IDFCFIRSTB

Corrects media packaging code to "IDFC FIRST BANK-STOCKS/" from "IDFC FIRST BANK-STOCK/"

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Shares of IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS fell nearly 7% on Monday to their lowest in 21 months after the private lender reported its third-quarter profit more than halved, hurt by higher bad loan provisions in the microfinance business.

IDFC First Bank, on Saturday, reported that gross slippages, or the loans classified as non-performing for the first time, in the microfinance segment jumped nearly 49% on-quarter to 4.37 billion rupees.

"The microfinance industry continues to drag earnings and we see the pain continuing for three-four quarters," analysts at Jefferies said in a note.

The stock is down about 9% so far this month, after losing nearly 29% last year.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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• India's FY25 fiscal deficit is estimated to be lower than budget but may not lead to any cut in borrowing via debt, IDFC First Bank says

• Says deficit estimated to be lower budget estimate by around 830 bln rupees ($9.66 bln)

• As a proportion of GDP, fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.7% vs 4.9% target

• Still, government is not expected to cut supply, given the strong demand for government bonds

• "Given expectation of fiscal deficit being lower than budget estimate plus strong non-competitive collection, there could be scope to cut t-bill issuance," economist Garua Sen Gupta says

• She expects 10-year benchmark bond yield IN067934G=CC to moderate to 6.50%-6.60% by March, from 6.76% current level

($1 = 85.9040 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia)

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Jan 3 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• IDFC FIRST BANK LTD - CUSTOMER DEPOSITS GREW 28.8% Y/Y AS OF DEC END

• IDFC FIRST BANK LTD - LOANS & ADVANCES GREW 21.9% Y/Y AS OF DEC END

• IDFC FIRST BANK - TOTAL BUSINESS GREW 25.2% Y/Y AS OF DEC 31

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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Dec 27 (Reuters) - Reliance Infrastructure Ltd RLIN.NS:

• RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE - UNIT RECEIVES NOTICES FROM AXIS BANK AND IDFC FIRST BANK

• RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE LTD - NOTICES INVOKE RIGHT OF SUBSTITUTION UNDER CONCESSION AGREEMENT

• RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE LTD - NOTICES CITE ALLEGED DSRA DEFAULTS BY UNIT

• RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE - FINANCIAL IMPACT ON CO UNDETERMINED AT THIS STAGE

Source text: ID:nBSE3kWTMJ

Further company coverage: RLIN.NS

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Adds India's chief economic adviser's comments

By Manoj Kumar and Shivangi Acharya

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India's economic growth slowed much more than expected in the third quarter, hampered by weaker expansions in manufacturing and consumption, likely adding pressure on the central bank for interest rate cuts.

Gross domestic output INGDPQ=ECI in the world's fifth-biggest economy rose by 5.4% in July-September year-on-year, data showed on Friday, the slowest pace in seven quarters and below a Reuters poll of 6.5%. In the previous quarter it grew 6.7%.

The gross value added (GVA), a more stable measure of economic activity, also saw a modest 5.6% growth, easing from a 6.8% increase in the previous quarter.

India's chief economic adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran told reporters the growth figure was disappointing amid a challenging global environment.

"The bulk of the slowdown has been predominantly due to the manufacturing sector ... Some of it is also due to the presence of excess capacity elsewhere and imports dumping in India," he said, highlighting surging imports of cheap steel from China, Japan and South Korea.

The slowdown, visible across a number of sectors, was indeed most pronounced in manufacturing, where year-on-year growth dropped to 2.2% compared with 7% the previous quarter.

"The economy has hit a bump on its post-pandemic recovery path, with a much slower manufacturing sector and mining sector dragging down growth prospects," said Suman Chowdhury, chief economist at Acuite Ratings.

Economists say inflation, now running at around 6%, is biting into demand for goods ranging from soaps to shampoos to cars, particularly in urban areas. Private consumer spending rose 6.0% from a year earlier, compared with 7.4% in the previous quarter.

The slowdown also came despite government spending rising 4.4% year-on-year in July-September, compared with a 0.2% contraction the previous quarter.

Helped by a good monsoon, agricultural output did better, rising 3.5% compared from 2% growth the previous quarter.

The government adviser said that growth prospects were still resilient and that rural demand would remain a supporting factor.

RED FLAGS

Third-quarter corporate earnings had hinted at a slowdown in the country.

More than 50% of the 44 firms in the blue-chip Nifty 50 index .NSEI that have reported earnings have either missed analysts' estimates or reported results in line with expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Companies like Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS and FMCG giants Nestle India NEST.NS and Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS reported sluggish urban consumption in the September quarter.

Growth in inflation-adjusted wage costs for listed Indian firms - a proxy for the earnings of urban Indians - has remained below 2% for all the three quarters of 2024, well below the 10-year average of 4.4%, data from Citi showed.

Slower earnings growth prompted record foreign outflows of nearly $12 billion from the Indian equity markets in October.

PRESSURE ON RBI

Bond yields and overnight index swap rates, seen as an indicator of interest rates, fell after the GDP release, signalling an increased probability of an interest rate cut in February.

A few economists, however, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may even consider a rate cut in December.

"Post today's (GDP) print, there is a high probability of an RBI rate cut in December," said Gaura Sen Gupta, economist at Mumbai-based IDFC First Bank.

India's finance and trade ministers have called for lower interest rates to help industries to ramp up investments and build capacities, although Nageswaran kept his council when speaking to reporters.

"All of us see the data, the central bank is also seeing the data. They know what to do and I will be not commenting on this question," the government's chief economic adviser said.

The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left its benchmark repo rate INREPO=ECI unchanged at 6.50% last month due to still high inflation, while tweaking its policy stance to "neutral".

The bank, which last cut rates in May 2020, announces its next policy decision on Dec. 6.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Susan Fenton and Hugh Lawson)

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MUMBAI, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Indian banks' loan growth moderated this September, compared with the same month a year ago, central bank data showed on Thursday, as the impact of the Reserve Bank of India's clampdown on "exuberance" in retail lending continued.

Banks' credit grew at 14.4% year-on-year last month, slower than the 15.3% increase in September 2023, excluding the impact of HDFC Bank merging with parent Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), the RBI said.

Including the impact of the merger, banks' loans grew 13% last month, compared with 20% a year ago.

Loan growth had moderated in August as well.

Indian banks have consistently reported double-digit loan growth for a while, helped by healthy economic growth and urban consumption. However, the RBI, worried about the risk of bad loans, imposed higher capital requirements on banks late last year.

Despite that, some segments, such as personal loans and credit card loans posted strong growth, in excess of 25%, until earlier this year when the central bank governor warned against "exuberance".

The RBI followed up on its norms with a series of actions against non-complying entities and that, along with rising defaults especially in the once fast-growing segments like personal loans and credit cards, have slowed both loan growth.

Banks' personal loan growth halved to 12.1% in September from a year ago, while growth in credit card outstanding dropped to 18% from 31.4% a year ago, the RBI data showed.

A rise in defaults by over-leveraged small borrowers is hitting India's top lenders, with bank executives and analysts expecting higher levels of stress in these personal segments over the next year.

Credit growth to the services sector decelerated to 15.2% in September from 21.6% a year ago, primarily due to lower growth in credit to non-banking financial companies.

On the flip side, loans to industry grew by 9.1% year-on-year in September, quicker than the 6% growth last year.

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; Reuters Messaging: X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

Adds name in editing credits

By Siddhi Nayak, Jaspreet Kalra

MUMBAI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - A rise in defaults by over-leveraged small borrowers is hitting India's top lenders, with bank executives and analysts expecting higher levels of stress in the personal loans and micro-credit segments over the next year.

The rise in defaults marks a turn in the credit cycle for Indian lenders, whose bad loans dropped to a multi-year low of 2.8% of all assets as of end-March, according to central bank data.

In the September quarter, however, five of the eight largest private sector banks have reported an increase in bad loans.

HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS, IndusInd Bank INBK.NS, RBL Bank RATB.NS and IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS saw gross bad loans as a percentage of total assets rise between 2 basis points and 19 basis points during the quarter.

Most banks have also increased provisions, or funds set aside to cover bad loans, in anticipation of a rise in defaults.

The surge in retail loan defaults comes against the backdrop of a booming economy, which is seen expanding 7.2% in the current year to March 2025 with bank lending growing at twice that pace.

Segments such as personal loans and credit cards, in particular, saw much faster growth, in excess of 25% until earlier this year, forcing the central bank to step in to curb "exuberance" in retail lending.

Slippages, or the proportion of good loans turning bad, would be elevated and stress could remain high "for the next 3-4 quarters at least", said Pranav Gundlapalle, senior research analyst at Bernstein.

Rising defaults, along with higher capital requirements imposed on banks last year, and series of actions against exuberant lending practices have slowed growth in segments such as personal loans and credit cards.

While a moderate worsening of asset quality may not be an immediate cause of concern for well-capitalised banks, the trend of rising bad loans and slowing retail loan growth could weigh on their profitability outlook, analysts said.

"We do see a general trend, particularly in unsecured (loans), where there is stress across multiple segments," said Arjun Chowdhry, group executive for segments including cards and retail loans at Axis Bank AXBK.NS, the country's third-largest private lender.

Stress is being driven by "indebtedness" caused by over-leveraging, Chowdhry said on an analyst call.

RISING DEFAULTS

The surge in bad loans is being seen mainly among borrowers who have three or more unsecured personal loans, said Rajeev Jain, managing director of Bajaj Finance, India's largest retail non-bank lender, due to easy access to funding amid extensive competition to gain market share.

For example, Harpal Singh, a 45-year old Mumbai resident whose annual income is 780,000 Indian rupees ($9,278), racked up personal loans and credit card debt of five million rupees over the last six years and is now struggling with the repayments.

"Medical emergencies have completely wiped off my savings and the general cost of living in Mumbai is so high that there is hardly anything left to pay," Singh said.

Defaults have also risen in the microfinance segment, which includes loans given to low-income borrowers.

Climate-related disruptions to crops have eroded incomes in rural areas, said a banker with a state-run bank, declining to be identified as they are not allowed to speak to the media.

The central bank, which this month barred four non-bank lenders from fresh lending due to "usurious" pricing practices, has sought data from microfinance firms on loan spreads, said five sources familiar with the requests.

The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. An e-mail sent to the central bank was not answered.

($1 = 84.0740 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak and Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Ira Dugal and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

** Shares of IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS fall as much as 9.5% to 59.30 rupees, hitting their lowest in about one-and-a-half years; last down 1.3%

** Lender reports a 73% slump in Sept-qtr net profit due to higher provisions

** Misses Morgan Stanley's estimates on higher provisions in microfinance portfolio and a stressed toll account; brokerage cuts TP by ~17% to 60 rupees

** Emkay Global reduces TP by 24% to 65 rupees

** Morgan Stanley says steady asset quality trend in unsecured loans is among positives

** Busiest session for the stock in seven months; more than 135 mln shares change hands

** Eleven out of 17 analysts cut TP; avg rating at "hold"; median PT 70 rupees - LSEG data

** YTD, stock is down ~28%

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

Oct 11 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• ALLOTTED NEW AMALGAMATED COMPANY SHARES TO ELIGIBLE SHAREHOLDERS OF IDFC

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4dyh95

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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Oct 4 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• LOANS AND ADVANCES GREW 21.3% Y/Y AS OF SEPT END

• CUSTOMER DEPOSITS GREW 32.2% Y/Y AS OF SEPT END

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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Sept 27 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• APPOINTED DATE 1 FOR AMALGAMATION OF IDFC FHCL INTO IDFC WILL BE END OF SEP 30

• APPOINTED DATE 2 FOR AMALGAMATION OF IDFC INTO IDFC FIRST BANK WILL BE OCT 1

• PURSUANT TO SCHEME, IDFC FHCL, IDFC STAND DISSOLVED WITHOUT WOUND-UP, EFFECTIVE OCT 1

• PURSUANT TO SCHEME, BANK WILL CONTINUE TO BE MANAGED WITH ONLY PUBLIC SHAREHOLDERS, EFFECTIVE OCT 1

• THERE WILL BE NO CHANGE IN DIRECTORS OR MANAGEMENT OF IDFC FIRST BANK PURSUANT TO AMALGAMATION

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE6lQxQf

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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Sept 19 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• IDFC FIRST BANK LTD - RBI GRANTED ITS APPROVAL FOR RE-APPOINTMENT OF V. VAIDYANATHAN AS MD, CEO

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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July 24 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• IDFC FIRST BANK - GOT TAX ORDER FOR PENALTY OF 24.5 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4S504p

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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July 4 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• INCREASED STAKE IN IDFC FIRST BANK FROM 0.20% TO 2.68%

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE1K3xsL

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

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June 14 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• RBI APPROVED RE-APPOINTMENT OF SANJEEB CHAUDHURI AS PART-TIME CHAIRMAN OF BANK

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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May 31 (Reuters) - Aditya Birla Capital Ltd ADTB.NS:

• ADITYA BIRLA CAPITAL LTD - UNIT INFORMED CO ABOUT PROPOSED INVESTMENT OF UPTO 5 BILLION RUPEES IN EQUITY SHARES OF IDFC FIRST BANK

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: ADTB.NS

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May 30 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• IDFC FIRST BANK LTD - APPROVED FUND RAISING WORTH 32 BILLION RUPEES

• IDFC FIRST BANK LTD - APPROVED FUND RAISING VIA ISSUE OF SHARES ON PREFERENTIAL BASIS AT 80.63 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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** Shares of IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS down 4.4% at 81.1 rupees

** The Indian lender's net profit slid 9.8% y/y to 7.24 bln rupees ($86.8 mln) as a ~31% jump in expenses outweighed a ~28% increase in interest earned

** Net provisions for bad loans up ~50% y/y in reported qtr

** Trading vols 1.6x

** Analysts' avg rating on co "buy" and median TP is 90 rupees - LSEG data

** YTD, stock has fallen ~9% after a 51% jump in 2023 - its third straight annual gain

($1 = 83.4100 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

April 25 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• TO CONSIDER FUND RAISING

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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April 24 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• TO CONSIDER ENABLING PROPOSAL TO BORROW FUNDS VIA ISSUANCE OF DEBT SECURITIES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE6lDqDx

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

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** Shares of IDFC FIRST Bank IDFB.NS up 2.1% at 82.35 rupees, rose as much as 3.7%

** More than 1.4 mln shares changed hands in two blocks priced between 81.80-83 rupees/share - LSEG

** Stock top percentage gainer in Nifty bank index .NSEBANK, which is up 0.2%

** Stock on track for third consecutive session of gains, if trend holds

** Trading vol 1.8x 30-day daily avg

** Avg rating of 16 analysts equivalent of "buy", median PT is 91.50 rupees - LSEG

** IDFB fell 15.2% in March quarter vs 2.4% fall in Nifty bank index

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] (+91 7982114624))

April 5 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• RBI IMPOSES A MONETARY PENALTY OF 10 MILLION RUPEES

• PENALTY PERTAINING TO AN INFRASTRUCTURE LOAN GRANTED TO A PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKING IN 2016 AND 2017

• SAID LOAN HAD ALREADY BEEN REPAID IN FULL WITH NO LOSS TO BANK AND CLOSED IN BOOKS

• DOES NOT UNDERTAKE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT FINANCING SINCE 2019 AS A PART OF ITS LENDING STRATEGY

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE6DzLPB

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of India's IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS fall as much as 3.5%, hitting their lowest level since June 2023

** Cloverdell Investment likely to sell its entire 2.25% stake in IDFB, local media reported

** Floor price for sale is set at 75 rupees per share implying a 4% discount on co's Wednesday close, report said

** More than 41 mln shares traded in block deals in price range of 75.15 rupees and 76.3 rupees per share on Thursday- LSEG data

** Trading Vols of IDFB at ~95 mln shares, most active session of 2024

** IDFB down ~15% YTD vs ~2.5% drop in NIFTY Bank Index.NSEBANK

(Reporitng by Nishit Navin)

(([email protected];))

Feb 6 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• CCAVENUE TO OFFER EMI SOLUTIONS TO IDFC FIRST BANK

• ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN ITS PAYMENT BRAND, CCAVENUE, AND IDFC FIRST BANK

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE9c96rZ

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of IDFC FIRST Bank IDFB.NS rise as much as 4.6% to 83.75 rupees, mark sharpest intraday pct gain since Sept. 4

** Over 3.8 mln shares traded in five separate block deals priced in the range of 81.05-83.15 rupees - LSEG data

** Trading vol 1.5x the 30-day daily avg

** Avg rating of 15 analysts equivalent of "hold", median PT is 87.50 rupees - LSEG data

** IDFB rose 51.2% in 2023, its best yearly performance since listing in 2015

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] (+91 7982114624))

Corrects to replace ICICI Bank and IDBI Bank in paragraph 5 with Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank and Canara Bank after the source clarified

By Jaspreet Kalra

MUMBAI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Indian banks disbursed some employee benefits through the digital rupee in December, helping the Reserve Bank of India meet its target of one million daily transactions by end-2023, three sources directly familiar with the development said.

The central bank digital currency (CBDC), called the e-rupee, has been devised as a digital alternative to physical cash and has been built using distributed-ledger technology.

The RBI started its e-rupee pilot in December 2022 but transactions averaged only 25,000 a day by the end of October, even though its use case was significantly broadened by linking it to the popular United Payments Interface (UPI), a framework that facilitates peer-to-peer money transfer via mobile apps.

However, last month some large private and state-run lenders disbursed amounts related to employee benefit schemes directly to employees' CBDC wallets, instead of their salary accounts, the first source familiar with the pilot said.

These lenders included HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS, Axis Bank AXBK.NS, Canara Bank CNBK.NS, and IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS the second source said.

The RBI expects non-financial firms to follow suit as well, helping boost transactions further, the source added.

Even the user base has been steadily growing ... "to about 4 million users currently, up from 3 million in December," a third executive familiar with the pilot said.

The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. The RBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Globally, countries including China, France and Ghana are in the pilot stages of their CBDC projects. Others like Nigeria have rolled out their digital currency, but with limited success despite offering rewards like discounts on auto-rickshaw rides.

Indian banks too are offering incentives for e-rupee transactions, following a nudge from the RBI to boost volumes, Reuters had reported earlier.

"Compensating employees using the CBDC is a good step," Sharat Chandra, co-founder of India Blockchain Forum said. Other avenues such as toll tax collections can also be included to further encourage adoption, he added.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; +91-8769636545;))

Dec 28 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• RBI APPROVAL FOR ICICI PRUDENTIAL ASSET MANAGEMENT CO, ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE CO TO ACQUIRE UP TO 9.95% STAKE IN CO

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of IDFC IDFC.NS and IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS rise as much as 3% each

** Reserve Bank of India conveys its "no objection" to the merger scheme of IDFC and IDFC Financial Holding Company with IDFB

** Merger scheme still subject to approvals from the National Company Law Tribunal and the shareholders of IDFC, IDFB and IDFC Financial Holding

** Shares of IDFC and IDFB up 78% and 54%, respectively, in 2023 so far, including today's gains, vs 13% rise in Nifty Private Bank index .NIFPVTBNK

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

Dec 18 (Reuters) - IDFC First Bank Ltd IDFB.NS:

• RECEIVED LETTER FROM RBI, WHEREBY RBI CONVEYED ITS ‘NO OBJECTION’ TO COMPOSITE SCHEME OF AMALGAMATION

• COMPOSITE SCHEME OF AMALGAMATION OF IDFC FINANCIAL HOLDINGS CO INTO, WITH IDFC, AND IDFC INTO AND WITH BANK

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: IDFB.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS down 3% at 87.65 rupees

** More than 15 mln shares of co changed hands in block deals in the price range of 86.8 rupees and 87.7 rupees as of 9:50 a.m. IST - LSEG data

** CNBC TV-18 on Wednesday reported private equity firm Warburg Pincus to sell a 1.3% stake in IDFB through block deal for $100 million

** IDFB biggest loser on the Nifty Bank Index .NSEBANK which is down 0.5%

** Average rating of 14 analyst covering the stock is "Hold," their median PT is 95 rupees - ~9% higher than the current price

** Stock is up ~50% YTD vs a ~8% rise in Nifty Bank Index

(Reporitng by Nishit Navin)

(([email protected];))