www.ibpsguide.

com
Banking Current Affairs Capsule 2015 Part-II for Upcoming Bank Exams

HDFC Bank launches 10-second paperless instant loan plan:

Countrys second-largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank on 18 June 2015 launched a
10-second paperless instant loan plan for its existing customers. The bank will now disburse
personal loans to its customers in just 10 seconds. With this product, existing customer will
have a per-approved loan amount available to them 24x7.

The 10-second loan is another offering under HDFC Banks digital banking platform
GoDigital.

Under the platform, the bank had launched PayZapp application to cater to e-commerce
space.

Kotak Mahindra, ING Bank ink MoU for cross-border biz:

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) and ING Bank, on June 2015, joined hands to cooperate
and explore opportunities arising from cross border business, investment and trade flows
across Benelux, Western Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
First facial recognition ATM developed in China:
Chinese researchers, in June 2015, announced to have successfully developed the first
Automated Teller Machine (ATM) with facial recognition technology to reduce the risk of theft.
The developers include Tsinghua University and Tzekwan Technology, a Hangzhou firm in
eastern Chinas Zhejiang province that provides security protection for financial transactions. It
is believed that the technology will curb ATM-related crimes.

For More Banking Study Materials Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Page 1

www.ibpsguide.com

The news came a week after the state launched its Made in China campaign, which
aims to transition the mainland from a manufacturing hub for low-end goods to highquality products within the next 10 years.

IDFC gears up on technology with FSS tie-up:

As per news reports, published on 16 June 2015, the soon-to-be-turned bank IDFC has
partnered with payments technology and transactions processing firm FSS (Financial Software
& Systems) to provide end-to-end payments technology support for its upcoming banking
operations this year. IDFC is likely to start its banking operation by October. This partnership
will allow FSS to establish complete payments technology infrastructure for the upcoming
IDFC Bank with services ranging from payments processing, card management, reconciliation
to payment gateway for e-commerce, and Aadhaar Enabled Payments for financial inclusion.

FSS will install and manage IDFC banks ATM network and provide cash recyclers to
accept and dispense cash.

IDFC bank branches to be mix of metros, backward areas: IDFC was working on a
binary strategy that will entail opening branches in metros as well as backward
districts of the country.

Western Union, YES Bank tie up for remittances:

Global payment service provider Western Union, in June 2015, tied up with mid-sized
private lender yes Bank for international direct-to-bank transfers. This will facilitate money
transfers to bank accounts in India, through the NEFT as well as IMPS clearing systems. This
collaboration with YES Bank will allow consumers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and many
other countries, to send money directly to more than 900 million bank accounts in India.
Acquisition of bad loans by ARCS to slow down:

For More Banking Study Materials Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Page 2

www.ibpsguide.com
As per Assocham-Crisil joint study, titled ARCs- The new normal: Growth tempered,
recovery in the crosshairs, released in June 2015, Non-Performing Asset (NPAs) worth about
Rs.12,000-14,000 crore are expected to be bought by Asset Reconstruction Companies
(ARCs) in the current fiscal 2016, thereby, underscoring low systemic absorption capability.
Corporation Bank eyes CASA ratio of 25%:
Corporation Bank is keen to raise its Current Account Savings Account (CASA) ratio to 25
percent by end March 2016, its Chairman and Managing Director SR Bansal said on 2 June
2015. The CASA ratio of the bank is now pegged at 17 percent.

Bansal inaugurated the 2300th branch of Corporation Bank at Gurgaon in Haryana on 2

June 2015.

Bank unions, IBA sign bipartite agreement:

The Indian Banks Association (IBA) signed the 10th bipartite agreement with five
employee unions in Mumbai on 25 May 2015. The signatories included eight representatives
on behalf of 43 member banks and 56 workmen representatives on behalf of five bank unionsAIBEA, NCBE, BEFI, NOBW and INBEF With this, banker will receive a 15 percent hike in
their salary slip component and would translate into an increase of Rs. 2,270 crore the salary
slip component of establishment expenses of public sector banks which are parties to this
settlement for FY12.
Bandhan gets final nod from RBI to start banking operations:
Indias largest microfinance firm, Bandhan Financial Services, in June 2015, received
final nod from RBI to start banking operation. It will start operations as a full-fledged bank on
23 August 2015 in Kolkata, its headquarters, with nearly 600 branches across 27 states. The
bank to be called Bandhan and infrastructure lender IDFC had got in-principle approval from
the RBI to start banking operation within 18 months.
For More Banking Study Materials Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Page 3

www.ibpsguide.com
RuPay credit cards coming in 2016:
As per an announcement made by M Balachandran, Chairman, National Payment
Corporation of India (NPCI) on 16 June 2015, RuPay, Indias own payment system floated by
the NPCI is set to roll out RuPay Credit Cards in 2016. Till date, banks have issued 160 million
RuPay cards.
Payment through mobile banking platform to reach USD 100 billion:
HSBC: According to a statement made by financial services major HSBC on 20 June 2015,
Corporates are increasingly using mobile banking and it expects global payment through its
mobile banking and it expects global payments through its banking platform to touch USD 100
billion in the next 18 months.
Panel headed by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan shortlist 11 for PSU banks MD post:
As many as 11 candidates have been shortlisted by a panel headed by RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan for the post of CEO and MD of five large public sector banks, including PNB,
BOB and Canara Bank. These shortlisted names have been sent to the finance ministry and
would be subsequently forwarded to the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) after
vigilance and other necessary clearances.

In December 2014, the government had appointed Managing Director and CEO in four
state-owned banksIndian Overseas Bank, Oriented Bank of Commerce, United Bank
of India and Vijaya Bank. The MD and CEO of Syndicate Bank were appointed in May
2015.

Credit growth of commercial banks slows down to 9.8 percent:

For More Banking Study Materials Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Page 4

www.ibpsguide.com
As per a RBI data, released on 10 June 2015, Growth rate of credit by scheduled
commercial banks slowed to 9.8 percent at Rs 66,33,417 crore for the fortnight ended May
29,2015.
Export Import Bank of India facing bad loan risk in four countries:
As per news reports, published on 10 June 2015, the Export Import Bank of India runs
the risk of its exposure to four countries, including Syria and Sudan, turning bad due to political
issues. Besides Sudan and Syria, which is in disarray because of civil war, the other countries
where Exim Banks loan are under stress are Djibouti and Guinea Bissau.
ICICI Bank, RBI organize meet to replace mutilated notes:
ICICI Bank organized a special drive along with the RBI on 9 June 2015 to help those
saddled with soiled and mutilated currency notes, so that they could exchange these for coins.
The event was organized at EDC House in Panaji under the guidance of RBI.
HDFC Bank among top 100 most valuable global brands in 2015:
As per the BrandZ list released by Millward Brown, a global research agency, in
association with WPP, in may 2015, Private sector lender HDFC Bank was the only Indian
entity to find a place among the top 100 most valuable brands globally, along with Apple,
Google, Microsoft, IBM and Facebook. HDFC Bank was ranked at 74 th position in the list. As
per the report, the bank is the Indias most valuable brand with a value of USD 14 billion.

Apple tops the chart with a brand value of USD 246.9 billion, followed by Google with
USD 173.6 billion and Microsoft with USD 115.5 billion.

Indian Banks Association wants government to lower rates on small savings scheme:
The Indian Banks Association (IBA), on 25 May 2015, urged the finance Ministry to
bring down interest rates on small savings scheme such as the Sukanya Smridhi and National
For More Banking Study Materials Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Page 5

www.ibpsguide.com
Savings Scheme. Even the Shyamala Gopinath committee report had recommended that
interest rate on these government schemes should be at the secondary market yield of
government securities plus 25 basis points. The rates offered in the various small savings
schemes are in the range of 9-9.10 oercent currently.
Bank of China may open first India branch in Mumbai:
As per news reports of May 2015, if things go according to plan, then the first branch of
Bank of China may open in Mumbai soon. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval gave the
security clearance for opening of the bank.
ICICI Bank sells Rs 250 crore Lavasa NCDs to Arcil:
ICICI Bank, in May 2015, sold Rs 250 crore of non-convertible debentures issued by
Lavasa Corporation, a subsidiary of HCC, to loan recovery firm Arcil Ltd.
NPCI to cover all 56 RRBs under Immediate Payment Service by March 2016:
As per news report of 10 June 2015, National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has
geared up to launch Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), an interbank remittance processing
service, across all the 56 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) by March 2016. The NPCI has till now
facilitated only five RRBs to launch IMPS.
Indian Army inks MoU with Punjab National Bank for salary a/c:
The Indian Army, on 9 June 2015, inked a MoU with state-owned Punjab National Bank
for defence salary package that will also give an extended benefit on personal accidental
insurance coverage. Army had earlier signed a MoU with Punjab National Bank (PNB) in 2011
with a validity of three years.
Bank of India and MasterCard launch new products:

For More Banking Study Materials Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Page 6

www.ibpsguide.com
State-run Bank of India (BOI) and MasterCard launched new products, on 22 May 2015, in
a bid to enhance the payment experience for customer with BOI Business Debit MasterCard,
Platinum Credit MasterCard and International Travel MasterCard.

An in-principle agreement has also been signed to offer an innovative range of banking
solution such as In control and MasterCard rewards programme, which will cater to the
digital needs of customers.

In Control is a mobile-based application which allows card holder the flexibility to

determine how, when and where they will use their card.

United Bank considering to shift treasury department to Mumbai:

Kolkata-based lender United Bank of India, in May 2915, announced plans of shifting its
treasury department to the financial capital of the country in order to stay closer to the market.
Out of the 27 state-run banks, only three public sector banks have their treasury base out of
Mumbai.

Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank have their treasury departments in Chennai
while Oriented Bank of Commerce has in Gurgaon.

Punjab National Bank shifted its treasury department around three years back to
Mumbai.

For More Banking Study Materials Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Page 7