Latest Banking Dates General Knowledge(GK) Questions and answers

1 .

HDFC borrows USD ______ million from IFC for financing green affordable housing units.

A)

USD 400 million

B)

USD 500 million

C)

USD 600 million

D)

USD 700 million

Correct Answer : USD 400 million

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has extended a USD 400 million loan to mortgage major HDFC for financing green affordable housing units, as part of their efforts towards supporting climate goals.

The companies in separate statements on Friday(23rd Dec 2022) said this loan will help close the urban housing gap and improve access to climate-smart affordable homes by boosting green housing, which will go some ways in supporting the country's shift towards a more sustainable growth path, creating jobs and ensuring long-term business growth.

HDFC said it has earmarked 75 per cent or USD 300 million of the IFC funding for financing green affordable housing units.

It is estimated that 275 million people in the country or 22 per cent of the over 1.4 billion population do not have access to adequate housing, and rural housing shortage is twice that of urban areas. As of 2018, the urban housing shortage was 29 million units, increasing by over 54 per cent since 2012..

Source : Zeebiz

2 .

Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs 2.66 crore on which of the following foreign bank's India operations for non-compliance with directions on cyber security framework?

A)

DBS Bank

B)

Citi Bank

C)

Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait

D)

HSBC India

Correct Answer : Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait

The Banking sector regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a penalty of Rs 2.66 crore on Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait BSC, India operations for non-compliance with directions on “Cyber Security Framework” in Banks on 19 December 2022.

In a statement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the bank failed to implement systems to detect unusual and unauthorized, internal or external activities in its database.

The fines were imposed on the bank by RBI under the Banking Regulation Act 1949.

Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait BSC :

* Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) was incorporated in Bahrain in March 1971.

* It is a foreign bank which started its India operation in 1986 as a scheduled commercial bank.

* It has four branches in India in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Hyderabad and at Aluva (Kerala).

* Country head and Chief Executive Officer: Mallikarjun Kota

Source : Business Standard

3 .

Which Bank has signed an MoU with the Controller General of Defence Accounts, Ministry of Defence for Defence Pensioners and their families?

A)

Axis Bank

B)

Bandhan Bank

C)

IDBI Bank

D)

Federal Bank

Correct Answer : Bandhan Bank

Private lender Bandhan Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Controller General of Defence Accounts to extend banking facilities to servicemen.

A statement by the bank said that under the MoU, Bandhan Bank will provide services to the defence pensioners and their families through its 557 branches.

The service to the defence personnel will be provided under the System for Pension Administration Raksha (SPARSH).

Starting 2015, the bank presently has 5,646 outlets with more than 2.77 crore customers and a business of around Rs 1,80,000 lakh crore. .

Source : The Print

4 .

______ Meeting of Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India was held in Kolkata on 16th December 2022.

A)

575th

B)

581th

C)

592th

D)

599th

Correct Answer : 599th

The 599th meeting of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India was held 16th December 2022 in Kolkata under the Chairmanship of Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor.

The Board in its meeting reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges including geopolitical developments, finance and trade. The Board also discussed the activities of select Central Office Departments and the draft Report on the Trend and Progress of Banking in India, 2021-22.

Deputy Governors Shri Mahesh Kumar Jain, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, Shri M.Rajeshwar Rao, Shri T. Rabi Sankar and other Directors of the Central Board viz. Shri Satish K. Marathe, Smt. Revathy Iyer, Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Shri Venu Srinivasan, Shri Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel and Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia attended the meeting..

Source : RBI

5 .

Which Bank has launched a new special retail term deposit dubbed as "Ind Shakti 555 days", effective from December 19, 2022?

A)

IndusInd Bank

B)

India Post Payments Bank

C)

Indian Overseas Bank

D)

Indian Bank

Correct Answer : Indian Bank

Indian Bank has launched a new special retail term deposit dubbed as “Ind Shakti 555 days” effective from December 19, 2022.

According to the Indian bank website, “Special Retail Term Deposit Product “IND SHAKTI 555 DAYS” has been launched w.e.f 19.12.2022 offering higher rate of interest for investment starting from Rs.5000 to less than 2 Crore for 555 days in the form of FD/MMD with callable options.”

ND SHAKTI 555 DAYS – RATE OF INTEREST

* Public : 7.00%

* Senior Citizen : 7.15%

Indian Bank FD interest rates :

* The interest rate on fixed deposits maturing in 7 to 29 days is at 2.80%, while Indian Bank is offering an interest rate of 3.00% on deposits maturing in 30 to 45 days.

* Deposits maturing in 46 to 90 days will earn 3.25% interest, while fixed deposits maturing in 91 to 120 days will earn 3.50% interest.

* Indian Bank will offer a 3.85% interest rate on deposits maturing in 121 days to 180 days, and a 4.50% interest rate on deposits maturing in 181 days to less than 9 months.

* The bank will pay 4.75% on fixed deposits maturing in 9 months to less than one year, for one year deposits, the bank will offer an interest rate of 6.10%.

* Indian Bank offers interest rate of 6.30% on deposits maturing in more than one year to less than two years.

* The bank will offer an interest rate of 6.50% on deposits maturing in two years to less than three years.

* Deposits maturing in three to five years will now earn 6.25% and 6.10% for tenure over 5 years..

Source : Economic Times

6 .

Who has launched a dedicated platform providing comprehensive investor education and market analysis named Roots?

A)

HDFC Securities

B)

ICICI Securities

C)

Reliance Securities

D)

Kotak Securities

Correct Answer : HDFC Securities

Stock brokerage firm HDFC Securities has launched Roots, a dedicated platform providing comprehensive investor education and market analysis.

* The site offers multiple forms of valuable information, including articles, bite-sized tips, podcasts by experts, video tutorials and explainers, and live social media feed on the Indian financial markets.

* The biggest USP of the platform is that it produces content which are being searched on Google by current or prospective investors and traders.

* “In the last few years, especially during Covid, there has been a lot of interest generated for equity markets. One would also notice the number of influencers who all are trying to make understanding of capital markets easy for new investors.

* A well-constructed and snackable content offering works best now-a-days, which will help to cut the learning curve for customers. Though structured learning is still appreciated, we thought of bringing unstructured learning to the foray where content is curated based on what is being searched on the internet by investors.

* This is helping us create relevant content, addressing the immediate requirement of investors” stated Navanil Sengupta, Chief Marketing Officer at HDFC Securities.

* The Blog section of Roots is updated with articles addressing all aspects of investing in the Indian financial markets, from intraday trading to ETFs, and more. The Bytes section offers crisp content, including fun facts, stock information, share price performance in specific sectors, etc.

* The Video segment offers easy-to-consume video tutorials on a wide range of financial instruments, including IPOs, ETFs, stocks, ELSS, global investing and mutual funds.

* It also contains explainers on how to use HDFC Securities’ proprietary trading platforms, namely the mobile app and Proterminal – the revolutionary portal for traders..

Source : Exchange4media

7 .

Which Bank has kept the economic growth outlook for India unchanged at 7% percent for the fiscal 2022-23 and 7.2% for FY 2023-24?

A)

World Bank

B)

Reserve Bank of India

C)

Asian Development Bank

D)

New Development Bank

Correct Answer : Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank has kept the economic growth outlook for India unchanged at 7% percent for the fiscal 2022-23 and 7.2% for FY 2023-24.

Reason : Sustained by positive effects from structural reform and from public investment catalysing private investment.

Inflation in India is still expected to rise to 6.7 % in 2022-23 before falling back to 5.8%.

As per the bank, Asia will expand at 4.2% this year and accelerate to 4.6% in 2023..

Source : CNBC TV18

8 .

Which Bank announced (12th Dec 2022) the Partners with Startup India for 'Parivartan SmartUp Grants'?

A)

ICICI Bank

B)

HDFC Bank

C)

Axis Bank

D)

Union Bank of India

Correct Answer : HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank 12th Dec 2022 announced the launch of its sixth annual grants program for social startups in partnership with the Government of India’s flagship initiative ‘Startup India’.

* Known as Parivartan SmartUp Grants, the program aims to identify startups working in the social impact space and support them through monetary grants to their incubators.

* The grants have been offered under the aegis of Parivartan, the umbrella name for the bank’s social initiatives. So far, the bank has disbursed over Rs 30 crore to more than 45 incubators which supported over 165 start-ups working in areas like environment, agri-business, ed-tech, waste management, healthcare, and skill development sectors.

* The bank has been enabling startups through its state-of-the-art SmartUp program, which provides specialised banking and value-added services to entrepreneurs. It aims to assist start-ups in achieving their goals through the bank’s well renowned and highly advanced smart financial tools, advisory services, and technology.

* “As of FY22, through our various CSR initiatives, we have impacted the lives of over 9.6 crore people across the country. We aim to achieve positive change in people's lives through direct and indirect interventions through Parivartan, empowering them to become self-sufficient and integrated into society.

* We are proud to announce our partnership with Startup India for our 6th Parivartan SmartUp Grants which would help socially conscious businesses to achieve their vision and mission,” said Nusrat Pathan, Head – ESG & CSR, HDFC Bank.

* “The Indian Government and Incubators have played a crucial role in creating an ecosystem that helps entrepreneurs through their journey. When the problem statement is a social objective or cause, the battle is more arduous, to say the least.

* The last 5 years through the SmartUp grants program we have made some contribution towards bridging the funding gap for these social-impact startups. With the 6th edition, along with our incubator partners and support from Startup India, we strive to create more efficient and effective outcomes for all,” said Neha Agrawal, Head – Venture Investments, Structured Finance & CSR for Startups HDFC Bank..

Source : HDFC Bank

9 .

Which bank Shortlists 7 Global Consultancy Firms to Use AI, ML to Improve Regulatory Supervision?

A)

World Bank

B)

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

C)

New Development Bank (NDB)

D)

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Correct Answer : Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

In its bid to extensively use advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse database and improve regulatory supervision over banks and NBFCs, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is mulling over to hire external experts.

The central bank has shortlisted 7 global consultancy firms, including Pricewaterhouse Coopers, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group (India), to use Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine Learning(ML) for supervisory functions.

For generating supervisory inputs, RBI, in September 2022, invited expressions of interest (EoI) for engaging consultants for use of advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning. RBI has shortlisted seven applicants for participating in the request for proposal process (RFP) for the selection of consultant(s).

Who Are these 7 Companies : The seven firms shortlisted by RBI are: Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Boston Consulting Group (India) Pvt Ltd, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, Ernst and Young LLP, KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services LLP, McKinsey and Company, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers Pvt Ltd.

Need of This: Its Objective : The central bank is already using AI and ML in supervisory processes. However, it aims to ensure that the benefits of advanced analytics can accrue to the central bank’s Department of Supervision. The Department of Supervision has been developing and using linear and a few machine-learnt models for supervisory examinations.

With the objective of assessing financial soundness, solvency, asset quality, governance framework, liquidity, and operational viability to protect depositors’ interests and financial stability, RBI undertakes supervision over banks, urban cooperative banks, NBFCs, payment banks, small finance banks, local area banks, credit information companies and select all Indian financial institutions..

Source : Businessworld

10 .

RBI signs Currency Swap Agreement with which country?

A)

Maldives

B)

Japan

C)

Sri Lanka

D)

Bangladesh

Correct Answer : Maldives

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed a Currency Swap Agreement with the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) under the SAARC Currency Swap Framework.

This is to provide swap support as a backstop line of funding for short term foreign exchange liquidity requirements. This agreement will enable the MMA to make drawals in multiple tranches up to a maximum of USD 200 million from the RBI..

Source : RBi

Banking - General Knowledge Questions