RBI Innovation Hub pilots digital unsecured loans for gig workers

The Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub has partnered with Vivifi Finance for a pilot project to provide unsecured loans to gig workers, including cab and food delivery drivers. The project uses alternate data for loan underwriting and aims to integrate these workers into formal banking channels. Future plans include linking the system with the […]

Private banks outrun public sector peers in priority lending benchmarks

Private sector banks met their priority sector lending targets for the first time in 2023-24. This includes targets in areas like agriculture. They outperformed public sector banks. Permitting investments in priority sector lending certificates helped meet these goals. Private sector banks are leading in selling these certificates, accounting for 49% of total sales in FY24.

China’s record dividends build pressure on the Yuan

The dividend bonanza is adding pressure on the Chinese yuan already weighed by a resurgent dollar and the prospect of growing US-China tensions. The firms mostly pay dividends in Hong Kong dollars but earn the majority of their revenues in the yuan, which requires conversion.