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Banking - General Knowledge Questions
A)
Rs 16,000 crores
B)
Rs 18,000 crores
C)
Rs 21,000 crores
D)
Rs 25,000 crores

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Rs 16,000 crores

On January 6, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India announced that it will sell sovereign green bonds worth Rs 16,000 crores, in two tranches of 8,000 crores each.

The auction proceeds, which will be conducted on January 25 and February 9, 2023, will be used to fund public-sector projects that reduce the economy's carbon intensity.

Green bonds are issued by any sovereign authority, inter-governmental organizations or alliances, or corporations with the intention of using the bond profits to fund ecologically friendly initiatives..

Source : Economic Times

A)
Jio Payments Bank
B)
Fino Payments Bank
C)
Airtel Payments Bank
D)
Paytm Payments Bank

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Paytm Payments Bank

Paytm Payments Bank has received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to appoint veteran banker Mr. Surinder Chawla as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The appointment has been approved by the Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years. Mr. Chawla brings with him an illustrious career in Retail Banking spanning over 28 years across marquee institutions such as HDFC Bank, RBL Bank, ABN Amro Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.
 
A merit-listed Chartered Accountant, Mr. Chawla joins our associate PPBL from RBL Bank, where he served as Head – Branch Banking and focused on expanding the CASA base, fee revenue, and cross-selling across channels.

Prior to joining RBL Bank in 2013, Mr. Chawla spent about 12 years in key senior management positions at HDFC Bank, culminating in his role as Head of the Retail Liabilities Product Group.

As Senior Executive Vice President at HDFC Bank, Mr. Chawla also worked as the head for the Southern, Eastern and Northern regions at different points in his career..

Source : Paytm

A)
$59.7 Billion
B)
$62.4 Billion
C)
$67.9 Billion
D)
$70.1 Billion

Correct Answer : Option (D) - $70.1 Billion

Forex Reserves at $562.9 bn; Fall by $70 bn in 2022 : India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $70.1 billion in 2022, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows. In the week ending December 30, the foreign exchange reserves were $562.9 billion
 
The RBI’s intervention in the currency markets to combat volatility and the depreciation of other important currencies that the central bank holds are both contributing factors to the fall in foreign exchange reserves. The RBI net sold $33.42 billion till September, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The RBI holds major currencies including pound sterling, yen and euro in its reserves, which are expressed in US dollar terms.
 
Fall of The Rupee Through-out the Year :
 
* The rupee depreciated 10.2% against the US dollar in calendar year 2022.

* The rupee breached 80 against the dollar in September and has remained at Rs 81-82 levels since then.

* The rupee is likely to trade with an appreciating bias in the range of 81-83 against the dollar till March.

* In 2023, the Indian currency is expected to remain in the range of 80-83, the forex reserves and forward cover will aid in ensuring that the rupee will remain range bound.

A Reducing Import Cover :
 
By September 2021, forex reserves had reached a peak of $642.5 billion, before dropping to a low of $631.5 billion by the end of February 2022, when the conflict between Ukraine and Russia broke out.

RBI had said that FX reserves of $564.1 billion as on December 9 are equivalent to 9.2 months worth of imports, lower than the projected 15 months of imports at the peak levels.
 
A Further Deteriorating Trend :
 
With the US Federal Reserve retaining a hawkish stance on interest rates, the rupee might breach 83 levels, according to analysts. On the trade front, the rupee will continue to be under pressure from imports of crude oil and other commodities.
 
Despite its slide, the rupee has been more resilient compared to its peers in other emerging markets due to RBI intervention. However, it has come at the cost of significant depletion in the foreign exchange reserves. According to reports, the foreign reserves slightly increased by $44 million over the week ending December 30.

The increase was mainly due to increase in the gold reserves of $354 million, which was offset by decline of $302 million in the foreign currency assets. The RBI held 785.35 metric tonne of gold as of September 30..

Source : Financial Express

A)
ICICI Bank
B)
Axis Bank
C)
HDFC Bank
D)
Kotak Mahindra Bank

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Axis Bank

Private lender, Axis Bank announced joining hands with the digital banking fintech company, OPEN on Thursday (5th Jan 2023) to launch a digital current account for its customers including SMEs (small and medium enterprises), freelancers, homepreneurs, influencers and others. 
 
The current account holders will get access to Axis bank’s over 250 banking services along with OPEN’s financial automation tools for business management including payments, accounting, payroll, compliance, expense management and other such services.
 
“Business banking is opening up to newer and niche segments like homepreneurs, influencers etc. and we look forward to creating tailored products for them in partnership with Axis Bank.

We will further work on integrating value-add services like term loans, revenue-based financing and more for these users,” said Anish Achuthan, co-founder and chief executive officer, OPEN
 
The authentication process of the digital current account will be completely online using PAN (permanent account number) and Aadhaar followed by a Video KYC (know your customer), said the company’s statement..

Source : Financial Express

A)
SBI
B)
Axis Bank
C)
ICICI Bank
D)
HDFC Bank

Correct Answer : Option (C) - ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank 4th Jan 2023 announced the launch of digital solutions for exporters, a comprehensive set of banking and value-added services on a single platform.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the industry, the suite of solutions digitise the entire export life-cycle-- from discovery of export markets, export finance, foreign exchange services to receipt of export incentives.

The initiative aims : To simplify the journey of exporters by decongesting the current time-intensive manual procedures, thereby significantly improving their operational efficiency.
 
The key services and offerings of the digital solutions for exporters are :
 
Insta EPC : Exporters, having relationship with the Bank, will get the convenience of Export Packing Credit (EPC) instantly and digitally. This facility can be availed through Trade Online, the Bank’s flagship digital platform for export-import transactions. Insta EPC enables instant disbursal of credit in a matter of minutes compared to the industry practice of a few working days. This facility offers significant advantage to exporters as it gives access to funds instantaneously for same day use, enhancing their operational efficiency.
 
Trade accounts : The solution offers foreign currency accounts namely Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency Account (EEFC). This is a Current Account that allows exporters to hold their foreign currency earnings in the account, without converting it to the local currency. This feature of the account helps exporters to reduce their foreign exchange transaction cost. It also offers specialised Current Account like One Globe Trade Account (OGTA) for export and import related transactions.
 
Paperless exports solutions : The Bank’s digital solutions like e-Softex (catering to IT/ITeS exporters) and e-DOCs have simplified exporters’ journey across various stages by offering digital filing of documents, settlement and reconciliation of export invoices, among others. It brings in the significant convenience of reduced turn-around time for these transactions from the existing industry practice of a few days to near real time. The simplified digital solutions enable exporters to claim their export incentives faster.
 
Foreign exchange solution : Exporters can book forex deals over phone or online through digital platforms to get flexibility and transparency in booking rates.
 
Digital Letter of Credit facility (e-LC) : The exporters can avail e-LC facility, which acts as a digital repository as well as makes LC available on real-time basis, for verification of trade terms.
 
Electronic Bills of Lading (e-BL) : The Bank has partnered with leading e-BL service providers to facilitate end-to-end digital movement of trade documents across the world. This results in efficient working capital management by reducing turnaround time to a couple of days from existing industry practice of 8-10 days.
 
Value added services : Exporters can avail value-added services from Trade Emerge, the Bank’s one-stop platform that offers a comprehensive digital suite of various banking and beyond banking services for companies. The platform facilitates an end-to-end journey from business incorporation, regulatory guidelines, partner discovery, logistics and cargo tracking through a blend of services provided by trusted alliance partners.
 
Trade APIs :  The Bank offers Trade APIs, a future-ready industry-first solution, for seamless handling of export bills. The range of APIs include Remittances, Letters of Credit and Bank Guarantees. The Trade API solution provides the exporters with a simplified ‘Do-It-Yourself (DIY)’ experience anytime anywhere. With APIs in place, exporters can initiate transactions via their ERPs directly with the Bank, thereby enhancing productivity..

Source : ICICI

A)
Axis Bank
B)
ICICI Bank
C)
HDFC Bank
D)
Bank of India

Correct Answer : Option (C) - HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank on Tuesday (3rd Jan 2023) said it is partnering with Microsoft in the next phase of its digital transformation.
 
HDFC Bank will leverage Microsoft’s Azure platform to consolidate and modernize its enterprise data landscape through a Federated Data Lake to scale its information management capabilities across enterprise reporting, and advanced analytics using artificial intelligence
 
The private sector lender is developing in-house IPs as well as partnering with several companies, including FinTechs, to co-create technology IPs, the lender said in a statement.
 
"Our partnership with Microsoft is a part of our technology transformation agenda by investing in running the bank as well as building the bank of the future.

At the heart of this is the ability to offer a neo-banking experience to our customers that is second to none. We are doing this by investing in proprietary IP as well through tie-ups like these," HDFC Bank Group Head - Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Ramesh Lakshminarayanan said.
 
“We are delighted to be part of HDFC Bank’s digital transformation journey and to partner with them to create best-in-class products and services. These products and services will adhere to strict security and compliance standards for customers by leveraging Microsoft Cloud Platform and technologies. The partnership will also advance the bank’s digital workplace transformation with Microsoft 365 and will significantly enhance customer and employee experience," said Sashi Sreedharan, Managing Director Microsoft India..

Source : Mint

A)
Bandhan Bank
B)
DCB Bank
C)
South Indian Bank
D)
Federal Bank

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Bandhan Bank

Bandhan Bank has launched its "Jahaan Bandhan, Wahaan Trust" campaign featuring cricketer Sourav Ganguly as its brand ambassador.

* According to the company, this is the first time that Bandhan Bank has appointed a pan-India brand ambassador.

* The campaign was conceptualised by Leo Burnett Orchard, which was brought in as the bank’s creative agency in August 2022.

* The marketing campaign will be visible across TV, print, out-of-home (OOH), cinema and digital media, it claimed.
 
* Bandhan Bank, in the last seven years, has established its presence in 34 states and union territories and has more than 2.77 crore customers, Apurva Sircar, head – marketing, Bandhan Bank, said.

* “Our campaign draws inspiration from this similar journey of both Ganguly and Bandhan Bank.”

Source : Financial Express

A)
PNB
B)
SBI
C)
HDFC
D)
ICICI

Correct Answer : Option (A) - PNB

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued its list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2021 on Monday(2nd Jan 2023).

In line with the 2020 list of D-SIBs, SBI, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank are still categorized as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), according to the central bank.
 
The additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) requirement for DSIBs was phased in from April 1, 2016 and became fully effective from April 1, 2019 and the additional CET1 requirement will be in addition to the capital conservation buffer, said RBI in a statement.
 
On July 22, 2014, the Reserve Bank published the Framework for handling Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs). Effective in 2015, the D-SIB framework mandates that the Reserve Bank reveal the names of banks that have been designated as D-SIBs and categorize those institutions appropriately based on their Systemic Importance Scores (SISs).
 
According to RBI, based on the bucket in which a D-SIB is placed, an additional common equity requirement has to be applied to it. In case a foreign bank having a branch presence in India is a Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB), it has to maintain additional CET1 capital surcharge in India as applicable to it as a G-SIB, proportionate to its Risk Weighted Assets (RWAs) in India, i.e., additional CET1 buffer prescribed by the home regulator (amount) multiplied by India RWA as per consolidated global Group books divided by total consolidated global Group RWA..

Source : Mint

A)
Viral Acharya
B)
Arvind Subramanian
C)
Nirmala Sitharaman
D)
Shaktikanta Das

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Shaktikanta Das

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on 30th December 2022 launched Utkarsh 2.0, the second phase of the central bank’s medium-term strategy for strengthening regulatory and supervisory mechanism.

The Vision in Utkarsh 2.0 that will guide RBI over the period 2023-25
 
Utkarsh 2.0 harnesses the strengths of Utkarsh 2022 by retaining the six Vision statements as well as Core Purpose, Values, and Mission statement”.
 
The first strategy framework (Utkarsh 2022) covering the period 2019-2022 was launched in July 2019. It became a medium-term strategy document guiding the Bank’s progress towards realization of the identified milestones.
 
The six vision statements are excellence in performance of its statutory and other functions, strengthened trust of citizens and institutions in the RBI, enhanced relevance and significance in national and global roles, transparent, accountable and ethics-driven internal governance, best-in-class and environment-friendly digital and physical infrastructure, and innovative, dynamic and skilled human resources will guide the strategy..

Source : Money Control

A)
Assam
B)
Tripura
C)
Meghalaya
D)
Nagaland

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Tripura

The Tripura government has signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) amounting to Rs 2,275 crore to strengthen and improve power distribution efficiency in the north-eastern state, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma said on 31st Dec 2022.
    
* Terming the agreement as "historic" for the state, Dev Varma said it is the single biggest project in any plan through an externally aided project.
    
* "The project agreement was signed by Power Secretary, Govt of Tripura, Brijesh Pandey and Nilaya Mitesh, the officer in charge of ADB’s Indian Resident Mission, New Delhi, remotely on 30th Dec 2022 after extensive deliberation and evolution", Dev Varma said at a press conference here.
    
* The deputy chief minister said the ADB project will support the state government’s efforts to strengthen its power sector by replacing inefficient power plants and strengthening the distribution system.
    
* The Rs 2,275 crore fund, the central government will repay Rs 1,820 crore while the state is supposed to provide Rs 455 crore, he said, adding the project will be implemented in the next three years.
    
* Heaping praise on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for clearing the first externally aided project for the power sector in the state, Dev Varma said the state government will undertake the massive renovation of two power projects - Rukhia in Sepahijala district and Gumati Hydro project in Gomati district. Besides, there will be a lot of work in the transmission sector to improve the existing system..

Source : Outlook India