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THE ECONOMIC TIMES JULY 04, 2019 The asset reconstruction model to help banks recover bad loans appears to be floundering. Central  bank data showed that bad loan recoveries from Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARC) are just  about a tenth of what was sold to them by banks.  ARCs recovered a maximum of 9.5 per cent of the security receipts (SRs) they held at the end of  FY18. This number halved from a maximum recovery of 18.7 per cent made at the end of FY17. Since inception in 2004, ARCs had made maximum recovery of about 72 per cent in FY12. Data  published by the Reserve bank of India (RBI) include only recovery percentages. “The recovery rate specifically shows a precipitous decline for assets that originated after 2014, the RBI noted. “The general recovery of low double digits across years possibly points to the  inadequacies of the resolution model based on collateral disposal.” Only in the past three-four months, banks have put non-...

DNA  JULY 04, 2019 Bank credit is picking pace in several industrial segments, led by government spending. The total bank credit at the end of April 26 was at Rs 85.24 lakh crore, growing at 11.7% over the previous year. While private capex investments are yet to pick up, the government spending is infrastructure, led by telecom, roads and power sectors have seen a visible pick-up in credit over the previous year. Bank loans to the infrastructure sector have risen 19.9% over the previous year to Rs 10,64,700 crore. Within this segment, the loans to the telecom sector have grown the fastest by 50.2% over the previous year to Rs 129700 crore. "If the government spending was absent, the credit growth would continue to be in the single digits. Except for working capital requirements, the private sector is not seeing any fresh capex coming in, except in the telecom sector," said a banker. Government spending has led to an improvement in bank loans to the power and ...

FINANCIAL EXPRESS JULY 04, 2019 SHRITAMA BOSE   A big chunk of loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) worth some Rs 15,000 crore could slip over the next 10 months. In fact, the bigger chunk could slip sooner since companies have just 30 days to repay their dues. These loans would have turned non-performing assets (NPAs) a long time ago had the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) not given banks a breather. A June 6, 2018, notification had allowed banks and NBFCs to temporarily classify their exposure to all MSMEs, including those not registered under the goods and services tax (GST), as a standard asset as long as it was smaller than Rs 25 crore and standard as on August 31, 2017. MSME loans worth Rs 7,995 crore had been retained by banks as standard under this central bank notification. Again, a January 1 circular of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had permitted banks to do a one-time restructuring of existing loans to MSMEs and classify them as ‘standard...

THE TIMES OF INDIA JULY 04, 2019 India will soon give its central bank power to regulate housing finance companies (HFCs), which will almost certainly lead to the lenders facing stringent asset quality reviews, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. That could have major repercussions for about 80 HFCs, the largest of which include Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd , Housing Development Finance Corporation and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation, leading to them facing unprecedented scrutiny and the potential for major financial penalties and restriction on their activities if improper practices are discovered. In late 2015, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started a similar review of bank assets amid allegations that lenders were hiding the extent of the bad debts on their books. During multiple asset quality reviews of banks, the RBI revealed a plethora of areas where lenders were under reporting their bad loans. It initially led to financial penalties for so...

THE GUARDIAN JULY 02, 2019 Chinese border police are secretly installing surveillance apps on the phones of visitors and downloading personal information as part of the government’s intensive scrutiny of the remote Xinjiang region, the Guardian can reveal. The Chinese government has curbed freedoms in the province for the local Muslim population, installing facial recognition cameras on streets and in mosques and reportedly forcing residents to download software that searches their phones. An investigation by the Guardian and international partners has found that travellers are being targeted when they attempt to enter the region from neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. Border guards are taking their phones and secretly installing an app that extracts emails, texts and contacts, as well as information about the handset itself. Tourists say they have not been warned by authorities in advance or told about what the software is looking for, or that their information is being...

THE ECONOMIC TIMES JULY 02, 2019 President Donald Trump’s decision to allow US companies to continue selling to Huawei followed an extensive lobbying campaign by the US semiconductor industry that argued the ban could hurt America’s economic and national security. In multiple high-level meetings and a letter to the commerce department, the companies argued for targeted action against Huawei instead of the blanket ban the Trump administration imposed in May. That includes identifying pecific technologies that the Chinese company shouldn’t be given access to, while allowing US firms to supply the rest. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), a trade group that represents companies like Intel, Broadcom and Qualcomm, told the Trump administration that its sanctions against the Chinese company will make them appear to be undependable partners, which will put them at a severe disadvantage globally. Representatives of chipmakers last month met with commerce secretary Wil...

THE HINDU JULY 02, 2019 The National Defence Authorisation Act or NDAA for the fiscal year 2020, that  contained such a proposal was passed by the U.S. Senate last week. The U.S. Senate has passed a legislative provision that brings India at par with America’s  NATO allies and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation.  The National Defense Authorisation Act or NDAA for the fiscal year 2020, that contained  such a proposal was passed by the U.S. Senate last week. Introduced by Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator John Cornyn with the support of  Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator Mark Warner, the amendment provides for increased U.S.-India defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the areas of humanitarian assistance, counter terrorism, counter-piracy and maritime security. Last week, House India Caucus Co-Chair Brad Sherman, along with Congressmen Joe  Wilson, Ami Bera, Ted Yoho, George Holdin...

HINDUSTAN TIMES JULY 02, 2019 Google’s bet on balloons to deliver cell service soon faces a crucial test amid doubts about the viability of the technology by some potential customers. The company behind the effort, Loon says its balloons will reach Kenya in the coming weeks for its first commercial trial. The test with Telkom Kenya, the nation’s No. 3 carrier, will let mountain villagers buy 4G service at market-rate prices for an undefined period. Kenya’s aviation authority said its final approval would be signed this month. Hatched in 2011, Loon aims to bring connectivity to remote parts of the world by floating solar-powered networking gear over areas where cell towers would be too expensive to build. Its tennis-court-sized helium balloons have demonstrated utility. Over the last three years, Loon successfully let wireless carriers in Peru and Puerto Rico use balloons for free to supplant cell phone towers downed by natural disasters. But executives at five o...

THE QUINT JULY 032, 2019 In possibly the biggest synchronised action against alleged bank loan defaulters, the CBI on Tuesday, 2 July, launched a massive crackdown by carrying out searches at over 61 locations in 18 cities after registering 17 cases involving swindling of funds to the tune of Rs 1,139 crore, officials said. Over 300 officers drawn from various units of the agency swooped down at over 61 locations and knocked the doors of alleged defaulters on the basis of complaints received from various nationalised banks and inputs developed by the agency under close monitoring of CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla and senior officials in Delhi. The figure, which stood at around Rs 640 crore, swelled to Rs 1,139 crore as the agency continued filing of FIRs during the day and expanding its search operations. In Mumbai, the agency officials carried out searches at promoters and directors of Winsome Diamonds founded by absconding diamantaire Jatin Mehta who was booked i...

THE QUINT JULY 03, 2019 Controversial businessman Vijay Mallya was handed a lifeline by the England and Wales high court on Tuesday when it permitted him to appeal against the 3 February order of Home Secretary Sajid Javid to extradite him to India. Facing charges of financial offences running into over Rs 9,000 crore, Mallya, who lost in the Westminster Magistrates Court after a year-long trial in December 2018, will now not be immediately extradited but will be able to mount further legal challenges in the high court. Reference: https://www.thequint.com/news/india/business-news-today-mallya-extradition-appeal-allowed-sitharaman-economy

Dark Reading June 27,2019 ATLANTA - Jun Ying, the former Chief Information Officer of Equifax U.S. Information Solutions, has been sentenced to federal prison for insider trading. “Ying thought of his own financial gain before the millions of people exposed in this data breach even knew they were victims,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “He abused the trust placed in him and the senior position he held to profit from inside information.”   “If company insiders don’t follow the rules that govern all investors, they will face the consequences for their actions. Otherwise the public’s trust in the stock market will erode,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will do everything in its power to stop anyone who takes unfair advantage of their insider knowledge.” According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency headquarter...

Daily Hunt July 02, 2019 India TV HDFC Bank sends out a warning to its internet banking users about an app called AnyDesk that is used by fraudsters to steal customersmoney via unified payments interface (UPI). Such apps help fraudsters to gain unauthorized access to users mobile device for carrying out transactions that are not authorised by the bank account holders. PUBG Lite Beta launching on July 4 for low-end PCs and laptops in India AnyDesk is an app for smartphones that allows remote control of devices. HDFC Bank has shared a message saying, "Beware! Fraudsters may ask you to download AnyDesk App and share a 9-digit code which gets them access to your phone to steal money. Do not share your card details / OTP / PIN with anyone and report any unusual activity immediately to the bank.' Reserve Bank of India (RBI) too had said in February that AnyDesk is capable of acquiring full access to your smartphone that allows fraudsters to carry out banking tr...

The Times of India July 02, 2019 Reuters State-owned banks had classified Rs 1,50,000 crore ($21.76 billion) worth of loans as "wilful defaults" in 2018 2018-19, with the biggest lender State Bank of India accounting for a third, the finance minister said in the parliament.  Under law, wilful defaulters are classified as firms or individuals who own large businesses and deliberately avoid repayments.  The State Bank of India saw the highest number of wilful at Rs 46,158 crore, while Punjab National Bank stood second at Rs 25,090 crore, with Bank of India at Rs 9,890 crore, Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to queries in parliament on Tuesday.  According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gross loans and advances in state-run banks came in at Rs 63,820 crore, as of March 31, 2019.  The Narendra Modi-led government has been tightening norms against wilful defaulters especially after aviation tycoon Vijay Mallya, fugitive bi...

The Times of India July 02, 2019 PTI The NIA questioned the editor-in-chief of a prominent English daily from Kashmir for the second consecutive day on Tuesday in connection with a case related to funding of terror groups and separatist organisations in Jammu and Kashmir. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also summoned Anees-ul-Islam, the grandson of pro-Pakistan separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, to appear before it on July 9. The questioning of the journalist is expected to continue, the officials said. The journalist was issued summons last week.  Earlier, the general manager of the newspaper was summonedand questioned by the agency, which has registered a case to probe funding of separatist and terror groups in 2018 and carried out raids and arrested 14 people.  The editor-in-chief of the daily was being questioned about certain articles that had appeared in the newspaper during the agitation in 2016 after Hizbul Mujahideen terro...