State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said on Thursday that the cabinet decision to pare stake in state-owned banks will lead to a fresh round of banking reforms, and force banks to be more competitive.

"The news that the government has allowed PSBs to bring down govt stake to 52 per cent kicks of the next round of reforms because for the fort time the public sector banks are the a very clear signal that banks can pick up from the market," Bhattacharya said at the concluding day of the Delhi Economics Conclave.

The country’s largest lender, State of Bank of India (SBI), said it was ruling out a cut in lending rates till credit demand picked up, to compensate for loss in interest income.

A cut in lending rate immediately impacts the income. When volumes are thin (of the credit pipeline), it is difficult to reduce these rates, SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya told reporters on Tuesday.

If you need to transfer money from, say, your YES Bank account to a customer of Union Bank of India, you can now do so through your debit card, by visiting an automated teller machine (ATM). Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Andhra Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank and YES Bank have come together to allow inter-bank fund transfers through debit cards.

“For this card-to-card transfer, a customer has to go to the ATM and just punch in the debit card number of the person to whom he or she wishes to transfer money. You have to type the 16-digit debit card number of that person in the ATM and the amount you want to transfer. Immediately, once you confirm ok, your account gets debited and the other person’s account linked to the card gets credited. This is an instant fund transfer,” said a senior Union Bank of India official, explaining the transfer process.

State Bank of India (SBI) has said the final decision on the controversial $1-billion (Rs 6,200 crore) loan agreement with Adani Group for its Australian mining project would be taken by the executive committee of the bank in two to three months.

SBI had last month signed the pact with Adani Group on the sidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Australia.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has found 22 public sector firms including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Coal India, and Indian Oil Corporation to have violated various capital-market guidelines.

Meanwhile the State Bank of India has filed for the settlement of a case against it to the regulator, Parliament was informed on Friday.

Markets opened flat but slipped into negative territory weighed down by profit taking in IT majors and index heavyweight ITC.

At 9:35AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 52 points at 28,392 and the 50-share Nifty was down 13 points at 8,512.

Markets have opened marginally higher with IT and select bank shares leading the gains in early trades. Some volatility is expected later in the session ahead of the RBI policy meet tomorrow.

At 9:35AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 64 points at 28,758 and the 50-share Nifty was up 20 points at 8,609.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Trinamool Congress friction, in Parliament and in West Bengal, continued on Thursday.

The Trinamool members protested in Parliament, demanding answers from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government for its "failure" to bring back unaccounted (black) money stashed in foreign banks. A Trinamool member of Parliament (MP) raised the issue of the State Bank of India (SBI) sanctioning $1 billion (Rs 6,100 crore) to the Adani Group's coal project in Australia, terming it "crony capitalism".

Markets continued to trade flat with stock specific action seen ahead of the expiry of November derivative contracts today.

At 1:15PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 41 points at 28,345 and the 50-share Nifty was down 10 points at 8,466.

Markets rebounded from their day's lows in late noon trades following a recovery in select financials and capital goods shares while FMCG major ITC continues to lead gains.

At 2:15PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 70 points at 28,407 and the 50-share Nifty was up 19 points at 8,482.

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