In this issue

August 2023 Issue Highlights:

Banking Frontiers August 2023 edition cover story, 'Rural banking small banks big plans' , covers the perspectives of the bankers in which they have shared the growth opportunities in rural India. They are moving ahead with investments in digital technology, wider product range, larger geographical footprint & new applications:

Economies of Efficiency vs Economies of Opportunity

The credit system has been using technology today in a very big way. At a very simplified level, the system is fed increasing volume and variety of data for each customer application, and that data crunching led to more accurate decisions, which in turn increased margins and reduced risks. This also helped bring more borrowers into the formal financial system, and in turn accelerated the economy.

1 min

Australian central bank has first woman Governor

The Reserve Bank of Australia will for the first time be headed by a woman.

1 min

US Fed fines Deutsche Bank

The US Federal Reserve has fined Deutsche Bank $186 million for 'unsafe and unsound banking practices' and 'violations of the Fed's 2015 and 2017 consent orders with Deutsche Bank relating to sanctions compliance and anti-money laundering controls'.

1 min

Bihar, Tamil Nadu & UP lead outstanding portfolio

Micro Finance institution Network (MFIN) has come out with its 45th issue of the Micrometer it provides an overview of the microfinance industry as on 31 March 2023 (Q4 FY 2022-23).

1 min

The Digital Juggernaut

Aditya Birla Capital is actively enhancing its analytics capabilities across data engineering, data science and decision science:

4 mins

Financial Literacy draws Women Customers

Purvi Bhavsar, MD at Pahal Financial Services & Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder & MD at LXME share the special initiatives adopted for attracting and serving women customers:

7 mins

Bank of India launches 3 startup focused branches

Bank of India has launched three special startup centers through dedicated branches in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

1 min

MAS investor protection measures for digital payment token services

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced new requirements for Digital Payment Token (DPT) service providers to safekeeping customer assets under a statutory trust before the end of the year.

1 min

Fostering Financial Collaboration: Exploring Partnerships between Banks & NBFCs

Deepak T R explains that Scolend can enable collaborative lending by streamlining processes and facilitating smooth communications between banks and NBFCs

2 mins

Driving a wide spectrum of MSME initiatives

SIDBI has made significant strides in developing many digital ecosystem initiatives and applying financial

3 mins

Fed steps into the Instant space

The US Federal Reserve has come out with an instant payment facility it has developed for use by the financial services institutions for the benefit of their customers:

3 mins

Passive accelerating faster than active

Anil Ghelani, CFA, Head - Passive Investments & Products, DSP Mutual Funds shares growth & future scope for passive investments in India & foreign countries:

4 mins

RuPay Card issuance crosses 10,000 milestone in Bhutan

NPCI International Payments (NIPL), the subsidiary and international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), recently achieved a significant milestone by issuing over 10,000 RuPay cards in Bhutan within a short period of its introduction in the country. RuPay recorded this mark with partner bank of Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan – Bhutan National Bank (BNBL). The BNBL RuPay debit cards are accepted at more than 2,65,994 ATMs and 7.9 million PoS terminals deployed by the member banks of NPCI for cash withdrawals, balance inquiries, and purchases in India.

2 mins

A bank that focuses on credit cards

Canadian Tire Bank has credit card as the core business activity:

3 mins

AI a tremendous opportunity for insurance brokers - Debasish Panda

Debasish Panda, Chairman, IRDAI & Sumit Bohra, President, IBAI share the details about the changing roles of the brokers in the insurance industry:

3 mins

A digital footprint for all UCBs - Atul Khirwadkar, NUCFDC

The business plan of NUCFDC is very strong with detailed financial lay out and the process of technology procurement will be transparent:

4 mins

World Council of Credit Unions Launches Climate Influencers Network at 2023 Conference: Initiatives Focus on Sustainability and Green Finance

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) initiated the Climate Influencers Network at the 2023 World Credit Union Conference on Tuesday. The network comprises over 20 global credit union leaders who gathered to address climate resilience priorities.

1 min

The tech thinking at Fintechs

3 fintechs show how they are leveraging technology to drive businesses in various ways:

6 mins

Tata AIG GI appointed as lead insurer for Maharashtra

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has selected Tata AIG General Insurance Co. as the lead non-life insurer for Maharashtra to initiate and drive activities in collaboration with all other non-life and health insurance companies.

1 min

Jio Financial Services and BlackRock to form JV to enter India's asset management industry

Jio Financial Services (JFS) and BlackRock announced a partnership to form Jio BlackRock, a 50:50 joint venture that combines the respective strengths and trusted brands of BlackRock and JFS. The aim is to deliver tech-enabled access to affordable and innovative investment solutions for millions of investors in India.

1 min

Add-ons offer comprehensive protection to EV owners

Udayan Joshi, President - Product, Underwriting & Reinsurance at Liberty General Insurance demystifies EV adoption and insurance:

3 mins

RURAL BANKING SMALL BANKS BIG PLANS

Rural India is where bankers see growth opportunities. They are moving ahead with investments in digital technology, wider product range, larger geographical footprint and new applications:

10+ mins

Top 10 Emerging Technologies In BFSI

INTRODUCTION - In the past decade, the financial and banking industry has undergone significant transformation due to rapid technological evolution. The widespread adoption of the internet has propelled digitization, compelling the Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) sector to embrace innovative technologies.

10+ mins

Account Aggregator: The Lynchpin of Open Banking

Tejinder Pal Singh Manchanda is the Chief Business Officer (CBO) of CAMS Financial Information Services Ltd. (CAMSfinserv). He is responsible for design and execution of the overarching business strategy of the company and has been associated with CAMS since February 2022.

6 mins

Kookmin Bank has a human-based AI avatar

The bank uses AI extensively and has created a virtual human to interact with its customers:

3 mins

Future of Credit Underwriting in MSME lending by NBFCs

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a crucial role in the Indian economy, contributing significantly to employment generation and economic growth. Access to timely and adequate credit is essential for them to sustain and expand their operations.

3 mins

Compliance boost with Automation, Testing & Training

Conjeevaram Baradhwaj, Executive Vice President (Legal & Compliance) & Company Secretary at Future Generali India Life Insurance, delves into compliance aspects and impacts:

4 mins

Das launches RBI's next generation data warehouse

The Reserve Bank organized its 17th Annual Statistics Day Conference as a part of the National Statistics Day' celebrations in memory of the Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, who made invaluable contributions to the Indian statistical system and economic planning.

1 min

SBI dreams big: YONO for Every Indian

Dinesh Khara says that analytics has created significant value through income leakage recovery, risk mitigation & operational efficiency

3 mins

Strong digital usage continues for Bank of America

Bank of America has just released its second-quarter financial report, showcasing outstanding growth and strong digital adoption across its platforms.

1 min

Seamless & scalable tech delivers 61% rapid issuance

Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company has accentuated its tech bandwidth by deploying digital solutions through AI/ML, Data Analytics, Portal Framework, BPM, COTS and RPA:

3 mins

Private sector banks accounted for 45% of incremental loans

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has publication titled 'Quarterly Basic Statistical Returns (BSR)1: Outstanding Credit of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), March 2023' on the Database on Indian Economy (DBIE) portal. The report presents data from 89 SCBS, excluding Regional Rural Banks, categorized by bank groups, population groups, and states.

1 min

75% of customers have embraced digital platforms

Advanced analytics, AI and ML help the Nigerian commercial bank to identify and manage risks more effectively:

6 mins

Bank of Japan conducts CBDC PoC Phase 2

The Payment and Settlement Systems Department of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) conducted its Proof of Concept (PoC) Phase 1, building an experimental environment using several design alternatives for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) ledger as the foundation of a CBDC system, to evaluate whether its basic functions could be processed appropriately.

1 min

Read all stories from Banking Frontiers

Banking Frontiers Magazine Description:

Banking Frontiers is a monthly B2B magazine that covers the activities of the finance sector in India. It covers their activities in the areas of Technology, Security, HR, Marketing, Growth, Expansion, Risk Management, Compliance, Tie-ups, etc.The Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, or BFSI, sector is today the most happening sector - be it the excitement of challenging business models, or products and services or mergers and acquisitions or pure organic growth or the response to globalization.