Banks have all powers to deal with wilful defaulters: FM
Source: PTI Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the health of PSBs is a key issue, as the carried over problem of the past continues to persist and relates to unacceptable level of NPAs and impaired assets Concerned over “unacceptable” NPA levels, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday discussed with PSU bank chiefs the issue of wilful defaulters and said that the lenders have all the powers and autonomy to deal with them. In the second quarterly performance review in six months, Jaitley brainstormed with SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya and other PSU bank heads as well as RBI officials over the rising bad loans in different sectors including steel, credit offtake, health of the lenders, and status of social security schemes. ...
'Govt working on various fronts to boost exports'
Source: PTI The government is working on a multi-pronged strategy to enhance exports competitiveness and address infrastructural bottleneck, a top Commerce Ministry official said. Contracting for the eighth month in a row, India's exports slipped 10.3% in July to $23.13 billion, hit by global slowdown and a dip in crude oil prices, which in turn impacted the value of petroleum products. Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said the ministry is focusing on export sectors with a huge potential such as pharmaceuticals, ready-made garments, leather, gems and jewellery, chemicals and agro-chemicals. Trade facilitation, she felt, can play a vital role in boosting competitiveness of domestic exports. "In trade facilitation, we are dividing our approach into two pieces -- short term steps which we can ...
RIL raises $225 million through overseas bond issue
The Dollar Business Bureau Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has raised $225 million through a 10-year-term overseas bond issue guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The Mukesh Ambani-led company has issued the debt bond with a fixed interest rate of 2.512%, which will be matured in January 2026. “The Notes will bear a fixed interest rate of 2.512% per annum, with interest payable semi-annually. The principal amount of the Notes will be payable in consecutive semi-annual installments commencing on July 15, 2016 up to the maturity on January 15, 2026,” the company said in a statement on Thursday. According to RIL, this is the first time the US Ex-Im Bank has guaranteed the issuance of Notes by a private ...
RBI to banks: MSME lending can be more competitive
The Dollar Business Bureau Urging the banks to be sensitive towards the need of small entrepreneurs, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that lending to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will be more competitive once small financiers get bank licence. "Lending to MSMEs makes a strong business case for the banks in view of the changing dynamics in the economy like demographic patterns, urbanisation trends, increasing thrust on industrialisation, addition of new customers under financial inclusion programme and growing levels of literacy," said RBI Deputy Governor, S S Mundra. He said that banks should help small entrepreneurs develop innovative products that are suitable to their unique and seasonal requirements for working capital and for capital expenditure purposes. “A paradigm shift in ...
Indias exports slide due to rapid fall in petroleum exports
Himanshu Vatsa | The Dollar Business Declining value of outbound petroleum as well as gems and jewellery products from India led to reduction in the country’s overall exports in the past five months, an apex body of exporters said. According to the latest data released by the Commerce Ministry, India’s total exports contracted to US$ 22 billion, registering a fall of 14% in April this year as compared to the level of US$ 25 billion during the same month in 2014. Although the percentage drop has reduced from 21% recorded in March, Indian merchandise exports have been witnessing negative growth since December 2014. “The prime reason continues to be softening of crude, metal and commodity prices. Petroleum exports is ...
Commercial vehicle loans ride on drop in diesel price, positive industrial growth
The Dollar Business Bureau Commercial vehicles loan seems to be on the recovery path, thanks to falling diesel prices and rising industrial growth, a study has said. According to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), the Early Delinquency Index (EDI)— a tool to measure the frequency of loan default cases— has come down to 7.19% in February 2015 from 8.05% in the same month last year. Transactions securitised in 2014 have shown better performance with initial 90-plus days past due delinquencies (DPD) being on a lower level than that witnessed in 2013 vintage transactions. On the other hand, loans on construction equipment remain stressed mainly due to the slow growth rate in mining and infrastructure sectors. In February, weighted average ...
Banks disbursed less amount of loan to non-food sectors last fiscal
The Dollar Business Bureau Banks disbursed less amount of loan to non-food sectors during the last fiscal as compared to the credit extended to various sectors a year ago. Non-food bank credit grew by only 8.6% between March 2014 and March 2015. During previous year, the credit was increased by 14.3%, according to the latest data of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The data on disbursal of bank credit collected from select 47 scheduled commercial banks shows that non-food sector accounted for about 95 per cent of the total loan disbursal. However, the credit to agriculture and allied activities increased by 15% during 2014-15. The credit growth in this sector recorded 13.5% increase a year ago. Experts say that sluggish ...
