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Banking & Bancassurance

China’s planned anti-sanctions law for Hong Kong unsettles financial sector

Under the planned law, if financial institutions in Hong Kong implement U.S. sanctions, they may be exposed to legal risk in Hong Kong for doing so, financial sector executives and lawyers said.

“Many foreign multinational companies are asking about the impact of the anti-foreign sanctions law, especially international banks and financial institutions,” said Shaun Wu, a Hong Kong-based partner at law firm Paul Hastings.

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FDI proposal for bank-promoted insurance firm to be vetted by RBI, Irdai: Govt notification

”Applications for foreign direct investment in private banks having joint venture or subsidiary in insurance sector may be addressed to the Reserve Bank for consideration in consultation with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), in order to ensure that the limit of foreign investment applicable for the insurance sector as specified in serial number F. 8.1 and F. 8.2 is not breached,” the notification said.

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FM to meet CEOs of public sector banks on Aug 25 to review financial performance

Interestingly, this would be the first physical review meeting since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. The meeting is expected to take stock of the banking sector, progress on restructuring the 2.0 scheme announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources said, adding that banks may be nudged to push loan growth in productive sectors.

The revamped Rs 4.5 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) would also be reviewed during the meeting likely to be held in Mumbai, sources said.

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Global banks unwind India currency trades worth billions after RBI warning

Some lenders had racked up exposures of more than $1 billion each by using a regulatory loophole created in February to convert rupee deposits into dollars using a buy-sell swap — buying the greenback now while selling the same amount at a specified date in the future. They then used the proceeds to purchase U.S. government debt and profited from the arbitrage, paying around 3.5% on the local currency deposits and earning 4.9% on the 12-month yield on the currency pair.

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RBI to penalise banks for non-availability of cash in ATMs from Oct 1

In this connection, it said a review of downtime of ATMs due to cash-outs was undertaken and it was observed that ATM operations affected by cash-outs lead to non-availability of cash and cause avoidable inconvenience to the members of the public.

It has, therefore, been decided that the banks/ White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) will strengthen their systems/ mechanisms to monitor the availability of cash in ATMs and ensure timely replenishment to avoid cash-outs, the central bank said.

”Any non-compliance in this regard shall be viewed seriously and shall attract monetary penalty as stipulated in the ‘Scheme of Penalty for non-replenishment of ATMs’,” the RBI said.

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Will RBI joining NGFS help in climate finance?

The 22nd Financial Stability Report (FSR22) of the RBI had, about the “climate-related risk” that the value of financial assets/liabilities could be affected either by continuation in climate change (physical risks), or by an adjustment towards a low-carbon economy (transition risks). The manifestation of physical risks could lead to a sharp fall in asset prices and increase in uncertainty, it said.

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Indian bankers face legal risks as court rulings threaten over $6 billion in loans

Two rulings by India’s Supreme Court that threaten the repayment of loans totalling nearly Rs 50,000 crore ($6.73 billion) to some of India’s largest banks
Any failure to recoup the money adds to stress in the banking sector, which is already dealing with an increased level of bad loans and reduced profits because of the impact of the pandemic.

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