Are you eligible for refund under interest waiver scheme? Check new rules

 

The legislature on Tuesday night gave 'as often as possible posed inquiries' on its plan to discount the accumulated dividends on credits by borrowers, during the advance ban time frame from March-August, 2020, following a continuous appeal in the Supreme Court.

The legislature explained that borrowers will be qualified for get a discount on a total whole of Rs 2 crore obtained from the financial framework, due for reimbursement during this period. Charge card contribution will likewise be qualified, the administration said.

Here are a couple of key features of the plan:

FOR BORROWERS

*All credit accounts with endorsed limits and extraordinary not surpassing Rs 2 crore as on 29.02.2020 will be qualified

*The qualification breaking point of Rs 2 crore as acquired entirety must be a total credit taken from the financial framework

*The bundle will be accessible for qualified borrowers regardless of if they have benefited or somewhat profited the ban on reimbursement reported by RBI

*Loan records ought to be standard in the books of the loaning establishments as of 29.02.2020 for example they ought not be non-performing resources

*The following kind of advance records will be qualified: MSME Loans, instruction advances, lodging advances, shopper solid advances, Visa levy, vehicle advances, individual advances to experts and utilization advances

• The charge card exceptional (for example settled sum) in the record as on 29.02.2020 will be the reference sum. Any charges/credits, which are not reflected in the record, won't be qualified

*However, advances against fixed stores [including Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) {(FCNR(B)} record, bonds and other interestbearing instruments], and offers and so on, and credits given for interest in monetary resources (shares, debentures and so forth) are not qualified for inclusion under the plan

*The period for discount, on which the contrast between accruing funds and basic enthusiasm on advance records will be determined, will be from March 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020

*Borrowers won't need to apply to their loaning foundations and the accumulating funds discount will be credited into their financial balances naturally

*Non-reserve based cutoff points won't be incorporated for showing up at the qualification

*Even mostly dispensed credits will be secured under the plan

*Borrowers, who have shut their financial balances among March and August 2020, will likewise be qualified for a discount, which will be determined till the date of shutting of their records

*In case a financial balance is shut, the borrower needs to illuminate the bank about the equivalent and give elective ledger subtleties for crediting cash

Decoding the bullishness on ICICI Bank as other lenders follow caution

At a time when there is extreme cautiousness around banking stocks and analysts are downgrading their rating on the sector, not sparing even the frontline names, ICICI Bank stands out as an exception. For one, it hasn’t received any downgrade thus far and all analysts tracking the stock have a positive rating (a couple have hold) on it according to Bloomberg polls.

Also, seen in the larger context of one-year price correction, ICICI Bank’s 10 per cent decline fares better than HDFC Bank or Axis Bank’s 20 per cent and 41 per cent fall, respectively. That ICICI Bank was the last to join 2019’s rerating party also positions it favourably in the current wave of correction.

What seems to be blessing in hindsight is that, whether out of design or default given how it was battling with bad loans until 2018, ICICI Bank’s growth rate of around 12 per cent in the past four years, has been slower than that of HDFC Bank (over 22 per cent) or Axis Bank (over 15 per cent). Therefore, ICICI Bank’s calibrated growth rate may come handy (closer to past rates) when most others would be grappling to grow closer to their past trends, particularly on its retail side.

In fact, analysts expect the bank to fare relatively better in the near- to medium- tern. In a report on the sector, analysts at J M Financial say that the disruption caused by Covid-19 should see material pressure on multiple fronts for Indian banks. "While growth slowdown and jump in delinquencies is a given, it is critical to note that restoration of normalcy will be a long-drawn process," they note. While advising investors to remain underweight on the sector, the brokerage has only 2 buy recommendations – ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, where they see relatively lower asset quality risks, a strong liabilities defence, high capital base and natural accumulation of market share once things turn.

Banks near zero hour on $124-trn flows as fintechs cut their share, margins

International News

What's the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions "remittance"? Expatriates sending money home. Second? Lousy exchange rates.
While exorbitant currency spreads and hefty bank charges are the norm for payments that cross national borders, the impression that they mostly affect individuals is wrong. Annual people-to-people transactions amount to $400 billion a year. People-to-business payments – like sending fees to schools overseas – come to another $1.5 trillion. Those are substantial figures, but they pale before the $124 trillion of business-to-business transfers, according to McKinsey & Co.
A large multinational may be able to squeeze a saving from its corporate bank, but SMEs and individuals get routinely shortchanged. The challenge is acute in Asia, where money transfer costs are three-fifths higher than in Europe or the US Capital controls and fragmented domestic banking industries breed inefficiency, which helps banks garner $85 billion in annual revenue – $38 billion more than what they make from cross-border transfers in North America. That hurts the competitiveness of smaller Asian firms.
On their own, banks would have done nothing to alter the status quo. But a rising challenge from fintech means better rates are coming to Asia, and not a day too soon. The export-led region is deeply enmeshed in global supply chains. (The disruption caused by the China-US trade war has demonstrated that amply.)

 Many of the small and midsize firms that move anywhere between $11 trillion and $15 trillion internationally are in Asia. To that add digital consumption, which is growing everywhere but exploding in the region. Finally, every small saving on Western Union transfers by Indian, Bangladeshi and Filipino overseas workers gives them more ability to consume other things.All this makes it crucial that clients in Asia – both individuals and small firms – get fair prices....Read More