Cover Story
- The banking industry is trying to leave asset quality and governance issues behind. The 23rd edition of the BT-KPMG Best Banks study zeroes in on those who thrived in spite of these challenges.
Bequeath Your Assets Without Hassles
Unlike a Will, a Private Trust works during one's lifetime and can be easily structured to meet specific requirements.
Dry Spell Debt
Close to 40 per cent of gross credit exposure of Indian banks is in sectors where water risks are significant, said the WWF-India report Hidden Risks and Untapped Opportunities. Vodafone CEO Nick Read, however, has broke silence at the annual Mobile World Congress event at Barcelona. Post-modification, banks can assign risk weights to their rated NBFC exposures, depending on ratings assigned by credit rating agencies. The Adani Group's highest bids for all six airports have raised eyebrows. Not only does it call for the housing of data centres and server farms locally, but it also seeks government access to source code and algorithms of artificial intelligence systems. Tata Power approached the CERC, asking it to direct procurers to amend the PPAs. Developers are not likely to let go of any opportunity to escalate prices and are already considering a 3-4% rate increase. Although the industry lobby outlined all evolving trends in the digital space, it fell short of defining what constituted 'digital' for the sector. The government's war against Ponzi Schemes is going to take a toll on businesses, especially small traders like partnerships, and individual firms. The government has increased the minimum selling price of the commodity by Rs 2 per kg to Rs 31 per kg. The CSO has also reduced its growth estimates for the year to 7.0 per cent, from the 7.2 per cent estimated earlier. Moderating user-generated content on social media has proven to be a tough task for companies.Multimode Ticketing For Hassle-Free Travel
The Bengaluru-based company offers ticket discovery and booking engine to help people stick to their travel plans. Pakistan's $277 billion economy is less than one-tenth of India's. It is the Reserve Bank of India that makes guidelines for classifying NPAs, and banks are supposed to follow those orders. Steelmakers had been de-leveraging their balance sheets in the last 3-4 years to stay fit to cash in on the next uptick of the steel cycle. The new RBI governor seems to be accommodative but the real test will come later. The market share of NBFCs and housing finance companies in the total credit has gone up from 13% to 17-18% in the last 5 fiscal years ago.
Top-grade Convertible
With everyone moving towards a bezel-less, infinity display, the thick bezels at the top and the bottom of the Spectre Folio is a serious loss of screen estate. This new species of AI-powered voice assistants could build deep emotional connectivity between humans and machines. After a decade and a half, the former SEBI head has penned an interesting account of how the capital market regulator evolved during tumultuous times. From fine wines and gourmet food to stylish earbuds, luxe watch and exotic skincare items, take a look at this coveted collection. With the 'Rebrain or Rot' theme, the sixth edition of BT Mindrush brainstormed how organisations need to change to thrive in the future. A new algorithm can mass-produce fake news in the most convincing manner, compelling researchers to hold back the breakthrough. Today's toxic environment and poor lifestyle choices require close monitoring of cardiac health.
In Big League
Kotak mahindra Bank is gradually scaling up its universal banking model to play a bigger role in the financial services market. Banking transformation has to follow a holistic approach, rather than a fragmented use-case based approach. Business Today-KPMG kicked off the annual exercise to select the country's best banks and fintech players some six months ago. Bank of Baroda is using the partnership model to stay ahead of competition in digital banking. CreditMantri is contributing towards creating a healthy credit culture in the financial system. Eight-year-old Ezetap is building a digital payments ecosystem through low-cost innovative solutions. The largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, is looking to grow in semi-urban and rural markets. JP Morgan is aggressively using technology and expanding its corporate client base in India. Ahmedabad-based LendingKart doesnt have a branch, and uses an underwriting model based on machine learning algorithm to lend to MSMEs. The fourth largest bank by assets in the country has been aggressive in providing banking services in the hinterland. RBL Bank is following a partnership model to scale up in smaller geographies. How SBI is keeping itself ahead of the curve in digital banking. HDFC was ranked the Best Bank overall.
'Some Data Errors Occur Because Of Note Ban, GST Shocks'
Krishnamurthy Subramanian, the new Chief Economic Advisor to the government, has assumed office just when the economy is facing multiple challenges. He talks to Business Today's Rajeev Dubey, Joe C Mathew and Dipak Mondal about the state of the economy. Jet Airways' lenders have worked out a survival plan. Will it work? Anil Ambani's Reliance Group is going through one of its toughest times. Can it survive the debt bomb?
Leaderspeak
Under his leadership, the world's second-largest distiller saw its India revenues jump by 23% in 2018 while profits grew by 28%.
Changing Landscape
The Reserve Bank of India last year showed its displeasure with the professional and personal actions of several marquee CEOs, leading to changes in leadership in three private banks.
Money Matters
Managing your money can be tricky. Send your queries, and personal finance experts will help you resolve any issue.
Generating Alpha Depends On Right Sectors, Right Stocks
Elections and market upheaval are almost always intertwined. Therefore, the outcome of the upcoming polls could impact markets but only for the short term, as it will not affect India's long-term structural reforms or growth agenda, A. Balasubramanian, CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, says in a conversation with Money Today's Renu Yadav. Edited excerpts:
