BANK4STUDY

Banking Current Affairs

February 2016
By Bank4Study

2016

Banking Current Affairs February 2016

Feb. 29

Banking Current Affairs

(News Related To Banks Only)
Here we are sharing Important Current Affairs for Bank Exams such as SBI &
IBPS from 1st to 29th Feb 2016
B Swaminathan appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Karur Vysya Bank
Private sector Karur Vysya Bank said the RBI has given its nod for the
appointment of Independent Director B Swaminathan as the Non-Executive (PartTime) Chairman of the bank for three years.
J K Garg appointed Managing Director and CEO of Corporation Bank
J K Garg has taken over as Managing Director and CEO of Corporation Bank
following the retirement of S R Bansal.
Prior to this appointment, Garg was Executive Director in UCO Bank, Corporation
Bank said in a statement.
Federal Bank, National Australia Bank tie up for remittance
Private lender Federal Bank has partnered with National Australia Bank to provide
its NRI customers in Australia inward remittance facility at a discounted rate.
To avail the discount, customers need to register their National Australia Bank
account details with Federal Bank.
The cost is around one-third of the normal international fund transfer charges.
HDFC Bank looks to offer loans, other services via ATMs
Banks are looking to extend the ways in which automated teller machines (ATMs)
can serve customers as they seek new avenues of countering the impending
onslaught of so-called fintech companies, such as mobile wallets and peer-to-peer
lending.

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Along with its rivals, HDFC Bank wants to turn ATMs, of which it has more than
11,800, into more than just cash dispensers.
Its machines will soon provide loans and possibly other services, functioning more
in the manner of virtual branches.
Government to infuse about Rs 5,000 crore in PSU banks this quarter
Financial services secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal said that the government is
committed to allocate Rs 25,000 crore to banks this fiscal.
So far in this fiscal, the government has disbursed Rs 20,000 crore on bank
capitalization.
The government has pledged Rs 70,000 crore toward this end until FY19, Rs 25,000
crore of this in the next fiscal year.
Bandhan Bank garners Rs 7,000 crore deposits
Bandhan Bank, which started commercial operations in August last year, has so far
garnered deposits worth Rs 7,000 crore.
With a network of 612 branches, the bank has more than 7.5 lakh customers. .
Bandhan Bank launches Visa debit card, NRI business
Bandhan Bank announced the launch of an international debit card in association
with Visa.
It has also begun banking services for overseas Indians.
The card will have two variants - Visa Classic and Visa Platinum.
Visa Classic Debit card holders will enjoy daily cash withdrawal limit of Rs. 40,000
while Visa Platinum Debit Card holders will have Rs 1,00,000 daily cash withdrawal.
The point of sale transaction limits for these two variants will be at Rs 1,00,000 and
Rs 4,00,000 respectively.
IOB modernises banking system with Infosys Finacle 10
Indian Overseas Bank is implementing Infosys Finacle's latest rack of software
executed by American technology company HPE.

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By end- January, migration of over 3,500 branches networked by legacy software to

the Finacle 10 suite, the first public sector bank to get the latest digital banking
package from Infosys Finacle.
Axis Bank to launch wearables for its customers in collaboration with GOQii
Axis Bank has tied up with fitness firm GOQii to collaborate on wearable devices for
its customers.
This would be the first MasterCard certified wearable device. The device will allow
consumers to make NFC payments, and will come loaded with the regular fitness
related features like the coach etc that the GOQii bands come with.
RBI imposes Rs 2 lakh penalty on Kapadwanj People's Co-operative Bank
RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on the Kapadwanj People's Co-operative Bank
for violation of norms, including those on advances and KYC.
Yes Bank, IREDA join hands to push green power
Country's fifth-largest private lender Yes Bank signed an agreement with the Indian
Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to foster renewable energy (RE)
development in India.
The MoU will boost green energy financing and help forge a close partnership
between both institutions to create a supporting framework for funding of
renewable energy and energy-efficient projects.
Yes Bank partners UltraCash for sound-based payments service
Yes Bank has partnered UltraCash Technologies to launch payments processing
through sound waves.
UltraCash utilises a patent-pending technology, through which payment data is
securely transferred from one device to the other using unique ultra high frequency
sound waves.

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This partnership will enable Ultracash to issue Yes Bank sponsored mobile wallets
and employ Yes Bank's immediate payment service (IMPS) payments platform to
enable processing of instant proximity transactions.
Axis Bank partners with Suvidhaa to offer loans to urban poor
Axis Bank, Indias third largest private sector bank, in partnership with Suvidhaa, a
domestic remittances company, is reportedly planning to offer funds to the lowest
strata of the society (urban poor), like rickshaw pullers, taxi drivers, tailors and
barbers.
Suvidhaa has been the banks business correspondent for a long time and the bank
have been doing payments, remittances for their customers, so credit was the only
next logical step.
Banks willing to move data storage to public cloud: Microsoft
Microsoft says it is in talks with 'almost every' bank in India to move some parts of
their business to the public cloud, a complete reversal of their earlier technology
strategy, as the country's banking sector looks to cut costs.
Kotak Mahindra Bank acquires 19.9% in Airtel M Commerce for Rs 98.38 crore
Kotak Mahindra Bank has acquired 19.9% in Airtel M Commerce a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Bharti Airtel for Rs 98.38 crore.
Yes Bank wins Green Bond Award in UK

Yes Bank has received the inaugural Green Bond Pioneer Award.

The Green Bond Pioneer Awards for 'Pioneers in Emerging Markets-India' were
organized by Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international investor-focused notfor-profit which focuses on mobilising the USD 100-trillion bond market for climate
change solutions.

Yes Bank was recognised for its pioneering efforts in the Green Bonds market;
including the highly successful issuance of India's first ever Green Infrastructure
Bonds.

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IDBI Bank receives Sebi nod to raise Rs 3771 crore

Government owned IDBI Bank would sell some of its non-core assets and would
place equity with the largest domestic investor, Life Insurance Corporation to raise
capital.

IDBI Bank, received approval from market regulator, Sebi, to raise Rs 3771 crore
from qualified investors. LIC is likely to invest close to Rs 1500 crore in the bank
through preferential shares.

Vinod Rai appointed Chairman of Banks Board Bureau

Former Comptroller & Auditor General of India Vinod Rai has been named the first
chairman of Banks Board Bureau, which will help the government appoint heads of
public sector banks and advice on banking reforms.
The Bank Board Bureau (BBB), announced by the NDA government to improve
governance at public sector banks, will become operational on April 1.
It said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for setting up BBB
and appointment of Rai as part-time chairman of the seven-member board for a
tenure of two years.
Other members of BBB include Anil K Khandelwal, former CMD at Bank of Baroda;
HN Sinor, former joint MD at ICICI Bank; and, Rupa Kudwa, former MD & CEO at
CRISIL. Financial services secretary, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India
and secretary public enterprises will be exofficio members.
The bureau will replace the board for appointment of whole time directors as well
as nonexecutive chairman of public sector banks (PSBs).
2nd edition of Gyan Sangam to start next week, NPAs in focus
Mounting bad loans and declining profitability of state-owned banks will be the
focus of the second edition of Gyan Sangam, a retreat of heads of public sector
financial institutions, beginning March 4.

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The two-day conference, to be attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of

State for Finance Jayant Sinha, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Financial Services
Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal and other senior finance ministry officials.
The event at Gurgaon near Delhi may not be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi this time, sources said, adding that so far confirmation has not come from the
PMO.
Gross NPAs of public sector banks was Rs 3.60 lakh crore at December end, up from
Rs 2.67 lakh crore at the end of March 2015.
In case of private banks, gross NPAs stood at Rs 38,396 crore at December end, up
from Rs 31,576 crore at March 2015 end.
The first Gyan Sangam was held last year in Pune where Prime Minister Narendra
Modi addressed heads of PSU banks and insurers, and financial sector regulators,
promising no interference from any government functionary in their commercial
decisions.
Participants will also deliberate on two focus areas of the government -- financial
inclusion and direct benefit transfer scheme.
Budget 2016: Government to announce PSBs' consolidation plan; to infuse Rs 25,000
crore
Government will unveil a roadmap for consolidation of public sector banks (PSBs)
which are expected to get an infusion of Rs 25,000 crore next fiscal.
RBI to conduct Rs 12,000 crore of open market operation purchase
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced an open market operation (OMO)
purchase of government securities worth Rs 2,000 crore on March 3, reports fe
Bureau in Mumbai.
ICICI Bank launches mobile app development challenge, winners to get over Rs 20
lakh
ICICI Bank announced the launch of mobile app development challenge -ICICI
chnopreneurs and students to create the next generation of banking applications on

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mAppathon. The programme calls on developers, technology companies, startups,

Mobile.
Hosted on the IBM Bluemix cloud based platform, ICICI Appathon will offer a
diverse set of over 50 APIs (Application Programme Interface) from ICICI Bank and
its group companies namely ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, ICICI Lombard General
Insurance and ICICI Securities.
As a first, payment APIs from Visa and the Unified Payment Interface API from
NPCI will also be available for the app development challenge. Visa and NPCI are the
partners of ICICI Appathon.
Top three winners of the ICICI Appathon challenge will get over Rs 20 lakh of prize
money. They will also be given a chance to be mentored by the event partners.
Public Investment Board clears India Posts Rs 800 cr proposal for payments bank
The Public Investment Board has approved the Rs 800-crore proposal from India
Post for setting up a payments bank.
The department is also in the process of finalising selection of a consultant for
setting up of the India Post payments bank.
It had shortlisted six consultants but only three of them submitted the bids.
The India Post payments bank will primarily target unbanked and under-banked
customers in rural, semi-rural and remote areas, with a focus on providing simple
deposit products and money remittance services.
The pilot for the payments bank is set to start from January 2017 and the fullfledged operations may start by March.
As per the RBI guidelines,
A payments bank can offer limited services such as demand deposits and
remittances.
They will not be allowed to undertake lending activities and will initially be
restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh per individual customer.
They will be allowed to issue ATM or debit cards as other prepaid payment
instruments but not credit cards.

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Nabard plan to raise Rs 4,800 cr via tax-free bonds

Nabard is planning to raise up to Rs 1,500 crore through tax-free bonds via the
private placement route.
This would be the first tax-free bond issue by Nabard in this fiscal year.
The company is offering bonds having tenures of 10 and 15 years.
Small savings rates may be cut by 50-100 bps from April 1
Interest rates on small savings schemes could be reduced by 50 to 100 basis points
(bps) with effect from April 1.
The interest rate would also be reset on a quarterly basis instead of yearly basis.
Supreme Court asks Madhya Pradesh to defreeze NTPCs bank accounts
The Supreme Court asked the Madhya Pradesh government to defreeze NTPCs bank
accounts and withdraw its notice to cancel registration of its 4,760-megawatt (MW)
Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Plant in the state, provided the PSU deposited
R40 crore towards entry tax with the state high court.
The state tax department has alleged that NTPC is liable to pay entry tax of R191
crore for the assessment years 2007-2013.
RBI announces monetary policy review: Key highlights
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan has left the key interest rate unchanged at 6.75
per cent citing inflation risks and growth concerns, while pegging further easing of
monetary policy on governments budget proposals.
1. Repo rate unchanged at 6.75 per cent
2. Cash reserve ratio or CRR unchanged at 4 per cent
3. Expects inflation to be around 5 per cent by March 2017
4. Expects GDP growth of 7.6 per cent for FY17, 7.4 per cent with downward bias for
FY16
5. Indian economy lost momentum in Q3
6. Have not factored in 7th pay panel recommendation in inflation target

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7. Continue to remain accommodative even if rates remain unchanged

8. Working with banks and government to ensure identification of stressed assets
9. Bearish commodity price dynamics are also likely to impact investor sentiment
10. Marginal standing facility rate and Bank Rate at 7.75 pct
11. RBI to create a special ecosystem for startup funding
12. Prospects for the rabi harvest are improving slowly;
13. Policy to remain accommodative if fiscal side helps
14. Reforms in Budget to create space for rate cut
15. First bi-monthly monetary policy for 2016-17 on April 5
SBI launches new home loan scheme for working executives
State Bank of India (SBI) launched a new home loan scheme which will enable
young working professionals to get higher amount than they are eligible for.
Under the scheme, SBI FlexiPay Home Loan, the additional loan amount will help
such professionals in acquiring better and spacious living spaces for themselves and
their families.
SBI e-Smart SME for sellers on ecommerce platforms.
Indias largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched SBI e-Smart SME to
provide a working capital loan for sellers on ecommerce platforms.
SBI e-Smart SME Sellers on ecommerce platforms can apply for the loan online and
get instant sanctioning of the loan with KYC documents.
Collateral free loan will be granted upto 10 Lakh rupees under MUDRA (Micro Units
Development and Refinance Agency) scheme.
Women entrepreneurs will be given concession of 0.25% on the loans.
SBI opens Japan Desk in New Delhi
Indias largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched Japan Desk, a single
window for inbound Japanese investments in India and vice-versa.
This is a first-of-its-kind initiative that seeks to facilitate Japanese corporates
looking to invest in India with banking and advisory services.

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BRICS Bank Signs Pact to Place Headquarters in Shanghai

The New Development Bank (NDB) set up by the BRICS countries signed an
agreement with China to place its Headquarters here.
IDBI Bank to Raise Rs. 1,500 Cr via Share Sale to LIC
State-owned IDBI Bank said it has proposed to offer about 28 crore shares at Rs.
53.44 apiece to LIC on a preferential basis to raise Rs. 1,500 crore.
RBI Includes National Bank of Abu Dhabi in Reserve Bank Act
The Reserve Bank has included National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC (NBAD) in the
Second Schedule to the RBI Act.
NBAD is the leading bank in the Middle East.
It has operations in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, France, Switzerland, the UK, USA and
Brazil.
GSC Bank to sell insurance through agri cooperative societies
Gujarat State Cooperative Bank (GSC Bank), a scheduled bank of the state, has
forayed into accidental insurance policy for farmers and account holders of
cooperative banks.
The bank plans to sell insurance policies through agricultural cooperative societies.
Bank is initially selling the insurance from urban and people's cooperatives banks.
To expand the reach, it will use agriculture cooperative societies as agents to sell the
new policy.
EXIM Bank to issue 'Panda Bonds' worth $300 million
Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India plans to raise $300 million from Chinese
financial markets through panda bonds to finance demand for credit.
Panda bonds are renminbi-denominated instruments from a non-Chinese issuer,
sold in the Peoples Republic of China.

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Bharatiya Mahila Bank opens branch in Vizag

Bharatiya Mahila Bank opens branch in Vizag.
Vizag BMB branch is the first in the city and the fourth in Andhra Pradesh.
Bihar village gets its first bank branch
Bihar Gramin Bank opened a branch at village Dharampur Bande in Samastipur
district, Bihar.
Dharampur Bande village, about 30 km from Samastipur town and having a
population of 12,500, had no bank previously.
The Dharampur branch of Bihar Gramin Bank, a leading regional rural bank
sponsored by UCO Bank, was inaugurated by the Chairman of the bank, Arvind Singh
Shekhawat.
AIIB appoints DJ Pandian as CIO
Former Chief Secretary of Gujarat DJ Pandian has been appointed as the VicePresident, Chief Investment Officer of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Paisabazaar.com ties up with banks, NBFCs to expand car loan portfolio
Online financial marketplace Paisabazaar.com has expanded its loans portfolio by
entering into a strategic partnership with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Prime,
IndusInd Bank, AU Financiers, and L&T Finance to offer car loans to private as well
as commercial customers.
These partnerships allow Paisabazaar.com to reach out to existing and potential
customers across all segments and offer them car loan products based on their
individual requirements.
Shinjini Kumar, former RBI executive, to head Paytms payments bank
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) executive Shinjini Kumar, who is currently a
director at research and consultancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), will join
Paytms payments bank as chief executive officer.

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She is expected to join in March and will look at all aspects of the business from
revenue to regulatory issues.
Christine Lagarde appointed for second term as IMF chief
Christine Lagarde has been re-appointed as its Managing Director for a second fiveyear term after an uncontested election.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp to sell stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank
Japans Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is looking to sell almost half of its stake in
private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, for around $300 million
(approximately Rs.2,050 crore).
The Japanese bank firm had picked up a 4.5% stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2010
through a preferential allotment for Rs.1,366 crore.
Sidbi to raise Rs 10,000 crore Stand Up India Fund corpus from RBI
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) will be raising the
proposed Rs.10,000-crore corpus for Stand Up India Fund from RBI, which will be
disbursed to Dalit and women entrepreneurs.
The corpus will be used to refinance loans extended by the banks to the scheduled
castes, scheduled tribes and women entrepreneurs as part of the Stand Up India
scheme announced by the government earlier this year.
Fino PayTech ties up with Reliance Commercial Finance for payments bank venture
Payments technology firm Fino PayTech Ltd is tying up with Reliance Commercial
Finance Ltd, prior to its payments bank launch.
Through this tie-up, Fino Paytech will provide credit to rural poor in the states of
Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with Reliance Commercial
Finance, which is the non-banking finance subsidiary of Anil Ambani-led Reliance
Capital Ltd.
The non-banking finance company will provide loans for disbursement through Fino
Fintech Foundation, an associate company of Fino PayTech.

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RBI extends swap arrangement with SAARC nations

The Reserve Bank has decided to extend the SAARC Currency Swap Arrangement till
14 November 2017.
Under the arrangement, RBI is to offer swap arrangement up to an overall amount of
$2 billion both in foreign currency and Indian rupee.
The SAARC Swap Arrangement was offered by the RBI to SAARC nations on 15
November 2012.
The facility will be available to all SAARC member countries Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Aditya Birla Nuvo, Idea Cellular to jointly set up payments bank
Aditya Birla Group took a step closer to setting up its payments bank by
incorporating a subsidiary, Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd.
The new entity is a joint venture, with Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL) holding 51%
stake and Idea Cellular Ltd holding the rest.
Barclays names Nataf banking head of Eastern Europe, Middle East
Barclays Plc has appointed David Nataf as its new banking head for Central and
Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa as the British lender seeks to
expand its business in the region.
Indian Bank takes controlling stake in Karaikal Port
Marg Ltd has lost control of a port it built at Karaikal in Puducherry to state-owned
Indian Bank.
Indian Bank has become majority owner of Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd, the entity that
runs the port located at Karaikal, after invoking the shares pledged with it by the
original promoters, Chennai-based Marg Ltd, due to a default in loan repayments.
Indian Bank now holds 52.46% equity and 9.85% CCPS in Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd.
Indian Bank cannot sell the shares to a third party due to a court order.

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Apart from Indian Bank, the lending consortium included Allahabad Bank,
Corporation Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank
of India, Indian Overseas Bank, United Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of
Hyderabad and India Infrastructure Finance Co Ltd.
Bandhan Bank in talks with Ola to offer loans to drivers
Bandhan Bank said it is in talks with cab aggregator Ola (ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd)
to offer car loans to drivers who want to join the taxi-hailing services network.
The bank has offered similar vehicle loans to individuals in West Bengal who have
partnered with companies such as Uber Technologies Inc.

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