Recent 6 months news in Banking

RBI has issued final directions titled ‘RBI (Commercial Banks - Minimum Capital Requirements for Market Risk) Directions, 2026’ outlining the minimum capital requirement for market risk under the Basel III framework for commercial banks. The new framework will come into effect on April 1, 2027.

Additionally, the RBI has eased KYC requirements for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), allowing them to submit original certified copies of specified documents certified by authorised authorities outside India. These directions came into force with immediate effect from September 18, 2026.

The name of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd has been officially changed to ICICI Life Insurance Limited, effective from September 22, 2026. The change follows approval from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Central Processing Centre, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

RBI has issued directions to alter the valuation norms for units of Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) held by All-India Financial Institutions (AIFIs).

The revised valuation directions came into effect immediately. It is to be noted that the India REIT market hits $17.7 billion, overtakes Hong Kong to become Asia’s 4th largest.

RNFI Money Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RNFI Services Ltd, has received regulatory approval from the RBI to facilitate cross-border trade remittances.

TBX (formerly TransBnk) has launched Business-to-Business (B2B) bill payments on its TrustHub platform through Bharat Connect for Business, a service of the NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL).

It is to be noted that NBBL is a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The RBI has cancelled the Certificates of Registration (CoR) of 5 Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and accepted the surrender of licenses from 8 other NBFCs.

These regulatory actions were taken due to entities exiting the Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) business, corporate mergers, and adjustments in regulatory compliance requirements.

novio, operated by Credilio Financial Technologies Pvt Ltd, has partnered with the Indian Overseas Bank to launch a co-branded RuPay credit card.

PhonePe has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for two operating licenses, marking the first international expansion of the company.

The licenses include Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) and Stored Value Facilities (SVF).

The UPI and Services Committee, led by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has introduced a revised Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework, effective from October 15, 2026. Under the new rules, a 0.4% charge will be applied to UPI transactions above ₹2,000.

A flat MDR of ₹5 per transaction will apply to payments exceeding ₹2,000 in specific sectors like railways, telecommunications, insurance, and fuel. For capital market transactions, including mutual funds and stockbroking, the MDR is set at 0.02% of the transaction value, capped at ₹300.

The Ministry of Finance has notified that banks and payment system providers are prohibited from imposing any direct or indirect charges on UPI transactions up to ₹2,000. The MoF has also extended this prohibition to payments made through RuPay-powered debit cards.

RNFI Services Ltd, a fintech platform, has secured in-principle authorisation from the RBI to operate as a Payment Aggregator-Physical (PA-P). The authorisation was granted under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Axis Bank has launched the 4th edition of its flagship nationwide customer engagement initiative, “Sparsh Week”, across India from September 7 to 11.

The event was held under the theme “Act with Speed” to focus on enhancing the efficiency and responsiveness of customer interactions.

The RBI has released the June 2026 edition of the biannual “Financial Stability Report” (FSR), which presents an assessment by the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to the financial system of India.

According to the report, the economy of India grew at 7.7% in FY26. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has revised the inflation projection for the 2026-27 period to 5.1%. The foreign exchange reserves of India were recorded at $672.6 billion as of June 19, 2026.

The RBI has approved the acquisition of an aggregate holding of up to 9.95% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in the CSB Bank by the ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC).

Niyo, a fintech platform, has secured a Payment Service Provider (PSP) licence from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to operate in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The RBI has included Coastal Local Area Bank Ltd in the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934. Headquartered in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, it is the first Local Area Bank (LAB) of India.

Razorpay, in partnership with IndusInd Bank, has launched an AI powered account manager named “RAY” on WhatsApp.

The service enables enterprises to manage payments, transactions, settlements, and customer support through a chat-based interface. It is to be noted that Bajaj Finserv is among the first corporate entities to use the live functionalities of the platform.

Bandhan Bank has partnered with Mastercard to launch its first credit card portfolio, featuring four variants: ‘Sparks’, ‘Ignite’, ‘Flare’, and ‘Lumina’.

InsuranceDekho (Girnar Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd) and RenewBuy (D2C Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd) have merged to create the largest AI enabled insurance distribution platform in India.

The merged entity will operate under the InsuranceDekho brand and will be led by Ankit Agrawal as the CEO. It is to be noted that the scale of the platform is determined by the Point of Sales Person (POSP) driven premium generated in the FY26.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has launched the ‘DakPay Sound Box’ for Merchants, a Digital Insurance Technology Platform, and a Digital Mutual Fund Platform on the occasion of its 9th foundation day to boost financial inclusion.

As of March 2026, IPPB has achieved a customer base of 13.25 crore, with women making up 49% of the total users.