Union Bank of India Signs “MoU With Tata Hitachi” For Extending Equipment Finance

Union Bank of India entered partnership with M/s. Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Private Limited (Tata Hitachi) for extending Equipment Finance to the Customers of Tata Hitachi. Under the partnership, Union Bank of India and Tata Hitachi have mutually agreed to pool their resources together and be associated with each other for mutual benefits. The wider reach of the Bank will help both Union Bank of India and Tata Hitachi to extend the best offering to the buyers of Tata Hitachi across the country and to increase the Bank’s portfolio under Equipment Finance. 

(The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at Bengaluru by Shri Alok Kumar, Field General Manager, Bengaluru, Union Bank of India and Shri K Somaskandan, Chief Financial Officer, M/s. Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Private Limited. Shri Raghavendra Maravapalli, Head of Sales Administration, Tata Hitachi also present at the occasion. 

AU Small Finance Bank Delivers Strong And Consistent Performance In Q3’FY23 Amidst Challenging Macro Environment

 – Delivers highest ever quarterly profit of Rs 393 Cr, PAT grows by 30% YoY and 15% QoQ, Asset quality continues to improve sequentially with Gross NPA at 1.81% and Net NPA at 0.51%, Balance sheet crosses Rs 80,000 Cr 

The Board of Directors of AU Small Finance Bank Limited at its meeting held today, approved the financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. 

Executive Summary 

Q3’FY23 was another quarter of strong and consistent performance across parameters delivering healthy & calibrated loans and deposits growth, stable margins and asset quality, and sustained traction across credit cards and other digital initiatives amidst a challenging macro environment.  

The Balance sheet size crossed Rs 80,000 Cr mark and the Net worth of the Bank has reached Rs 10,540 Cr, a growth of 5x in ~5 years (since start of the Bank in April’2017). The quarter also saw collection efficiencies sustaining at 107%, resulting in further improvement in asset quality. During the quarter, the Bank opened 42 new touchpoints (net addition 35) and its physical network now spread across 1,015 touchpoints across 21 states and 3 UTs. The Bank also established its presence in 2 newer states this quarter namely Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. 

1.    Q3’FY23 Financial Highlights 

Business 

Bank’s total balance sheet grow by 4% QoQ and 17% YTD to Rs 80,703 Cr  

Deposits grew by 5% QoQ and 16% YTD to Rs 61,101 Cr 

CASA at 38% as against 42% as on 30-Sep’22 and 37% as on 31-Mar’22 

Gross Advances grew by 7% QoQ and 20% YTD to Rs 56,335 Cr; CD ratio at 91% 

90% of loan book is retail in nature and 93% of the loan book is Secured 

Averaged Cost of Funds for Q3’FY23 is at 6.0% 

CRAR at 22.0% and Tier I at 20.0% as on 31st Dec’22; including interim profits, CRAR was at 24.2% and Tier 1 at 22.2% as on 31st Dec’22 

Profitability 

Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 2,413 Cr, up 8% QoQ and 36% YoY  

NII at Rs 1,153 Cr, up 6% QoQ and 41% YoY  

Net profit stood at Rs 393 Cr for Q3’FY23, up 15% QoQ and 30% YoY  

Net Interest Margin (NIM) for the quarter was stable at 6.2%  

RoA stood at 2.0% and RoE at 15.2% even as we invest significantly in people, digital, branding, products and distribution to build a future ready bank 

Asset quality  

Bank’s Asset quality improved on QoQ basis with GNPA at 1.81% vs 1.90% as on 30th Sep’22 

Net NPA was stable at 0. 51%; Restructured advances declined to 1.4%   

Provision coverage ratio at 72% against 71% as on 30th Sep’22; Including technical write-offs, the PCR was at 75% 

Apart from provision of Rs 693 Cr against GNPA pool, Bank has, additionally, maintained following provision buffer 

Provision against restructured book at Rs 127 Cr (16% of restructured book)  

Contingency provision of Rs 98 Cr (0.2% of advances) 

Floating provision of Rs 41 Cr (0.1% of advances) 

Standard provisions of Rs 176 Cr (0.3% of advances) 

9M’FY23 Profitability highlights  

NII at Rs 3,212 Cr, up 40% YoY 

Total income for 9M’FY23 stood at Rs 6,632 Cr up 34% YoY 

Net profit for 9M’FY23 stood at Rs 1,003 Cr, up 28% YoY   

RoA stood at 1.8%, RoE at 14.8% for 9M’FY23; RoE impacted due to capital raise in Aug’22 

2.    Digital and Payment business 

The Bank’s digital properties like AU 0101, Video Banking, Credit cards, UPI QR etc. continue to see strong momentum 

Bank issued ~90K credit cards during the quarter taking the total live credit cards to 3.9 lacs; total installed UPI QR reach 8.7 Lac+  

2.4 Lac+ Savings Account opened digitally via Video Banking since launch last year and total relationship value of these accounts now at Rs 1,000+ Cr 

3.    Awards and Recognitions 

Certified ‘Great place To Work’ for 3rd consecutive year  

Awarded with ‘Company with Great Managers 2022 Award’  

Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) at its 18th Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo and Awards 2022 under the category of “'Payment and SFBs” awarded AU SFB with: 

Best Technology Bank 

Best Digital Engagement 

Best Financial Inclusion 

AU SFB was awarded certificate of recognition for ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance’ under the ‘mid-sized listed corporate’ category by Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) at their 22nd National awards  

Adjudged ‘Best Small Finance Bank’ by BT-KPMG for 2022 

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank said, “Q3’FY23 was another quarter of strong and consistent performance across all key parameters supported by sustained underlying business momentum and strong capital base. Despite the challenging environment around inflation and liquidity, we were able to maintain margins, deliver growth in loan market share, improve asset quality, focus on productivity while achieving our highest ever quarterly profits.  

Our constant endeavor is to be an increasingly sustainable Bank and we have recently announced a plethora of progressive HR policies, some of which are among the industry first like “Menstrual leave for women employees” and an “AU Forever Pass” for our outgoing employees. I am also pleased to share that AU has been recognized as a Great Place to Work for the 3rd consecutive year in a row and has been recognized for ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance’ by Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). We recently released our first Sustainability Report which is externally assured by PwC and marks another step in our sustainability journey.   

I believe India is well placed in the post pandemic world. Our favorable demographics, stable democratic set up, and increasing impact of technological innovations like India Stack coupled with structural reforms are helping India emerge as a knowledge and technology leader in the world. Overall, our Bank is well positioned to capitalize on the emerging opportunities, and the recent acknowledgment as ‘Best Small Finance Bank’ by BT-KPMG will inspire us further”. 

About AU Small Finance Bank: 

AU Small Finance Bank Limited (AU SFB/AU) is a scheduled commercial bank, a Fortune India 500 Company and the largest Small Finance Bank in the country. Starting its journey from the hinterlands of Rajasthan, today AU is the largest Small Finance Bank with a deep understanding of the rural and semi-urban markets that has enabled it build robust business model facilitating inclusive growth. With 27+ years legacy of being a retail-focused and customer- centric institution, AU started its banking operations in April 2017 and as on 31st Dec’22, it has established operations across 1,015 banking touchpoints while serving 35.7 Lakh customers in 21 States & 3 Union Territories with an employee base of 27,753 employees. As on 31st Dec’22, it has a balance sheet size of ? 80,703 Cr, net worth of Rs 10,540 Cr, deposit base of Rs 61,101 Cr and Gross Advances of Rs 56,335 Cr. AU SFB enjoys the trust of marquee investors and is listed at both the leading stock exchanges viz. NSE and BSE. It has consistently maintained a high external credit rating from major rating agencies CRISIL, CARE Ratings and India Ratings. 

Great Learning To Host ‘Career Talks’ Webinar For Indian Students

*  sessions and 9 experts come together for a one-day marathon webinar to discuss career-building techniques across the most popular domains in the industry 

Great Learning, a leading global edtech company for higher and professional education is hosting ‘Career Talks’ webinar for students and working professionals on LinkedIn in-most demand domains like Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Software Development, Management, Digital Marketing and Data Science. The focus of this specially curated webinar day is to provide a platform for professionals to connect with industry experts and know in detail the trends, skills and opportunities of this domain and how individuals can look at building their careers in 2023, across these domains that are in vogue. Additionally, it will also assist students in understanding how to set themselves apart from their peers, by bringing a competitive edge and utilising in-demand abilities.

This one-day webinar covers six different sessions and will be led by nine domain experts from organisations such as Wipro, Ola, GE, Nissan, Walmart and others. Each session will begin with a brief overview of the domain, a detailed discussion on the required skills-sets and further delve into the importance of developing domain-related capabilities. Thereafter, every session will be followed by a Q&A session with the industry experts.

The webinar will be conducted from 2 PM (IST) on 24th January 2023 (Tuesday) with each session lasting 45 minutes. For more on this and for free registration, aspirants can log on to Career Talks 2023

About Great Learning

Great Learning is a part of BYJU'S group and a leading global ed-tech company for professional training and higher education. It offers comprehensive, industry-relevant, hands-on learning programs across various business, technology and interdisciplinary domains driving the digital economy. These programs are developed and offered in collaboration with the world's foremost academic institutions like Stanford Graduate School of Business, MIT Professional Education, The University of Texas at Austin, National University of Singapore, The University of Arizona, Deakin University, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, IIIT-Delhi and Great Lakes Institute of Management. Great Learning is able to leverage the high qualified, world-class faculty at these universities together with its vast network of 5600+ industry expert mentors to deliver an unmatched learning experience for 6.6 million learners from over 170+ countries around the world.

Manasi Tata Takes Over As The New Vice Chairperson Of Toyota Kirloskar Motor After Demise of Vikram Kirloskar

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced that Ms. Manasi Tata will take over as the new Vice Chairperson with immediate effect. Furthermore, Ms. Manasi will also take over as the Vice Chairperson of Toyota Kirloskar Auto parts (TKAP). The resolution passed in its board meeting, comes after the untimely demise of Late. Mr. Vikram S. Kirloskar, former Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Already serving as a member of the Board of Directors at Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited, Ms Manasi Tata is an integral part of TKM’s corporate decisions and strategic operations. Driven by a sense of passion and sharp business acumen, she has always been an active Board member while keenly supporting Mr. Kirloskar in his vision for TKM.

Congratulating and welcoming Ms. Manasi on the new position, Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO), Toyota Kirloskar Motor said: “As a young business leader, Ms. Manasi Tata brings with her inclusive thinking and a people centric outlook that are critical in our pursuit of excellence across all areas. This, along with her sharp understanding of the Indian auto industry will further strengthen TKM’s commitment towards delivering ‘Mass Happiness to All’.”

Commenting on her new role, Ms. Manasi said “I’m excited to enrich my journey with Toyota Kirloskar Motor. I am confident that with my personal belief of putting people first we will continue to create the best value not only for customers but also for the entire system from suppliers to dealers.”

Deeply dedicated to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, Ms Manasi Tata is truly committed to take forward her father’s dream and vision of contributing towards accomplishing national goals and remains dedicated towards enriching the strong bond of Toyota and Kirloskar Partnership thus upholding its successful long-term business relations.

Ms Manasi Tata, a graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design in the US, is well conversant in Toyota manufacturing processes and with the Japanese work culture. A fifth-generation scion of the Kirloskar empire, Ms. Manasi holds art very close to her heart and her NGO, “Caring with Colour” leverages this passion of hers, works with Government schools in three districts of Karnataka.

Octanom Lunches Algorithm Powered Advisory Platform ‘HEDGED’ Along With India’s First Nifty Crash Meter

InvesTech startup, Octanom Tech, today announced the launch of its first machine powered platform – HEDGED – that will provide investment and trading solutions to retail investors powered by a combination of algorithms and Actual Interest (A.I.).

Many Indians would cite reasons like lack of knowledge on how to trade and invest, lack of time and the unpredictable nature of the stock markets as reasons to stay far away from equity.

These are the very gaps that Octanom Tech plans to bridge.

‘Hedged’ will give traders, hedged options trades powered by a combination of proprietary Algorithms. Its in-built Nifty crash meter – the only predictive tool of its kind – is designed to forecast the onset of a crash or an up-move before it happens and helps investors position their portfolios accordingly.

The platform also introduces a very unique investment type known as ‘Live Funds’; these are expert curated micro-sized investment funds with built-in hedges to protect investors’ wealth from market volatility. The app also offers ‘Hedged TV’ which is a trader and investor focused learning platform created by experienced traders. The objective of this initiative is to impart just the right amount of information and learning, tailored to remove the clutter found on the internet.

‘Hedged’ was conceptualized and created by a diverse group of hedging experts, PhD

statisticians, technical architects, seasoned investors and traders led by its Founder and CEO Rahul Ghose, an options trading savant who is also the former Head of MoneyFlix.com.

“More than 50% of Indians’ savings are tied up in bank deposits, which has a huge opportunity cost due to sub-optimal returns. India is a ripe market that is primed for a growth spurt and I think it’s about time that our people, our home-grown investors, become active participants and integral beneficiaries of this incredible growth story that is in the making,” said Rahul Ghose on the occasion of the launch of Hedged.

Fund managers and investment bankers have always had access to intelligent tech that can aid their decision-making process and Octanom plans to bring this tech to every retail trader and investor's fingertips.

The company plans to disrupt the online retail trading space with three similar revolutionary platforms over the next two years in India and in the US.

The Hedged app is now available for download on the Google Play Store and will be available on the Apple App store later this month.

About Octanom Tech Pvt Ltd

A technology firm involved in building platforms in the financial market space with the vision of being "India's largest retail movement" for traders and investors. 

Wabtec Announce Winners Of ‘Exceed’ College Campus Challenge

Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) announced today the winners of the company’s 2022-23 Exceed Campus Challenge in India.  The students presented original solutions they had devised for a range of technical challenges facing the rail industry and the most innovative among them were chosen as winners.

“The Exceed Campus Challenge is the ideal forum for cultivating tomorrow’s thinkers and doers,” said Sujatha Narayan, Senior Vice President and Regional Leader for Wabtec Corporation in India. “This year’s winners demonstrated the innovative spirit, dedication and passion necessary to be successful in the rail industry.”

The winning teams were:

Team Pastra from PES University, Bangalore who presented on ‘Artificial Intelligence for Safety in Industrial Sites’ were judged as the winners of the Exceed Campus Challenge. The 3-member team had Achal Shetty, Alokpunj Bagrodia and Mohit Venkatesh representing their college. The first runner up team, Team Psiphi, was the all women team from MKSSS Cummins College of Engineering, Pune who presented on ‘Onboard Bogie Condition Monitoring System’. The 4-member team was represented by Oorja Patil, Shruti Pawar, Swarali Savale and Vaishnavi Sutrave. The second runner up team, Team Quadsquad, was from PSG Tech, Coimbatore who presented on ‘Vision Enhancement solution for Loco Pilot during Fog, Rain and Curves’. The 4-member team had Hari Prakash R, Harita J, Bhavani K and Karan Jerolin representing their college.

These winners were among 149 teams with more than 500 students from 36 colleges across India participating in the challenge. Of the 149 teams, eight qualified for a final round and presented projects to the leadership at Wabtec India Technology and Engineering Centre in Bangalore. The top finalist won a total cash price of Rs.2.25 lakh.

“Our campus outreach program has been growing over the past couple of years,” said Anup Kumar Pal, Director of Human Resources for Wabtec Corporation India. “The Exceed Campus Challenge presents a unique opportunity for prospective employees to gain insight into the rail industry. It also provides exposure to our culture, labs and resources.”

Wabtec started seeking applications for the challenge in August 2022. The challenge was open from first year of Bachelor to final year of Ph.D. students. The challenge addressed topics such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, condition monitoring, vision enhancement, hydrogen-powered locomotive, and braking performance.

ReshaMandi Records ~3x Revenue Growth From FY22 To 9 Months In FY 2023

- The Company reached EBITDA profitability in Q3 of FY 22-23

-  Moving forward, it aims to expand internationally to Europe and the US

ReshaMandi – the largest farm-to-fashion digital ecosystem for natural fibres in India – recorded a 3x increase in revenues so far in FY 2022-23 at  ?1248.3 crores. While they aim to close FY23 at 5x revenue growth from last year, the Company reached EBITDA profitability in Q3 of FY 2022-23 and plans to become net profit positive in the next two quarters. 

Moving forward, it intends to grow internationally by entering the US and Europe. Besides its present offerings in silk, cotton, viscose and linen (both national and international), ReshaMandi aims at broadening its focus in natural fabrics to include materials such as wool, jute and blends while experimenting with categories such as sisal and banana. 

The Company’s revenue increased by 1,909% between FY2021 and FY2022 to  ?413.8 crores, and by 302% so far in the three quarters of FY 2022-23 to ?1248.3 crores. Going forward, ReshaMandi anticipates that 55% of future revenues (based on the revenue projections for the next 5 years) will come from weaves, while 25% will be from farms, and 20% from yarns.  ReshaMandi works?with 100,000+ farmers, 10,000+ reelers, 17,500+ weavers, and 18500+ retailers in the entire natural fibre supply chain  to improve productivity, boost their bottom line and eventually be instrumental in transforming the  quality of their lives. 

ReshaMandi’s Founder and CEO, Mayank Tiwari said, “ReshaMandi has had an extremely interesting journey since its inception in 2020. From farmers, reelers and weavers to retailers, mills, manufacturers, exporters, corporates, designers and end users, we have been able to serve a broad range of stakeholders, resulting in the creation of a cohesive ecosystem for the entire textile supply chain. The Company has reached EBITDA profitability since the previous quarter and we expect to become net profit positive within the next six months. ”  

Recently, ReshaMandi announced its entry in the Southeast Asian and MENA region with the goal of being a one-stop shop for all natural and recycled fabrics. It has supplied more than 15 million metres of natural fabric to more than 500 different entities including exporters, manufacturers of  traditional Indian fabrics, apparel, and home furnishings. Out of these 500, more than 200 are exporters who sell goods to globally recognised brands.

About ReshaMandi  

ReshaMandi is India’s first and largest farm-to-fashion digital ecosystem for the natural fibre supply  chain. The company began with a focus on silk and has diversified by adding other natural fibres to its  portfolio such as cotton, jute, coir and banana. ReshaMandi works?with 100,000+ farmers, 10,000+ reelers, 17,500+ weavers, and 18500+ retailers in the entire natural fibre supply chain  to improve productivity, boost their bottom line and eventually be instrumental in transforming the  quality of their lives.

ReshaMandi also has a  D2C  e-commerce platform weaves.reshamandi.com,  which caters to end consumers, bringing them exquisite sarees from different parts of India. Today  the company manages the entire ecosystem for all natural fibres catering to a diverse set of  stakeholders such as farmers, reelers and weavers on one side and retailers, mills, manufacturers,  exporters, corporates, designers and end consumers on the other. It is now serving the whole Indian natural fibres industry as a result of becoming the ecosystem's chosen sourcing partner for all of its stakeholders. With its recent debut into the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, and SouthEast Asia, it aims to become a one-stop destination for all natural and recycled  fabrics globally.