作者： bankr

The financial industry has urged the public and small and medium enterprises (SME) to be aware of scam syndicates deploying tactics to deceive unsuspecting victims.

The scam may result in monetary losses and risk compromising victims’ sensitive banking details and confidential information, said the financial sector in a joint statement today.

The industry comprises the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and the Association of Development Finance Institutions of Malaysia (ADFIM).

They said the syndicates’ latest modus operandi includes impersonating bank officers and/or bank representatives who engage with unsuspecting victims via email, phone call, short message service (SMS) and/or social messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or other online messenger services.

“The scammers used the pretext of facilitating financial aid and/or assisting in loan application preparation and securing financing involving the stimulus package and special relief measures such as the Special Relief Facility as announced by Bank Negara Malaysia and the financial institutions,” it said.

The associations said financial institutions and/or banks did not appoint nor engage third parties or agents for the process of securing loans.

“Hence, individuals and businesses are strongly advised not to pursue loan applications and/or divulge sensitive and confidential information to individuals or companies claiming to be third party appointees or agents from the financial industry,” it added.

The public and businesses seeking financing are advised to get in touch with the banks or financial institutions directly to apply for loans to avoid being deceived by the unscrupulous syndicates.

“Alternatively, SMEs can also seek legitimate financing options via the imSME.com.my online platform, whereby, the platform will match your financing needs with the financial institution best suited to your requirements.”

The public is also advised to be wary of calls or messages purportedly from bank officials, the police, income tax department, the courts or other government agencies demanding your personal banking information.

“Banks and/or financial institutions will never ask you for your personal banking information such as Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) or Personal Identification Number (PIN) or your online login username and password,” the financial industry collectively said.

They said businesses and members of the public are reminded to refer to the financial institutions and/or banks’ official websites or contact their customer service directly for information, verification and clarification.

김남권 성서호 기자 = 산업은행, 기업은행[024110], 수출입은행 등 금융 공공기관의 올해 경영실적평가 때 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 사태 대응으로 나빠진 건전성 지표를 반영하지 않는다.

금융위원회는 2020년 금융 공공기관 경영실적평가에서 코로나19 대응에 따라 생길 수 있는 불이익을 완화해 평가할 방침이라고 19일 밝혔다.

코로나19 대응으로 악화할 수 있는 자기자본이익률(ROE), 이익 목표 달성도 등 수익성 지표와 유동성 커버리지 비율, 국제결제은행(BIS) 비율 등 건전성 지표가 평가 대상에서 빠진다.

정부 정책 이행 노력을 평가할 수 있는 비계량 지표는 신설된다.

금융위는 또 금융 공공기관의 코로나19 대응에 따른 업무증가로 발생하는 직원 초과근무 수당 등이 원활히 지급될 수 있도록 예산집행 방침도 조정하기로 했다.

코로나19 대응에 따른 초과근무 수당은 경영실적 평가지표인 ‘총인건비 인상률(평가연도 인건비-전년도 총인건비/전년도 총인건비)’ 산정 때 제외한다.

금융위는 아울러 산업은행의 순안정자금 조달비율(NSFR: 안정 자금 조달 필요금액 대비 안정 자금 가용금액) 규제를 완화해준다.

산은은 순안정자금 조달비율을 100% 이상을 유지해야 하는데 내년 6월 말까지 90%까지 떨어지더라도 제재를 받지 않는다.

안정자금 인정 비율이 상대적으로 낮은 산업금융채권(산금채) 발행 이후 산은의 NSFR이 하락할 것에 대비한 조치다.

정부의 민생·금융안정 패키지 프로그램에서 산은은 산금채로 자금을 조달하고 있다.

윤창호 금융위 금융산업국장은 “산은을 포함한 공공금융기관들이 자체 자본 비율을 바탕으로 코로나19 대응에 적극적인 역할을 하고 있다”며 “적극적인 기업 여신 공급으로 자기자본비율이 하락하는 경우 정부가 손실을 보전해서 자기자본비율을 보전할 계획”이라고 말했다.

HDFC Bank Ltd. reported net income growth of nearly 18% and ramped up bad loan provisions in the latest quarter, a period marked by the bailout of another bank as well as the imposition of a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Analysts remain bullish on HDFC Bank, with an average rating of 4.76 on a Bloomberg scale where 5 is a unanimous buy. The lender is seen being able to better withstand the pandemic impact due to its position as a market leader. Its shares are down 28% this year, the least of all Nifty Bank Index members.

“HDFC Bank’s business growth remains robust despite economic activity getting impacted due to the Covid-19 outbreak,” Nitin Aggarwal, an analyst with Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd., said in a note. “A strong liability franchise will support margins, while higher liquidity levels would enable the bank to ride the current crisis and gain further market share.”

The bank’s net income rose to 69.3 billion rupees ($907 million) in the quarter ended March 31, compared with an average 72.5 billion rupees estimate in a survey of eight analysts. Provisions against soured debt jumped to 37.8 billion rupees from 18.9 billion rupees a year ago.

Despite the optimism over HDFC Bank, market participants remain cautious on the sector overall. India financials have been reeling from a shadow-banking crisis that culminated in the Yes Bank Ltd. bailout. The pandemic struck just as lenders were about to see signs of stability. The Reserve Bank of India has moved to further ease liquidity and bad-loan rules to keep funds flowing through the economy.

“If a bad loan cycle begins for retail, the fear psychosis of taking risk off the table will reduce the credit to the segment,” said Kenneth Andrade, chief investment officer at Old Bridge Capital Management Ltd, overseeing assets of $400 million.

Here’s a roundup of analyst comments on HDFC Bank’s results:

Axis Capital Ltd. (Manish Karwa)

• Growth likely to be steady despite bank’s tightening of its credit filters resulting in higher rejections of loan applications.
• Rural strategy on track; investment in digital is leading to strong build-up of deposit base.
• Reduces growth estimates for both loans and fee income as retail will slow down sharply.
• Rated buy, price target 1,250 rupees

ICICI Securities Ltd. (Sandeep Joshi)

• HDFC Bank better positioned to weather the storm; however, in times of economic dislocation, it is sensible to remain conservative.
• Expects bank’s loan growth to moderate to 12%, net interest margin to contract by 9 basis points and credit cost to be elevated at 1.7% in FY21.
• Near-term earnings impact doesn’t overshadow bank’s balance sheet strength, competitive advantage.
• Maintains buy with price target cut to 1,339 rupees from 1,604 rupees

Prabhudas Lilladher (Pritesh Bumb)

• Contingency provisions to cushion shocks from nasty surprises; early part of FY21 remains uncertain on business & asset quality.
• Bank stress tested its loan portfolios and things are quite manageable; confident on its risk assessment process.
• Retains buy with price target lowered to 1,105 rupees from 1,124 rupees

Kotak Institutional Equities (M.B. Mahesh)

• Early commentary on impact of coronavirus is not as bad as expected.
• Valuations attractive.
• Bank well positioned to navigate crisis despite larger exposure than peers to some sectors that could be impacted by economic downturn.
• Maintains buy with fair value unchanged at 1,050 rupees

S&P Global Ratings’ downgrade of Indonesia’s outlook is not a reflection of fundamental economic problems, central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo said, stating that policy steps taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic will help to restore the nation’s financial trajectory.

The comments from the Bank Indonesia chief come after S&P cut its outlook for the nation to negative from stable, while affirming its long-term foreign currency debt rating at BBB, the second-lowest investment grade score. The change was to reflect “additional downside risk to the government’s fiscal and external metrics” from the pandemic, S&P said on Friday.

“The lingering economic and financial uncertainty is a global phenomenon and Indonesia is one of many countries that have taken policy responses in the area of fiscal, monetary and financial policy to mitigate the negative impact of the spread of COVID-19,” Perry wrote in a statement.

The various policy steps taken by authorities “will be able to restore Indonesia’s economic trajectory, in terms of growth, external, and fiscal towards a more sustainable level in the not too distant future,” he added.

Indonesian policy makers have announced a series of emergency measures in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on the economy. President Joko Widodo has unveiled stimulus packages worth $28 billion, boosted Bank Indonesia’s powers and suspended a budget deficit cap to allow the government to boost spending. The central bank has cut rates twice this year and intensified its intervention in financial markets.

The move to suspend the fiscal deficit cap was seen as an “extraordinary” measure and “in response to a highly unpredictable, exogenous shock,” S&P said. Indonesia’s external position “has weakened following considerable depreciation of the rupiah, and the government’s debt burden will be materially higher over the next few years owing to strong counter-cyclical fiscal measures,” it added.

The pandemic is seen slowing economic growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to 2.3 percent this year, compared with an initial estimate of 5.3 percent, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said at the start of this month.

Turning to unconventional tools, Bank Indonesia may start buying sovereign bonds directly from the government as early as next week — the first time it would be doing so.

The central bank is in the final stages of completing an agreement with the Finance Ministry that will allow it to buy rupiah-denominated bonds as a non-competitive bidder in the primary market, Warjiyo told reporters Friday.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) yet another attempt to persuade banks to bring pace in their lending activity to different industrial segments is expected to be a non-starter in post- COVID-19 situation. The central bank may have reduced the reverse repo rate by another 25 basis points (bps) to 3.75 per cent, disincentivising the banks to park their additional funds with the RBI, but it will be too much of optimism to expect banks’ lending to pick up because of this move. Though other measures announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to boost liquidity conditions, particularly for the Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), will prove to be a Big Bazooka with prudence and caution.

Dr. Joseph Thomas, Head of Research – Emkay Wealth Management said, “RBI has reaffirmed its commitment to support the economy and the markets and has announced an additional Rs.50,000 Crore TLTRO (Targeted Long-Term Repo Operation). This would be targeted at supporting corporate and smaller private entities. But the issue is that there no lending by banks nor any investment into sectors that require more support. Banks are parking with RBI on a daily basis, an amount close to Rs. 6 Lakh Crore. So whatever money they have with them and whatever they are getting from the RBI, the banks are giving back to the RBI instead of investing it or lending it. The reverse repo rate cut is to discourage thus reverse flow to the RBI. But is doubtful whether this flow can be stemmed easily. Banks are not lending or investing because they fear that under the current conditions they may be adversely impacted if they employ the money for investments or lending. Even three months back the approach of the banks was one of extreme caution”.

RBI’s relief package 2.0 announced on Friday is also expected to benefit the NBFCs and the real estate sector as it is intended at easing liquidity concern of these sectors in a big way.
Sundar Sanmukhani, Head of fundamental research, Choice broking said, “RBI’s latest announcements to infuse liquidity and expand bank credit are expected to provide big relief to the Non-Banking Financial Sector (NFBCs) as 50 per cent of the proposed TLTRO worth Rs 50,000 crore will be invested in small and mid-sized NBFCs and MFIs. The Central Bank has also relaxed NPA recognition norms for NBFCs”.

Dr. V K Vijayakumat at Geojit Financial Services said, “RBI has come out with announcements with far-reaching beneficial consequences to the financial system. Refinancing of Rs 50,000 crore to NABARD, SIDBI and NHB is another welcome move. The reclassification of NPA norms from 90 days to 180 days is a great relief to commercial banks. In brief, this is a big bazooka but with caution and prudence. Enhancement of Ways & Means Advances (WMA) to states by 60 per cent will be a relief to states stressed by the pandemic.”

Jaspal Bindra, Executive Chairman, Centrum Group said, “The RBI has shown pragmatism while announcing the second round of measures, aimed at maintaining liquidity and incentivizing credit flows. Additionally, the 90 day NPA norm won’t be applicable to loans where the moratorium is granted. This along with 1 year extension on loans given to the real estate sector will help preserve asset quality”.

Deepthi Mary Mathews, Economist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “In a span of 20 days, RBI announced the second round of liquidity boosting measures, with special focus on NBFCs and MFIs. TLTRO and reduction of reverse repo rate to 3.75 percent is expected to improve liquidity in the NBFC sector. Similarly, the loan given by the NBFCs to real estate to get similar benefits as given by commercial banks is a support to both the NBFC and real estate sector.