Month: May 2025

[ad_1] Image used for representative purposes MUMBAI: Five years after a group of Indian lenders led by SBI stepped in to rescue Yes Bank, Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) will acquire a 20% stake in the private lender for Rs 13,483 crore, making it the largest shareholder. The deal, India's biggest cross-border banking investment, marks a shift in ownership of the bank once run by veteran banker Rana Kapoor. Kapoor lost control in 2020 after the bank nearly collapsed due to bad loans, which wiped out its net worth. RBI then mandated a reconstruction scheme under which eight Indian banks took equity stakes.SBI will now sell a 13.2% stake, cutting its holding to just over 10%. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, and Bandhan Bank will offload a combined 6.8%. The […]

[ad_1] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved the immediate disbursement of $1 billion to Pakistan under the ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF), drawing sharp opposition from India, which warned the funds could be misused to support state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.The approval came during a board meeting in Washington, where the IMF also reviewed a proposed $1.3 billion loan to Pakistan under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). India registered a formal protest, citing Pakistan’s poor track record with IMF reforms and expressing fears of fund diversion. New Delhi abstained from the vote.“Rewarding continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism sends a dangerous message,” the finance ministry said in a statement. “It exposes funding agencies and donors to reputational risks and undermines global values.”Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the development, describing it as a “defeat of India’s high-handed tactics” and a […]

[ad_1] Bank of India reported a robust 82% year-on-year increase in its net profit for the January-March 2025 quarter, reaching Rs 2,626 crore. This surge was primarily driven by significant treasury gains and a substantial rise in recoveries from written-off accounts.The bank's core net interest income (NII) grew by 2% to Rs 6,063 crore, while other income nearly doubled, up 96% to Rs 3,428 crore.The bank's managing director and CEO, Rajneesh Karnatak, announced a target of 12-13% loan growth and 11-12% deposit growth for the fiscal year 2025-26. Despite the narrowing of the net interest margin (NIM) to 2.61% from 2.92% in the previous year, the bank remains optimistic about sustaining high growth rates. The overall capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.77%, with a core buffer of 14.84% as of March 31, 2025.Recoveries from written-off accounts jumped 195% to Rs […]