced 27 bilateral outcomes,
including 16 agreements and 11 joint initiatives. Together, these cover
critical and emerging technologies, energy, agriculture, cyberspace, digital
payments and space cooperation. Modi announced that India’s
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be introduced in Israel. Both
leaders further agreed to accelerate negotiations on a mutually beneficial Free
Trade Agreement (FTA). India and Israel also
committed to expanding their already strong defence relationship by focusing on
joint development and joint production of military equipment, with an emphasis
on technology transfer.
(Financial Express)
Revenue secretary calls for
trust-based, tech-driven customs reforms: The next phase of Customs reforms must be
driven by enhanced stakeholder trust and advanced technology, as India’s trade
ecosystem grows increasingly complex and digital, said Revenue Secretary Arvind
Srivastava on Thursday.India’s expanding trade volumes and integration into
global value chains have placed “fresh demands” on governance at a critical
juncture in its economic journey, he said at the National Symposium on Customs
Reform 2026 in New Delhi.
(Business Standard)
AI automation at
world's largest bank: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon confirms 'huge redeployment
plans': JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the
bank is proactively responding to the workplace impact of artificial
intelligence, while also urging policymakers and businesses to prepare for
broader societal disruption. Dimon detailed internal efforts to move
employees into new roles as automation gathers pace. The bank has already
displaced some workers through AI adoption but is expanding redeployment
initiatives to place affected staff in alternative positionsThe lender - the
world's largest by market value - spends nearly $20 billion annually on
technology and has laid out plans to become "fundamentally rewired"
for the AI era..
(Moneycontrol)
US proposes severing Swiss
bank from financial system over alleged Iran, Russia, Venezuela links: The U.S. Treasury Department
proposed a rule on Thursday that, if finalized, would sever MBaer Merchant Bank
AG's access to the U.S. financial system on the grounds the Swiss bank had
supported illicit actors linked to Iran and Russia. The Treasury alleged MBaer
and its employees had facilitated corruption linked to Venezuelan and Russian
money laundering as well as money laundering and terrorist financing on behalf
of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force, which are under
sanctions from the U.S.
(Reuters)
NRI deposit inflows fall
16% in FY26 due to weak rupee: NRI deposit inflows declined
16 per cent to $11.20 billion during April-December FY26, reversing a sharp
42.8 per cent surge to $13.33 billion in the corresponding period of FY25. The
moderation comes after two years of strong growth. Inflows had risen 72.7 per
cent in FY24 and 42.8 per cent in FY25, marking a sharp recovery from the 61.1
per cent contraction recorded in FY22. Over the past decade, flows have
remained episodic, swinging between double-digit growth and sharp contractions.
(Business Line)
HDFC Bank, SBI dominate
India’s credit card spending, top 5 banks control 85.6%: India’s credit card spending is increasingly
concentrated among legacy lenders, with HDFC Bank and State Bank of India
together controlling nearly half of the total transaction value as of January
2026. The top five issuers now account for 85.6% of spending, up from 81.2% in
April 2025, highlighting a shift of high-value transactions toward established
banks while smaller banks and fintech issuers compete for less than 15% of the
market. HDFC Bank’s
share edged up to 28.4%, while SBI saw a sharp rise from 19.3% to 24.7%,
collectively absorbing over five percentage points from competitors. Meanwhile,
foreign banks’ share fell to 4.5%, with some exiting the credit card business,
and regulatory restrictions affected fintech partnerships.
(Economic Times)
RBI greenlights SBI Mutual
Fund's plan to buy up to 9.99% in Bandhan Bank: The Reserve
Bank of India has given the green light for SBI Mutual Fund to acquire a
significant stake in Bandhan Bank. The fund house can now hold up to 9.99% of
the bank's shares. This approval comes with specific conditions and timelines.
SBI Mutual Fund must complete the acquisition within one year.
(Economic Times)
Apple in talks with ICICI,
HDFC & Axis Bank to start payment service in India: Apple is in talks with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and
Axis Bank, along with Visa and Mastercard, to launch Apple Pay in India around
mid-2026, though the timeline is not final. The service is expected to support
UPI as well as card payments, entering a market dominated by Google Pay,
PhonePe, Amazon Pay and Paytm.
(Economic Times)
Now there is a new 48-hour
free cancellation window for air tickets: In a major relief to air travellers, India’s
aviation safety regulator has mandated a ‘Look-in option’ that allows
passengers to cancel or amend flight tickets without additional charges for a
period of 48 hours after the initial booking. The new Civil Aviation
Requirements (CAR) comes after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
received a high volume of complaints regarding delayed refunds and restrictive
airline policies. Accordingly, under the new “Look-in” provision, passengers
can cancel or change their tickets within 48 hours of booking at no additional
charge, except for any prevailing fare difference for the revised flight. This
facility is only available for domestic flights booked at least seven days in
advance and international flights booked 15 days prior to departure through
airline websites.
(Business Line)
MSME Ministry Upgrades
National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) to ‘Schedule A’ CPSE: The National Small Industries Corporation Ltd,
the Central public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) under Ministry of MSME, is engaged
in the promotion and development of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
(MSME) sector across the country since more than seven decades. The Ministry of
MSME, Government of India through Notification dated 26.02.2026, upgraded NSIC
from the Schedule ‘B’ to Schedule ‘A’ category CPSE. The recognition of
Schedule ‘A’ will reflect positively on NSIC’s management, operation and
financial powers boosting it's support to MSMEs. NSIC received Excellent
Ratings from DPE for the year 2024-25 which is a testament to the continuous
tireless efforts of the NSIC team over the years.
(PiB)
Govt to soon launch
grade-based driving licence system, says Gadkari: To promote responsible driving
and prevent road mishaps, the government is planning to introduce a grade-based
driving license system with stricter provisions, including licence cancellation
for certain traffic rule violations. Every year, around 1.8 lakh people die
across the country due to factors such as using a mobile phone while driving,
over speeding, wrong-side driving and drunken driving, Union Minister for Road,
Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said.
(Business Standard)
SEBI scraps solution funds,
introduces life cycle funds, tightens thematic rules in major mutual fund reset: Through its latest circular on categorisation
and rationalisation of schemes, SEBI has tweaked categories as it has attempted
to reshape how funds are designed and and managed. The introduction of life cycle
funds also resolves the static asset allocation problem seen in traditional
retirement products. By aligning risk with different life stages, it helps
reduce emotionally driven asset allocation decisions. One of the biggest changes is
the discontinuation of solution-oriented schemes such as retirement and
children’s plans. SEBI has scrapped the category altogether, directing that
“existing schemes in this category shall stop all subscriptions with immediate
effect” and be merged with similar schemes after regulatory approval. Replacing
these is a new category called Life Cycle Funds designed to embed discipline directly
into asset allocation. The circular defines these as schemes following a “glide
path strategy based investing across various asset classes” including equity,
debt, gold and silver ETFs and InvITs. These funds will automatically reduce
equity exposure as maturity approaches, with tenures ranging from 5 to 30
years.
(Moneycontrol)
Gold and Silver ETFs to
reflect true domestic market prices from April 1, 2026: Gold and Silver held by Gold
and Silver Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) will see a change in the way they are
valued by the fund houses. From April 01, 2026, the mutual funds will value
physical Gold and Silver by using the polled spot prices published by the
recognized stock exchanges, which are used for settlement of physically
delivered Gold and Silver derivatives contracts. The Multi-Commodity Exchange
of India Limited (MCX), India’s first listed exchange, publishes daily price
data of gold, silver and other commodities. Currently, physical Gold and Silver
held by Gold and Silver ETFs are valued at AM fixing prices of the London
Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
(Financial Express)
RBI gives compliance
breather for small-merchant UPI transactions: RBI’s latest clarification on UPI
transactions is set to bring relief to fintech players, such as PhonePe and
Paytm, particularly those with deep merchant-acquiring networks in the
unorganised retail segment. In a communication to the industry, the RBI
clarified that UPI transactions processed for small merchants in the
unorganised retail sector — commonly referred to as P2PM (peer-to-peer
merchant) — do not require a payment aggregator (PA) partner, according to
multiple industry sources.
(Business Standard)
DRIP PRICING
§ A
practice whereby – (i) elements of prices are not revealed upfront or are
revealed surreptitiously within the user experience; or;
§ (ii)
revealing the price post-confirmation of purchase i.e., charging an amount
higher than the amount disclosed at the time of checkout; or
§ (iii)
a product or service is advertised as free without appropriate disclosure of
the fact that the continuation of use requires in-app purchase; or
§ (iv)
a user is prevented from availing a service which is already paid for unless
something additional is purchased.
§ For
example; Not revealing processing fees and other charges upfront.
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 : 90.9072
INR
/ 1 GBP : 123.2532
INR
/ 1 EUR : 107.4432
INR
/100 JPY: 58.2700
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 82248.61 (-87.46)
NIFTY: 25496.55 (+14.05)
Bnk NIFTY: 61187.70 (+144.35)
World NGO Day: February 27. The
official global awareness day celebrated in 145+ countries honoring NGOs,
nonprofits, and the people shaping a better world-recognized by the European
Union, governments, organizations, and communities worldwide.
Historical events: February 27 is a
significant day marked by the 1931 martyrdom of Indian revolutionary
Chandrashekhar Azad in Allahabad and the 2002 Godhra train burning in Gujarat.
Globally, it marks the 1933 Reichstag fire in Germany, the 1900 founding of
Bayern Munich, and the 1991 liberation of Kuwait.
****Have a nice Day****
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