Bank unions have claimed that cheques worth Rs 21,500 crore will not be cleared on Wednesday due to the bank employees’ strike.

Five trade unions from the banking industry including AIBEA, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF and INBOC, employees of RBI, co-operative banks, RRBs have joined the National General Strike called by the central trade unions - INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC along with various independent federations and unions in different sectors to protest against the alleged continued anti-worker labour policies of the government.

Banking counters, including Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and Canara Bank slipped over 4 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the early deals on Monday as heightened tensions between the United States and Iran pushed bond yields higher in India.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday vowed major retaliation if Iran tried to avenge the death of its key military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by the US military on Friday.

Peninsula Land Ltd, a real estate company promoted by Ashok Piramal Group, has defaulted on repayment of a loan from the State Bank of India (SBI).

The default of Rs 2.35 crore happened on November 30, 2019 on term loan of Rs 177.7 crore. The default is on payment of interest and principal component of the loan. The rate of interest is 9.95 per cent, according to company's filing with exchanges.

The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday announced reduction in its external benchmark-based rate by 25 basis points to 7.80 per cent from 8.05 per cent.

The new rates will be applicable from January 1, 2020, the bank said in a statement.

Public sector banks (PSBs) were in focus on Friday, with Nifty PSU Bank index gaining more than 3 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), on expectation that the banks would benefit from lower yields on government bonds.

At 10:45 am, Nifty PSU Bank index was trading as the top gainer among key sectoral indices, and was up 3.2 per cent, as compared to a 0.64 per cent rise in the benchmark Nifty50 index.

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar on Saturday said most banks will be in a good position with respect to stressed assets by March and there is no dearth of liquidity in the system for lending.

He added that there are opportunities to lend in sectors such as infrastructure and consumer lending as there is not much of a decline in demand from consumers.

Bank unions have decided to join the national general strike which has been called on January 8, 2020. The strike has been called in protest against the central govt's labour policies and banking reforms, said the unions.

Central Trade Unions viz. INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC along with various independent Federations and Unions in different Sectors have given the call for national general strike on January 8, 2020 to protest against labour policies of the government.

Banking stocks, especially public sector banks including Syndicate Bank, Indian Bank, and State Bnak of India (SBI), added up to 6.2 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to buy and sell bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore via open market operations.

In a statement on Thursday, the RBI said it will simultaneously buy and sell government bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore each on December 23, through Open Market Operations (OMOs).

State Bank of India (SBI) and other public sector banks have decided to lend Rs 4,000 crore to Patanjali Ayurved for the acquisition of Ruchi Soya, which was facing bankruptcy proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The money lent by banks will help the government owned banks to settle their exposure to Ruchi Soya with a haircut of 65 per cent. Apart from SBI, Union Bank is also one of the banks lending to Patanjali.

NEFT Timings: Customers of SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank or any other commercial lender can do National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) transactions 24×7 from today. The facility will now be available on any day of the week or month, including holidays. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed this facility to be available at all times throughout the year.

For smooth settlement of NEFT transactions, the RBI has decided to provide additional collateralised intra-day liquidity facility.

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