Banking Awareness of 7, 8 and 9 January 2023

Topic: Miscellaneous

1. G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) meeting is being held in Kolkata from 9-11 January.

• This is the first GPFI meeting under India’s G20 presidency.
• The meeting is likely to focus on the principles of digital financial inclusion, availability of finance for SME sector and remittance costs.
• GPFI member countries, guest countries and international organisations invited by India will take part in the meeting.
• The meeting will feature a domestic outreach programme on digital financial literacy.
• The programme will involve over 1,800 students from various schools.
• The meeting will start with a symposium on “Unlocking the potentials of Digital Public Infrastructure for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains”.
• G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI):
  • It is a platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries and relevant stakeholders to carry forward work on financial inclusion.
  • It was officially launched on 10 December 2010 in Seoul.

Topic: RBI

2. RBI has released plan to raise ₹16,000 crore via Sovereign Green Bonds.

• Government has decided to start the issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) on 25 January.
• First, bonds of 5 and 10 years tenor will be issued for ₹4,000 crore each.
• This will be followed by another batch of SGrB issuance on 9 February.
• In the second batch, bonds of 5 and 10 years tenor will be issued for ₹4,000 crore each.
• Overall, the government will raise ₹16,000 crore via Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs).
• RBI said Sovereign Green Bonds will be issued through uniform price auction.
• RBI said 5% of the notified amount of the Sovereign Green Bonds sale will be reserved for retail investors. 
• These bonds will be designated as specified securities under the ‘Fully Accessible Route’ for investment in Government Securities by non-residents.
• In the Union Budget for 2022-23, the Government had announced that it will issue Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs).
• Government had announced it will issue SGrBs as part of its overall market borrowings for mobilising resources for green infrastructure.
• Green bonds are financial instruments. They generate proceeds for investment in environmentally sustainable and climate-suitable projects.
• Allocation and utilisation of Green Bonds is also under the purview of audit by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

Topic: Appointments

3. Surinder Chawla has been appointed as MD & CEO of Paytm Payments Bank.

• He was earlier Head of Branch Banking at RBL Bank. He replaces Satish Kumar Gupta. Gupta retired in October 2022.
• Since then Deependra Singh Rathore has been serving as the interim CEO of Paytm Payments Bank.
• One 97 Communications said his appointment as MD& CEO has been approved by RBI.
• Paytm Payments Bank is an associate company of One 97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

4. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company has partnered with Clootrack.

• Clootrack’s AI-driven comprehensive intelligent customer experience analytics platform will help Kotak Mahindra General Insurance understand why customer experience drops.
• The partnership will help Kotak Mahindra General Insurance understand gaps in the market to improve its customer experience.
• This will empower Kotak Mahindra General Insurance with insights into its non-life insurance products through customer feedback.
• Clootrack is a Kochi-based start-up for customer experience analytics.
• Kotak Mahindra General Insurance is a Mumbai-headquartered general insurance company. 

Topic: Banking System

5. ‘Jahaan Bandhan, Wahaan Trust’ campaign has been launched by Bandhan Bank.

• The campaign features cricketer Sourav Ganguly as its brand ambassador.
• This is the first time that Bandhan Bank has appointed a pan-India brand ambassador.
• Leo Burnett Orchard conceptualized the campaign. Leo Burnett Orchard was brought in as the bank’s creative agency in August 2022.
• In the last seven years, Bandhan Bank has established its presence in 34 states and union territories.
• Bandhan Bank:
  • It is a Kolkata based Indian banking and financial services company.
  • Dr. Anup Kumar Sinha is its current chairman. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is its MD and CEO. It started operations on August 23, 2015.

Topic: Banking System

6. Axis Bank has entered into partnership with OPEN to launch a fully digital current account for businesses.

• This is Axis Bank’s first-ever partnership with a fintech player to launch a fully digital current account.
• Authentication process will be completely digital using PAN and Aadhaar followed by a Video KYC.
• So, the digital current account will help customers save time and effort.
• Customers can get banking services from Axis Bank, along with OPEN’s financial automation features.
• Customers can get 250+ banking services. They can claim up to 50% cashback through grab-deals. 
• Axis Bank is India’s third largest private sector bank. It is headquartered in Mumbai. Its MD & CEO is Amitabh Chaudhary.
• Open Financial Technologies Pvt Ltd:
  • It is a digital banking fintech enterprise. It was set up in 2017. 
  • It runs SME neo-banking platform Open Money. It also runs embedded finance platform- Zwitch and enterprise digital banking platform for banks- BankingStack.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

7. SEBI has issued a debt broker license to GoldenPi Technologies.

• GoldenPi Technologies has become the first online bond platform provider to receive a debt brokerage license from SEBI.
• SEBI has brought in regulations for online debt trading platforms.
• As per the regulations, no company or individual shall act as an online bond platform provider without the certificate of registration as a stock broker under the SEBI Regulations, 2021.
• GoldenPi Technologies is a Bengaluru-based fintech firm. Abhijit Roy is its CEO and co-founder. It was incorporated in 2017.

Topic: Banking System

8. RBI has given approval to SBI Funds Management’s proposal to acquire 9.99% equity shares in Equitas SFB.

• RBI has allowed SBI Funds Management Limited (SBIFML) to acquire up to 9.99 percent of the paid-up equity capital of the Bank through the schemes of SBI Mutual Fund (SBIMF).
• However, the approval by RBI is subject to various regulations of SEBI and RBI. 
• The approval by RBI is valid for one year till January 2, 2024.
• DSP Mutual Fund and Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund have also received RBI's approval to buy 9.99% stake each in the bank.
• Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) was founded in 2016. It is headquartered in Chennai.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

9. Government said it estimates Indian economy to grow by 7% in FY23.

• Government’s estimate is higher than estimates by agencies like IMF and RBI. However, it is lower than the 8.7% growth in FY22.
• National Statistical Office has released data for first advance estimate for FY23.
• The second advance estimate will be announced on February 28.
• While agriculture and services showed better performance, industry, led by manufacturing, has disappointed.
• The nominal GDP growth rate (taking inflation into consideration) has been estimated at 15.4%. This is against 11.1% projected in the Budget.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had reduced India’s growth projection for FY23 to 6.8% from 7.4% projected in July 2022.
• The World Bank has raised India's GDP projection for FY23 to 6.9% from its earlier estimate of 6.5%.
• The Asian Development Bank has kept India’s growth prediction unchanged at 7% for 2022-23.

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