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The ongoing issue involving Supreme Infrastructure India Limited (<keyword id="23294280" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SIIL" source="keywords">SIIL</keyword>) and the State Bank of India (<keyword id="19898108" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="SBI" source="keywords">SBI</keyword>) has become a focal point in India’s financial and political landscape. It concerns SIIL’s default on significant loans and SBI’s decision to convert this debt into equity, raising concerns about the precedent it may set for future debt resolutions in India. <h2>SIIL's financial troubles</h2>SIIL, a construction and infrastructure company, was once engaged in large-scale projects such as roads and bridges across India. Over the years, however, the company faced severe financial troubles due to project delays and insufficient revenues. As SIIL’s cash flow problems worsened, it struggled to repay its loans, leading to the company’s default. The State Bank of India (SBI), being SIIL’s largest lender, found itself at the centre of this financial turmoil, as SIIL declared bankruptcy. In response, SBI decided to take an unusual step to recover its dues. <h2>SBI's debt-to-equity conversion decision</h2>In a surprising move, SBI converted its outstanding debt into equity in SIIL. This means that instead of pursuing traditional recovery methods or selling off assets, SBI has now become an equity stakeholder in SIIL, shifting from being its primary lender to part-owner. The controversial decision also involved other lenders who agreed to take a 93.45% “haircut” on the debt, which indicates that they are recovering only a fraction of the original loans extended to SIIL. <h2>Criticism and concerns</h2>The decision has drawn sharp criticism, particularly from political circles. <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword> leader Jairam Ramesh, through a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), criticised SBI’s approach and raised several concerns. He highlighted that SBI’s decision to become an equity stakeholder in a company that declared bankruptcy could set a "dangerous precedent in India’s <keyword id="20575563" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="corporate-debt" source="keywords">corporate debt</keyword> landscape". "This arrangement creates a dangerous precedent in India's corporate debt landscape — it encourages other defaulting companies to seek similar deals, where they can retain control and value even after significant defaults," Ramesh noted. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112987756" title="Congress alleges SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch of office for profit" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>His concerns extend to how this move might affect the <keyword id="20158086" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Insolvency-and-Bankruptcy-Code" source="keywords">Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code</keyword> (IBC) and India’s overall framework for handling distressed companies. By converting <keyword id="22921090" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="debt-to-equity" source="keywords">debt to equity</keyword>, SBI could be seen as aligning itself with the interests of the defaulting borrower (SIIL) rather than prioritising the recovery of public funds, which are at stake in cases involving <keyword id="19959986" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-sector-banks" source="keywords">public sector banks</keyword> like SBI. “The SBI appears to be aligning itself with the interests of the defaulting borrower (SIIL) rather than prioritising the recovery of public funds,” Ramesh further argued. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) needs to step in and examine SBI's decision-making process in this matter." Given the unusual nature of this debt restructuring and the potential risks it introduces, Congress is urging the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to step in and examine SBI’s decision-making process. Ramesh emphasised the need for regulatory scrutiny to ensure that public sector banks maintain discipline in their approach to resolving bad loans. Congress' position is that SBI’s move could create a moral hazard within India’s <keyword id="19964544" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="banking-sector" source="keywords">banking sector</keyword>, encouraging more companies to default on their loans with the hope of retaining control through similar debt-to-equity swaps. Ramesh pointed out that the entire situation raises questions about how distressed assets should be managed by public sector banks, and whether SBI’s actions are truly in the best interests of the public. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113620397" title="SEBI report reveals the ugly truth of F&amp;amp;O trading in India – 93% of retail traders incurred losses" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>"There is a pressing need to ensure that public sector banks maintain strict discipline in their approach to debt resolution and avoid creating moral hazards in the financial system." <h2>Broader implications</h2>This situation shines a light on broader challenges in India’s banking and insolvency frameworks. When public sector banks like SBI take significant financial losses (haircuts) and switch from creditors to shareholders, it risks undermining confidence in the banking sector’s ability to handle bad loans effectively. Moreover, it raises questions about the long-term sustainability of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) if companies that default can avoid paying back substantial portions of their debt and still retain operational control. (With inputs from PTI)

Congress criticises SBI's decision to convert SIIL debt into equity, urges RBI intervention

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's war economy ins't in imminent danger of collapse, economist Vladislav Inozemstev said.</li><li>That's because Russia has adapted to the war and looks more stable than it did a few years ago.</li></ul>Russia may stand a better chance at sustaining its war economy than previously thought.That's according to Vladislav Inozemstev, an exiled Russian economist who thinks the chances of an economic collapse in the country have dwindled despite the chorus of experts who predicted a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-crisis-ukraine-war-moscow-inflation-sanctions-putin-spending-2024-10">grim</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-moscow-putin-inflation-labor-shortage-rates-2024-5">economic</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-population-decline-worker-shortage-growth-outlook-ukraine-war-2024-8">future</a>.Inozemstev, who has been critical of Putin's regime and left Russia after being labeled as a "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-moscow-business-national-security-treason-spying-2024-10">foreign agent</a>" in 2023, said the nation's trajectory looked similar to the Axis Powers in the 1930s, when the group of nations rose to prominence partly due to their "highly effective market economies," he wrote in a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.memri.org/reports/russias-economic-prospects-2025-and-beyond">op-ed</a> published by the Middle East Media Research Institute. The comparison suggests that Russia will be able to sustain its war-driven economy for longer than many expected, he said, dismissing the notion that Russia was headed for a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-ukraine-war-economy-soviet-union-spending-workers-flee-imf-2024-2">Soviet Union-style</a> collapse."The war, formally an 'emergency,' has been rethought as a 'new normal' that can be waged indefinitely. Even though many experts are still talking about the aggravating slowdown in Russia, the Kremlin is mostly right: These days, the economy is the Russian dictator's reliable rear," Inozemstev said. "To conclude, I would argue that Russia seems to have become a long-term threat to the Western world whose chance of economic collapse is extremely small," he later added.Russia's finances appear to have stabilized since the early days of the war, when even the Kremlin <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-collapse-putin-moscow-gdp-outlook-ukraine-war-sanctions-2023-11">admitted the economy was on the verge of collapse</a>.Federal revenue has exceeded expectations for the past several years, Inozemstev noted, rising 28% on an annual basis from the months of January and October, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/107508/">Interfax</a>. Russia also posted a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russia-records-budget-surplus-01-gdp-jan-sept-2024-2024-10-09/#:~:text=MOSCOW%2C%20Oct%209%20(Reuters),Finance%20Ministry%20said%20on%20Wednesday.">small budget surplus</a> through the first nine months of the year and is estimating only a small budget deficit of 0.5% of GDP in 2025, according to data from Russia's finance ministry.Russia's economy has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-outlook-defense-budget-spending-ukraine-war-putin-sanctions-2024-10">held up</a> partly due to its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-moscow-military-spending-inflation-worker-shortage-2024-2">hefty war spending</a>, experts have said, which has boosted growth despite soaring <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-outlook-stagflation-recession-inflation-gdp-growth-ukraine-war-2024-9">inflation</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-central-bank-raises-key-interest-rate-to-21-2024-10">high interest rates</a>, and a labor market <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-economy-brain-drain-labor-shortage-workforce-exodus-capital-flight-2023-9">short of millions of workers</a>.Russia has also taken measures to boost business activity, Inozemstev said, such as by not hiking taxes for entrepreneurs and self-employed workers, while implementing subsidized loan programs for businesses. That means many businesses are sheltered from the pain of higher borrowing costs — and they could actually benefit from the surge in inflation in Russia, which could raise profits, he added.Bank deposits from Russian citizens and corporations, meanwhile, have swelled 54% since 2022, according to central bank data. Russia's war economy also looks to have gained the acceptance of the Russian people, who are benefiting from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-war-economy-boosts-wages-salaries-beat-inflation-labor-crunch-2024-2">higher wages</a> amid the nation's severe worker shortage. It's another key factor that makes Russia's economy likey more stable than many have thought, Inozemstev said."The economy, I would argue, is now undergoing another wave of adaptation to the changing conditions," Inozemstev wrote. "The people realize that the 'war economy' has substituted the anemic economic condition of the 2010s."Inozemstev said he expected Russia's economy to continue to grow in 2025 and beyond, forecasting 2%-2.5% GDP growth next year. The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/RUS">International Monetary Fund</a> has said it is expecting Russia's economy to expand by 3.6% in 2024.

The odds of Russia's economy collapsing are 'extremely small' and the war can go on for the long term, economist says

<ul><li>Travel loans are <keyword id="35520" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="personal-loans" source="Orion">personal loans</keyword> and since they are unsecured, they have a high rate of interest. </li><li>Make sure your EMI is not more than 10% of your monthly income. </li><li>Carefully read and understand the terms and conditions of the loan, including repayment schedules and any potential penalties for late payments.</li></ul>A trip to Europe may be on the bucket list for many people, but it can burn a hole in your pocket. However, in this age when you can buy an iPhone 14 Pro Max in monthly instalments, you can also fund your Europe trip through a loan. “Personal loans for holidays are similar to regular personal loans, except that the borrower has flexible repayment options, wherein he can pay only the interest in the first six months and the regular EMIs can start post that. This helps the borrower manage his cash flow in a better way,” says Rahul Kalyani, vice president, partnerships, LoanTap, a personal loan app. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="High interest rates" comment="subhead" text="High interest rates">High interest rates</cmsannotation> What comes in the guise of a holiday loan or a <keyword id="7185356" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="travel-loan" source="Orion">travel loan</keyword> is, thus, actually, a personal loan. And since these are unsecured loans, they have a high rate of interest. Interest rates on such loans would start from 10.5%, but can go as high as 24% per annum, according to BankBazaar. The <keyword id="6357149" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="hdfc-bank" source="Orion">HDFC Bank</keyword> website also mentions a similar interest rate range. Since the tenure for personal loans range from 12 months to 5 years, for a loan of ₹1 lakh at 14% interest, one will need to pay an EMI in the range of ₹8,979 (for 12 months) to ₹2,327 (5 years). Higher interest rates would mean a higher EMI outgo. The interest rates on these loans are determined by various factors. “First, credit score plays a significant role, as a higher score often leads to lower interest rates due to the lower risk associated with the borrower. Additionally, lenders consider the borrower's income level and debt-to-income ratio to assess their repayment capacity. Loan amount and term also affect interest rates, with larger amounts or longer terms potentially resulting in higher rates,” says Yashoraj Tyagi, chief business officer and chief technology officer at CASHe, a personal loan app. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The EMI can bite you for years to come" comment="subhead" text="The EMI can bite you for years to come">The EMI can bite you for years to come</cmsannotation> Taking a loan for a holiday means that you're going to remember your holiday for months if not years to come, and not for the reasons you would like to. Let us take an example. Suppose you take a loan of ₹6 lakh to fund a Europe trip for your family at an interest rate of 14%. If you want to repay the loan over 3 years, the monthly EMI will be around ₹20,500. This means that over the next three years, you will have an EMI commitment of ₹20,000 over and above your other monthly expenses. If not planned properly, this can hurt. Missed payments would mean penalties such as late fees, and an adverse effect on your credit score. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Analyse your EMI-paying capability" comment="subhead" text="Analyse your EMI-paying capability">Analyse your EMI-paying capability</cmsannotation> “Only take a travel loan if you don’t have enough cash in your assets,” says Anuj Kacker, chief operating officer and co-founder of Freo, a neobank. Before going for any personal loan like a holiday loan, it is important to take a close look at one's monthly expenses and financial obligations. “Understanding the debt-to-income ratio helps determine if the EMI payments can be comfortably accommodated within the existing budget. Performing a careful assessment of personal finances and creating a realistic budget that accounts for the EMIs can provide a clearer picture of whether the loan can be repaid without undue financial strain,” says Tyagi. You may also seek the advice of a financial planner or use online EMI calculators to evaluate whether you can pay off the loan smoothly and then make an informed decision. “Make sure your EMI is not more than 10% of your monthly income. Keep in mind that while the loan is available, be frugal where you can. Money which comes easily can be seen as free money and may be spent carelessly. Beware of that,” says Shweta Jain, chief executive officer and founder of Investography, a financial planning firm. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Keep in mind" comment="subhead" text="Keep in mind">Keep in mind</cmsannotation> It is important to take into account the complete cost of the loan, which includes the principal amount, interest rates and any additional fees. Conduct thorough research and compare offerings from various lenders to find the most favourable interest rates and loan terms that align with your requirements. “Carefully read and understand the terms and conditions of the loan, including repayment schedules and any potential penalties for late payments,” says Tyagi. Lastly, it is important to consider any possible changes in your financial situation and how they might impact your ability to repay the loan in the future. By being mindful of these factors, you can make a well-informed decision and enjoy your holiday without unnecessary financial strain in the years to come.

You can take a loan to fund your summer sojourn in Europe, but it pays to be careful

Both <keyword id="19896382" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sensex" source="keywords">Sensex</keyword> and <keyword id="19896381" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nifty" source="keywords">Nifty</keyword> closed the day in red. While Sensex dipped around 102.57 points during the day to close at 80,502.08 points, Nifty ended the day at 24,509.25 points, down by 0.09% on July 22, 2023. As for broad-market indices, all closed in green except for Nifty50. While Nifty next 50 inched up 1.28% during the day, midcap 50 also jumped up by 1.74%, while India VIX inched up almost 4.13% to close the day. Amidst sectoral indices, <keyword id="19931572" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="FMCG" source="keywords">FMCG</keyword>, <keyword id="19989715" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IT" source="keywords">IT</keyword>, realty, media and oil and gas closed the day in red. On the other hand, <keyword id="20102108" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="metal" source="keywords">metal</keyword>, pharma and <keyword id="6354525" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="healthcare" source="Orion">healthcare</keyword> gained over 1% each during the day. Out of the 2,817 stocks traded during the day, 1,544 saw advances, while 1,179 declined. Another 94 stocks remained unchanged. 70 stocks hit their 52-week high prices, while 33 stocks hit their 52-week low as well. 113 stocks closed the day post touching the upper circuit, while 122 stocks remained in lower circuit during the day. Grasim (up by 2.58%), UltraTech Cement (up by 2.41%), NTPC (up by 2.22%), <keyword id="45123" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC" source="Orion">HDFC</keyword> (up by 2.16%) and Mahindra and Mahindra (up by 2.03%) were amongst the top gainers during the day, while Wipro's stock took a significant hit and was down by 9.31%. Reliance (down by 3.42%), Kotak Bank (down by 3.25%), ITC (down by 1.74%) and SBI Life (down by 1.74%) were amidst the leading laggards. FM Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2023-24 earlier today in the parliament, painting a positive picture of the economy for the short-term. Per the survey, the economy 's real GDP grew at about 8.2% in FY24, while it also managed to trim down its fiscal deficit from 6.4% of GDP in FY23 to 5.6% of GDP in FY24. The economy is expected to grow at about 7% over the medium term, with unemployment rates also sobering to 3.2% in 2022-23. <h2>Cautious outlook ahead of budget</h2>Mr. Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd notes that the markets began the week on a subdued note and ended nearly unchanged, reflecting caution ahead of the <keyword id="19908389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget" source="keywords">Union Budget</keyword>. The Nifty index opened lower and fluctuated within a range before closing at the 24,509.25 level. Initially, weak global cues and pressure on index heavyweights like Reliance and Kotak Bank following their earnings reports weighed on sentiment, he said. "However, the strength in banking major HDFC Bank, in reaction to its results, and continued buoyancy in IT heavyweight Infosys Ltd offset the negativity. Sector-wise, auto, metal, and pharma edged higher, while realty and IT were among the top losers. With all eyes on the Union Budget, volatility is expected to remain high on Tuesday. We thus maintain a cautious stance and recommend a hedged approach. Traders should seek buying opportunities in low-beta counters, especially in the defensive sectors, and remain selective in other areas", continued Mishra. Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares highlights that the oversold condition coupled with a bullish divergence in the RSI saved the Index from a steep fall. Mixed market activity was seen where the mid and small caps soared higher while the index stayed in a well-maintained range to end the session at 24,509.25 with a marginal loss of 21.65 points.Auto and pharma sectors advanced over 1% to become outperformers of the day while realty was the major laggard followed by IT. "Considering the Union Budget outcome, wild swings can be expected on both sides where 24,200 will be considered as immediate support while the higher side seems to be capped at 24,800", explained Gaggar.

Stock market closing: Markets take a cautious stance ahead of the budget

In March 2023, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser anointed Anand Selva, as the bank's chief operating officer. His mandate: oversee a deeply unsexy yet crucial initiative to regain compliance with regulators. At the time, she praised his "long track record of delivering results."So far, Selva's tenure has been rocky.In July, two regulators <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citi-jane-fraser-regulatory-citigroup-transformation-2024-7">fined Citi $135.6 million</a> for failing to make enough progress in fixing its data-management issues. The bank had agreed in 2020 to work on this problem and others, including poor risk controls, after <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/citigroup-slammed-400-mln-fine-longstanding-deficiencies-regulation-occ-fed-2020-10-1029660295">paying $400 million</a> in fines to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC said in July that the bank had made "meaningful progress overall" but that the agency wanted to ensure Citi allocated enough resources to address the "persistent weaknesses" regarding data.These new fines are despite Citi dedicating massive resources to a firmwide initiative to overhaul the bank's technology. This program, called the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citi-transformation-citigroup-regulatory-fine-anand-selvakesari-2024-7">"Transformation"</a> and overseen by Selva, has about 13,000 employees. Citi spent $7.4 billion on the endeavor from 2021 through 2023. This year's budget has been increased by $250 million, to more than $3 billion.The pressure is on, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren urging the OCC to "impose growth restrictions" on Citi, arguing that it has grown "too big to manage." The regulator and Citi declined to comment."We've always said that progress wouldn't be linear," Fraser said after the latest fines, "and we have no doubt that we will be successful in getting our firm where it needs to be in terms of our Transformation."For Selva, leading the Transformation is unlike any test he has faced in his three-decade career at Citi. Selva, who goes by the shortened version of his last name, Selvakesari, joined Citi as an assistant operations manager in Chennai, India, in 1991. He rose through the ranks in Asia before taking over the US consumer bank in 2019. When Fraser was made CEO in 2021, she chose Selva, who's now 57, to replace her as the global head of consumer banking.In his current role, his mandate is to make the bank safer, not to turn a profit. To do so, he has to solve for Citi's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-real-reasons-behind-citi-mike-corbat-early-retirement-2020-9">decades of underinvestment</a> in its infrastructure, which affects every business line of the bank.Business Insider talked to 14 current and former Citi employees who have worked under Selva to get a picture of the challenge facing him and why he was put in charge of the bank's No. 1 priority. All but two spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal or the sensitivity of regulatory matters. Three senior executives pointed to his experience navigating regulation and working with technology from running Citi's consumer bank. Gonzalo Luchetti, Selva's successor as the head of the US consumer business, told BI that serving 70 million customers required handling tremendous operational risk."If we mess it up, usually you don't mess it up for one; you mess it up for hundreds of thousands, if not millions," he said. "You have to be super good at process orientation and making sure that there's high discipline and rigor."Luchetti also emphasized Selva's longevity at Citi and experience across regions."He knows the fabric of the firm very well," Luchetti said. "The Transformation is about really repiping the machine. He's touched a lot of the machine himself."But touching the machine isn't the same as fixing it. Eight employees told BI that they were surprised that Selva was made the head of the Transformation given that he had never held a leadership role in technology or compliance. They described Citi's culture as a cliquey environment that rewards managing up over results, noting that the COO promotion followed dismal performance for the wealth unit he oversaw."The biggest job was given to a guy who with 1 ½ years in wealth wasn't able to do anything," a former managing director said.Selva has also come under scrutiny for a lawsuit filed against him and the bank by an ex-Transformation executive in May. Kathleen Martin, a former interim data chair, alleged that Selva pressured her to hide information from the OCC that would make Citi "look bad" and that she was fired in September 2023 after multiple refusals. Citi denied the accusations and filed a counterclaim in late August, alleging that Martin was fired for underperformance. Citi has recently made leadership changes to Selva's unit. The bank tapped its new tech head, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citi-data-tim-ryan-anand-selva-memo-transformation-regulators-2024-9">Tim Ryan</a>, to lead the data effort alongside Selva and take over management of the 800-employee data team. The work on data, along with risks and controls, is paramount to the Transformation.Splitting the burden may expedite the massive task, which requires coordinating work from employees across the entire bank. Citi declined to specify a timeline, citing the confidential nature of regulatory matters. A managing director in the Transformation estimated that the work required would take about two decades.Mike Mayo, a Wells Fargo analyst, said that until Citi meets the requirements of the OCC and the Federal Reserve, the bank is in "regulatory purgatory.""Citi has thrown over 10,000 people and $3 billion and more at this problem," Mayo told BI in July. "They just have to get it done."Selva does have a long track record at Citi. Born in Madurai, a large city in southern India, he studied engineering and played basketball at the Coimbatore Institute of Technology. He earned his master's in business administration at Madurai Kamaraj University before joining Citi in 1991.Selva made his name at Citi by shaping its consumer-bank businesses across Asia. He led retail banking in China and India before taking over the Asia Pacific market in 2015. His approach was digital-first, eschewing branches for banking apps. Despite closing 60% of bank branches in Asia from 2016 through 2018, Selva grew deposits by 10%.<div type="image" title="Citi's Anand Selva speaking at a panel, seated and wearing a pinstripe suit and a red tie." height="3307" width="4960" msid="114093573" hostid="261" sizebytes="2310830"></div>"He's very tech and digital-oriented," Luchetti said. "We've been to China together to look at startups and firms that were disrupting the world. He was always very connected with learning more about technology, had that curiosity, and then the execution chops to get it done here."In 2019, Selva moved from Singapore to New York, where he now lives with his family, to run the US consumer bank. He assumed the global consumer-banking business from Fraser in 2021. Selva leaned on credit-card and lending offerings, launching products like Citi Custom Cash which allowed customers to pick their reward categories, and Flex Pay, a buy-now, pay-later service. Under Selva, Citi was the No. 2 issuer of credit cards in the US, and deposits grew by more than a third, to about $220 billion.In 2021, Citi started divesting itself of more than a dozen consumer-bank markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Selva was an important player on both sides of the table, according to Adora Tidalgo, the head of operational risk management at Citi. She said he helped find Asian acquirers that maximized value for Citi while keeping the businesses running smoothly with low attrition."That skill of balancing how much you want to bring in terms of revenue and the credit loss you want to take is really a skill that very much needs to be honed in the consumer space," she said. "That balancing, to me, I have seen Anand over the year been very successful in doing that."There have been some bumps in the road. As part of Fraser's reorganization of the bank in 2021, Selva gained oversight of a newly formed wealth unit and its new leader, Jim O'Donnell. Six current and former managing directors told BI that Selva's approach focused more on scale and digital offerings than high-touch client service. For instance, he didn't approve loans that failed to meet a certain threshold of return, even if it meant losing an important client, two former managing directors said."The way that every private banker on earth thinks about relationships is you need to invest in relationships, and then as you start to do more business with clients, you start getting more and more valuable opportunities with them," one of the former managing directors said. "You have to look at the relationship. You can't just look at every single transaction."Employees argued that Selva's playbook may have worked to build scale in Asia but not to satisfy well-heeled — and much more sought-after — US clients."I think Anand's decisions were comparing everything to what he knew from his time in Asia, and they are completely different markets," another former managing director said. "In Asia, Citi has a very recognizable brand, and people actually want to bank with Citi. You don't have to sell it that hard."<div type="image" title="Citi CEO Jane Fraser testifying at Congress" height="3828" width="5846" msid="114093582" hostid="261" sizebytes="314760"></div>The wealth business' revenue dropped by 6% year over year at the end of 2022. Fraser called the division's performance "disappointing." O'Donnell's reign over wealth was cut short in January 2023, and it was later placed under <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andy-sieg-citi-wealth-management-ceo-2024-6">Andy Sieg</a>, the former head of Merrill Wealth Management. With Citi on a campaign to divest itself of 14 international consumer-bank markets, Selva's remit shrank.His appointment as COO thrust him into the spotlight. Tidalgo told BI that he was no stranger to the task of dealing with regulators."When you are the head of a country, you are the face of Citi to the regulators. Good, bad, or indifferent, you have to face them," she said. "That's part of the job."Citi's Transformation and its challenges predate Selva's appointment as COO. It existed as a firmwide initiative before the October 2020 fines but was kicked into overdrive after Citi entered consent orders with the OCC and the Federal Reserve.It can be viewed as two parts. The most visible is the strategy to simplify and modernize the bank, such as divesting Asian consumer businesses, removing five layers of management, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citigroup-reorganization-layoffs-management-overhaul-reorganization-jane-fraser-stock-price-2023-9">reorganizing</a> so that the five business lines report directly to Fraser.The second part is meant to address the 2020 consent orders. The initiative is separated into seven programs, including finance, compliance, and risk and controls. While some 13,000 employees are dedicated to the Transformation, much of this work is carried out by employees across the bank. Selva sits at the center, coordinating these efforts. He's in a tough position, as much of the Transformation's work is executed by employees in other divisions."The challenge with the Transformation role is you are accountable yet not responsible," the managing director in the Transformation said. "The role is really coordinating and getting others to do what they need to do, which is very different from running a business where the entire team follows your lead, you own it, you have the ability to actually get them to do this stuff."When everyone is accountable, effectively no one is, a former senior vice president in the Transformation said. Matters got stuck in bureaucracy, bouncing from one department to another and being debated in committee for months.A senior executive in the Transformation acknowledged that the programs often rely on each other's work. For example, a delay in data work can lead to one for a finance project."When we are asked sometimes why it is challenging to execute on the Transformation, one of the challenges is the interconnectivity of those seven works," she said.The senior executive said the Transformation's successes had been overlooked, partly because the bank is limited in what it can say on regulatory matters. For instance, Citi has retired or replaced a quarter of its applications, halfway to its overall goal. The bank declined to specify the number of existing or terminated applications, but as of July, it had retired nearly 300 applications this year. The senior executive also touted the bank's streamlining its risk-management workflow.But the Transformation has earned a middling grade from Citi itself. The bank evaluates the initiative's success for the purposes of a bonus program applicable to about 200 senior employees, including Selva. In 2022, an internal committee gave it a score of 94%, citing targets it met, such as submitting remediation plans to regulators.For 2023, the score sank to 80%, calculated by measuring the timeliness of executing scheduled work, the percentage of work deemed complete by the bank's internal auditors, and a "qualitative consideration of Citi's cultural change" derived from the bank's employee surveys.<div type="image" title="Headshot of Citi's new tech head Tim Ryan, smiling and wearing a black suit jacket with a light blue shirt" height="739" width="985" msid="114093578" hostid="261" sizebytes="32120"></div>Bringing in Ryan, the bank's head of technology and business enablement, to help the bank catch up makes sense. The recruiter Phil Waxelbaum argued that a more traditional candidate to help lead the Transformation would be a seasoned, high-ranking person from a regulatory agency. But someone with a nonbanking background such as consulting or technology can work, too, according to recruiter Jeffrey Warren. Ryan joined Citi in June after seven years leading the US business of PricewaterhouseCoopers."In situations like this when you are looking to drive transformation, you need someone who can work at the intersection of people, processes, and technology," said Warren, managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates. "That includes working from within and likely driving some change with new people who have experience in new technologies or new ways of doing things."Ryan is now sharing data, a significant component of the Transformation, with Selva. Another PwC alum, Citi's head of enterprise risk management, Ashutosh Nawani, will take over the chief data office from one of Selva's lieutenants, Japan Mehta, and report to Ryan. Mehta will move to another role that the bank declined to specify.Employees told BI that they thought bringing in Ryan and Nawani would help."Sure, there might be some reservation that more consultants are coming in to run Citi, but there is a positive vibe of changing senior leadership," the former senior vice president in the Transformation said. "Legacy Citi culture is what got us into this spot in the first place."While the July fines did not meaningfully move Citi's stock, they have placed the bank and the Transformation under greater scrutiny. The OCC has ordered Citi to provide a resource-review plan each quarter to ensure the bank is providing enough resources for the effort. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also required the bank to address the Transformation's progress in future filings.The outstanding issues have also impeded Citi from expanding in China. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-23/citigroup-s-china-expansion-plan-put-on-hold-by-us-regulators">Bloomberg</a>, the bank is still waiting on a clearance letter from the Federal Reserve to set up a securities office. The bank declined to comment on the process but said it was "fully committed to supporting clients" in China.<div type="image" title="Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at a hearing on Capitol Hill on January 11, 2024." height="1333" width="2000" msid="114093583" hostid="261" sizebytes="96482"></div>Regulators placing an asset cap on Citi, as Senator Warren has requested, isn't out of the realm of possibility, said Timothy Coffey, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott."At what point do the regulators just get fed up with Citi's inability to adequately resolve these issues or stick to the timeline that they've laid out?" he said. "That's an open-ended question."But the consent orders and the lack of progress are distractions in themselves. When Fraser took over Citi nearly four years ago, she said the Transformation was her No. 1 priority and asked for patience. Now her requests for time are wearing thin. Regardless of who leads the Transformation, Fraser is still accountable."This stays out here in terms of headline risk, and I think it puts a cap on the valuation that Citi can achieve," said Stephen Biggar, an Argus Research analyst. "It's an overhang on the stock. It's an overhang on the reputation of Fraser."Do you work for Citi? Have a tip or story to share? Reach out to Hayley Cuccinello at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:hcuccinello@businessinsider.com">hcuccinello@businessinsider.com</a> or 917 740 5340, which works for calls, text, and the encrypted messaging app Signal.

Meet the executive tasked with Citi's hardest challenge: getting the bank's house in order

Shares of state-owned behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (<keyword id="19903588" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LIC" source="keywords">LIC</keyword>) have outperformed rivals like <keyword id="20079495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC-Life" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="HDFC Life" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="HDFC Life">HDFC Life</keyword> and <keyword id="21278696" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICICI-Prudential-Life" source="keywords">ICICI Prudential Life</keyword>, as it placed bets on India's growth sectors, including infrastructure, while the private sector concentrated its bets on tech, consumer and consumer-related <keyword id="19910880" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BFSI" source="keywords">BFSI</keyword> companies. LIC's stock has gained nearly 79% from Rs 620 on June 18, 2023, to Rs 1,109.15 at the closing on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data. In contrast, HDFC Life gave a negative return with Tuesday's closing price of Rs 646.55 on the BSE as compared to Rs 666.55 a year back. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co delivered a return of 12%, considering its stock price rise from Rs 582 on June 18, 2023, to Rs 654.10 on June 16, 2024. Over the past one year, <keyword id="19898108" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SBI" source="keywords">SBI</keyword> Life Insurance shares have risen from Rs 1,314 to Rs 1,621.20, delivering a return of 23%. Capital market analysts said <keyword id="19935977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance-companies" source="keywords">insurance companies</keyword> make money in two ways - charging premiums for policies and then investing the premiums into assets. It is the latter that generates the bigger delta in profits, thus impacting value creation and managing risks. Global majors, including Warren Buffet-owned Berkshire Hathaway, have been successful due to their ability to make superior investments. Most Indian insurance companies are yet to capitalise on the emergence of the country's <keyword id="19997284" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="infrastructure-sector" source="keywords">infrastructure sector</keyword>, analysts said. Indian insurance companies have concentrated investments in the BFSI, IT, and consumer sectors - all of which have been underperformers in the recent past. Only 8-10% of their investments are in the infrastructure sector. This is far less when compared to global standards. Large global insurance companies -- such as Allianz, Nippon Life Insurance, and Metlife, and other insurers like Berkshire Hathaway -- have much larger exposure ranging from 15 to 30% to the infrastructure sector, analysts noted. Over the past few years, global insurers have been increasingly considering infrastructure investments as 'core' investments as the stable and long-term cash flows of infrastructure assets naturally align with the liabilities of insurers. Additionally, infrastructure assets have defensive characteristics of high barriers to entry, strong pricing power, structural growth, and predictive cash flows, and listed infrastructure can provide investors with inflation-protected income and solid capital growth. <h2>Infra sector outperforming all</h2>For India, a strong government focus on the sector with large spending, supporting initiatives and encouraging policies, and improving governance has helped the infrastructure industry has come of age. This has helped the infra sector to outperform all other sectors, according to analysts. They said the high focus on retail loans, and the strategic reluctance to look at infrastructure for growth opportunities is proving detrimental for the shareholders of such companies. SBI, with its higher exposure to the infrastructure sector, has seen its stock gain 48% in the year (from Rs 592 to Rs 880.95 on Tuesday), while those of its private counterparts HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have gained only in the range of (-)3%to 24%. Kotak and HDFC Banks with negligible exposure to the infrastructure sector are the worst performing, with their shares giving a negative return, stock exchange data showed. Kotak Mahindra Bank shares were at Rs 1,895 on June 18, 2023, and closed at Rs 1,805.20 on Tuesday. HDFC Bank closed at Rs 1,619.20 on BSE on Tuesday, down from Rs 1,679 a year back.

Exposure to India's infra sector helps LIC, SBI outshine peers

<ul><li><keyword id="19903588" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lic" source="keywords">LIC</keyword> received government nod to increase stake in <keyword id="19895995" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hdfc-bank" source="keywords">HDFC Bank</keyword> to 9.9%.</li><li>This is a positive trigger for the stock which has lost over 15% in the last two weeks.</li><li>Analysts believe that ‘costs’ of the merger will play out in interim with long-term benefits ahead.</li></ul>HDFC Bank traded in the green on Monday, after LIC received a nod from the government to raise stake in it to 9.9%. India’s largest insurer will have to shell out over ₹50,000 crore to raise its stake by an additional 4.8%. It’s expected to do the same gradually. The stock of HDFC Bank has been trading around its decadal lows, after the merged balance sheet threw up surprises in the third quarter. On Monday, it gained 1.5% higher to close at ₹1,457. “LIC getting <keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="keywords">RBI</keyword> approval to raise their stake in HDFC Bank is positive for the latter,” said <keyword id="20368778" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dr-v-k-vijayakumar" source="keywords">Dr V K Vijayakumar</keyword>, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services. The sharp change in its loan to deposit ratio (LDR) to a tight 110% post-merger had spooked the markets. Its pre-merger LDR was anywhere between 85-89%. Ever since it announced its Q3 earnings report on January 16, the stock lost 15.4% of its value. The index heavyweight had also caused a widespread crash of banks’ stocks, but a few of them have recovered since. Bears to bulls ratio Analysts believe that HDFC Bank will have to grow its deposits 3-4% higher than credit growth – to get its LDR back to pre-merger levels. The management said that will happen over 3-4 years. A few experts are of the opinion that its recent sharp fall is a good opportunity to buy into the stock. “Among the foreign investors, the ratio of ‘bears’ to ‘bulls’ seemed much lower than the domestic investors. Many of them believe that the worst is almost over, and we should see an improving trend across all important parameters. Moreover, some pointed out that the Street is missing out on the merger synergy benefits that are yet to play out,” CLSA said after interacting with twenty of its clients who had concerns around its net interest margin and deposit growth. HDFC merged with HDFC Bank as of July last year. The benefits which created a mammoth institution will see interim pressures, but there are benefits on the horizon. “As the merger benefits accrue over a period, the intermittent period will see merger-related costs in the form of pressure on margins and cost to income ratio. The return on equity is expected to moderate in near terms owing to low leverage of the parent, however we expect return on assets (RoA) to sustain at 1.8-1.9% level,” said <keyword id="20368779" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="phillips-capital" source="keywords">Phillips Capital</keyword>.

HDFC Bank gains 1.5% after LIC gets nod to raise stake

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russian banks are urging the country's central bank to boost yuan liquidity amid shortages.</li><li>But Russia's central bank is advising lenders to limit yuan-denominated loans.</li></ul>Russia's central bank and lenders are asking each other to preserve the country's stash of Chinese yuan.Last Thursday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/russia-economy-china-yuan-sanctions-bank-payments-trade-transfers-2024-9">Russian banks</a> complained that they've run out of the Chinese yuan and called on the Central Bank of Russia to increase liquidity through currency swaps.But Russia's central bank is passing the buck back to the country's banks.In a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://cbr.snowball-income.com/Collection/Collection/File/50609/ORFR_2024-08.pdf">report</a> published on Friday, Russia's central bank advised lenders to limit the issuance of yuan-denominated loans.The central bank is a primary source of yuan liquidity that it provides via daily sales and one-day swaps of the currency."Part of the growth in yuan lending was due to the replacement of loans in 'toxic' currencies, but 41% of the increase came from new foreign currency loans," said the Russian central bank in the report, referring to the currencies of countries that have imposed sanctions against the country.It added that currency swap operations can only serve as a short-term mechanism to stabilize the market, but they aren't permanent funding tools.The banks called for increased central bank currency swaps because they needed to use the mechanism to cover their foreign currency lending.But yuan liquidity is so tight that Sberbank's CEO German Gref said last Thursday that his bank cannot lend in the yuan, because it has "nothing" to cover tight foreign currency positions with, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/major-russian-lenders-say-yuan-coffers-empty-urge-central-bank-action-2024-09-05/">Reuters.</a> Sberbank is Russia's largest bank.Russian exporters can also provide liquidity through currency sales, but many <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-all-china-banks-refuse-yuan-ruble-transfers-sanctions-2024-8">Chinese banks</a> are refusing to process payment transactions for Russian companies due to fears of US secondary sanctions.Chinese lenders are also avoiding currency trading in Russia for the same reason.The difficulties surrounding yuan liquidity in Russia highlight increasingly challenging trading conditions for the country as the West steps up sanctions.But <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dedollarization-countries-national-tech-payments-systems-russia-china-india-swift-2024-8">Russia and its trade partners</a> are trying to find ways to get around the payments issue.Dmitry Birichevsky, head of the economic cooperation department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Russian TV that the country and its partners are discussing how to link up their bank messaging systems, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://tass.com/politics/1839601">TASS</a> state news agency reported on Friday."Combining these systems or deciding on the basis on which [system] we will work is the most sensitive, painful issue, because this is part of the country's financial sovereignty," Birichevsky said.

Russia's central bank and lenders tell each other to resolve the country's yuan supply squeeze

<ul><li>In the last two years, interest rates on loans have gone up by 1.9% – undoing the <keyword id="6357050" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="EMI" source="Orion">EMI</keyword> mathematics of most borrowers. </li><li>Most experts predict that there are more rate hikes coming as early as December. </li><li>For auto and <keyword id="35519" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="home-loans" source="Orion">home loans</keyword>, borrowers can consider extending their tenures if the burden is higher. </li></ul>Be prepared to pay more interest if you want to borrow to buy a home or a car. The era of low interest rates has formally ended, with the Reserve Bank of India kicking off its rate hike cycle in May. The repo rate or the rate at which central banks lend to banks has risen by 1.9% after four consecutive hikes. That means EMIs will only go up making it costlier for borrowers. While existing borrowers of home loans may see their tenures go up, equated monthly installments (EMIs) of personal loans and <keyword id="35527" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="auto-loans" source="Orion">auto loans</keyword> will rise further after today’s 50 basis point rate hike. "The Reserve Bank of India has hiked the repo rate by 50 basis points. This marks the fourth consecutive rise in the repo rate, bringing it to 5.9%. This will definitely impact the new and existing borrowers. However, this decision has been made to curb the rising inflation. With India’s inflation rate being 7%, the value of the currency might fall without the intervention of the RBI in order to try and sustain it and bring it down," said HP Singh, chairman &amp; managing director of Satin Creditcare Network. Home loans Let’s look at home loans first. If you have ₹50 lakh outstanding with a bank at an 8.5% interest rate spread across 20 years, the effective EMI you have is at ₹43,391. However, if the 50 basis point hike is passed on to the loan, the EMI will go up to ₹44,986 – an effective increase of ₹595 per month. For every one lakh of home loan for this tenure, the EMI will go up by ₹32. Auto loans The net impact is different for auto loans where the tenures are shorter but interest rates are different. For example if you have a ₹10 lakh auto loan at around 8.6% interest rate for a tenure of seven years, your EMI has been at ₹15,887. Again, in the changed interest rate regime, it would come up to ₹16,140 every month – an effective increase of ₹253. For every lakh of an auto loan for the said tenure, the EMI will go up by ₹25. Personal loans For a personal loan that’s spread across two years, the EMI for a ₹3 lakh loan at 11.4% would be at ₹14,038. After an interest rate reset, it would go up to ₹14,108 — an effective increase of ₹70. Increasing loan tenure? In the last two years, interest rates on loans have gone up by 1.9% – undoing the EMI mathematics of most borrowers. For auto and home loans, borrowers can consider extending their tenures if the burden is higher. However, it is to be noted that extending tenures will increase the interest payable across the years — and especially for large loans like home loans, the net payable will balloon correspondingly. The other factors that play a role in tenure extension would be the borrower’s age – while younger borrowers can afford it, most people must clear off long term loans before retirement age of 60. More hikes ahead? When he announced the rate hikes today, RBI governor <keyword id="6359111" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shaktikanta-das" source="Orion">Shaktikanta Das</keyword> said that the consumer price inflation is still above the central bank’s tolerance level. “Going forward, the RBI will remain vigilant, agile and nimble in its liquidity management operations and would use all instruments at its disposal to mitigate the spillovers of global financial market volatility on domestic financial markets,” said Das. It means going ahead, there could be more rate hikes on the horizon and a lot of experts predict that too. “We continue to expect another 35 bps hike in December followed by a pause with the RBI assessing Fed actions, and impact of past rate hikes on domestic growth and inflation,” said Suvodeep Rakshit, senior economist at Kotak Institutional Equities. Those who have banked on low interest rates offered during the pandemic to take home loans, might have to adjust their monthly math — but the burden of growing interest is what most people across the world have been dealing with and partial prepayments will help if it can be afforded. Since more rate hikes might be coming, it would be a good idea to pay off personal loans if possible as they can get costlier. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/markets-shrug-off-50-bps-salvo-by-the-reserve-bank-of-indias-as-hike-largely-priced-in/articleshow/94550783.cms">Markets shrug off 50 bps salvo by the Reserve Bank of India’s as hike largely priced in</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tata-tigor-ev-vs-tata-tiago-ev-comparison-of-price-and-features/slidelist/94551771.cms">Tata Tigor EV vs Tiago EV - which one should you buy?</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/presidential-commission-recommends-stamping-of-h-1b-visas-inside-us/articleshow/94551768.cms">Presidential commission recommends stamping of H-1B visas inside US</a>

You Searched For "hdfc bank loan restructuring terms and conditions" and got 9 results

Congress criticises SBI's decision to convert SIIL debt into equity, urges RBI intervention

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Exposure to India's infra sector helps LIC, SBI outshine peers

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