Correct Answer : Option (B) - Union Bank of India

To facilitate transactions between India and Malaysia in the Indian rupee, Union Bank of India (UBI) announced on Saturday (1st April 2023) the opening of its ‘Special Rupee Vostro’ account in Malaysia.

UBI’s announcement came on a day the ministry of external affairs said the two countries can now settle trade in the rupee as well, in addition to the current modes of settlement in other currencies, including the Malaysian Ringgit.

UBI has become the first Indian bank to operationalise a Vostro account in the fellow Asian nation. The account has been operationalised through the India International Bank of Malaysia (IIBM), UBI’s corresponding bank in that country.

Here is all you need to know about a ‘Special Rupee Vostro’ bank account :

(1) In July 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to allow the settlement of India’s international trade in rupee. Accordingly, authorised Indian banks must open and maintain Special Rupee Vostro accounts of the partner trading country’s banks.

(2) These accounts keep the foreign bank’s holdings in the Indian counterpart, in rupees. When an Indian trader wants to make a payment to a foreign trader in rupees, the amount will be credited to this Vostro account.

(3). Similarly, in the reverse scenario, the amount to be paid to an Indian trader is deducted from the Vostro account, and credited to the person’s regular account.

(4. According to PTI, as on March 15, Indian banks, including HDFC Bank and UCO Bank, had opened as many as 30 such accounts in 18 countries. The partner international banks include Sberbank and VTB, the largest and second-largest, respectively, in Russia.

(5) The total trade between India and Malaysia reached $19.4 billion in FY 2021-22, as per Union Bank. Also, at present, 1 Malaysian Ringgit is equivalent to approx. ₹19 in India..

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer : Option (D) - India Post Payments Bank

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), in collaboration with Airtel, announced the launch of WhatsApp Banking Services for IPPB customers in New Delhi 31st March 2023, enabling them to access banking services on their mobile phone.

* The newly launched IPPB WhatsApp Banking channel will enable IPPB customers to seamlessly connect with the bank on WhatsApp and effortlessly avail a host of banking services, including doorstep service request, locating nearest Post Office and much more.

* In line with the ambition of the Government to bring digital and financial inclusion to citizens in their language, the Airtel – IPPB WhatsApp Banking solution is also working on to build multi-language support, enabling added convenience to customers, especially to those in the rural parts of the country to access banking services in their preferred language.

* Airtel has been working with IPPB to deliver as many as 250 million messages per month to the bank’s customers many of whom are located in mofussil towns and tier 2,3 cities.

* The addition of the WhatsApp messaging will add to customer’s accessibility to connect with the bank on their fingertips, furthering Digital India mission of the Government, as part of which IPPB has been working tirelessly to deliver banking services in the rural pockets of the country.

Shri Gursharan Rai Bansal, CGM & CSMO – India Post Payments Bank said, “We are delighted to work with Bharti Airtel as our partner in driving digital and financial inclusion in India. We believe that financial services driven by technology have great potential and can go a long way in ensuring that the best financial products reach the farthest corners of the country.”

Shri Abhishek Biswal, Business Head - Airtel IQ said, “Airtel IQ is a robust, intuitive and secure cloud communication suite. With the addition of WhatsApp messaging to the existing SMS and voice communication that we offer to India Post Payments Bank customers, we will further enable a two-way communication between the bank and their customers.  We are delighted to continue our association with IPPB to contribute significantly in making banking services more accessible to tier2,3 cities in the country. We promise to continue delivering customer centric solutions that offer greater convenience to customers.”

The IPPB and Airtel IQ are working towards further integrating a LIVE interactive customer support agent into the WhatsApp solution which will enable customers to access 24X7 support and get quick resolutions for their queries..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Fino Payments Bank

Fino Payments Bank on Thursday (13th March 2023) said it has renewed its association with Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Season 16 of India’s biggest premier cricket competition. Fino Bank will be RR’s official digital banking partner.

* The bank made its maiden foray with the mega sporting event last season by partnering with RR as the digital payments partner.

* The 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on Friday, March 31, at 7:30 pm. There are 10 teams that will lock horns with each other and vie for the trophy.

* “The new season’s engagement is expected to be a notch higher as the bank aims to connect with RR’s large fan base across social media platforms to increase its digital footprint. Importantly, the newly launched FinoPay digital savings account is expected to get more traction through this engagement," Fino Payments Bank said in a statement.

* As the digital banking partner, along with the core messages of convenience, accessibility, proximity and trust, the bank would look to drive brand visibility and increase FinoPay app downloads. The app helps open digital savings account, an everyday banking account for routing small, daily spends, according to the statement...

Source : News18

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Axis Bank

* Private sector lender Axis Bank and Shriram Housing Finance Limited (SHFL) on Thursday (30th March 2023) announced partnership under the co-lending model through the Yubi Co.Lend platform.

* Through this partnership, both the lenders will offer secured MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) loans and home loans to the middle and low-income segment borrowers based in rural and semi-urban regions.

* The partnership will leverage the financial expertise of Axis Bank, and loan processing technology of SHFL to assess the credit profile of borrowers and provide them loans at competitive interest rates.

* This partnership will cater to potential customers who are either new to credit or untapped by larger institutions and build a secured loan book, it said, adding, the collaboration will leverage the tech platform, Yubi to process loans seamlessly as per the co-lending guidelines..

Source : Money Control

Correct Answer : Option (A) - YES Bank

YES Bank has issued its first electronic-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) in partnership with National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).

* The API integration with the Digital Document Execution (DDE) platform of NeSL has enabled complete digitisation of the existing paper-based process for issuance and maintenance of Bank Guarantee (BG).

* This includes digital stamping and signing, which significantly reduces the issuance turnaround time (TAT).

* The NeSL portal will manage the entire lifecycle of the bank guarantee including issuance, amendment, invocation and cancellation, enabling trade finance stakeholders to access the documents from this secure repository, it said in a release.

* Given our market leadership in the digital payments space, YES Bank aims to be the leader in the trade finance digitisation domain as well,” Ajay Rajan, Country Head – Digital and Transaction Banking Group at YES Bank, said.

* The integration with NeSL is in line with the bank’s other collaborations with public digital utilities like Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Account Aggregator (AA), and Government e-Marketplaces (GEM), to accelerate digitisation and enable ease of doing business for MSME and corporate customers.

* An e-BG issued through NeSL’s 24X7 platform becomes instantly available and the beneficiary can access it on completion of a simple and one-time registration process...

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Axis Bank

Private sector lender Axis Bank on Thursday (23rd March 2023) launched 'MicroPay', first pocket-sized swipe machine of India, based on 'Pin on Mobile' technology for accepting digital payments.

* The bank launched 'MicroPay' along with Ezetap by Razorpay and MyPinpad as the technical solution partners.

* Micropay is a "Pin on mobile" solution that enables a merchant's smartphone to act as a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal, providing a unique customer experience and simplifying digital payments.

* This solution has the potential to revolutionise digital payments in India, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities where retail and grocery stores often have limited working capital and need cost-effective payment options.

* The launch of Micropay by Axis Bank is expected to have a significant impact on small businesses, making digital payments more accessible and cheaper.

'Micropay' and 'PIN on Mobile' technology :

* The new Pin on mobile technology offers merchants an affordable way to accept payments through cards, UPI and BAR codes while maintaining high security standards.

* Pin on mobile technology is a small, low-cost card reader that connects via Bluetooth to a merchant's smartphone.

* Customers can enter their Pin directly on the merchant's device, in compliance with PCI standards for software-based Pin entry on COTS phones, ensuring the security of the Pin...

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer : Option (B) - First Citizens Bank

All of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank's deposits and loans have been purchased by First–Citizens Bank. This step has brought a lot of relief to the customers and investors of Silicon Valley Bank.

* In its statement on Monday (27th March 2023), First Citizens said, it has entered into an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to purchase out of FDIC receivership substantially all loans and certain other assets and assume all customer deposits and certain other liabilities of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, National Association.

* Notably, on March 10, Silicon Valley Bank, one of the most prominent lenders to the start-up ecosystem got closed.

* First-Citizens Bank has acquired more than 35 banks since 1971.

* Under the agreement, First Citizens will assume SVB's assets worth $110 billion, deposits of $56 billion, and loans of $72 billion. This is based on the latest information provided by FDIC.

* Silicon Valley Bank, the second largest bank failure on American soil since the 2008 great financial crisis. FDIC was appointed as the receiver for SVB after the California department shut down the lender in mid-March.

* Also, as part of the deal, First Citizens Bank will additionally receive an available line of credit from the FDIC for contingent liquidity purposes.

* Further, First Citizens signed a loss share agreement with the FDIC to provide further downside protection against potential credit losses.

* FDIC's latest data shows that SVB had more deposits than what First Citizens has acquired.

* The US-government-backed insurer, FDIC, in its statement revealed that as of March 10, 2023, SVB, National Association, had approximately $167 billion in total assets and about $119 billion in total deposits.

Source : Mint

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Asian Development Bank

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan up to Rs 754 crore to SAEL Industries Ltd for setting up of biomass power plants in Rajasthan.

* The lender and SAEL have entered into a loan agreement, according to a release on Friday (24th March 2023).

* SAEL is a solar and agricultural waste-to-energy company. It has developed a business model where crop residues are used as fuel in waste-to-energy projects.

* The company aims to grow its portfolio to 3.5 GW over the next four years by adding 100 MW of new biomass and 600 MW of new solar capacity annually..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Karur Vysya Bank

Karur Vysya Bank executed an agreement as an additional bancassurance partner in the life insurance category with SBI Life on Thursday (23rd March 2023).

* Bancassurance is an arrangement between a bank and an insurance firm through which the insurer sell its products to the bank's customers.

* Recently, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and global insurance firm AXA, entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity Bank) in order to sell its life insurance products through the lender's 111 branches of the network.

* This month, SBI Life Insurance declared an interim dividend of ₹2.5 per share for its investors for the financial year 2022-23.

* A dividend is a reward that companies often provide to their shareholders, though not mandatory, from a portion of their earnings.

* The declared interim dividend will be paid on or before April 6, 2023, to eligible shareholders.

* The record date is March 16, 2023. The record date is set to ascertain shareholders' eligibility for payment of the dividend..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Axis Bank

Axis Bank has entered into a co-lending pact with Autotrac Finance (AFL) through YubiCo.Lend platform, to offer new tractor loans for agricultural and allied activities in rural segments of the country.

The partnership will leverage the wide customer experience of Autotrac Finance and deep financial expertise of Axis Bank to enable easy credit availability for farmers at an optimal interest rates, the lenders said in a joint release, while adding that they would be able to reach out to potential customers who are unable to access the formal lending structure.

With this collaboration, we will increase our presence in the New Tractor business and improve access to formal credit to the farming community.

Our digital co-lending platform allows the partnership to scale-up fast at a lower operating cost, offering a superior customer experience, Munish Sharda, Group Executive and Head - Bharat Banking, Axis Bank said.

Autotrac Finance has an advantage of ready access to a robust customer base and dealers across rural and semi-urban regions in 18 States and it will further continue to maximize its network to ensure that farmers embrace advanced farming technologies backed by tech platform Yubi..

Source : The Hindu Businessline