Banking - General Knowledge Questions

Correct Answer :   Canara Bank

Canara Bank and NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) have announced Wednesday (12th April 2023) the launch of cross-border inward bill payment services for Indians based in Oman.

* NRIs can now leverage the robust platform offered by the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) to make bill payments on behalf of their families through the Musandam Exchange.

* This initiative signifies a milestone for Canara Bank as the first public sector bank in India to offer inbound cross-border bill payments through BBPS, it added. With the development, it said, Indians living in Oman will now be able to make quick, simple and secure payments of bills for services back home.

* Musandam Exchange, managed by Canara Bank, is also the first exchange house in Oman to go live on cross-border inbound bill payments, the statement said. The cross-border bill payment service is already live in Kuwait, facilitating inbound remittances across utilities like electricity, water, mobile phone, gas, credit card bills, and more.

Source : Outlook India

Correct Answer :   ICICI Bank

The ICICI Bank on Tuesday (11th April 2023) announced that it has introduced an EMI facility for UPI payments made by scanning a QR code.

* The private sector lender said that customers, who are eligible for the PayLater facility, can avail of the EMI facility using the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay later’ option.

* The bank in a press release stated, “This first-of-its-kind facility enhances affordability of lakhs of the Bank’s customers as they can now instantly buy products or services just by scanning the required merchant QR code at a store and making payments in EMIs.”

* The EMI facility for UPI payments can be availed across a host of categories such as electronics, groceries, fashion apparel, travel, and hotel bookings, the private bank said.

* Through this facility, ICICI Bank customers can pay transaction amounts above Rs 10,000 in easy installments in three, six, or nine months. The bank stated that the new facility will be extended shortly for online shopping as well..

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   Asian Development Bank

Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (10th April 2023) said it proposes to subscribe non-convertible debentures worth Rs 150 crore of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL).

* To enhance Delhi’s power distribution through grid enhancements. Besides, Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to provide $2 million grant to partially finance the purchase and integration of a pilot battery energy storage system (BESS), a statement by Manila-based funding institution said.

* The senior secured financing will be used to commission a new 66/11-kilovolt grid, augment and expand transformers, substations, feeder lines, and switching stations, install smart meters, and replace obsolete electrical equipment and meters, it said.

* The 10-megawatt-hour (MWh) BESS is South Asia’s first grid-scaled energy storage project at the distribution transformer level.

* It will enable electricity to be stored and delivered on demand, reducing grid instability, and providing the flexibility to integrate intermittent solar and wind energy resources, it said. The grant to finance the BESS is provided by Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Climate Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF) and administered by ADB, it added...

Source : Outlook India

Correct Answer :   SBI

The State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to launch new variants of current account (with balances of ₹50,000 and ₹50 lakh) and “Parivar” (family) savings account in FY24 to minimise the gap between deposit growth and credit growth.

* The new plans come in the wake of deposit growth lagging credit growth over the last few quarters.

* Domestic deposits of India’s largest bank grew 8.86 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) by the end of 2022, while domestic advances were up 16.91 per cent y-o-y.

* SBI expects that its domestic deposits and domestic advances will grow about 12 per cent and 16 per cent y-o-y, respectively, in FY24.

* The low proportion of low-cost current account (CA) deposits (5.6 per cent of the total domestic deposits of ₹40,48,149 crore by the end of December 2022) is a drag on the bank’s net interest margin (NIM).

* As a result, growing the CA deposits has emerged as a clear actionable and focus area for the bank, Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, said in an internal document seen by businessline.

* To grow retail liabilities, the bank has placed more than 500 RMCAs (Relationship Managers for Current Accounts) in various Circles and launched CA product “Shubharambh” for start-ups.

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   World Bank

World Bank Group President David Malpass said on Monday (10th April 2023) that the lender has revised its 2023 global growth outlook slightly upward to 2% from a January forecast of 1.7%.

* But the slowdown from stronger 2022 growth will increase debt distress for developing countries.
 
* Malpass told a media briefing that the upward revision was due to an improved outlook for China's recovery from Covid-19 lockdowns, with growth now pegged at 5.1% this year compared to 4.3% in the bank's January Global Economic Prospects report.
 
* Advanced economies, including the U.S., are also doing a bit better than the World Bank anticipated in January, Malpass said.
 
* But the departing World Bank chief warned that turmoil in the banking sector and higher oil prices could again put downward pressure on growth prospects later this year. A bank asset maturity mismatch will take some time to work through and banks are likely to pull back credit.
 
* Malpass said that technical meetings this week with Chinese officials can help "break the ice" on potential movement on badly needed debt relief for poor countries.
 
* Malpass said China also would be able to score some political points at a fairly low cost for its lending institutions..

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   ₹23.2 lakh crore

The Ministry of Finance (Nirmala Sitharaman) announced  that the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) has sanctioned 41 crore loans amounting to ₹23.2-lakh-crore in the past eight years.

* The scheme has shown significant success in promoting entrepreneurship, with 68% of accounts under the scheme belonging to women entrepreneurs and 51% belonging to entrepreneurs from SC/ST and OBC categories.

* This data highlights that the availability of easy credit to budding entrepreneurs has led to innovation and a sustained increase in per capita income.

* PMMY scheme aims : To provide loans of up to ₹10 lakh to small entrepreneurs to start or expand their businesses. The announcement demonstrates the success of the government’s initiative in promoting financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in India.

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) :

* The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) was launched on April 08, 2015, by the Government of India with the aim of providing collateral-free microcredit up to Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro-enterprises. The scheme is a part of the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) initiative, which was launched to support small and micro enterprises across the country.

* The loans are provided by various financial intermediaries such as banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and microfinance institutions (MFIs). Although 41 crore loans have been sanctioned under the PMMY scheme, there may be a slight lag between the sanctioning and disbursement of loans due to processing of various documents. Nonetheless, the scheme has proven to be a successful initiative in promoting entrepreneurship and financial inclusion among women and underprivileged categories.

* The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) is designed to fulfill one of the three pillars of financial inclusion, which is “Funding the Unfunded”. The other two pillars are “Banking the Unbanked” and “Securing the Unsecured”. The loans under PMMY are categorized into three types based on the borrower’s need for finance and the stage of the business’s maturity.

* These categories are Shishu (loans up to ₹50,000), Kishore (loans above ₹50,000 and up to ₹5 lakh), and Tarun (loans above ₹5 lakh and up to ₹10 lakh).

* The loans under PMMY are provided for both term loan and working capital components of financing for income-generating activities in manufacturing, trading, and service sectors, including activities related to agriculture such as poultry, dairy, and beekeeping.

* The lending institutions determine the interest rates as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the case of a working capital facility, interest is charged only on the amount held overnight by the borrower..

Correct Answer :   Canara Bank

Canara Bank has introduced “Premium Payroll Package” for the Salary account holders with competitive features. The product has been designed to meet all Banking requirements of Salaried Customers.

* The features such as free Term Life Insurance, Insta over Draft, free Personal & Air Accident Insurance coverage, Premium Cards are some of the unique features of the product apart of the other various features offered. Account is designed in terms of the whole 360-degree requirement of the salaried class.

* On the occasion, Shri. K. Satyanarayana Raju, MD&CEO, Canara Bank, elaborated the different unique features of the product & said that, “It gives me immense pleasure to introduce this new premium service to our customers as our customers deserves the best.”

* Canara Bank’s customers can avail this facility across all its branches in India.

Eligibility :

All employees of a firm/company with a minimum of 5 employees.

Age : 18-65 years

Salary Band : Rs. 50,000-Rs.1,00,000.

Source : Financial Express

Correct Answer :   Axis Bank

* Axis Bank and VISA jointly launched a mobile application, 'Digital Dukaan' to empower merchants to accept payments through various digital modes.

* It is designed to address business requirements such as accepting digital payments, inventory management, and billing.

* This Android Smart POS application has an in-built camera with an LED flashlight to enable scanning of product barcodes and allow a tap-and-pay option for transactions up to Rs 5,000 and also support other value-added services such as EMI, acceptance of Sodexo card, Buy Now Pay Later, etc..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   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 :   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