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<div type="image" title="The RBI has cracked the regulatory whip on NBFCs and banks, who&amp;#39;ve been pushing microfinance and unsecured loans aggressively to grow their loan books." agency="ANI" msid="114778648" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The RBI has cracked the regulatory whip on NBFCs and banks, who&amp;#39;ve been pushing microfinance and unsecured loans aggressively to grow their loan books.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Imagine this. You have a younger sibling you’re mighty envious of. And why not? Unlike you, they seem to enjoy all the freedom and money in the world. They party like there’s no tomorrow, and here you are, stuck in a boring, ultra-disciplined but responsible routine that feels completely devoid of any independence, and mostly, funds. But of late, things are changing. This sibling is in massive trouble and just cannot escape the parent’s wrath anymore. Long story short, the party is over, and it is time to go back home. The rising defaults on this sibling’s part have now begun pulling the entire house down, thereby attracting the regulator’s ire. <h2>The Wild West of <keyword id="113684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="microfinance" source="Orion">microfinance</keyword> and unsecured loans</h2>It's hard to ignore the issues with microfinance and unsecured loans in India. Many saw them as a small gamble and ignored the rising defaults much like the younger siblings’ tantrums, and now they find themselves in hot waters. The skyrocketing instances of non-payments aren't a micro-issue anymore and are threatening the stability of the entire banking system. In the quarter ended September 30, 2024, 5 of India’s 8 largest private sector <keyword id="19934118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="banks" source="keywords">banks</keyword> reported a steep rise in their bad loan book, mostly thanks to microfinance loans. Some banks, in a bid to strengthen their fortress against these <keyword id="142154" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bad-loans" source="Orion">bad loans</keyword>, have significantly upped their provisions. For instance, IndusInd Bank set aside Rs 525 crore during July and September 2024 to battle the menace of defaults on microfinance loans, which make up about 9% of its total loan book. See, banks rely heavily on their interest income, which they earn from advancing loans. Any loan where the borrower has not paid interest to the bank or defaulted for 90 days or more becomes bad, i.e. an NPA, or non-performing asset for the bank. And who likes things going bad? Simply put, there has been a steep rise in three areas, much to the dislike of banks and MFIs (micro-finance institutions). But hey, it's mostly their doing! <ol><li>GNPA ratio (gross net performing assets): The quantum of non-performing assets a bank has in proportion to its total assets.</li><li>Provision: The amount banks set aside to take care of such NPAs.</li><li>Slippage ratio: The rate at which good girls go bad, or the speed at which good loans turn into NPAs</li></ol>But how are these plaguing the Indian banking sector? And what does the road ahead look like? We decode it for you. <h2> Microfinance: A not-so-micro-menace</h2>Microfinance loans were initially brought forth for low-income households and individuals i.e. for those who might not generally have access to traditional ways of credit, like bank loans and more. They don’t require collateral or an asset to be pledged in lieu of the loan, making it a tad bit easier for borrowers. As of June 2024, the amount of outstanding loans in the microfinance industry stood at a staggering Rs 4,20,256 crore. Of this, NBFC-MFIs accounted for 40% and banks made for 33% of these. In 2022, RBI, in a bid to inspire some competition in this space, did something radical-they did away with the ceiling on how much interest MFIs could charge their customers. Previously, MFIs could add up to 12% to their cost of acquiring funds to determine the final interest rate chargeable to the consumer. So, assuming that Bank A incurs a 5% cost to acquire funds for further loaning, A could charge up to 17% interest from the end consumer. So, interest rates were in the hands of MFIs, and boy, did they have a gala time with it. Instead of spurring some healthy competition, as RBI expected, MFIs and banks went rogue and all guns blazing, competing for the title of “Who will charge the highest interest?” Recently, RBI banned 4 microfinance institutions (MFIs), namely Asirvad Micro Finance Limited, Arohan Financial Services Limited, DMI Finance Private Limited, and <keyword id="20117932" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="navi-finserv" source="keywords">Navi Finserv</keyword> from disbursing loans effective October 21, 2024. Why? Because they were charging 14% extra interest over their original cost of funds. To maintain their loan books (and pockets), banks and NBFCs resorted to shady practices like netting off loans, which RBI has now advised MFIs against. Here, lenders allow borrowers to settle a previous outstanding loan by issuing them a new loan! As crazy as it sounds, it helped banks to report less of their total assets as NPAs, since the new credit would cover pending instalments of the borrower’s previous loan. Then there was the issue of borrowers overleveraging, i.e. taking multiple loans using different IDs from various lenders and then failing to honour any of them. The consequence? Banks and NBFCs end up with massive NPAs. Data from credit bureaus suggests that over the last quarter, there was a 17.2% rise in the number of borrowers who had 5 or more active loans at the same time. <h2>Growth &gt; Caution</h2>It's an age-old tale unfolding yet again in India’s banking sector- Icarus flew too close to the sun and eventually, fell to its death. Between April and June 2024, NBFCs microfinance portfolio jumped by 2.7%. If you see this in terms of loan sources, microfinance loans issued by banks grew by 11.2% in Q1FY25. But the same portfolio in NBFCs swelled by almost double-23.9%. While most of these loans had an average ticket size between Rs 30,000-50,000, there was a sharp spike in the number of loans that had a ticket size of Rs 80,000 or more. Data suggests that as of March 2024, more than 12% of all microfinance borrowers had over 4 or more active loans. In dating parlance, this is a classic case of borrowers going polyamorous, minus the honesty and transparency. Not the best of situations, you'd agree! <h2>Will banks and NBFCs stand up to this stress?</h2>If their results for Q2FY25 are to be believed, NBFCs are not handling the pressure all that well. Or even slightly well. Only a few banks like Bank of Baroda (BoB), ICICI, and Indian Bank were up for the battle, even witnessing a decline in their loan delinquencies. Some others, like IndusInd Bank, saw their stock dip by a massive 16.2% over the last 5 days. Its slippages in the previous quarter burgeoned from Rs 15.3 billion in Q1FY25 to Rs 17.9 billion in Q2. As a result, the bank pushed a staggeringly high amount of money to create an NPA cushion for itself. While its management has highlighted its preference for secured lending, that was hardly reflected in its actions during the quarter, where growth in unsecured personal loans remained exceptionally high at over 7% on a QoQ basis. Turns out, only 44% of customers in IndusInd Banks’ microfinance loan portfolio were exclusive to it. The rest 47% were, you guessed it right-polyamorous! 27% had borrowed from another lender as well, apart from IndusInd Bank, while 20% were those who had outstanding loans with two other lenders, apart from IndusInd Bank. IndusInd Bank’s credit card segment did not miss the NPA bus and accounted for 7-8% of its GNPAs. Canara Bank’s total slippages during the previous quarter jumped to Rs 11.1 billion, up by 24.7% QoQ, and making up for 3.6% of its total loans. As for Bandhan Bank, its gross NPA for Q2FY25 inched up on a QoQ basis, up from 4.23% in Q1, to 4.68% in the second quarter. IDFC Bank’s heavy provisioning for its NPAs marred its profits significantly, causing its PAT (profit after tax) to dip by 73% on a YoY basis. Data from ICRA Analytics suggest that the AUM (asset under management) growth in microfinance loans and unsecured (personal and business) loans by the NBFCs will moderate to 10-12% and 19-21%, respectively, in FY2025 compared to 30% and 38%, in FY2024. Says A M Karthik, Senior Vice President &amp; Co-Group Head, Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA, “As bank funds constitute a larger share in the overall funding of NBFCs, a slower credit flow from banks to the NBFCs will compress their AUM growth. The NBFCs in unsecured and digital lending businesses shall face a higher squeeze in funding compared to others, and the unsecured lending space will continue to be a source of stress in the near term.” There has been uninhibited growth in <keyword id="6051027" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unsecured-loan" source="Orion">unsecured loan</keyword>s, apart from just the microfinance segment. For instance, Axis Bank’s gross slippages jumped by Rs 4,443 crore, largely thanks to its unsecured business. The same is the case with Yes Bank, which saw 35–40% of its retail slippages emerging from the unsecured loan portfolio. <keyword id="6376194" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kotak-mahindra" source="Orion">Kotak Mahindra</keyword> Bank was also quick to follow Yes Bank’s suit, with around 35%-40% of its slippages coming from credit cards. <h2>How is the road ahead?</h2>While RBI has just cracked its whip and served a warning at the moment, experts at Morgan Stanley believe that more changes (read regulatory lashes) are underway. Moreover, with both festive and wedding seasons underway in our country, unsecured lending might pick up momentum, much to the disdain of the calibrated approach banks have been taking towards it so far. But if the situation doesn't improve, RBI will not waste any time in becoming the typical tyrannical <keyword id="19897820" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bollywood" source="keywords">Bollywood</keyword> headmaster who runs his dominion with an iron fist. However, that's a story for another day. Do you have a topic in mind you'd want a simpler explanation for, or insights or personal experience to share on personal finance and more? Contact us at businessinsider@timesinternet.in.

Simply Put: Is the lending party over? The dangerous tango of Indian banks with microfinance and unsecured loans

​Hindenburg Report: SEBI Chief, Adani and other firms shaken by corporate exposés​

Both <keyword id="20204377" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indices" source="keywords">indices</keyword>, <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> opened the day in red. While Nifty was down by 0.28% to trade at 24,461.7 points. Sensex was also down by 0.31%, <keyword id="20114014" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trading" source="keywords">trading</keyword> at 80,353.25 as of 9:30 am. <keyword id="19963567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ultratech-Cement" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ultratech Cement" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ultratech Cement">Ultratech Cement</keyword>, NTPC, BPCL, Infosys and Dr. Reddy were amongst the top gainers in early morning trade, while Wipro, <keyword id="19957746" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kotak-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Kotak Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Kotak Bank">Kotak Bank</keyword>, Reliance, Eicher Motors and Larsen and Toubro were amongst the leading laggards. Ahead of the <keyword id="19936553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget" source="keywords">budget</keyword>, which is set to be presented tomorrow, all broad market indices opened the day in red, except for India VIX, a gauge for market volatility, which was up by 3.64% during early trade. Nifty microcap and small caps shed over 1% each on opening. As for sectoral indices, auto, realty, consumer durables and oil and gas were down 1% each in opening trade. Only FMCG managed to gain a week start and opened the week in green. Over the weekend, <keyword id="19895995" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="HDFC Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="HDFC Bank">HDFC Bank</keyword> reported its Q1FY25 results. The bank's profit after tax (PAT) jumped to Rs 161.8 billion, up by 35.3% on YoY basis, while its advances for the quarter were Rs 24,635 billion, up by 52.5% YoY, but down by 0.9% quarterly. As for its deposits, at Rs 23,790 billion for the quarter, marked a 24.4% uptick YoY, but remained flat over quarters. The bank's net interest income (NII) stood at Rs 298.4 billion, up by 26.4% YoY. Even the bank's net non performing assets ratio (NPA) stood at 0.39% down 1 bps YoY, and up 6 bps QoQ. The share inched up by 0.78% to trade at Rs 1,619.8 in early trade. Kotak, which also reported its Q1FY25 results over the weekend, saw its PAT jump to Rs 6,250 crore, up 81% YoY. Its Net Interest Income (NII) for Q1FY25 increased to Rs 6,842 crore, up 10% YoY. Net Interest Margin (NIM) was 5.02% for April-June 2024. While total advances inched up 20% YoY to Rs 4,05,957 crore as at June 30, 2024, average total deposits grew to Rs 4,35,603 crore, up 21% YoY. During early trade today, the share was trading at Rs 1,756.25, down by 3.59%. Mr. Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares notes that the candlestick pattern on the weekly and daily charts denotes weakness. An early indication from GIFT Nifty suggests the same, tepid opening of the Indian equities. A level of 24,200 will serve as strong support while the higher side is capped at 24,800, he said. "Range (52,100-52,750) breakout in Bank Nifty is necessary for a clear direction. On a sectoral front, a mixed view can be seen where we are recommending booking profits on the Auto segment while we are bullish on the FMCG and IT sectors. The Energy and Metal sectors are indicating weakness by forming a bearish engulfing candle and consolidation breakdown respectively. Weakness was seen in the Broader markets also as Mid and Smallcap space has formed a bearish divergence in RSI. Ahead of the Union Budget, we are suggesting to remain light on trading positions and to focus on risk management", he continued.

Stock market today: India VIX up by 3%, NTPC, BPCL take lead in early morning trade

Are you an avid credit card user? Are you up to speed with all the changes that have come into effect starting today, which is all set to impact your credit card usage, and your pocket. Here's a quick snapshot of all the changes that you should be well aware of: <h2><keyword id="19900482" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICICI-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ICICI Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="ICICI Bank">ICICI Bank</keyword> </h2>Starting today, ICICI bank has done away with fees for many services, which include request for a charge slip, which was earlier chargeable at Rs 100/slip and cash and cheque pick up, which also carried a fee of Rs 100 earlier. Earlier, for outstation cheque processing and duplicate bank statement (for three months), a fee of Rs 100 was payable. Now, all those charges have been waived. However, going ahead, you'll have to dish out Rs 200 instead of Rs 100, if you wish to get your credit card replaced. <h2><keyword id="19952948" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Axis-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Axis Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Axis Bank">Axis Bank</keyword></h2>If you hold a <keyword id="19941660" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Citibank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Citibank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Citibank">Citibank</keyword> credit card, this is for you. The migration of all Citibank <keyword id="19953671" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="credit-cards" source="keywords">credit cards</keyword> to Axis bank will be complete by 15th July, 2024. Post that, you will receive new credit cards from Axis bank .However, until then, your existing Citibank cards will continue to work just fine. All your unredeemed points will be converted into EDGE miles. After migration, they will have an expiration period of 3 years. Starting today, RBIs new rules mandate that all credit card transactions in the country be processed through <keyword id="20779381" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharat-Bill-Payment-System" source="keywords">Bharat Bill Payment System</keyword> (BBPS). This means that if your bank has not come on board with BBPS, you will not be able to make payment through their credit card on other third-party platforms. Out of 34 banks that can issue credit cards, 12 banks have come onboard the BBPS. These include SBI, <keyword id="19938728" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kotak-mahindra" source="keywords">Kotak Mahindra</keyword>, IndusInd, Federal, HDFC, ICICI and IDFC bank. Indian Overseas bank and <keyword id="45660" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yes-bank" source="Orion">YES Bank</keyword> are expected to go live soon. <h2>SBI Bank</h2>Starting July 15th, if you hold one of the 22 specified SBI credit cards, you will no longer accrue any reward points while making certain transactions, particularly if they are related to government services. These include Air India SBI Platinum Card, Air India SBI Signature Card, Central SBI Select+ Card, Chennai Metro SBI Card, Etihad Guest SBI Card, Fabindia SBI Card SELECT, IRCTC SBI Card, Mumbai Metro SBI Card and more. <h2>YES Bank </h2>If you hold a YES Bank credit card, the criteria for you to qualify for complimentary lounge access has changed. Starting today, you will have to spend at least Rs 35,000 from your credit card in the previous quarter, in order to be able to get a complimentary access to domestic airport lounges in the next quarter. Earlier, this threshold was set at Rs 10,000. This will impact YES Marquee, YES SELECT, YES Reserv, YES First Preferred, YES Bank ELITE, YES BYOC, and YES Wellness Plus cards. <h2>HDFC Bank</h2>Starting August 1st, if you make rent, or education related payments via platforms like Cred and Paytm, you will have to pay a fee of upto 1% of the transaction, which will be a maximum of Rs 3,000. However, if you make the payment directly through your school or college's website, you will be able to save on this charge. Similarly, on all fuel expenses of over Rs 15,000, a 1% fee will be applied, which can be a maximum of Rs 3,000.

What has changed for your credit cards, starting today?

Top 8 banks offering low interest rates on home loans; check full list here

Both <keyword id="20204377" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indices" source="keywords">indices</keyword>, <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> dipped marginally and were trading in red, as markets opened today. Nifty was trading at 24,300.40, down by 0.19%, while Sensex dipped by around 74 points to trade at 79,575.50, as of 9:40 am on August 13th, 2024. Apollo Hospitals, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank and <keyword id="19952948" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="axis-bank" source="keywords">Axis Bank</keyword> gaines early advantage during trade early morning, while HDFC Bank, BPCL, Shri Ram Finance, Asian Paints and Divis Labs were amidst the leading laggards. Most broad market indices opened the day in red, with most mid cap and small cap indices inching up in green, ahead of frontline indices. Amidst sectoral indices, bank, auto, financial services, media and metal were trading in red, while pharma, PSU, realty and healthcare indices were trading in green. Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares noted that "after swinging on either sides, index settled 12th August trade marginally lower at 24,317. After testing the higher end of consolidation, the Index has formed a Long Legged DOJI candlestick pattern. A firm close above the 24,450-24,470 zone is a must to resume its uptrend while the lower side seems to be protected at 24,200. The range of <keyword id="22183748" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BankNifty" source="keywords">BankNifty</keyword> is intact i.e. 49,730-50,730 and awaiting a breakout for a clear picture. Selected <keyword id="22467474" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IT-counters" source="keywords">IT counters</keyword> have gained momentum indicating a resumption of an uptrend (Infosys). With a bullish engulfing candlestick pattern, the <keyword id="20458349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Metal-sector" source="keywords">metal sector</keyword> reversed from its long trendline support suggesting a trend reversal (NMDC, Welcorp). After a stellar rally, some profit-booking corrections can be anticipated in the <keyword id="22767421" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pharma-segment" source="keywords">pharma segment</keyword>. From the <keyword id="20041689" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="FMCG-sector" source="keywords">FMCG sector</keyword>, one should keep an eye on the sugar counters (Avadh Sugar)". With CPI numbers coming in yesterday, retail inflation dipped to a 5-year low, to 3.5% in July 2024. Says Suman Chowdhury, Executive Director and Chief Economist Acuité Ratings &amp; Research, “given the very strong base effect at play, the headline CPI inflation has suddenly dropped to 3.5% YoY from 5.1% in July’24. While this print is a 5 year low, it’s perhaps too early to celebrate such a low figure. Expectedly, the annualized food inflation has also started to taper with the onset of the monsoon from 9.4% in June to 5.4% in July on the back of a precipitous fall in vegetable inflation to 6.8% from 29.3%. Clearly, these are also the impact of the base factor since sequential inflation remains significant in both overall food inflation and vegetable inflation at 2.8% and 14.1% respectively". "One important takeaway is the rise of core inflation to 3.4% in July vs 3.1% in Jun'24 on the back of a rise in telecom tariffs and gold prices. In our opinion, core inflation has bottomed out and is likely to move higher towards 4.0% amidst strong economic activity", she continued.

Stock market today: Nifty, Sensex see muted starts, ICICI, Kotak, Axis bank gain lead

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> registered significant gains before closing for the week. While Sensex inched up about 820 points to close at 79,705.91 points, Nifty closed at 24,355.75, up by 0.99% on August 9th, 2024. <keyword id="20023885" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Eicher-Motors" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Eicher Motors" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Eicher Motors">Eicher Motors</keyword> (up by 4.8%), <keyword id="22163816" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shri-Ram-Finance" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Shri Ram Finance" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Shri Ram Finance">Shri Ram Finance</keyword> (up by 2.95%), <keyword id="19906967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Motors" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Motors" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Tata Motors">Tata Motors</keyword> (up by 2.91%), <keyword id="20668233" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Grasim" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Grasim" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Grasim">Grasim</keyword> (up by 2.63%), and HCL Tech (up by 2.59%) were amongst the top gainers of the day, while HDFC Life (down by 0.37%), Asian Paints (down by 0.19%), Hindustan Unilever (down by 0.15%), Cipla (down by 0.06%) and ITC (down by 0.04%) were amongst the leading laggards. All broad market indices closed the day in green, with Nifty 50, Next 50, 100, 200 and microcap 250 gaining over 1% each, while India VIX dipped by 7.45%. Amongst sectoral indices, auto, IT, media, PSU, realty and oil and gas indices raked in gains of over 1% each to close the week in green. Out of the 2,780 stocks traded during the day, 1,658 stocks saw declines, 1,028 declined while 94 remained unchanged. 122 stocks hit their 52-week high price, while 29 stocks also hit their 52-week low price. 127 stocks managed to stay in the upper circuit today, or the highest permissible trading price during a single trading session, while 44 hit the lower circuit. Amol Athawale, VP-technical Research, <keyword id="19958661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kotak-Securities" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Kotak Securities" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Kotak Securities">Kotak Securities</keyword> notes that during the week, market slipped below 20 day SMA (Simple Moving Average), but in the second half of the week it trimmed some losses and eventually closed at 24,367/79,722. Technically, the larger texture of the market is still in to the weak side. "However, as long as it is trading above 24,200/79,200, the pullback formation is likely to continue up to 20 day SMA or 24,525/80,400. Further upside may also continue which could lift the market till 24,625/80,800. On the other side, dismissal of 24,200/79,200 could accelerate the selling pressure below which it could slip till 24,000/78,700 or 50 day SMA and 23,850/78,200. For Bank Nifty now, 50,000 would be the immediate reference point for the bulls. Above 50,000, it could bounce back up to 50,800 and 50 day SMA or 51,200. On the flip side, below 50,000 uptrend would be vulnerable", he continued. Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities explains that the Nifty-50 index and Sensex declined around 1.5% each in the past week, while the mid-cap index lost around 1.3% and small-cap index lost 2% underperforming large-caps. "Market focus has swiftly moved on from the Union Budget, unveiled in the week, to the ongoing QFY25 earnings season and global factors. The market performance was impacted by a confluence of global factors, such as (1) a sharper-than-expected weakening of the US labor markets, (2) a sharp appreciation of USD-JPY, resulting in the unwinding of Yen carry trades globally and (3) increase in geo-political tensions in the Middle East", he said. "Sectoral indices were largely negative a week-on week basis except for Nifty FMCG, pharma and media. Sectoral indices like capital goods, consumer durable, auto, metal, reality, power and oil and gas list between 1 to 3%. While Bank Nifty was also weak falling around 1.5% during the week. Within the Nifty Index, Cipla (+3.1%), Eicher Motors (+2.4%) and JSW Steel (+1.6%) gained the most, while Titan (-4.4%), Hindalco (-4.3%) and Asian Paints (-4.3%) lost the most. Going forward, D-street will focus on the macro trends, inflation and global situation including geo-political concerns", continued Chouhan.

Stock market closing: Sensex inches 800 points up to close at 79,705.91, auto, IT, PSU bank indices rally

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 green, with Sensex also crossing the 80,000 mark for the first time. While Nifty closed at 24,286.50 points, up by 0.67%, Sensex closed at 79,986.80 points, having inched up by 0.69%. As for broad market indices, all of them, except India VIX closed the day in green. While VIX ended the day 3.18% down, Nifty next 50 gained 1.08%, and Nifty small cap 100 added 1.03%. As for sectoral indices, <keyword id="722345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nifty-Bank" source="Orion">Nifty Bank</keyword> was up by 1.77%, and financial services was up by 1.80%. PSUs jumped up 1.06%, while private banks inched up by 2.02%. <keyword id="6354777" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Media" source="Orion">Media</keyword> was down by 0.39%, and metal jumped by 1.06 to end the day in green. During the day, Tata Consumers (up by 3.55%) and <keyword id="895682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Ports" source="Orion">Adani Ports</keyword> (up by 2.39%) took the lead, but it was private banks who led the top gainers rally during the day, with <keyword id="19991962" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kotak" source="keywords">Kotak</keyword> bank up by 2.23%, <keyword id="19896378" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC" source="keywords">HDFC</keyword> bank up by 2.14% and Axis bank rising up 1.82%. On the other hand, TCS lost 1.23%, Titan lost 1.11%, Reliance shed 0.68%, Tata Motors lost 0.41% and Hindalco lost 0.40%, making them amongst the top losers of the day. Out of the 2,797 stocks traded during the day, 1,745 saw advances, while 970 saw declines. 215 stocks hit their 52-week high price, while 16 stocks hit their 52-week low. Around 201 stocks hit the upper circuit during the day's trade, while 44 hit the lower circuit. Geojit financial service's share rallied 4.02% to end day at Rs 100.37, after it registered a sharp fall yesterday, following SEBIs orders on uniform charging, and not taking trading volume into play. The firm reported that during FY 23-24, approximately Rs.40 lakhs, which was the difference between the amount recovered from clients and the charges paid to Exchange, had been recorded as income for the year. However, this amount constitutes 0.067% of the total income and 0.22% of profit before tax for FY 23-24. <h2>Experts advise caution as Sensex hits 80,000</h2>According to Mr. Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares, "Indian bourses commenced the session on a strong note at a fresh high of 24,290 but due to lack of follow-through, the Index oscillated in a well-maintained range to end the session at 24,286.50 with gains of 162.65 points. Barring media, all other sectors ended the day in green with Bank Nifty being the top performer followed by metal and PSU Banks. Broader markets outperformed the frontline index as mid and smallcap gained by 0.79% &amp; 1.03% respectively". Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities noted that today, the benchmark indices registered a fresh all time high of 24,309/80,074. The Nifty ends 162 points higher while the Sensex was up by 545 points. Almost all the major sectoral indices were traded in to the positive territory but private bank index outperformed rallied over 2 percent. Technically, after a gap up opening market comfortably trading above 24,200/79,600 resistance level which is largely positive. "In addition, on intraday charts it is holding higher high and higher low formation, which supports further uptrend from the current levels. We are of the view that, as long as the index is trading above 24200/79600 the bullish structure is likely to continue". Arvinder Singh Nanda, Senior Vice President of Master Capital Services noted that BSE Sensex today touched the 80,000 mark for the first time, setting a new all-time high. "This milestone comes after the index added the last 10,000 points in under seven months, having first hit 70,000 on December 11, 2023". But while the long-term outlook remains positive, he advised caution at current levels.

Stock market closing: Sensex crosses 80k, Kotak, HDFC and ICICI bank lead the rally

Imagine this. You have a younger sibling you’re mighty envious of. And why not? Unlike you, they seem to enjoy all the freedom and money in the world. They party like there’s no tomorrow, and here you are, stuck in a boring, ultra-disciplined but responsible routine that feels completely devoid of any independence, and mostly, funds. But of late, things are changing. This sibling is in massive trouble and just cannot escape the parent’s wrath anymore. Long story short, the party is over, and it is time to go back home. The rising defaults on this sibling’s part have now begun pulling the entire house down, thereby attracting the regulator’s ire. <h2>The Wild West of microfinance and unsecured loans</h2>It's hard to ignore the issues with microfinance and unsecured loans in India. Many saw them as a small gamble and ignored the rising defaults much like the younger siblings’ tantrums, and now they find themselves in hot waters. The skyrocketing instances of non-payments aren't a micro-issue anymore and are threatening the stability of the entire banking system. In the quarter ended September 30, 2024, 5 of India’s 8 largest private sector <keyword id="19934118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="banks" source="keywords">banks</keyword> reported a steep rise in their bad loan book, mostly thanks to microfinance loans. Some banks, in a bid to strengthen their fortress against these <keyword id="142154" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bad-loans" source="Orion">bad loans</keyword>, have significantly upped their provisions. For instance, <keyword id="46717" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IndusInd-bank" source="Orion">IndusInd Bank</keyword> set aside Rs 525 crore during July and September 2024 to battle the menace of defaults on microfinance loans, which make up about 9% of its total loan book. See, banks rely heavily on their interest income, which they earn from advancing loans. Any loan where the borrower has not paid interest to the bank or defaulted for 90 days or more becomes bad, i.e., an <keyword id="79363" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="npa" source="Orion">NPA</keyword>, or non-performing asset for the bank. And who likes things going bad? Simply put, there has been a steep rise in three areas, much to the dislike of banks and MFIs (micro-finance institutions). But hey, it's mostly their doing! <ol><li>GNPA ratio (gross net performing assets): The quantum of non-performing assets a bank has in proportion to its total assets.</li><li>Provision: The amount banks set aside to take care of such NPAs.</li><li>Slippage ratio: The rate at which good girls go bad, or the speed at which good loans turn into NPAs</li></ol>But how are these plaguing the Indian banking sector? And what does the road ahead look like? We decode it for you. <h2> Microfinance: A not-so-micro-menace</h2>Microfinance loans were initially brought forth for low-income households and individuals, i.e. for those who might not generally have access to traditional ways of credit, like bank loans and more. They don’t require collateral or an asset to be pledged in lieu of the loan, making it a tad bit easier for borrowers. As of June 2024, the amount of outstanding loans in the microfinance industry stood at a staggering Rs 4,20,256 crore. Of this, NBFC-MFIs accounted for 40% and banks made for 33% of these. In 2022, <keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI" source="Orion">RBI</keyword>, in a bid to inspire some competition in this space, did something radical-they did away with the ceiling on how much interest MFIs could charge their customers. Previously, MFIs could add up to 12% to their cost of acquiring funds to determine the final interest rate chargeable to the consumer. So, assuming that Bank A incurs a 5% cost to acquire funds for further loaning, A could charge up to 17% interest from the end consumer. So, interest rates were in the hands of MFIs, and boy, did they have a gala time with it. Instead of spurring some healthy competition, as RBI expected, MFIs and banks went rogue and all guns blazing, competing for the title of “Who will charge the highest interest?” Recently, RBI banned 4 microfinance institutions (MFIs), namely Asirvad Micro Finance Limited, Arohan Financial Services Limited, DMI Finance Private Limited, and Navi Finserv, from disbursing loans effective October 21, 2024. Why? Because they were charging 14% extra interest over their original cost of funds. To maintain their loan books (and pockets), banks and NBFCs resorted to shady practices like netting off loans, which RBI has now advised MFIs against. Here, lenders allow borrowers to settle a previous outstanding loan by issuing them a new loan! As crazy as it sounds, it helped banks to report less of their total assets as NPAs, since the new credit would cover pending installments of the borrower’s previous loan. Then there was the issue of borrowers overleveraging, i.e. taking multiple loans using different IDs from various lenders and then failing to honor any of them. The consequence? Banks and NBFCs end up with massive NPAs. Data from credit bureaus suggests that over the last quarter, there was a 17.2% rise in the number of borrowers who had 5 or more active loans at the same time. <h2>Growth &gt; Caution</h2>It's an age-old tale unfolding yet again in India’s banking sector- Icarus flew too close to the sun and eventually, fell to its death. Between April and June 2024, NBFCs microfinance portfolio jumped by 2.7%. If you see this in terms of loan sources, microfinance loans issued by banks grew by 11.2% in Q1FY25. But the same portfolio in NBFCs swelled by almost double-23.9%. While most of these loans had an average ticket size between Rs 30,000-50,000, there was a sharp spike in the number of loans that had a ticket size of Rs 80,000 or more. Data suggests that as of March 2024, more than 12% of all microfinance borrowers had over 4 or more active loans. In dating parlance, this is a classic case of borrowers going polyamorous, minus the honesty and transparency. Not the best of situations, you'd agree! <h2>Will banks and NBFCs stand up to this stress?</h2>If their results for Q2FY25 are to be believed, NBFCs are not handling the pressure all that well. Or even slightly well. Only a few banks like Bank of Baroda (BoB), ICICI, and Indian Bank were up for the battle, even witnessing a decline in their loan delinquencies. Some others, like IndusInd Bank, saw their stock dip by a massive 16.2% over the last 5 days. Its slippages in the previous quarter burgeoned from Rs 15.3 billion in Q1FY25 to Rs 17.9 billion in Q2. As a result, the bank pushed a staggeringly high amount of money to create an NPA cushion for itself. While its management has highlighted its preference for secured lending, that was hardly reflected in its actions during the quarter, where growth in unsecured personal loans remained exceptionally high at over 7% on a QoQ basis. Turns out, only 44% of customers in IndusInd Banks’ microfinance loan portfolio were exclusive to it. The rest 47% were, you guessed it right-polyamorous! 27% had borrowed from another lender as well, apart from IndusInd Bank, while 20% were those who had outstanding loans with two other lenders, apart from IndusInd Bank. IndusInd Bank’s credit card segment did not miss the NPA bus and accounted for 7-8% of its GNPAs. Canara Bank’s total slippages during the previous quarter jumped to Rs 11.1 billion, up by 24.7% QoQ, and making up for 3.6% of its total loans. As for Bandhan Bank, its <keyword id="763994" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gross-NPA" source="Orion">gross NPA</keyword> for Q2FY25 inched up on a QoQ basis, up from 4.23% in Q1, to 4.68% in the second quarter. <keyword id="62152" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IDFC-bank" source="Orion">IDFC Bank</keyword>’s heavy provisioning for its NPAs marred its profits significantly, causing its PAT (profit after tax) to dip by 73% on a YoY basis. Data from ICRA Analytics suggest that the AUM (asset under management) growth in microfinance loans and unsecured (personal and business) loans by the NBFCs will moderate to 10-12% and 19-21%, respectively, in FY2025 compared to 30% and 38%, in FY2024. Says A M Karthik, Senior Vice President &amp; Co-Group Head, Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA, “As bank funds constitute a larger share in the overall funding of NBFCs, a slower credit flow from banks to the NBFCs will compress their AUM growth. The NBFCs in unsecured and digital lending businesses shall face a higher squeeze in funding compared to others, and the unsecured lending space will continue to be a source of stress in the near term.” There has been uninhibited growth in unsecured loans, apart from just the microfinance segment. For instance, Axis Bank’s gross slippages jumped by Rs 4,443 crore, largely thanks to its unsecured business. The same is the case with Yes Bank, which saw 35–40% of its retail slippages emerging from the unsecured loan portfolio. Kotak Mahindra Bank was also quick to follow Yes Bank’s suit, with around 35%-40% of its slippages coming from credit cards. <h2>How is the road ahead?</h2>While RBI has just cracked its whip and served a warning at the moment, experts at Morgan Stanley believe that more changes (read regulatory lashes) are underway. Moreover, with both festive and wedding seasons underway in our country, unsecured lending might pick up momentum, much to the disdain of the calibrated approach banks have been taking towards it so far. But if the situation doesn't improve, RBI will not waste any time in becoming the typical tyrannical Bollywood headmaster who runs his dominion with an iron fist and takes things (and ceiling rates) into their own hands. However, that's a story for another day.

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Simply Put: Is the lending party over? The dangerous tango of Indian banks with microfinance and unsecured loans

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