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🧐🏆 Posts of the Week

🇮🇳 India

📰 Market Updates

1. Fintech personal loans overdue by 90+ days rose to 3.6% in Q4 FY25, highest in 6 quarters, with loans under INR 10,000 ($116) and borrowers under-25 most impacted.
2. Bajaj Finserv, an Indian financial services group, increased customer target to 250M by 2027, up from previous goal of 200M, citing strong growth in Indian economy.
3. Receivables Exchange of India (RXIL), promoted by SIDBI, NSE, SBI, ICICI Bank, and Yes Bank, facilitated INR 2 lakh crore ($23.4B) in MSME invoice financing, with INR 80,500cr ($9.3B) in FY25 alone.
4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported only 29% of Indian household loans were for housing, with over 50% meant for consumption purposes, in its latest Financial Stability Report (FSR).
5. IIFL Capital reported banks' Profit After Tax (PAT) declined 2% YoY and 4% QoQ in Q1 FY26 due to sluggish business momentum, contracting Net Interest Margins (NIMs) by 8-25 bps QoQ, and higher slippages.
6. India's gold loan market grew from INR 2.86 lakh cr ($33B) in FY19 to INR 7.18 lakh cr ($83B) in fiscal year FY24, a 20% CAGR over the last 5 years.
7. Bank lending in India grew 9.6% YoY until mid-June 2025, down from 19% a year ago, despite a 100 basis point policy rate cut this year.
8. Indian banks increased average fresh loan spreads by 17 basis points MoM to 3.09% in May 2025 amid margin pressures and subdued credit demand.
9. HDFC Bank reported 16% YoY deposit growth outpacing 7% YoY loan growth in Q1 FY26, indicating abating asset-liability concerns post-merger with HDFC in July 2023.
10. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed 18.4B transactions worth INR 24 lakh crore ($280B) in June 2025, down 4% MoM but up 32% YoY in volume and 20% in value according to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data.
11. Venture capital funding in Indian startups reached INR 42,817cr ($5B) across 410 deals in H1 2025, up 9% YoY from INR 39,279cr ($4.5B) across 418 deals in H1 2024, still well below the 2022 peak according to Venture Intelligence data.
12. FinTech NBFCs sanctioned 109M personal loans worth INR 1,06,548cr ($12.4B) in FY25, accounting for 74% of total personal loan volumes and 12% by value, according to a report by the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE).
13. India's fintech startups raised INR 7,690cr ($889M) in equity funding in H1 2025, declining 26% from H2 2024 and 5% YoY, according to Tracxn.
14. Manipal Cards, a smart card manufacturer and payment provider, filed a confidential Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an IPO to raise INR 1,200cr ($140M).

🚀 Product Launches

1. slice launched an UPI-based credit card and opened India's first UPI-powered physical bank branch and ATM in Bengaluru.
2. Razorpay POS launched an AI-powered "self-healing" POS device that proactively detect and resolve 60% of industry-wide POS issues, ensuring seamless checkouts for offline merchants.
3. CarePay, a healthcare-focused fintech platform, launched an AI-powered EMI platform offering instant zero-interest loans up to INR 10 lakh ($ 12K) for medical treatments, partnering with hospitals to cover interest costs.
4. Zaggle, a prepaid payments and rewards company, signed a 3-year agreement with Apollo Health and Lifestyle to provide employee expense management and benefits solutions, anticipating INR 55-60cr ($6.5-7.0M) revenue over the next 12 months.
5. PayGlocal partnered with Banking Circle to enable faster, cost-effective cross-border payments for Indian exporters and marketplace sellers.

📝 Regulatory Updates

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) financial stability report noted private sector banks accounted for 52.6% of INR 18,240cr ($2.1B) Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) in unsecured retail loans as of March 2025, while public sector banks held 40.5% share.
2. Mashreq, a UAE-based bank, received in-principle approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to open a branch in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), becoming the first UAE bank to do so; branch expected to open by Q4 2025.
3. RBI formed a technical working group to streamline credit bureau processes, ensure data uniformity across Credit Information Companies (CICs), and explore a common grievance redressal portal.
4. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) passed an interim order in the case of alleged index manipulation by Jane Street Group.
5. RBI and NPCI allowed Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from 12 countries to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with international mobile numbers.
6. Mobikwik Securities Broking (MSBPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of One MobiKwik Systems, received Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approval to operate as a stock broker and clearing member.
7. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred prepayment penalties on floating rate personal loans and business loans up to INR 0.5cr ($58K) for small lenders, aiming to simplify lending.

💰 Financing Announcements

ACQUISITIONS:

1. JM Financial acquired the remaining 2.98% stake in its subsidiary JM Financial Credit Solutions (JMFCSL) from Moraine Master Fund LP for INR 89cr ($~10M), making JMFCSL a wholly-owned subsidiary.
2. Saraswat Cooperative Bank, India's largest cooperative bank, sought RBI approval to acquire New India Cooperative Bank Ltd., which has INR 2,399cr ($280M) deposits and INR 1,162cr ($136M) advances, aiming to protect depositors after RBI imposed moratorium in February 2025.

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🌏 Asia

📰 Market Updates

1. Worldpay expanded card acquiring services to Thailand, supporting domestic settlements in local currency for Thai merchants, as part of its Asia Pacific growth strategy.
2. Indonesia's startup funding declined 43.5% YoY to $161M across 34 deals in H1 2025, reflecting investor caution and profitability pressures.
3. AEON Credit Service (Asia) reported HK$442M ($56M) revenue, up 3.7% YoY, and HK$109M ($14M) profit after tax, up 31.3% YoY, in Q1 FY25.
4. KB Financial Group, a South Korean banking group, reported highest net income growth among major Korean banks in fiscal year 2024.
5. Syndicated lending in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) declined 3.4% YoY to $241B in H1 2025, the lowest six-month total in 3 years, due to economic uncertainty from US tariffs according to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data.
6. Bitget Wallet partnered with Mastercard and Immersve to launch a zero-fee crypto card, enabling its 80M users to spend crypto at over 150M merchants globally.
7. HitPay, a Singapore-based payment platform, partnered with Flagright to enhance security and compliance using AI-powered transaction monitoring and AML solutions.
8. DBS Bank partnered with Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Giant, Guardian and 7-Eleven to offer exclusive deals and rebates to cardholders across retail outlets in Singapore.
9. Ant International launched Alipay+ Voyager, an AI travel companion integrated into digital wallets, to simplify travel experiences through its partner ecosystem of 100M global merchants.
10. JCB International launched Apple Pay support for its cardholders from Vietcombank, MBBank, and VPBank in Vietnam for in-store, in-app and online payments.
11. KuCoin Thailand, operated by ERX Company Limited, partnered with Finansia Syrus Securities (FSS), a leading Thai financial services firm, to strengthen Thailand's digital asset ecosystem and provide FSS clients access to KuCoin Thailand's regulated digital asset platform.
12. Moneythor, a Singapore-based fintech company, launched its AI Suite to help banks leverage data for delivering personalised, proactive banking experiences to improve customer engagement.
13. ZaloPay, a Vietnamese mobile wallet provider, partnered with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enable QR code payments for Vietnamese tourists in Singapore.
14. United Overseas Bank (UOB) Hong Kong signed a MOU with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), becoming the first Singapore-based bank to formalise a partnership with HKTDC to advance sustainable economic development and deepen regional integration between Greater Bay Area (GBA) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
15. AsiaPay partnered with Tai Wo to enable cashless payments on JOIE taxi booking platform in Hong Kong, ensuring mobile connectivity for passengers.
16. Boost, a Malaysia-based regional fintech player, expanded cross-border payment capabilities through integration with UnionPay International (UPI) and direct acceptance at Weixin Pay QR merchants in China.
17. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) proposed revisions to Product Highlights Sheet (PHS) format and complex product sale requirements to improve retail investor access and understanding.
18. Vietnam approved the Law on Digital Technology Industry, effective January 2026, providing clear licensing rules, compliance standards, and innovation incentives for its rapidly growing crypto market.
19. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) delayed Pakistan's digital banking pilot project to mid-August 2025, with plans to improve access via expanded ATM networks and digital wallets.
20. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) granted crypto exchange Bitstamp a license to provide services to Singapore residents, after MAS required all crypto firms to register or face expulsion.

💰 Financing Announcements

ACQUISITIONS:

1. DB Insurance, a South Korean insurer, entered discussions to acquire Fortegra, a US auto insurance provider, for $1.5B.
2. KKR acquired Finexis, one of Singapore's largest financial advisory firms with over 1,100 consultants, for its newly launched Ascend Asia platform to provide member firms with capital, strategic support and digital infrastructure for growth.

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