What drove the decline in global M&A activity in YTD 2019? Why did some dealmakers make big bets in a slow economic environment this year?   After an aggressive performance in 2018, the global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity had been docile in 2019 from the start of year itself. In the first 9 months of 2019, there have been 25,754 number of deals...

Facebook announced its own digital currency Libra Roadblock in Facebook’s ambitious plan   After a rough 2018, Facebook hogged the headlines in the mid-June of 2019 and unveiled a plan to launch its new digital currency Libra in 2020. Cryptos are an emerging concept in the financial ecosystem and with rising internet and smartphone users, it already has...

NBFC sector facing tightening of liquidity Mutual funds reducing exposure to NBFCs IL&FS and DHFL default signals a bigger crisis in the making   In the past year, the Indian corporate world has been marred with huge banking and liquidity crisis, while issues regarding fraud and bankruptcies added to the wounds. The fallout of the same has been...

Rising student loan debt in the United States after the recession Impact of student loans on the US economy   The student loans in the United States have witnessed continuous growth since the Great Recession of 2008. The total value of student loans stood at ~USD 1.5 trillion by the end of 2018, which is spread out among approx. 45 million borrowers. This mark a...

Overview of the digital transformation in the banking sector Digital strategies initiated by JPMorgan and their outcome   The global banking industry is undergoing a transformational change in its business model due to the challenges posed by a growing prominence and invasion of innovative fintech companies in the financial space. Digital transformation is the rallying...

The state of NPAs in India Introduction of IBC and other measures taken in the country What happened till date?   Non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans arises when banks make a poor lending decision or wherein loans were given after due consideration, though macroeconomic conditions, sector-wise changes or company-wise issues develop at a later stage and lead...

Overview of the housing finance sector in India Key players dominating the segment and their dynamics Factors driving aggressive demand for housing   The housing finance market in India is served by both Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) as well as Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs) such as Housing Finance Corporations (HFCs), these have different dynamics...

With digital banking picking up, does cash transactions still hold value? Has the ATM industry reached its saturation point? Impact of demonetisation on cash transactions in India   An Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is one of the most crucial self-service channels for the retail banking sector that connects banks or financial institutions with customers. The 1st...

The growth and scope Stability of housing loan market   Housing is a crucial sector for the global economic growth due to its multiplier effect for driving the demand, especially for several ancillary sectors. The growth of the sector is dependent on numerous factors, the key being housing finance. This play a significant role as it helps bridge the gap between the...

An overview on the industry Increasing loss ratio and declining insurance margin New lines of insurance and flexible coverage terms   The US Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry has been witnessing a decline in the YoY revenue growth from 2013. The industry registered a YoY revenue growth of 2.7% (2016) as compared to 4% (2015). This decline in the...

Life insurance market in the most populous nation, challenges and scope for growth. The three major life insurance firms in China. How Chinese regulations are affecting the industry and its players? Digitisation and Chinese life insurance firms.   The life insurance market in China is the fourth largest in the world. Secondly, the Gross Written Premium (GWP)...

Credit rating agencies provide an independent assessment to securities or issuers. The market for the industry is humongous with nearly $82,000 billion worth of debt securities issued in Q3 2016 as per the BIS (Bank for International Settlements). The industry is poised to grow due to more regulatory pressure, high borrowing cost for an unrated security and worldwide acceptance of a rated...

Islamic banking has gained a lot of significance in the past decade owing to its immense growth potential. This banking model is expected to fuel dampened growth in conventional banks. Islamic banks (IB) offer products similar to conventional banks (CB), but with a slightly different concept. These are prohibited from charging interest ( riba ) since in Islam money cannot be treated as a...

The auto sales in the US grew at a CAGR of 7% between Sep. 2011 to Sep. 2016. In the same period, auto loan balance grew at a CAGR of 7.7%. The captive OEMs increased their share of retail loans on the back of subvention programs supported by their parent companies. The captive OEMs had the second highest share of total loan balance amounting nearly $250 billion in 2015. Televisory...

  In the past, few years, it has been observed that the Indian banks are incurring huge losses due to the mounting pressure of Non-Performing Asset (NPA loans where the default in payment exceeds 90 days). The rising crisis of NPA gained significance when the former RBI governor urged banks to clean their balance sheets and soon recognise NPA. A phenomenon which was earlier neglected....

Healthcare REITs are real estate investment trusts which own healthcare-related properties, majorly Senior Housing Communities (SHC), Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), Medical Office Buildings (MOB) and Hospitals, etc. They earn rental revenue from leasing these properties to health care and related organisations. The healthcare REIT like any other REIT earn a tax-free income, in return, they...

What is Ant Financial? Journey to become king of unicorn Will regulatory curbs hinder its success journey?    Ant Financial, an affiliate and integral part of the Chinese giant Alibaba has emerged as one of the largest fintech companies in the world. In 2003, Alibaba started Taobao (a consumer e-commerce website) and launched Alipay (now Ant Financial)...

The banking industry has undergone a tremendous amount of change in the past 8 years as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. During this period, many small and large banks performed badly, several were bailed out and various others changed their business strategies and operating models. These steps were taken in order to accommodate cost saving measures and enforce stricter regulations....

The growth in the auto finance market is dependent on auto sales supported by strong economic fundamentals such as rising incomes, well-structured labour market, favourable tax rates, low-interest rates, low fuel prices and investments in automotive factories and their capacity expansion. The auto sales in the US recorded a volume sales of more than 17 million units in 2015 and reached 17.91...