Banking - General Knowledge Questions

Correct Answer :   Federal Bank

The Federal Bank inaugurated the ‘Mookkannoor Mission’, an initiative under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, on the 106th birth anniversary of its Founder KP Hormis. Mookannoor, a village in Ernakulam district, is the birthplace of the Founder.

The Bank adopteda comprehensive plan of digitizingthe entire village as well as a cleanliness drive that includes waste management, tree plantation, community development, renewable energy projects, etc that will be implemented in stages.

The programme named “Mookkannoor Mission” was launched by Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO at Sacred Heart English Medium School, Mookkannoor.

“This is a dream project not only for the residents of Mookkannoor but also for Federal Bank,” said Shyam Srinivasan. “In India’s story of transformation, if ever a chapter on cleanliness is written – Mookkannoor should become the shining example of how transformation can happen,” he added.

The project is designed to be implemented in three phases over three years under the guidance of the Panchayat and K P Hormis Educational and Charitable Society.

As part of its Founder’s Day celebrations, the Bank initiated several activities across India including the announcement of the Federal Bank Hormis Memorial Foundation Scholarship across 6 states, a blood donation drive and cloth donation drive for the staff members, initiation of two new Federal Skill Academies at Ambattur in Chennai and Belagavi in Karnataka, Foundation batch inauguration at the Coimbatore and Kolhapur branches of Federal Skill Academy with Coimbatore specifically starting the first-ever tailoring batch, opening of seven new branches at different states etc.

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   SBER Bank

SBER Bank of Russia has become the first Russian bank to register with the Indian markets regulator as a foreign portfolio investor (FPI), according to data available on the website of National Stock Depository (NSDL).

Sberbank of Russia, a state-owned bank which already has a presence in India, registered with the Indian markets regulator for a Category I FPI licence last week.

FPIs with category I licence have to follow less lenient beneficial ownership disclosures, can subscribe to overseas derivative instruments which have Indian stocks as underlying and also enjoy certain taxation benefits.

Category I FPI registration is only granted to government or government related foreign investors or regulated entities such as banks, sovereign wealth funds, investment trusts, pension funds, asset management companies.

Sberbank’s registration takes the total number of Russia-based FPIs in India to five, with all others being non-banks. Till now, Alfa Capital Management, First Asset Management, Igor Noskov, and Vesvolod Rozanov have been granted FPI registrations.  

Sberbank received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in May 2010 to set up a branch in India and commenced its banking business from January 2011.

It acts as a key partner for Indian and Russian companies in facilitating bilateral trades.

Industry experts expect a few more banks to follow Sberbank’s suit..

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   $338 Million

Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to provide $338 million to Bangladesh for manufacturing vaccines against various diseases.
 
ADB Country Director Edimon Ginting shared this at a meeting with Planning Minister Bangladesh MA Mannan at the latter's office in Dhaka on Wednesday (11th Oct 2023), reports BSS.
 
Talking to reporters after the meeting, the Planning Minister said that the government of Bangladesh has initiated the draft project for producing vaccines locally to give protection against various diseases like COVID-19 and dengue.

Mannan said that the ADB in the meeting offered a $338 million loan for the project. He said that the ADB has requested the government to speedily approve the project.

The ADB country director said that this initiative for financing the project for manufacturing vaccines was taken to help Bangladesh reduce the dependency on vaccine imports and facilitate more production in the country.
 
Ginting also informed that the ADB committed $3.5 billion financing to Bangladesh in the current fiscal year of which around $2 billion would be concessional while the rest of $1.5 billion would be regular..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   IDBI Bank

Maruti Suzuki India, the country's leading auto manufacturer, has entered into an initial agreement with IDBI Bank to offer tailored financial solutions and comprehensive inventory funding options.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on Wednesday (11th Oct 2023), is aimed at addressing the working capital needs of more than 4,000 Maruti Suzuki sales outlets across India.

Shashank Srivastava, Maruti's Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales), underscored the crucial role that dealer partners play in their business model during Wednesday's announcement. He also reiterated the company's steadfast commitment to bolstering their capacities, particularly in light of the rapidly growing Indian passenger vehicle market.

This collaboration between Maruti Suzuki India and IDBI Bank underlines the auto manufacturer's strategic move to ensure its dealer network has the necessary financial support to meet increasing demand. By providing customized financial solutions and extensive inventory funding options, Maruti hopes to enhance its dealers' ability to operate effectively and efficiently in the expanding market..

Source : Investing

Correct Answer :   Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million loan to strengthen flood and riverbank erosion risk management along the 650 kilometers (km) long main stem of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India.

The project builds on the success and lessons from the ADB-financed Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Program (2010–2020) and similar investments in Bangladesh and will continue to tackle recurrent flooding and continual riverbank erosion of the Brahmaputra River.

The project will apply a holistic, integrated, and risk-informed approach to scale up investment in flood and riverbank erosion risk management and its long-term planning, while intensifying support for climate and disaster resilience and food security. By optimizing co-benefits and empowering women through disaster-resilient economic activities, the project will benefit about 1 million people and increase crop production over 50,000 hectares.

“ADB is committed to support the state government to make Assam a disaster-resilient state. The Brahmaputra River is one of the world’s largest river systems. The project’s innovative cost-effective structural and advanced nonstructural measures will strengthen Assam’s capacity to better manage flood and riverbank erosion risks, hence enhancing disaster resilience of the state and affected communities,” said ADB Senior Water Resources Specialist Olivier Drieu.

By stabilizing 60 km of banks, installing 32 km of pro-siltation measures, and building 4 km of climate-resilient flood embankments in five high-priority districts (Dibrugarh, Goalpara , Kamrup Rural, Morigaon, and Tinsukia), the project will secure living spaces, support livelihoods, create employment opportunities, and ultimately enhance the navigability of the river. It will advance the institutional capacity in flood forecasting and warning systems, modern surveys, erosion and embankment breach modeling, asset management, flood risk mapping, land use planning, and pilot nature-based solutions and the graduation approach.

The Flood and River Erosion Management Agency of Assam will lead, manage, and coordinate the project activities. The Water Resources Department of the Government of Assam will implement the works and the Assam Agroforestry Development Board will use nature-based solutions. The Brahmaputra Board, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, and the Assam Inland Water Transport Development Society will be partner agencies of the project.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region..

Source : ADB

Correct Answer :   Outlook Group

Outlook Group announces the launch of its highly anticipated retirement planning event, “40After40”, in association with IDFC FIRST Bank.

A one-of-its-kind platform, "40After40" is a two-day event and expo, which will be held at Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai on January 23-24, 2024.

It’s a one-stop shop for all conversations around timely retirement, panel discussions, chats, masterclasses, interactions with planners, product presentations etc.

The elderly population in India has been rising; it is projected to rise 41 per cent over a decade—from 138 million in 2021 to 194 million in 2031, according to a National Statistical Office (NSO) report, Elderly in India 2021.

Similarly, projections from statista.com for 2021-31 show that the growth rate of the elderly population is expected to be five times the growth rate of the total population. Further, life expectancy in India has also gone up from around 60 years in the late 1990s to around 70 years in 2023 and is only likely to go up further.

In this scenario, it is the need of the hour for individuals of all age groups, and especially those crossing the age of 40, to become conscious and start planning for their retirement years.

The Need For A Retirement Platform :

The event is only one part of the Outlook Money Retirement platform. The Outlook Group, along with IDFC FIRST Bank, aims to approach the key question of retirement through the various print and digital platforms within the group.

“With rising life expectancy and shrinking sizes of families and homes, it’s the need of the hour to have a conversation about and highlight the importance of retirement savings and planning. Outlook Money and IDFC FIRST Bank believe that anyone can save enough for retirement if an individual takes a planned approach with proper guidance. The earlier one starts, the better,” said Nidhi Sinha, editor, Outlook Money.

The retirement initiative is a part of Outlook Money’s commitment towards empowering individuals to achieve financial security and prosperity in their golden years. “Our retirement platform, of which 40After40 is a key part, wants to create awareness and generate debates that can make a material difference in the way people think about their own future and government institutions address their needs,” said Indranil Roy, CEO, Outlook Group.

We aim to reach at least 50 million page views of the retirement-related content that is being created on Outlook Money’s retirement platform to ensure the message goes far and wide..

Source : The Week

Correct Answer :   North East Small Finance Bank

Fintech unicorn slice and Guwahati-based North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) have announced a merger between the two entities in the only instance of a fintech startup merging with a SFB.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the deal and will see slice becoming an SFB, a first of its kind development in the fintech and banking space.

In a statement, the fintech said it is awaiting shareholder consent and other regulatory approvals.

Having received a nod from the central bank, the merger will help realise their shared goal of integrating cutting-edge technology offerings with grassroots financial inclusion efforts.

This merger brings together slice’s digital prowess and NESFB’s grassroots banking foundation. The combined entity supercharges its commitment to financial accessibility and will bring an unparalleled digital banking experience to its customers.

This merger is also emblematic of RBI’s unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and promoting digital financial inclusion..

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer :   HDFC

HDFC Pension has launched a first-of-its-kind NPS Preference Index that highlights the preference of NPS amongst different consumer groups.

The NPS is a government-backed retirement savings program designed to provide financial security to Indian citizens during their retirement years. NPS can be subscribed to by any Indian citizen, aged between 18-70 years, on a voluntarily basis.

Speaking on the launch, Sriram Iyer, Chief Executive Officer, HDFC Pension said, “National Pension System (NPS) is instrumental to facilitate an income post retirement, making it pivotal for long-term financial security. In India, a significant opportunity exists to boost NPS adoption, which is why there was a need to delve deeper into the intricacies and understand why."

HDFC Pension commissioned an independent market research specialist, Ipsos for conducting the survey for the NPS Preference Index. The findings are based on a consumer market research study with 1,801 NPS aware consumers across Tier I/II/III locations in the age cohorts of 30-40 years and 45-55 years.

The objective of the survey was to understand consumer outlook towards retirement and gauge consumer familiarity, appeal and consideration, leading to the ‘NPS Preference Index’ which can be tracked over time.

The survey findings indicate that currently the NPS Preference Index stands at 54 (on a scale of 0 to 100). Hence, it can be concluded that NPS Preference Index is currently at a moderate level and is equally influenced by the three pillars of familiarity, appeal and consideration.

NPS Preference Index improves with increasing income level of the consumers. North region has the highest NPS preference index (57) compared to other regions.

Even though, on an average, 32 years is considered as an ideal age to start retirement planning, the retirement corpus need is often underestimated..

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer :   Karnataka Bank

Karnataka Bank, a leading private sector Bank is launching “Door -Step Gold Loan” facility named “KBL-Swarna Bandhu” for its customers, a unique product for gold loans with end to end digitization. Through this product Bank will be able to provide Gold Loan Services at customer’s door step. Initially, this product will be available to customers in select centres of the Bank and will be gradually rolled out to all the branches of the Bank.

Karnataka Bank is well positioned to expand its Gold loan portfolio and capitalise on the huge market opportunity. Door step Gold Loan product is a big step towards Bank’s goal of creating a robust & healthy Gold loan portfolio. By leveraging on technology services & Door step service framework, Karnataka Bank aims to focus on quality gold loan portfolio in the ensuing days.

To achieve this, the bank has partnered with SahiBandhu a leading aggregator platform for gold loans backed by The Manipal Group. SahiBandhu will act as a Corporate Business Correspondent and a Lending Service Provider. This collaboration aligns with extant guidelines on digital lending and will also help in improving the gold loan portfolio of Bank. KBL-Swarna Bandhu showcases the comprehensive digital capabilities of both KBL and SahiBandhu.

Mr. SriKrishnan H, MD & CEO of Karnataka Bank has expressed that, “Door Step Gold loan lending model is one of the innovative avenues of lending against gold. “KBL-Swarna Bandhu” shall create a dynamic synergy in the entire gold loan portfolio of the Bank. This arrangement will help us in extending gold loans at the Door step of the customers once again proving our Bank’s orientation towards collaborative digital innnovations to improve the customer service arena and by this we aim to achieve better Customer Delight”.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Sekhar Rao, Executive Director of Karnataka Bank stated that “Bank is progressing on the Fintech initiatives with strong collaborations with partners in various fields. This initiative is also, one among the many such steps taken by the Bank. Our aim is to see this Century old Bank in a new Digital Avatar.”

On KBL-Swarna Bandhu launch, Mr. Rajesh Shet, Co-Founder & CEO of SahiBandhu - A leading Gold Loan aggregator platform, has expressed that, “As we continue to expand our footprint in the ever-evolving financial landscape, we are excited to announce our strategic partnership with Karnataka Bank (KBL). Our innovative tech platform enables gold loan at the customer doorstep. Through our unwavering commitment to customer-centricity, we continue to excel in the gold loan industry. Together with KBL, we are poised to unlock new opportunities, offering digital-first lending solutions through our gold loan aggregator platform.”.

Source : Karnatakabank

Correct Answer :   Federal Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted approval to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to acquire a 9.7 per cent stake in Federal Bank.

Earlier this year, the Kerala-based private sector lender had raised ₹959 crore via preferential issue of shares to the World Bank Group member.

‘’The Federal Bank Ltd has received an intimation from the Reserve Bank of India on September 28, 2023, that it has accorded its approval to International Finance Corporation (IFC) for acquiring aggregate holding of up to 9.70 per cent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of the Bank subject to the conditions specified therein,'' said Federal Bank in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges on Friday (29th Sep 2023).

‘’The approval has been granted with reference to the application made by IFC to RBI,'' added the bank in its statement. After the central bank's approval, the stake holding is subject to compliance by other regulatory bodies..

Source : Mint