Latest news with #BinodKumar
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Indian Bank launches new savings accounts for NRIs with global access
Indian Bank, on Saturday, rolled out new Savings Account variants specifically tailored for Non-Resident Indian (NRI), the bank said in a press release. The Bank's new offerings aimed at a seamless combination of traditional trust and modern conveniences, reinforcing its position as a trusted banking partner for NRIs around the globe. Shri Binod Kumar, managing director and CEO, said, 'At Indian Bank, we are committed to providing our NRI customers with top-notch digital banking solutions that prioritise convenience, security, and value. Our latest offerings aim to enhance the relationship between the bank and our global Indian community, ensuring they feel connected to their roots while accessing smooth banking services.' The new product is designed specifically for the changing financial lifestyles and requirements of NRIs. 'These products are packaged with top-tier debit cards—IND D'Elite, IND Premium, and IND Plus—that offer a variety of exceptional advantages, including: Airport Lounge Access (Domestic & International), Personal Accident Cover and Exclusive Loyalty Offers,' the press release said.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Mixed bag, say protesting teachers after edu dept meet
1 2 Kolkata: The SSC teachers' protest saw its first signs of resolution on Monday as the principal secretary of the education department, Binod Kumar, met six representatives of the state school teachers, who had lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order in April. This meeting took place following an assurance from the state higher education minister, Bratya Basu, on Sunday. The teachers also pointed out that they would not shift to the new location near Central Park as the weather condition was not good. At the end of the two-hour meeting, which started around 1.30 pm, the six-member team expressed their satisfaction with the draft of the review petition that they were offered to examine during the discussion. But senior state officials made it clear that they were not aware when it would be heard. The teachers' representatives told reporters their demands were partially fulfilled as they were satisfied with the review petition draft but were disappointed that they were denied a meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee and higher education minister Bratya Basu with whom they wanted to have a discussion for a way out. Brindaban Ghosh, one of the six-member team, said none of them was ready to sit for a fresh examination and that they had communicated their demand to the official. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo "We don't want any notification for a fresh exam. We want the review petition to be accepted by the Supreme Court. The officials said the state was fighting a legal battle for us, and we are waiting to see how they bring our jobs back," he said. Rakesh Alam, another teacher, said, "We did not get all our answers, so we sent a fresh mail to the education minister. We will not sit for an exam until the meeting is held with the education minister." Pointing out that they were victims of the situation, another teacher, Habibullah, said the direction of the movement was likely to change as by "taking it to Delhi". He claimed several of those who had lost their jobs had multiple family and health problems, which made it difficult for them to appear for a test again. "We had no connection with those involved with the corruption. We passed all the verifications to get this job but suddenly, we were told about the corruption. The panel was cancelled for a small number of candidates who took undue advantage," he said. "This verdict sets a vulnerable trend in the country, showing any job panel can be cancelled..."
The Hindu
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Optimistic about achieving 10-12% credit growth for FY26: Indian Bank MD Binod Kumar
Chennai-based Indian Bank is optimistic about achieving its credit growth target of 10-12% for the financial year 2026. 'Overall, at the industry level, there is a concern of a slowdown in credit growth,' Binod Kumar, Managing Director & CEO of Indian Bank said in an interview. 'Credit growth slowdown is on two or three counts. One is retail — where slowdown is primarily because of unsecured lending and credit cards, where we don't have much exposure,' 'We remain optimistic about achieving our 10-12% credit growth target for the financial year 2026, supported by an improving macro environment, expected policy rate cuts, and stronger retail and MSME credit demand,' he said. Our Retail and MSME book grew by 14% and 12% respectively last year, and we aim to sustain that momentum, Mr. Kumar said. He said Indian Bank is focusing on home loans, cluster-based MSME lending and supply chain financing which brought in ₹ 1,300 crore business last year. On the corporate side, we're focusing on champion sectors such as data centres, chemicals, engineering, electric vehicle, oil & gas, and renewable energy. With steady economic momentum and supportive regulations, we expect our growth to align well with industry trends, Mr. Kumar said. 'On the corporate side we are seeing demand for brownfield expansion and not much for greenfield expansion. Also big companies are meeting their funding needs from their internal accruals and in case of term loans the disbursement is only 20-30% when compared to the sanctioned amount. So firms have been conservative in taking loans from banks,' he said. Mr. Kumar said the bank will also focus on sectors like smart metering, city gas distribution. He said the two interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and also expectations of further cuts is likely to spur credit demand. 'Many postponed their projects due to higher interest rates. Also the rate cuts will increase the credit demand from retail, especially in segments like home loans,' he said. On the deposits front, Mr. Kumar pointed out that current account and savings account (CASA) deposits have been a concern for all banks, with growth being flat. 'The term deposits of up to ₹ 3 crore is growing 9-10%. The rate difference between savings and term deposits is over 4.5%. With the rate cuts that differential benefit won't be there,' he said. 'We sustained a CASA ratio above 40% in the last financial year. To strengthen our deposit base further, we're increasing our Resource Acquisition Centres (RACS) with an additional 25 RACs planned in this fiscal. We're also introducing innovative deposit products like green deposits, floating-rate FDs, and auto-sweep facilities to attract diverse customer segments. Going forward, we believe personalized engagement through digital adoption will be key to sustaining CASA and driving deposit growth in a competitive landscape,' Mr. Kumar said. Additionally, recent tax measures in the Union Budget are expected to support deposit mobilisation, he added. On the Supreme Court verdict directing liquidation of Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL) and terminating the earlier resolution plan of JSW Steel, Mr. Kumar said the bank is on a wait and watch mode and will take appropriate steps in co-ordination with Committee of Creditors to safeguard its interest and maximise recoveries. The bank had an exposure of ₹2,618.34 crore in BPSL as on December 31, 2020 and recovered ₹1,265.87 crore via resolution plan. He said RBI's liquidity measures have been helpful and the impact is visible on the bulk deposit side where there is a reduction in rate by 60-70 basis points.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Vigil over unsecured loans may weigh on credit growth: Binod Kumar, MD, Indian Bank
The global trade realignments following the tariff war as well as a cautious approach towards unsecured lending and difficulties in mobilising public deposits at home front are expected to temper the banking sector's growth momentum, Indian Bank managing director Binod Kumar told ET. In an exclusive interview with ET , Kumar, however, said that Indian Bank is targeting 12% credit growth and has laid down a strategy to achieve it. Edited excerpts : Several banks have lowered their loan growth projections for FY26. Credit ratings companies have also cautioned about slower credit expansion after two years of mid-teen growth. Why are these expectations subdued? A cautious approach towards unsecured lending, coupled with efforts to higher credit-deposit ratios amid sluggish deposit growth is moderating overall credit expansion. Additionally, household savings behaviour has shifted over the years, with rising inflation driving savers toward alternatives like capital markets, real estate and impact of proposed US tariffs on global trade is likely to hit India's real GDP growth. While the outlook for FY26 remains positive due to monetary easing and improved liquidity, these near-term challenges are expected to temper the banking sector's growth momentum. Has the retail credit market saturated? The Indian retail credit industry remains far from saturation due to several factors. The country continues to add many working-age citizens, particularly millennials and Gen Z, who have better incomes and changing spending habits. Increased global integration and upward social mobility have significantly influenced consumer behaviour, creating new demand for credit. Moreover, fintechs and NBFCs have successfully penetrated previously underserved customer segments, allowing individuals without credit history or collateral to access loans. The rise of digital lending platforms and improved credit evaluation processes have further lowered barriers to credit certain retail loan categories in FY25 have seen a moderation in growth rates, the market continues to evolve with new players and shifting consumer preferences, ensuring that the retail credit industry still has substantial room for expansion. Given these dynamics, we remain optimistic about sustaining our momentum and are targeting a 15% growth in retail credit this fiscal year. What is Indian Bank's overall growth guidance? We have projected an 8-12% deposit growth and 10-12% advances growth for FY26. Last year, we had given a projection of 8-12% deposits growth and 11-13% advances growth, while we grew deposits by 7.1% and advances by 10.1%. This year we expect to achieve the upper end of the growth target in advance. What makes you think you can achieve the target this time? Besides retail lending, we are focusing on corporate and MSME loans this year. In FY25, our corporate loan grew by merely 3% as we shed about ₹10,000 crore of low-yielding assets. This year, the target is to grow our corporate book by 10%. Last fiscal, the MSME book grew by 5-6%. This year we are targeting 15% are taking proactive steps to achieve this. Instead of waiting for customers to come to us, we are identifying good customers and reaching out to them. We are sending a team from the corporate office to large and MSME customers. What are your plans towards retail lending? We have set up Ind Bank Global Support Services last year to help us source retail clients and provide support services. The wholly-owned subsidiary will also offer call centre operations, back-end processing, and administrative services to the bank. At present, we are ramping it up-increasing its geographical presence while hiring is going on.I have also told my team to strengthen the credit card vertical and target HNI customers. The default in credit card business is mainly seen in the lower end of the customer segment. Our credit card portfolio is merely ₹500 crore. How are the bank's other subsidiaries and joint ventures doing? Is there any plan to monetise them? No, there is no plan to monetise them as they are creating good value for us, especially the JV Universal Sompo General Insurance. Meanwhile, the housing subsidiary is defunct, and we are in the process of closing it down.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Gold loans glitter in public sector banks
Chennai: State-owned banks recorded a significant rise in gold loans during FY25, thanks to the soaring prices of the yellow metal, which was among the key drivers for growth in the largest public lender State Bank of India (SBI) witnessed a 53% increase in personal gold loans YoY at Rs 50,011 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2025. While Indian Bank's retail jewel loan (non priority) grew by a whopping 81% in FY25 at Rs 9,706 crore from Rs 5,366 crore during the previous year (FY24), Bank of Baroda reported a 55.6% jump in its retail gold loans at Rs 7,076 crore in FY25 (Rs 4,546 in FY24).Gold price and Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio are the two important factors in arriving at the value of loan for gold jewels and ornaments. While the LTV ratio has been fixed at up to 75% of the collateral's worth, industry sources said, the average LTV ratio that customers avail is at 67% for gold loans. The rate of one gram of gold went up by more than 30% in 2024-25 from Rs 6,455 on April 1, 2024 to Rs 8,450 on March 31, 2025. Against this backdrop, customers benefitted from the spiralling gold prices as they got a better value for the yellow metal at the time of pledging."Yes, that also had an impact. For instance, customers get Rs 90,000 or Rs 95,000 for the same volume of gold for which they would have got only Rs 80,000 in the past. Gold loan has been one of the strong portfolios in India and we will grow in the segment at the rate of around say 20% in the current fiscal of FY26," Indian Bank MD & CEO Binod Kumar told public sector Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) reported its cumulative jewel loan rising by around 45% to Rs 69,188 crore in 2024-25 from Rs 47,732 crore in the corresponding year of 2023-24. Of this, more than 85% is agriculture loan, while rest fell under the retail category. IOB MD & CEO Ajay Kumar Srivastava said, the growth in jewel loans outstanding for the bank was the highest over the years. "Escalating prices was a vital reason. This segment is going to be one of the major products for us. Moreover, it is a very safe lending and risk is less because of almost nil non-performing asset (NPA) in this portfolio," he State-owned banks recorded a significant rise in gold loans during FY25, thanks to the soaring prices of the yellow metal, which was among the key drivers for growth in the largest public lender State Bank of India (SBI) witnessed a 53% increase in personal gold loans YoY at Rs 50,011 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2025. While Indian Bank's retail jewel loan (non priority) grew by a whopping 81% in FY25 at Rs 9,706 crore from Rs 5,366 crore during the previous year (FY24), Bank of Baroda reported a 55.6% jump in its retail gold loans at Rs 7,076 crore in FY25 (Rs 4,546 in FY24).Gold price and Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio are the two important factors in arriving at the value of loan for gold jewels and ornaments. While the LTV ratio has been fixed at up to 75% of the collateral's worth, industry sources said, the average LTV ratio that customers avail is at 67% for gold loans. The rate of one gram of gold went up by more than 30% in 2024-25 from Rs 6,455 on April 1, 2024 to Rs 8,450 on March 31, 2025. Against this backdrop, customers benefitted from the spiralling gold prices as they got a better value for the yellow metal at the time of pledging."Yes, that also had an impact. For instance, customers get Rs 90,000 or Rs 95,000 for the same volume of gold for which they would have got only Rs 80,000 in the past. Gold loan has been one of the strong portfolios in India and we will grow in the segment at the rate of around say 20% in the current fiscal of FY26," Indian Bank MD & CEO Binod Kumar told public sector Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) reported its cumulative jewel loan rising by around 45% to Rs 69,188 crore in 2024-25 from Rs 47,732 crore in the corresponding year of 2023-24. Of this, more than 85% is agriculture loan, while rest fell under the retail category. IOB MD & CEO Ajay Kumar Srivastava said, the growth in jewel loans outstanding for the bank was the highest over the years. "Escalating prices was a vital reason. This segment is going to be one of the major products for us. Moreover, it is a very safe lending and risk is less because of almost nil non-performing asset (NPA) in this portfolio," he added.
