Top Banking news of the day

Round up of the major headlines that dominated the banking sector, nationally and internationally

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at 50 locations and started questioning of some of the suspects in its probe into alleged black money transfer of Rs.6000 crore to Hong Kong through Bank of Baroda camouflaged as payments for “non-existent imports”. People familiar with the matter said most of the 59 account holder companies, which had allegedly sent these remittances in the garb of payments for suspected non-existent imports, have given wrong addresses.

Local investment banks (i-banks) have won most of the mandates to manage initial public offerings (IPOs), propelling them to the top of the 2015 IPO league table in a boom year for primary market activity. Their global rivals are likely to make a strong comeback in the last three months of the year when bigger IPOs are expected to hit the market. 

Altico Capital India Pvt. Ltd, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) of Asia-focused investor Clearwater Capital Partners LLC, has provided Rs.450 crore of debt financing to an upcoming residential project in Mazgaon, south Mumbai, company executives said.

Newly opened private sector lender Bandhan Bank is looking to raise Rs 500 crore from existing investors by the end of the ongoing fiscal to fund its business expansion plans.

Finance Ministry has invited stakeholder comments on the three reports of the empowered committee of state finance ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) by the end of this month.

The three reports of the Empowered Committee, pertains to registration, payment process and refunds in the GST regime.

Private lender Yes Bank has exited debt-ridden Lanco Infratech, a move which may have been prompted by UBS' recent research report that expressed concern about the bank's exposure to highly leveraged companies. Yes Bank, which is among the 27 bankers to Lanco Infratech, has a superior loan structure, with an exposure of about Rs 250 crore that enabled it to exit the account.

It is not often that you see the management at IDBI Bank using its discretionary powers to sanction a loan. But when Kingfisher Airlines sought short-term funding, there was probably unprecedented haste.

Happy with Q2 performance: Vishal Sikka, Infosys

10 key takeaways from Infosys' Conference Call after Q2FY2015 results

Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions, reported results for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Following are the key takeaways from the top management conference call of the company, led by Dr. Vishal Sikka, CEO and MD. 

1. Order pipeline & order wins continue to remain strong.

2. Infosys making progress in new strategies.

3. Seeing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help businesses maximize its potential.

4. Have more than 50 engagements with Panaya

5. Top 25 accounts grew 7.9% in constant currency terms.

6. Do see focussed execution to produce encouraging results for our clients.

7. 38 projects went live in Q2.

8. H2 is traditionally challenging for Industry

9. See some headwinds in certain clients as we enter H2FY16.

10. Could have reported 5% dollar revenue growth if $23 million client not terminated.

Forex scam! Bank of Baroda stock plunges 4%

Report says that the bank has suspended two senior officials and done an investigation to verify in connection to the alleged forex scam in one of its Delhi branches.

Bank of Baroda stock is lower by 4% at Rs. 174. Report says that the bank has suspended two senior officials and done an investigation to verify in connection to the alleged forex scam in one of its Delhi branches.

The scrip opened at Rs. 168 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 176.2 and Rs. 168 respectively. So far 8657532 (NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 42004.83 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 228.9 on 23-Jan-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 137.5 on 29-Jun-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 190.9 and Rs. 181.65 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 59.24 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 33.21 % and 7.55 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 50 DMA.

Top Startup news of the day

Round up of the major news that dominated the startup sector, nationally and internationally.

With big brands like Cafe Coffee Day and IndiGo lining up their public offers, the IPO market is set for a four-year record performance this year as close to Rs 6,600 crore has already been raised and plans are afoot for garnering another Rs 20,000 crore. (ET)

More than 10,000 startup firms are being set up everyday in China as part of new reforms initiated by the Chinese government to halt the slide of the economy.

Noida-based Soothe Healthcare, the maker of Paree brand of affordable sanitary napkins, has secured an undisclosed amount in angel funding from the company's advisor, Anil Gupta. 

Online P2P lending marketplace Faircent.com has secured an undisclosed amount in funding from TV Mohandas Pai, the chairman of Manipal Global Education, through Aarin Capital Partners, according to people aware of the development. Pai will join the board of Faircent as advisor, they said. 

Snapdeal-owned mobile transactions platform FreeCharge plans to spend Rs 1,000 crore in the next 10-12 months as the company aims to position its wallet services as a preferential mode of making payments. 

Gridle, a productivity platform for work, has raised a seed round of $100,000 led by Jyotsna Bapat from IIITBangalore through deal making platform LetsVenture. 

Droom, an online marketplace for automobiles, expects its gross merchandise value (GMV) to more than double to Rs 600 crore by the end of this fiscal as it plans on expanding into newer product categories and services.

Expect Some Headwinds in H2 of FY16: Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka

Infosys Ltd, India's second-largest software services exporter by revenue, reported a better-than-expected increase in quarterly net profit, helped by a focus on high-end projects and as clients in the United States spent more. Here are the highlights of management commentary on Q2 results.

Here are the highlights:

• CEO Vishal Sikka: Sad to see CFO Rajiv Bansal stepping down
• Vishal Sikka: Will work hard to buck the weak H2 trend for overall IT services trend
• Outgoing CFO Rajiv Bansal: Sad to leave Infosys
• Rajiv Bansal: This quarter the growth has been very strong
• Vishal Sikka: Expect some headwinds in H2 of FY16

Simbhaoli Sugar says Court approves merger of spirits unit with company

Accordingly, the Board has formed a Committee of Directors comprising of Independent Directors and the Chairman of the Company to fix the Record Date for shares swap as per the Order passed by the Hon'ble High Court, subject to the final approval of the Stock Exchanges.

Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd has informed BSE that The Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (the Court) has sanctioned the Scheme of Amalgamation of Simbhaoli Sugars Limited with Simbhaoli Spirits Limited (the Scheme) on September 09, 2015. The order sanctioning the Scheme was uploaded at the Court's website on Oct 1, 2015.

Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Company in its meeting held on Oct 10, 2015 has taken note of the said order. The Court also directed its Registry to issue a formal order, which shall be filed before the Registrar of Companies, Kanpur, UP, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (ROC), within the permissible time. On filling of said order with ROC, the Company shall stand dissolved in terms of the Scheme and be amalgamated with Simbhaoli Spirits Limited without being wound up.

Accordingly, the Board has formed a Committee of Directors comprising of Independent Directors and the Chairman of the Company to fix the Record Date for shares swap as per the Order passed by the Hon'ble High Court, subject to the final approval of the Stock Exchanges.

The proposed Record Date and closure of Register of Members and Share Transfer Books shall be fixed by the said Committee in consultation with the Stock Exchanges and other steps will be taken up for the share exchange formalities and listing of equity shares of amalgamated entity as per the directions of the Court and the Stock Exchanges.

Yes Bank gets RBI approval for setting up mutual fund

The scrip opened at Rs. 730 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 736.5 and Rs. 727 respectively.

Yes Bank , India's 5th largest private sector bank, has received an approval from the Reserve Bank of India to sponsor a Mutual Fund and to setup a Asset Management Company (AMC), and a Trustee Company. The AMC and the Trust Companies shall be set up as wholly owned subsidiaries of YES Bank Limited.

YES Bank will now apply to SEBI to seek necessary approvals.

The Asset Management Company (AMC) will channelize the savings of retail and institutional investors in equity and debt capital markets. This will complement YES Bank's retail liabilities strategy, and also allow the AMC to leverage the bank's distribution network for customer acquisition, and provide customers a seamless digital experience for their investments  & savings solutions. The Bank will simplify and integrate "manufacturing to distribution" of equity and debt investment products for all its customers.

The AMC will also gain from the Bank's expertise in investment advisory, wealth management solutions, debt capital markets, its significant and growing customer base & distribution network, and overall execution expertise, to build a large and profitable Fund Management franchise.

In its 12th year of operations, as YES BANK accelerates into its next phase of growth, this new business initiative will provide further acceleration to YES Banks differentiated product offerings to its customers.

The stock  is currently trading at Rs. 734.45, up by 9.25 points or 1.28% from its previous closing of Rs. 725.2 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 730 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 736.5 and Rs. 727 respectively. So far 360856(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 30383.36 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 910 on 04-Mar-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 560 on 09-Oct-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 756.7 and Rs. 720.5 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 22.04 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 65.71 % and 12.25 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Infosys Beyond Business

For this fiscal, Infosys has pledged Rs. 270 crore towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that is primarily being carried out through the Infosys Foundation, its philanthropic arm.

Infosys Beyond Business

For this fiscal, Infosys has pledged Rs. 270 crore towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that is primarily being carried out through the Infosys Foundation, its philanthropic arm.

As of September 30, 2015, the Infosys Foundation has invested Rs. 102.9 crore on areas related to Education,Healthcare, Destitute Care and Rural Development. The key initiatives during the quarter involved an endowment of Rs. 6 crore each to Agastya International Foundation, a non-governmental organization and Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra.

Last quarter, Infosys Foundation USA launched its inaugural Infy Maker Awards program. This initiative is part of a commitment made by the Infosys Foundation USA at the White House earlier this year during the National Week of Making, to spark the spirit of making in everyday learning. The awards celebrate young and adult Makers across the United States who demonstrate creative excellence. In addition, Infosys Foundation USA will award 50 USD$10,000 Makerspace grants to schools, libraries and other community organizations.

Each grant will be in cash and in kind, and will seed dynamic Makerspaces at each grantee location. Recipients of these grants will be nominated by the student winners.

Infosys Board approves 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan

The Board further approved the issuance of new shares, so as not to cumulatively exceed 2% of the shares outstanding, in order to support grants made over time under the 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan.

Infosys announced that its Board approved the 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan, amending the existing 2011 RSU Plan.The 2011 RSU plan has been amended in accordance with the SEBI (share based employee benefits)regulations, 2014 and will be issued as the 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan. The grants made under the2011 RSU plan will continue to be administered and implemented by the 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan.

The 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan will be subject to the approval of shareholders.

The Board further approved the issuance of new shares, so as not to cumulatively exceed 2% of the shares outstanding, in order to support grants made over time under the 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan. Approval to issue such shares under the 2015 Incentive Compensation plan will be subject to the approval of shareholders.

Infosys rises, then falls after results

The net profit for the quarter stands at Rs. 3400 crore.

Shares of Infosys were lower by 3% at Rs. 1127 after the company posted Q2 results.

The net profit for the quarter stands at Rs. 3400 crore.

Infosys has lowered the FY16 Dollar-Revenue Guidance  to 6.4-8.4% from 7.2-9.2%.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1202.7 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1219 and Rs. 1108.9 respectively. So far 4445645(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 268248.68 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1197 on 01-Oct-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 900 on 10-Oct-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1190 and Rs. 1126 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 13.08 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 57.1 % and 13.08 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 50 DMA.

Infosys Ltd - Q2FY2015 reports 117.67% rise in Q2 net profit.

Company’s revenue grew at Rs.13,525 crore, registering growth of 6.18% qoq .

Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions, reported results for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.

On standalone basis, the company’s net profit for the quarter at Rs. 6,306 crore, registered growth of 117.67% qoq and 87.40% yoy. The company’s revenue at Rs. 13,525 crore, registered growth of 6.18% qoq and 14.01% yoy.

It’s core operating profit at Rs. 3,801 crore, witnessed 16.10% qoq and 13.94% yoy growth. Operating margin at 28.10% contracted by two bps yoy and 240 bps qoq basis respectively.

For six month ended September 30, 2015, the company’s standalone net profit at Rs. 9,203 crore, registered growth of 51.24% yoy. The company’s revenue at Rs. 26,263 crore, registered growth of 13.29% yoy. 

Result highlights- (Should pick consolidated numbers by default. In absence, pick stand-alone figures)

Reported	Results	IIFL Estimates	Variance (%)
Net Profit	6,306	3,323	89.76

Infosys has declared an Interim Dividend of Rs. 10/- per Equity Shares.

The Board further approved the issuance of new shares, so as not to cumulatively exceed 2% of the shares outstanding, in order to support grants made over time under the 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan. Approval to issue such shares under the 2015 Incentive Compensation plan will be subject to the approval of shareholders.

Infosys Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 1131.9, down by -35.95 points or -3.08% from its previous closing of Rs. 1167.85 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1202.7 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1219 and Rs. 1108.9 respectively. So far 6893172(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 268248.68 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1197 on 01-Oct-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 900 on 10-Oct-2014. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1190 and Rs. 1126 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 13.08 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 57.1 % and 13.08 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 50 DMA.

14 Stocks in focus today

Check out the companies which will be in focus during trade today based on recent and latest news developments.

Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd: The company has informed BSE that The Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (the Court) has sanctioned the Scheme of Amalgamation of Simbhaoli Sugars Limited with Simbhaoli Spirits Limited (the Scheme) on September 09, 2015. The order sanctioning the Scheme was uploaded at the Court's website on Oct 1, 2015.

Bank of Baroda: The bank has suspended two senior officials and done an investigation to verify in connection to the alleged forex scam in one of its Delhi branches

Kolte-Patil Developers Ltd: The real-estate company has raised Rs. 110 crore through issue of redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures(NCD). The developer has raised the funds through private placement of these secured NCDs.

IOC:The company plans to sell subsidised 5-kg LPG cylinders in rural India in a bid to promote the use of clean fuel for cooking, Chairman B Ashok was quoted as saying on Sunday in Kolkata.

Tata Steel: The steel company sold 2.3 mn tons (mt) of steel in the second quarter ended September 30, 2015 up 11%. For the half year ended September 30, 2015, the company sold 4.4 mt of saleable steel. The company reportedly said it produced 2.4 mt of saleable steel in Q2 FY'16.

Maruti Suzuki: The companyapproved a proposal to raise foreign institutional investors (FII) limit in the company to up to 40% from the current 24%.

GMR Infrastructure: Kakinada SEZ Pvt. Ltd. (KSEZ), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd. (GMR), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japanese Major – JGC Corporation (JGC) for co-developingJapanese Oriented Food Processing Park (Park) at its Kakinada Special Economic Zone.

Maharashtra Seamless Ltd: The company has reportedly shut down one of its units at Raigarh in Maharashtra, rendering nearly 500 employees jobless.

Zensar Technologies: The company announced that Marina Holdco, a company backed by Funds advised by Apax Partners has acquired 23.2% stake in Zensar Technologies. The stake was acquired from Electra Partners Mauritius, an existing minority shareholder. RPG Group continues to be the promoter and the largest shareholder in the Company with 48% stake.

Unichem Laboratories: The company has received ANDA approval from the United State Food and Drug Administration for Montelukast Sodium Tablets.

SpiceJet: The country’s favourite low-cost carrier has unveiled an all new winter schedule, with 291 daily flight from the current 250 daily flights, adding 10 new sectors, 30 new frequencies and 22 connecting flights. The airline also announced the induction of six new aircraft to its existing fleet strength in the next 30 days, a first of its kind initiative in the history of Indian aviation.

IDBI Bank Ltd: Staff and officers of IDBI Bank are contemplating one-day nationwide strike to oppose the government's proposed move to dilute its stake in the lender, as per media reports.

Aurobindo Pharma: The pharma company has received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Aripiprazole tablets. The approved new drug application is the bioequivalent of the reference listed drug product Abilify of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company.

Cairn India: The company reported a 3% rise in crude oil and natural gas production from its Rajasthan fields to 168,126 barrels per day in the second quarter ended September 30, an official statement by the company said.