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Business

Challenging times ahead for public sector banks

Kotak Securities, in a report, said the private banks have increased their market share in current account and in the corporate segment while public banks have been losing share steadily in the household and government sectors…reports Venkatachari Jagannathan

Arbitrage between the lending and deposit rates, higher credit demand, and lower loan provisions resulted in public sector banks (PSB) posting handsome profits during Q2FY23 and H1FY23, say experts.

However, the happy times for the government banks may not continue for much long as competition will soon emerge for deposits, and loans, which, in turn, would increase the cost of funds and reduce the margins, the experts added.

Further maintaining good employee relations by the PSB management will also be a key factor.

“The PSB’s reported significant levels of profitability were aided by robust credit demand, arbitrage between rising lending rates and lagging deposit rates, lower credit costs due to reduced loan provisions, and reducing NPA (non-performing asset) levels,” Saurabh Bhalerao, Associate Director – BFSI Research, CARE Ratings, told.

He also said the impact of rising yields was not as severe as witnessed in Q1FY23.

“Further, this performance has come against a backdrop of higher bad loans, capital infusions by the government, and loss of market share in business (deposits as well as credit),” Bhalerao added.

The gross NPA ratio is expected to decline below five per cent in FY23 and reach pre-Asset Quality Review (AQR) levels of approximately 4.3 per cent in FY24 due to economic expansion, higher recoveries, and proposed transfer of NPAs to various asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), CARE Ratings said.

On November 7, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said 12 PSBs registered handsome net profits during Q2FY23 and also H1FY23.

“The continuous efforts of our govt for reducing the NPAs & further strengthening the health of PSBs are now showing tangible results. All 12 PSBs declared net profit of Rs 25,685 cr in Q2FY23 & total Rs 40,991 cr in H1FY23, up by 50% & 31.6%, respectively (y-o-y),” she said in a tweet.

Sitharaman also listed out the Q2FY23 profits of State Bank of India (SBI) at Rs 13,265 crore (a growth of 74 per cent), Canara Bank at Rs 2,525 crore (89 per cent), UCO Bank Rs 504 crore (145 per cent) and Bank of Baroda at Rs 3,312.42 crore (58.70 per cent).

“We believe PSBs have reported strong profit in 2Q mainly due to meaningful improvement in credit growth, margins on the back of asset repricing and lower loan loss provisions as banks are well provisioned on the old NPAs, whereas new NPA formation has been lower due to better recovery trends,” Anand Dama, Senior Research Analyst, Emkay Global Financial Services, told.

In order to contain inflation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has hiked the repo rate by 190 basis points in the recent quarters.

While the banks passed on their increased cost to the borrowers, the same benefit was not offered to the depositors and thereby, increased their net interest margin (NIM).

“Further there are expectations of a rate hike in the next monetary policy meet, which will still allow banks to pass on the incremental cost to advances linked to the benchmark, and deposit rates will continue to rise with a lag, protecting the NIM for FY23,” Bhalerao of CARE Ratings said.

That apart, bulk of the government bank’s deposits comprise current and savings accounts whose cost are very low.

According to the RBI, the share of CASA deposits in total deposits has been increasing over the last three years (42 per cent, 43.8 per cent, and 44.5 per cent in June of 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Emkay Global’s Dama is of the view that the government banks will continue to enjoy the happy times.

“We believe PSBs will continue to benefit from better credit growth, margin uptick and lower loan loss provisions, but need to monitor the G-sec yield movement as it could hurt PSBs a bit on the treasury front and also impending bipartite wage negotiation,” he said.

“Competition among banks to attract deposits is expected to increase given the continued retail credit offtake, coupled with corporate demand picking up in select infrastructure segments and corporates shifting to banks as capital market borrowing rates have increased,” Bhalerao said.

Additionally, incremental provisions may remain low as the slippages from restructured assets are not anticipated to be significant, and that the corporate NPA cycle looks to have bottomed but slippages from the retail and MSME book remains a key monitorable, he said.

“Consequently, some impact on margins may be seen in the first half of FY24,” Bhalerao said.

According to experts, with increased loan offtake by the retail sector coupled with the corporate sector, banks will have to increase their interest rates on term deposits at some point of time.

This may result in shifting of deposits from CASA to term deposits and increased costs. It should also be noted that there has been a tendency amongst bank depositors to have their money in savings accounts.

The other issue the banks have to contend with is the short term – 1-3years – nature of their term deposits.

Competition on the lending side may result in reduction in lending rates, which, in turn, will reduce their NIM cushion.

Kotak Securities, in a report, said the private banks have increased their market share in current account and in the corporate segment while public banks have been losing share steadily in the household and government sectors.

In a research report, Dr. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, SBI said even as the commercial banks are increasing their interest rates on select deposits, the risk premia over their core funding cost are not factored in the credit risk.

Fresh capital infusion, and cleaning up of the PSBs’ balance sheets is a recurring nature and the risk of NPAs climbing up is also there.

The lending to the corporate sector is picking up and if the economy goes down, then the NPAs will rise and also lending may get curtailed, a banking sector expert, who did not want to be identified, told.

The expert also said the application of Indian Accounting Standard may increase provisioning by PSBs.

These apart, the continued success of PSBs against the competition from private and small finance banks depends on the handling of the human resource by the management.

According to All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C.H.Venkatachalam, in the recent period, the management attacks/victimisation are not only increasing but there is a common thread in all these attacks.

Venkatachalam said government banks like Bank of Maharashtra are denying trade union rights.

“At the Central Bank of India, it is a jungle raj with the management resorting to indiscriminate transfers. More than 3,300 clerical staff have been transferred from one station to another violating the bipartite settlement and bank level settlement,” he added.

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-Top News UK News

Bank of England makes historic rate hike

The BoE said the economy had shrunk since the third quarter, entering a technical recession that is forecast to last until the first half of 2024…reports Asian Lite News

The central bank may opt to raise rates by as much as 1 percentage point to show it is serious about tackling inflation

The Bank of England has announced its biggest interest rate increase in three decades as it tries to beat back stubbornly high inflation fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the disastrous economic policies of former Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The bank boosted its key rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on November 3, to 3%, after consumer price inflation returned to a 40-year high in September.

The aggressive move to prevent inflation from becoming embedded in the economy was in line with market expectations after a more cautious half-point increase six weeks ago.

The interest rate decision is the first since Truss’ government announced 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts that sparked turmoil on financial markets, pushed up mortgage costs and forced Truss from office after just six weeks.

Her successor, Rishi Sunak, has warned of spending cuts and tax increases as he seeks to undo the damage and show that Britain is committed to paying its bills.

The rate increase is the Bank of England’s eighth in a row and biggest since 1992. It comes after the US Federal Reserve on November 2 announced a fourth consecutive three-quarter point jump as central banks worldwide tackle inflation that is eroding living standards and slowing economic growth.

Recession fears

Minutes of its meeting warned of a “challenging outlook for the UK economy” that was “expected to be in recession for a prolonged period”, dealing a blow to Britain’s troubled government.

The BoE said the economy had shrunk since the third quarter, entering a technical recession that is forecast to last until the first half of 2024.

The pound tumbled two percent against the dollar on expectations of a long-lasting recession.

“A typical textbook trade is out of the window because currencies usually move higher when a central bank increases rates,” noted Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade.

“Tough times are ahead, and we are going to see the economy, markets, and the currency tanking in the coming months.”

London’s FTSE 100 shares index fared better, losing about half-a-percent.

Cost-of-living crisis

The BoE rate increase is set to worsen a cost-of-living crisis for millions of Britons as hikes by central banks see retail lenders push up interest rates on their own loans.

“The central bank has had the unenviable job of fighting soaring inflation amid enormous economic and political uncertainty,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at trading platform OANDA.

Repayments on UK mortgages have surged in recent weeks also after the debt-fuelled budget of previous British prime minister Liz Truss spooked markets, forcing her to resign and triggering emergency buying of UK government bonds by the BoE.

Her successor Rishi Sunak has attempted to bring calm to markets by hinting at tax rises in a fresh budget on November 17, even if such a move further harms Britain’s economy.

“I think everyone knows we do face a challenging economic outlook and difficult decisions will need to be made,” Sunak, a former UK finance minister, told parliament on Wednesday.

British annual inflation stands at 10.1 percent, the highest level in 40 years.

As the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the BoE slashed its key interest rate to a record-low 0.1 percent and also pumped massive sums of new cash into the economy.

The Bank of England started raising rates last December, while Thursday’s hike was the eighth increase in a row.

“Importantly, most of the tightening in policy over the past year was yet to feed through to the real economy,” said the BoE minutes.

ALSO READ-Bank of England hikes key rates

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-Top News UK News

Britons have less than a week to spend £11 bn old banknotes

Their replacements will have pictures of J.M.W. Turner and Alan Turing on £20 and £50 notes respectively…reports Asian Lite News

Britons have just six days left to spend £11 billion ($12.4 billion) of paper banknotes before they cease to be legal tender.

The Bank of England (BOE) announced Friday that as of September 30, about £6 billion in old £50 notes and more than £5 billion in old £20 notes will no longer be recognised by UK businesses. There are more than 360 million notes in all that will be taken out of circulation.

People have only a small window to make use of their cash. The paper notes will be replaced by polymer £20 and £50 notes which have been in circulation for more than two years (since February 2020).

Additionally, as per Mirror UK, as of the next week, old bills featuring the face of Adam Smith, Matthew Boulton, and James Watt will no longer be accepted as legal tender.

Their replacements will have pictures of J.M.W. Turner and Alan Turing on £20 and £50 notes respectively.

Bloomberg reports that the paper currency can be exchanged for new money made of a polymer by showing up in person at the BOE’s Threadneedle Street offices in London, mailing them through the post, or exchanging them at specific Post Offices. They can also be deposited into accounts at several commercial banks.

The decision to transition to polymer notes was made to increase the notes’ resistance to damage and fight illegal counterfeiting.

In future, the synthetic notes will also be replaced to enable the distribution of notes carrying the image of King Charles III and to gradually phase out notes bearing the image of the late Queen.

ALSO READ-Britons to stand trial in proxy court in Ukraine

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Arab News Business

Spare receives license as an open banking ancillary service provider in Bahrain

The license will pave the way for Spare to kickstart their operations in Q2 of 2022…reports Asian Lite News

Spare, a Kuwait based financial technology application, has received the license from the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate as an open banking ancillary service provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The license will pave the way for Spare to kickstart their operations in Q2 of 2022.

Spare, an app designed to encourage people to adopt smart and sound financial habits, breaks down spending and guides users to understand where their money is going. Spare will also allow users to make payments via account-to-account transfers as well as offer open banking bill payment solutions for businesses and merchants.

Spare will be integrated with all major banks in Bahrain to allow users to connect multiple bank accounts and monitor all balances, track spending across selected accounts, set budgets, and make payments easily and securely.

Furthermore, the solution will cater to businesses in Bahrain by providing faster, cheaper and more secure payment solutions. With Spare, businesses will have multiple benefits including lower fees, direct account to account transfers, and higher security. Additionally, merchants can directly connect to Spare to create QR codes and generate links for payments.

Open banking gives customers more choices and control over their financial data, and it opens up access to a variety of personalized financial products and services that are not available in the Middle East region. Open Banking in the Middle East is picking up momentum, and Spare’s analysis suggests that it is expected to reach over 1.2$bn by 2025 and that can grow faster as more countries in the region embrace open banking.

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Dalal Alrayes, CEO and Co-founder at Spare, commented, “Users are demanding better financial experiences whether it comes to the way they do their payments or try to understand their spending information. With Spare, we’re elevating the way people manage their money and providing hyper-personalized experiences, all powered through secure connections to their banking information”

She added, “With Bahrain being the first country in the MENA region to adopt the open banking framework, we are grateful to be able to contribute to the ecosystem and offer this solution. This is in line with our mission to provide a seamless money management experience for everyone to stay on top of their financial lives. ”

Spare is also in the process of launching in other markets where open banking is being rolled out, with plans to expand across the MENA region.

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-Top News Africa News News

ADB Unveils Strategy To Create Health Infrastructure

African Development Bank Group approves historic health infrastructure strategy. Africa, needs around $26 billion in annual capital investments. As part of its health agenda, the African Development Bank has committed to investing $3 billion in Africa’s pharmaceutical industry over 10 years

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved its Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa 2022-2030, a historic first for the Bank. The strategy was developed in response to a call by the Bank’s Governors for the institution to define its role in addressing Africa’s health infrastructure deficits, highlighted by the ongoing pandemic.

The strategy focuses on three categories of health infrastructure that match the African Development Bank’s comparative advantage, providing the flexibility to respond to the diverse needs of the Bank’s African member countries. It will be anchored in national health systems and sets out three cross-cutting themes: improved internet and communications technology connectivity, to strengthen health information systems and support innovation; promoting regional collaboration and harmonizing health policies and regulation; and policy dialogue and technical assistance.

 “We must give hope to the poor and the vulnerable, by ensuring that every African, regardless of their income level, gets access to quality health care, as well as health insurance and social protection,” Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina commented.

The strategy is in line with one of the African Development Bank’s High 5 strategic priorities, namely improving the quality of life for the people of Africa. It also echoes the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 regarding good health and well-being, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 plan to transform Africa into a global powerhouse. In addition, it forms part of broader efforts by the African Development Bank to expand access to healthcare on the continent.

The Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed shortcomings in national health systems in Africa, overwhelming testing and treatment capacity. In future, Africa’s growing population will place further strain on infrastructure. Health facilities are unevenly distributed, with major gaps in rural areas. Only half of primary healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have access to clean water and adequate sanitation and only a third have access to reliable electricity.

ALSO READ: CPEC needs structural reforms: ADB

Against this backdrop, a grossly underfunded healthcare system in Africa, needs around $26 billion in annual capital investments. As part of its health agenda, the African Development Bank has committed to investing $3 billion in Africa’s pharmaceutical industry over 10 years. The Bank also launched a multibillion dollar Covid-19 Response Facility to support its regional members through the pandemic.

 “The three pillars and crossing cutting themes give the Bank the flexibility to respond to the diverse needs of different regional member countries in a more impactful and sustainable manner,” said Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, welcomed the Board’s approval of the Strategy. “The Quality Health Infrastructure for Africa Strategy sets out how the Bank will build up and consolidate its comparative advantage in health infrastructure and contribute to improving the quality of life for the people of Africa,” she added.

The Strategy was overwhelmingly endorsed via a series of consultations, including with health ministers of the Bank’s 54 regional member countries, development partners and civil society.

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Australia News World

Australia’s largest bank announces AI partnership

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) on Monday announced its latest foray into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of partnership with global industry leader, H20.ai…reports Asian Lite News

H20.ai, headquartered in Silicon Valley, would provide tools and personnel that would allow the bank to analyse massive data sets, identify fraud patterns, gain insight into consumer behaviour, and predict bills and forecast cash flows, reports Xinhua news agency.

The exclusive partnership and $100 million investment from CBA represented the bank’s ambition to be at the forefront of AI development within Australia’s banking sector.

Australia’s largest bank announces AI partnership

Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn said the partnership will allow the CBA to better meet customers’ needs and “reimagine” their products and services.

“This partnership will accelerate our ability to deliver a broader customer proposition through more personalised experiences, which delivers greater value for our customers,” Comyn said in Monday’s announcement.

While the deal would include a dedicated team of H20.ai experts, Comyn hoped that it would attract more leading talent in the industry to Australia.

“(It) enables us to work more closely with some of the world’s best data scientists and will help to attract top talent wanting to work with the best tools on the biggest data sets on the most interesting problems,” said Comyn.

H2O.ai Founder and CEO Sri Ambati said the partnership would “unleash the juggernaut of co-innovation”.

ALSO READ: Australians require annual booster vaccines for foreseeable future

“Our vision is not only to make CBA an AI superpower but make Australia an AI nation as we move to life after Covid,” said Ambati in the joint announcement.

The move is just the latest in a series of moves by the bank to stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly digital world.

Last week the bank also announced that it would begin to allow CBA customers to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin and other crypto currencies through their platform, the first bank in Australia to do so.

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Community-led bank in UP helps villagers keep moneylenders at bay

That inspired solution — the local bank run by Tharu tribals in the village of Bishunapur in Bahraich has been an inspiration in how to free the community from the exploitation of moneylenders…reports Azeem Mirza

In the foothills of the Himalayas, surrounded by the dense Katarniya Ghat forest, lies the small village of Bishunapur, 47 km from Mihinpurwa village block in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district. Home to 2,500 people, of whom 2,200 belong to the scheduled tribe Tharu, the villagers here have had a troubled history with moneylenders.

The residents couldn’t even get half the price on the crops they toiled for as the Mahajans (moneylenders) would take the harvested crop at deeply discounted rates in lieu of loan repayment. If the borrower didn’t have food grains, moneylenders recovered the loan at the rate of 10 per cent per month. However, the situation has changed for the better through an impactful initiative undertaken by the villagers.

Eleven years ago, the youth of Bishunapur formed a bank, named Adarsh Swayam Sahayata Samuh (Ideal Self Help Group). Any resident of the village can borrow money from this bank at an interest rate of only 1 per cent. The people decide and inform the bank when they can repay the loan. Further, if someone is able to repay the money within 15 days, no interest is charged. This has helped the villagers emerged from the web of moneylenders.

That inspired solution — the local bank run by Tharu tribals in the village of Bishunapur in Bahraich has been an inspiration in how to free the community from the exploitation of moneylenders.

Basant Lal, the Pradhan of Bishunapur and the president of the Adarsh Swayam Sahayata Samuh, said, “Ten years ago, our village was in a bad condition. The money lenders would come here as soon as the crop was ready – be it paddy, wheat, maise, lentils – throw down the sack and say, ‘I want the sack to be filled’, without so much as considering if there was enough harvest. So our family elders had to give away the required grain to the moneylenders, even it meant borrowing from others in the village. It was hard to recover from such debts.”

The people of the village brainstormed for many days until the idea for a community-led bank emerged. It was unanimously decided that members would deposit Rs 100 per month to create the fund, and it would be used to give loans to those in need at an interest rate of just 1%.

“One by one, people kept joining, and now the group is 47-members strong. At present, the bank has a sum of Rs 12,16,081, inclusive of deposits by members, interest and fines. A meeting is held every month and it is mandatory for member-shareholders to attend. Absence or failure to pay the monthly deposit in time incurs fines, Lal told said.

Three people in the village manage the Adarsh Swayam Sahayata Samuh: one person motivates villagers to deposit the money, the second person is in charge of collecting the money, whereas the third person maintains the fund and the accounts. In addition, the three members are responsible for updating all the other shareholders of the bank regarding the transactions in the monthly meeting.

“Earlier, when we used to go to borrow money from moneylenders, they used to sit high up as we sat on the ground, waiting for hours. But now, the moneylenders themselves come to the village to ask if anyone needs money. They say, ‘generation after generation has been taking loans from us, why not you?’ We tell them, ‘those days are no more.’ Now, if anyone needs money to sow, buy fertilisers or medicines, they can take money from our bank – the need for the moneylender is over. It is better not to be dependent on anyone to solve our problems. We want such a group to be formed in every village,” said Lal.

The changing legacy of the Tharus

There are seven Tharu villages in the Mihinpurwa Tehsil, having a collective population of about 10,157, said Jang Hindustani, who runs the NGO Sevarth Foundation and has been working in the region for over a decade. “The situation of all these Tharu villages was almost the same as Bishunapur. After establishing the ‘Adarsh Swayam Sahayata Samuh’, other Tharu villages have also followed suit. However, the Bishunapur organisation being the oldest has more funds and has been able to help more people,” he added.

The Tharu tribals have a reputation for being loyal and straightforward. Once Tharus establish a relationship of trust with a person, even if they are simply a shop owner, they will continue to conduct business with them, and only them, unless they are deceived. The Mahajans, who had historically held the households’ trust with ready funds, had taken advantage of this trait for years, said Hindustani. “But now the younger generation has become very smart and aware,” he said.

The Tharus have a colourful history, according to Dr Neelam Agrawal who has been studying the Tharus of Bahraich, Balrampur and Lakhimpur and currently teaches at National PG College, Lucknow. The ‘Rana’ Tharus are considered to be the descendants of Maharana Pratap’s queens. It is believed that when Maharana Pratap was attacked, his queens fled into the forests with their servants and soon their community was established. “This is why the status of women is relatively high amongst Tharus,” Dr Agarwal said. The Dagoria and Kathotia Tharus also consider themselves the descendants of the kings of Nepal.

The tribe, whose bloodline once coursed through royal kingdoms and palaces, had to plead at the doors of the moneylenders. This used to hurt the community’s sentiments and they were ashamed of their poverty. But not anymore, said Munni Lal, a native of Bishunpur village.

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-Top News Economy UAE News

Saving accounts in banks drew AED9.77 bn in 4 months

The new liquidity brings to AED199 bn the cumulative balance of saving accounts in the UAE by the end of April, from AED189.229 bn by December 2020….reports Asian Lite News

Reflecting an increased trend in saving behaviour among Emiratis and residents alike, the saving accounts in UAE national banks drew AED9.77 bn during the first four months of 2021, statistics by the Central Bank of the UAE have revealed.

The new liquidity brings to AED199 bn the cumulative balance of saving accounts in the UAE by the end of April, from AED189.229 bn by December 2020.

Projected to further grow over the coming few months, saving accounts in UAE national banks account for 88 percent of their total balance in all UAE-based banks by the end of the reference period.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank has issued a new outsourcing regulation and accompanying standards for banks operating in the UAE, as part of its ongoing efforts to introduce robust regulatory frameworks that properly govern and safeguard banking sector.

The regulation, which comes into effect one month following the date of publication in the official gazette, aims to ensure that banks are appropriately managing the risks when outsourcing certain functions. This includes the requirement for mandatory inclusion of board-approved policies and procedures for outsourcing activity in banks’ governance frameworks.

CBUAE also seeks through the introduction of this Regulation to ensure that banks’ approaches to managing the risks inherent in outsourcing arrangements are in line with leading international prudent practices to contribute in enhancing financial stability.

Under the Regulation, banks operating in the UAE must obtain a notice of non-objection from prior to outsourcing any material activity.

“Our introduction of the Outsourcing Regulation and accompanying Standards is testament to CBUAE’s robust efforts to ensure the integrity of banks’ risk management frameworks and operational stability,” , said CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama.

“The Central Bank prioritises the utmost importance to data protection and risk management by issuing directives that govern and safeguard banks and their consumers, in line with international standards and best practice.”

A key principle underpinning this regulation is that a bank’s outsourcing arrangements should not impair its ability to fulfil its obligations to its consumers and to CBUAE, nor impede on CBUAE’s supervisory provisions.

As stipulated by the regulation and accompanying Standards, it must be ensured that banks’ consumers confidential data must not be shared outside the UAE without prior approval from both CBUAE and the concerned consumer. (WAM)

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Business Economy Finance

Banks in TN to open only till 2 p.m

The timing will be reviewed after April 30, based on the Covid-19 situation in the state….reports Asian Lite News

With sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu and to prevent further spread, bank branches in Tamil Nadu will function between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from April 26 to April 30.

The timing will be reviewed after April 30, based on the Covid-19 situation in the state.

The State Level Bankers’ Committee-Tamil Nadu (SLBC-TN) on Saturday issued a series of guidelines to its member banks in the state.

In addition, the SLBC-TN has said wherever possible cluster based functioning of branches in consultation with the local administration shall be adopted.

Branches that are routinely facing huge crowds, shall seek the help of police for crowd management, by taking up through the Lead District Manager.



There will be no change in the working hours of administrative/zonal/regional/back offices of the banks where the staff do not have direct contact with the public.

The other decisions are:

-Staff with co-morbidities conditions, pregnant women, visually challenged may be given the option of work from home by the relevant authorities of the concerned banks;

-Aadhar Enrolment Centre functions shall be suspended;

-Branches functioning in the areas declared as Containment Zones, if any, shall continue to be guided by the directions given by the appropriate authorities;

-Banks to ensure that all alternate delivery channels such as bank ATMs/cash deposit machines/Cash recyclers shall be functional;

-Business Correspondents services should be fully functional at all times;



-Bank shall encourage all their eligible staff members to avail of the vaccination facility for themselves as well as for their family members;

-All other procedures to contain the spread of Covid-19 like use of face mask, washing of hands at regular intervals, maintaining social distancing etc shall be strictly adhered to; and

-Member banks are requested to educate and encourage their customers to make use of alternate delivery channels/opt for digital transactions instead of visiting branches physically.

Also read:RBI bans American Express, Diners Club

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Business Finance

HDFC deploys mobile ATMs

Customers can conduct over 15 types of transactions using the ‘Mobile ATM’, which will be operational at each location for a specific period….reports Asian Lite News

HDFC Bank on Saturday said it has deployed mobile ATMs across India to assist customers during the lockdown.

“At restricted, sealed areas, the ‘Mobile ATMs’ will eliminate the need for general public to move out of their locality to withdraw cash,” the bank said in a statement.

“During the lockdown last year, HDFC Bank successfully deployed mobile ATMs in over 50 cities and facilitated lakhs of customers in availing cash to meet their exigencies.”

Accordingly, customers can conduct over 15 types of transactions using the ‘Mobile ATM’, which will be operational at each location for a specific period.

The ‘Mobile ATM’ will cover 3-4 stops in a day.


“We hope our mobile ATM will provide a great support for people who want to avail basic financial services without having to venture far from their neighbourhood,” said S. Sampathkumar, Group Head – Liability Products, Third Party Products and Non-Resident Business at HDFC Bank.

“This service will also be of great help to all the healthcare workers, and other essential service providers who have been working tirelessly to combat the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, shares of HDFC Bank surged to a record high in January on the back of strong earnings reported for the October-December quarter.

Also read:HDFC Bank shares surge on strong Q3 earnings