SBI terminates GMU Kolkata lease; civil society urges RBI not to permit closure without regulatory approval.
SBI has terminated the lease for floors housing its GMU in Kolkata and issued a one-month vacate notice as part of consolidating treasury and forex operations in Mumbai. A civil society group has asked the Reserve Bank not to permit surrender of the GMU's banking licence or allow closure without explicit regulatory approval, arguing such administrative action would pre-empt the regulator and risk loss of specialised functions and regional financial activity.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces DOJ subpoenas as GOP senators defend Fed independence amid presidential pressure.
Senate Republicans publicly defended Federal Reserve independence after DOJ subpoenas and threats of criminal charges concerning a USD 2.5 billion Fed office renovation; lawmakers characterised the investigation as intimidation aimed at influencing interest-rate policy, while Chair Powell engaged directly with senators to secure support and recent statements indicated blocking of administration Fed nominees until the legal cloud is resolved.

Indian rupee falls to 90.78/USD as strong dollar demand and foreign fund outflows pressure the currency.
Rupee declined to 90.78/USD, losing 44 paise amid strong dollar demand, persistent foreign investor outflows, and worries over US-India trade talks. Market participants noted technical pressure from fixing-related dollar bids tied to recent FX swap operations. Analysts forecast continued negative bias for the rupee given a strong dollar, FII equity outflows and higher crude oil prices, while market data showed an intraday low of 90.89 and significant foreign equity sell-offs.

Forex reserves rose by USD 392 million to USD 687.19 billion, driven by gold gains despite lower foreign currency assets.
The central bank's weekly reserve statement records an increase in foreign exchange reserves of USD 392 million to USD 687.19 billion for the week ended January 9, with foreign currency assets down USD 1.124 billion to USD 550.866 billion, gold holdings up USD 1.568 billion to USD 112.83 billion, SDRs down USD 39 million to USD 18.739 billion, and the IMF reserve position down USD 13 million to USD 4.758 billion.

India anchors South Asia's growth outlook as strong GDP, rising AI investment, and steady policy expectations shape forecasts.
The WEF chief economists' survey finds India anchoring South Asia's growth, driven by strong GDP and reforms despite trade headwinds and tariffs; it emphasises rising AI investment with expected productivity gains across key sectors, notes falling inflation expectations and broad expectations of unchanged monetary and fiscal policy, and warns of global risks from elevated debt, trade reconfiguration, and uneven employment effects from AI, plus weaker prospects for cryptocurrencies.

Net Open Position rules revised to align with international standards, changing measurement, capital charge and exemption provisions; comments invited.
Amendments revise computation and capitalisation of the Net Open Position: remove separate onshore/offshore NOP, include accumulated overseas surplus, require forex risk capital charge on actual NOP, modify the Shorthand method treating gold separately, and provide for exemption of certain structural forex positions.

Central Government salary account package offers integrated banking, insurance and card benefits nationwide to employees.
The Department of Financial Services directed Public Sector Banks to offer a composite Salary Account Package for Central Government employees combining zero-balance banking facilities (free RTGS/NEFT/UPI, concessional loan terms, cashback and nil maintenance), integrated insurance protection (personal accident, air accident, disability, term life with top-up, and health insurance with top-up) and enhanced card benefits; banks must publicise the scheme, facilitate migration of existing salary accounts with employee consent, and ensure uniform coverage and convenience across employee cadres.

Wholesale price inflation rose to 0.83% in December, driven by food and manufacturing, amid recent policy rate cuts.
Wholesale price inflation increased to 0.83% in December 2025, reversing prior months of deflation and driven by month on month rises in food, non food articles and manufactured products. Manufactured products inflation rose to 1.82% and non food articles to 2.95%, while fuel and power remained in deflation. Analysts cite an unfavourable base, higher global commodity prices and currency pressures and expect modest further increases in WPI against a backdrop of recent policy rate cuts and a higher GDP growth projection.

Wholesale price inflation rose to 0.83% in December as manufactured and non-food prices firmed.
Wholesale price inflation rose to 0.83% in December 2025, reversing two months of deflation due to price increases in food, non-food articles and manufactured items. Manufactured products inflation rose to 1.82% and non-food articles to 2.95%, while fuel and power remained in deflation at 2.31%. Retail inflation also increased to 1.33%, and monetary authorities have cut policy rates cumulatively by 1.25 percentage points, lowered the fiscal-year inflation projection to 2.0%, and raised the GDP growth projection to 7.3%.

Banks adopting PostgreSQL with end to end migration, security audits, and compliance focused performance management.
The partnership provides end to end services for banks to adopt Open Source Postgres, including migration strategy, data security audits, and continuous performance management, combining Postgres technical expertise with banking compliance know how to reduce total cost of ownership, improve scalability and data sovereignty, and lessen reliance on proprietary database licenses.

Digital regulation must balance innovation and systemic risk through agile, risk based, and accountable oversight using data and SupTech.
Digital regulation must adapt to compressed time horizons, algorithmic and platform risks, and blurred regulatory perimeters by adopting regulatory agility, system wide visibility, and calibrated perimeter approaches. Regulators should combine principle based frameworks with strong governance and supervisory engagement, ensure accountability of regulated entities for technological intermediation, and use granular data and SupTech/RegTech to enable proactive supervision, proportional calibration, reduced compliance burden, and cross border cooperation.

RBI invites comments on clarifying Tier 1 capital computation and applicability of concentration norms; submissions due Jan 28, 2026.
RBI proposes amendments clarifying computation of Owned Fund / Tier 1 Capital for NBFCs and ARCs and the applicability of Credit / Investment Concentration norms, modifying multiple 2025 master directions, and invites stakeholder feedback by January 28, 2026 via the 'Connect 2 Regulate' portal or by post/email to the Chief General Manager, Balance Sheet Group, Department of Regulation.

Standard Chartered launches a refreshed Priority Banking proposition in India emphasizing wealth, cross-border banking, and exclusive lifestyle benefits.
Standard Chartered's refreshed Priority Banking proposition in India emphasizes four pillars-wealth expertise, international banking, sales and service expertise, and exclusive lifestyle benefits-shifting from product-led engagement to holistic multi-product client relationships supported by INSEAD trained Wealth Specialists, Priority Banking Centres, cross-border digital capabilities, Priority Exclusives including an invite-only Beyond Credit Card, and specialist services delivered via the SC Privileges platform.

Payment aggregator authorization expanded to include physical in store payments for Innoviti, enabling unified online and offline payment processing.
Grant of a Certificate of Authorization permits Innoviti Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to operate as a Payment Aggregator for both online and physical (in store) payment transactions under the Payments and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, expanding prior online-only permission and aligning regulated permissions with its integrated digital and offline payment platforms while reinforcing obligations for risk centric onboarding, compliance, cybersecurity, and governance.

Public sector banks appeal stay on fraud classification after dispute over forensic audit qualifications and seek quashing of interim order
Three public sector banks appealed an interim order staying their action to classify accounts as fraud classification, contending a BDO LLP forensic audit validly found fund siphoning and misutilisation justifying classification; Ambani had challenged the audit's validity based on auditor qualification and secured a stay on the banks' actions as allegedly violating RBI guidelines, and the banks seek to quash that interim order to enable enforcement of remedial measures.

Rupee edges higher as weak dollar and trade talks offset RBI reported decline in forex reserves.
Rupee settled marginally higher at about 90.17 per US dollar, supported by a weaker dollar, falling crude prices and progress on US India trade talks, while geopolitical volatility limited gains. The Reserve Bank of India reported a USD 9.809 billion decline in forex reserves to USD 686.801 billion, a regulatory datum watched for its implications on market liquidity and intervention under the FEMA/RBI framework.

Retail inflation rose to 1.33% in December as food and personal care prices increased, still below the RBI lower tolerance limit.
Retail consumer price inflation rose to 1.33% in December 2025, driven by higher prices in food subcomponents and personal care; food inflation remained negative at -2.71% while core inflation reached 4.6%. Urban inflation exceeded rural, headline inflation stayed below the Reserve Bank of India lower tolerance limit for the fourth consecutive month, and analysts expect CPI to rise as food deflation fades, with forthcoming revised CPI and GDP series to inform monetary policy timing.

Digital banking requires supervisors and banks to prioritise operational resilience, third party oversight, AI governance and continuous supervision.
Digital banking shifts supervisory focus to operational resilience, data integrity, ecosystem concentration, cyber risk and algorithmic governance. Supervision must be technology-neutral, risk-based, proportional and forward-looking, with the supervised entity remaining accountable for outsourced activities. Core supervisory focus areas are operational resilience and cyber readiness; third-party and ecosystem dependency mapping; governance of data, models and AI (explainability and fairness); and technology-enabled continuous supervision supported by SupTech and improved data governance.

Digital innovation reshapes savings accounts-improving access, automated saving, and data driven interest management across branches.
Digital innovation at AU Small Finance Bank is transforming savings accounts by digitising account opening, management, and interest calculation, enhancing accessibility, transparency, and customer experience. Automated transfers, real time monitoring, and digital interest tools promote disciplined saving and accurate interest computations; reduced operational costs allow competitive, data driven interest rate structuring. Removal of a fixed home branch requirement enables account management across branches, while AI tools, secure platforms, and advanced analytics support product design and scalable service delivery.

Rupee rises to 90.16 as dollar weakens and crude falls; RBI weekly forex reserves show a notable decline.
Rupee recovered to 90.16 against the US dollar, aided by a weaker dollar, falling crude oil futures and improved equity sentiment tied to progress in trade talks; analysts noted upcoming US and Indian macro data as near term drivers. Foreign institutional investor outflows and a weekly decline in forex reserves reported by the Reserve Bank heightened vulnerability, while geopolitical tensions limited a stronger rebound.