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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday came out with a master direction for merger of private sector banks and also mergers between non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and banks. In another master direction, a compilation which consolidates instructions on rules and regulations framed by RBI under various Acts, including banking issues and foreign exchange transactions, the central bank provided direction for issue and pricing of shares by private sector banks. The scope of master direction on mergers will cover “an amalgamation of two banking companies and amalgamation of an NBFC with a banking company”. In both the cases, the voluntary amalgamation will become effective after RBI's approval. According to the direction, the decision of amalgamation should be approved by respective boards by two-thirds majority and not just by members present and voting. Also the draft scheme of amalgamation should have approval of shareholders of each banking company by a resolu

The Narendra Modi government may sound positive about passage of the bill to introduce the goods and services tax in the second part of the budget session of Parliament. However, the arithmetic in the Upper House shows that the BJPled National Democratic Alliance won't be able to get the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill passed without support from the opposition Congress party even after August, by when 30% of the seats will be filled with new members. The Congress has once again made it clear that it will not support the proposed legislation in its present form, sticking firmly to its demand for three changes.Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala reiterated the party's stand on Wednesday and clarified that the government had not reached out to t h e m s i n c e Parliament went into a recess on March 16. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Ve n k a i a h ains the GST bill Naidu maintains the GST bill will be passed in the second half of budget session even as other mini

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the list of companies whose loans have to be provided for by banks to cover against the risk of default. This will ease the pressure on banks and improve their balance sheets. According to people familiar with the development, about 20 select loan accounts have been kept aside, implying that banks will not have to provide for these accounts under the asset quality review (AQR) exercise initiated by the RBI in December. While the RBI did not respond to a query on this issue by HT, a senior official of a large public sector bank (PSB) confirmed the move, saying the steps taken by the 20 companies to reduce their debt has prodded the central bank to make this relaxation. It is learnt that the RBI told heads of banks in a late April 20 communication that they will not have to provide for the outstanding loans of the 20 firms in the March quarter. Infrastructure major Jaiprakash Associates and Coastal Energen were among the 20 NPA accounts

After months of languishing on the bourses and recording new lows, the NSE PSU Bank index, has gained a little over 15 per cent since March, outperforming the benchmark Nifty (up 9.5 per cent). Analysts attribute much of the post-Budget rally in stocks of public sector banks (PSBs) to the government's capital infusion and consolidation plans. Also, that some part could be on account of bottom fishing. The recent formation of the Banks Board Bureau, meant to select heads of state-run banks, help improve their governance and develop innovative financial methods to raise capital and other measures, has added to the sentiment. Investors, however, need to be cautious. The fundamentals of PSBs haven’t changed meaningfully since the December ’15 quarter. Nor will merging these purely on the basis of size (bigger bank acquiring smaller peer) lead to significant gains. Take Punjab National Bank (PNB). In the December quarter (Q3) of 2015-16, it saw a 93 per cent slip in profit due t

Five days before the second half of budget session, Cong officially gives support to draft law, but with caveats Prospects of the constitutional amendment bill being passed in the upper House of parliament to allow the introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) were revived on Wednesday after the Congress officially gave the draft law its support. However, the party caveated its support by reiterating its three demands. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has signalled its willingness to go along, except for one of the three conditions—writing in an 18% cap into the law. Expectations are that the two sides may find common ground on the potentially deal-breaking demand for the cap to be included in the law, especially since the Congress offer comes just five days ahead of the resumption of the budget session of Parliament on 25 April. “The Congress party says by all means have a GST because we are its ardent supporters but put a cap of 18%. Do not permit a state

After months of languishing on the bourses and recording new lows, the NSE PSU Bank index, has gained a little over 15 per cent since March, outperforming the benchmark Nifty (up 9.5 per cent). Analysts attribute much of the post-Budget rally in stocks of public sector banks (PSBs) to the government's capital infusion and consolidation plans. Also, that some part could be on account of bottom fishing. The recent formation of the Banks Board Bureau, meant to select heads of state-run banks, help improve their governance and develop innovative financial methods to raise capital and other measures, has added to the sentiment. Investors, however, need to be cautious. The fundamentals of PSBs haven’t changed meaningfully since the December ’15 quarter. Nor will merging these purely on the basis of size (bigger bank acquiring smaller peer) lead to significant gains. Take Punjab National Bank (PNB). In the December quarter (Q3) of 2015-16, it saw a 93 per cent slip in profit due t

With the government completely rolling back the recent guidelines on the withdrawal of provident fund, employees saving through this instrument would be a relieved lot. Though the option to dig into your retirement savings has been restored, individuals should only withdraw the provident fund (PF) in case of emergencies, according to financial planners. “We would suggest only touching retirement savings if there’s a medical emergency and the person doesn’t have any other option but EPF. The person should replenish it as soon as he/she can,” says Malhar Majumder, a certified financial planner. The employee provident fund (EPF) subscribers can withdraw money for purchase, construction or renovation of a house, repayment of home loan, and expenses on education, and medical treatment. These are subject to certain conditions. Majumder says buying a house, education or marriage are not emergencies. A person can buy a smaller house or delay construction or renovation if he/she doesn’t h