In a relief for billion importers, India on Friday authorised 15 banks to import both gold and silver, and two banks to import only the yellow metal, for three years starting April 1, 2026.

The authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) came more than 10 days after the Reserve Bank of India issued a list of nominated banks on April 6. The delay in the notification led to banks halting imports of these precious metals.

As per reports, more than 5 metric tonnes of gold and around 8 metric tonnes of silver were stuck for customs clearance in the absence of the order, which is typically issued at the start of each financial year. The previous notification was valid till March 31, 2026. "It's a routine order. It may have gone unnoticed because of the focus on issues related to the ongoing war in West Asia," said an official aware of the development.

Bank credit rose 16% while deposits increased 13.4% year-on-year as of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, data released by the Reserve Bank of India showed. Total deposits stood at Rs 267.8 lakh crore, while bank credit, or advances, was at Rs 219 lakh crore. Investments grew 4.7% to Rs 71.4 lakh crore.

Deposit and credit growth typically pick up towards the end of the financial year as companies park surplus cash, governments step up spending and banks push year-end lending, while investment growth tends to be more measured amid careful balance-sheet positioning and liquidity management by banks.

As of April 4, 2025, bank credit stood at Rs 188.7 lakh crore, while aggregate deposits were at Rs 236.2 lakh crore, the data showed.

The banking system ended FY26 on a strong note, with both credit and deposit growth touching two-year highs.

The deposit growth came in at 13.47%, the fastest pace since May 2024, as households and institutions moved money into safer avenues after a turbulent spell in financial markets. A sharp correction in equities, volatility in gold and silver, and losses in several mutual fund categories pushed investors towards the relative stability of bank deposits and bonds. This flight to safety lifted system liquidity and pushed absolute deposits to an all-time high, rising to Rs 262 lakh crore as on March 31, 2026.

Equity Exodus
Credit growth, too, accelerated to 16.08% (Rs 213 lakh crore), its strongest since June 2024, driven by a decisive shift in borrowing patterns. With yields rising and the rupee’s depreciation making overseas borrowing more expensive, large corporates slowed or postponed their capital-market issuances — both domestic and offshore — and turned to banks instead. The shift was reinforced by strong traction in retail segments, particularly gold loans and vehicle loans, which remained active throughout the year.

Addressing ICICI Lombard's elevated solvency ratio of 2.7x, the management during earnings call post-Q4 FY26 results said, this capital cushion is both a regulatory necessity and a strategic choice -- at least for now.

"The Indian market continues to be guided by Solvency I, and hence, capital has to be maintained basis gross exposures," CFO Gopal Balachandran said, underlining why the company cannot aggressively run down surplus capital despite strong profitability.
Yet, the management indicated that this buffer will not remain untouched for long.
With growth showing signs of a comeback after a relatively soft phase, the company expects capital to be gradually deployed. "The moment you see growth coming back, one would obviously want to make sure that we are able to consume some part of the solvency that we have," he said, pointing to the momentum seen in the second half of FY26 and expectations of continuity into FY27.

State-run Bank of Baroda on Monday announced a tie-up with Reliance Jio to help anyone access its mobile banking application from the feature phones sold by the telco.

Under the partnership, 'bob World Lite', a comprehensive mobile banking app designed specifically for feature phone users will be available on the JioPhone Prima 4G device, according to a statement.

Claiming it to be an industry first, the statement said the tie-up is in line with the vision of the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India to promote inclusivity and make digital payments accessible to feature phone users.

Banks plan to approach the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow parallel internal investigations in cases where law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have initiated probes into borrower accounts, seeking to avoid gaps in fraud classification.

Lenders said limited information sharing often leads to misalignment between regulatory fraud tagging and ongoing investigations by agencies.

Following the Supreme Court ruling that no personal hearing is required before tagging an account as 'fraud', banks are looking to tighten internal frameworks, including early warning signal systems, to improve detection and consistency, people familiar with the matter said.

India’s non-life insurance industry closed FY26 with a 9% year-on-year increase in gross direct premium income at Rs 3.36 lakh crore, aided by strong traction in the health insurance segment following the GST rate cut. In comparison, the non-life insurance industry had reported a 6% growth in gross premium to Rs 3.07 lakh crore in FY25.

The combined gross premium of general insurers rose 8% to Rs 2.79 lakh crore, according to provisional data released by the General Insurance Council on Thursday. The segment includes public sector and private general insurers, standalone health insurers, and specialised public insurers.

Within this, the four public sector general insurers—National Insurance, The New India Assurance, The Oriental Insurance, and United India Insurance—reported an 8% year-on-year increase in gross premium collections to Rs 1.03 lakh crore in FY26, accounting for a 37% share of overall general insurance premiums. The New India Assurance recorded the highest growth among PSU insurers, with gross premiums rising 11% to Rs 42,822 crore in the previous fiscal.

The demand for term insurance among non-resident Indians (NRIs) has doubled in the last two years, witnessing a steep 35% month-on-month spike, reportedly driven by the West Asia crisis.

According to data released by insurance aggregator Policybazaar on Thursday, younger buyers in the age group of 25–35 years are driving this growth, as global uncertainty is forcing NRIs to invest in term insurance to secure their families.

Of the total demand, 54% comes from individuals in the 25 to 35 age group, up from 44% in 2024. This sharp shift towards younger buyers reflects protection-first financial planning among globally travelling professionals.

The West Asia corridor contributes over 50% of total demand, with recent geopolitical tensions pushing NRIs to prioritise financial protection for families back home.

In a move aimed at supporting the capital adequacy of commercial banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday proposed to ease norms for including quarterly profits in the computation of the Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) and to withdraw the requirement of maintaining an Investment Fluctuation Reserve (IFR).

Announcing the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the changes had been under consideration for some time. “Both measures have been in the works for some time and banks have been requesting us. NBFCs already had similar provisions, so it was time that we aligned it,” he said.

Faster Capital Recognition
Under current guidelines, commercial banks can include quarterly net profits in CRAR calculations only if incremental provisions for non-performing assets (NPAs) at the end of any four quarters of the previous financial year do not deviate by more than 25% from the average of those four quarters.

Pension fund regulator PFRDA has launched the second proof of concept (POC) of ‘NPS Swasthya’, an initiative aimed at integrating retirement planning with healthcare funding, PTI reported.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) said the National Pension System (NPS) Swasthya is a multi-partner framework designed to provide financial and health security.
Under the initiative, Medi Assist Healthcare Services will act as the core technology partner, CAMS KRA will handle onboarding and KYC, while Tata Pension Fund and Axis Pension Fund will serve as fund managers. Aditya Birla Health Insurance will provide top-up cover, and Medi Assist TPA will manage claims.
"The initiative addresses a growing gap in India’s retirement landscape, where healthcare costs are projected to rise by 11.5 per cent to 14 per cent in 2026, significantly outpacing inflation and putting long-term financial security under pressure for millions," PFRDA said.

Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that the Reserve Bank did not come across any governance or conduct-related issues during the supervisory inspection of HDFC Bank.

Responding to a question at the post-monetary policy press conference on the sudden resignation of HDFC Bank Chairman Atanu Chakraborty and the subsequent fall in its share price, Malhotra said RBI had also seen minutes of meetings of the lender, and the RBI did not find anything of material concern.

He said the RBI, in its press release on March 19, had also said there were no material concerns on record regarding the bank’s conduct or governance.

“HDFC Bank is a Domestic Systemically Important Bank (D-SIB) with sound financials, professionally run board and competent management team. Basis our periodical assessment, there are no material concerns on record as regards its conduct or governance,” the RBI said in its press release.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has set up a sub-committee to review private health insurers, in what could be a precursor to major overhaul across health insurance claims experience to product design and grievance redressal.

The health insurance sub-committee, to be formed under the Insurance Advisory Committee (IAC), is part of ongoing efforts to improve policyholder experience and expand coverage, the regulator said on Tuesday.

“IRDAI has constituted a sub-committee of the Insurance Advisory Committee to review the current landscape of private health insurance in India, including coverage, penetration, claims experience, product design, grievance redressal and consumer experience,” it said.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will detail new framework for categorisation of non banking finance companies (NBFCs) by the end of this month, governor Sanjay Malhotra said in the post policy press conference.

“We are coming up with a new framework for categorisation of NBFCs into upper, middle layer probably before the end of this month,” RBI governor said responding to a question without giving any details.

The RBI had initiated a review of its scale-based regulation (SBR) framework for NBFCs, to fine-tune oversight as the sector expands in size and complexity, according to the Report on Trends and Progress of Banking in India released in December 2025.

“The scale-based regulation framework for NBFCs envisages a differential regulatory treatment to NBFCs not availing public funds and not having a customer interface.

The Reserve Bank of India will undertake a comprehensive review of the matters placed before bank boards, aiming to sharpen their focus on policy issues rather than routine operational concerns.

“To facilitate better utilisation of bank boards’ time—an issue raised by banks themselves—we have carried out a comprehensive review of our existing instructions, which are currently spread across various directions and regulations,” Governor Sanjay Malhotra said during the monetary policy announcement. “We now propose to revise and rationalise the matters requiring board attention. This should enable boards to devote more time to policy issues, while operational matters are left to management.”

Currently, the matters placed before bank boards—and their frequency—are determined by the boards, guided by seven broad themes prescribed by the RBI. In addition, the regulator mandates certain policies and issues to be presented for approval, review, or information.

India’s banks and non-bank lenders will face rising credit costs, tighter liquidity and pressure on corporate and household borrowers if the Middle East conflict prolongs, CreditSights said in a report assessing the impact of an elongated disruption through the Strait of Hormuz.

The report said India imports 90% of its oil, with about half sourced from the Middle East, and gas supply cuts of 10%–30% to commercial users have already taken place, affecting fertiliser and power companies, with other downstream sectors likely to be hit.

It is of the view that both oil-company and government finances are likely to be impacted, and higher borrowing will keep domestic liquidity conditions challenged.

The overall growth in the non-banking financial companies (NBFC) sector may witness a moderation as gold loans, one of the key drivers, are unlikely to maintain the sharp rise of the past two years, rating agency ICRA has said.

The sharp surge in gold loan growth that powered non-bank lender balance sheets over the past two years is unlikely to continue at the same pace, which could moderate overall sector growth going ahead, according to ratings agency ICRA.

Gold loans expanded by 50–60% in recent years, but much of that increase was driven by rising prices, rather than any growth in underlying volume, said Karthik Srinivasan, senior vice president and group head – financial sector ratings at ICRA. “A large part of the increase in gold loan AUM has come from the value of gold rather than the tonnage growth. Unless gold prices rise sharply again, that pace of growth is not sustainable.”

In a bid to strengthen policyholder protection and enhance trust in the insurance sector, as well as to clarify how insurers report their financials, India's insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), has proposed a major change in the financial reporting framework followed by insurance companies.

The insurance regulator has released an exposure draft proposing amendments to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Actuarial, Finance and Investment Functions of Insurers) Regulations, 2026.
IRDAI proposes adoption of Ind AS for insurers from April 1, 2026


The proposed changes aim to introduce Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) for all insurers with effect from 1st April 2026. and align the sector's financial reporting framework with globally accepted accounting practices.

The aggressive push by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) into consumer durable financing has steadily eroded the market share of private sector banks.

Apart from established players like Bajaj Finance and HDB Financial Services, newer entrants such as Poonawalla Fincorp and TVS Credit have intensified competition, leveraging strong merchant tie-ups and technology-driven platforms to capture point-of-sale lending for electronics and household appliances. Aggressive sales and marketing strategies have allowed them to dominate the space.

What does data from credit bureau CRIF High Mark show?
Data from credit bureau CRIF High Mark show that NBFCs accounted for nearly 82.8% of the value of consumer durable loan originations for the December quarter, up from about 70% two years ago.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed stricter guidelines in an effort to stem online fraud after recent high-profile cases at insurers like Star Health Insurance Company. The Insurance Fraud Monitoring Framework Guidelines, 2024 requires insurers to adopt strict measures, including board-approved anti-fraud policies, independent Fraud Monitoring Units (FMUs), enhanced cybersecurity defences, and regular fraud awareness programmes. "Cyber fraud can have far-reaching consequences, including identity impersonation, financial frauds, reputational damage etc," IRDAI said in the draft guidelines. "Personal information such as KYC details, financial details, and medical records are highly coveted by cybercriminals, who exploit vulnerabilities in security defences to gain unauthorised access to these sensitive data available with insurers or distribution channels." The initiatives by IRDAI follow a breach linked to Star Health Insurance's chief information security officer after a hacker going by the alias "xenZen" claimed that the company executive had sold the data, and later tried to renegotiate for more money in exchange for continued backdoor access. The hacker has now posted the data for sale at $150,000, or in smaller chunks for $10,000 each, threatening widespread exposure of policyholder data.

Last month, the Insurance Regulation and Development Authority of India’s (Irdai) chairman Debasish Panda said that the insurance industry needs to infuse `50,000 crore every couple of years to double insurance penetration in the country — a statement that clearly showed the ambition of the insurance regulator under his leadership. And the past year has witnessed this ambition. Panda, who took over as the chairman of the Irdai on March 14, 2022, has brought in a slew of new initiatives as well as regulatory changes to increase insurance penetration. In fact, the zeal to increase penetration has been so high that Irdai even went to the extreme of giving ‘tentative growth targets’ to insurers — something that has never been done by any regulator in the past and unnerved the industry.