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Bank credit growth declined to 8.5 per cent in January from 13.5 per cent in the year-ago period In a meeting between the chiefs of public sector banks (PSB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials, the RBI pointed out the muted credit growth in the economy and asked them to take steps to increase credit growth.  “The moot point was why the credit growth is still muted and there was exchange of views between the bankers and the governor. Since, the private sector banks are seeing credit growth the public sector will also have to make sure that credit growth picks up”, said a senior banker with a public sector bank. Another public sector bank executive who was part of the meeting said, state owned banks informed the RBI that after the asset quality review, their staff has been spending considerable time on recoveries and resolutions and there was less emphasis on sales and business development across regions. But now the situation is changing and banks have put more teams on

Market regulator Sebi on Tuesday said foreign investors from Mauritius will continue to be eligible for FPI registration with increased monitoring as per international norms. The announcement comes after the tax haven was put on the “grey list” of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — an inter-governmental policy making body that sets anti-money laundering standards. A significant percentage of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) investing in the Indian market is registered in Mauritius. The island nation is the second largest source after the US from which foreign portfolio investments come into the country. As per January NSDL data, assets under custody of US FPIs are worth Rs 11,62,579 crore and those from Mauritius stood at Rs 4,36,745 crore. Following the FATF notice, some fund managers knocked on Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) door overnight, raising concerns over validity of FPI registration done through the tax haven. The regulator on Tuesday said, “Foreign i

Nominating Das, the magazine said India's banks have faced a series of challenges, from non-performing loans to issues around fraud Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has been named the Central Banker of the Year, Asia-Pacific 2020, by the Banker magazine, a unit of Financial Times (FT). The award is given to central bankers who have “best managed to stimulate growth and stabilise their economy.” Jorgovanka Tabakovi, National Bank of Serbia, was adjudged the winner as the Global Central Banker of the Year. The awards were announced in an editorial of the Banker magazine on January 2. Nominating Das, the magazine said India’s banks have faced a series of challenges, from non-performing loans to issues around fraud. Repeated economic slumps saw the central bank cut interest rates five times during 2019, and it was open to cutting them again, if necessary. “Faced with these challenges, Shaktikanta Das has taken steps to bring banking in India up to standard via a r