Ritu Singh

All things banking, corporate & startups at @CNBCTV18Live.
SRCC, University of Delhi & @ACJIndia Alum
#40Under40 English-news journalists in India

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

Another day, another scare

[Madison Mills @MadisonMills22]

SCOOP: Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents inside customer accounts, including some attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources told Axios.

The findings have alarmed banking executives, who are racing to restrict access to their systems as AI moves at a velocity faster than financial institutions can respond, multiple industry and bank executives told Axios.

Several banks are now preparing for worst-case and even “day after” scenarios, including how to rapidly secure or restore customer accounts if things go wrong, the people said.

Several bank executives told Axios they're struggling to distinguish between human users and AI agents. One executive said banks also struggle to determine whether agents are authorized by customers or potentially operating without their permission, more akin to rogue agent behavior.

Read my latest for Axios here: https://t.co/Q3bda5In8q

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

While still theoretical as @MarathonFusion has not demonstrated commercial gold production, or validated the process in an operating fusion reactor- the implications of this- if this comes true- will be mind blowing!

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

🤯 After lab grown diamonds, will this be lab grown GOLD?

What next?

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

🤯 After lab grown diamonds, will this be lab grown GOLD?

What next?

[Marathon Fusion @MarathonFusion]

Last month, we demonstrated high-rate alchemy: turning mercury into real, stable gold, beating CERN’s record by a factor of 10.

Last week, we enriched isotopes in the world’s most powerful plasma centrifuge, beating the Soviet record that stood for 40 years.

Now, we’re building a fusion reactor in San Francisco to achieve record power density.

[CNBC-TV18 @CNBCTV18News]

Did RBI deploy $80 billion to defend the rupee? 💵

SBI economist Soumya Kanti Ghosh says the actual intervention may be significantly lower, as deposit inflows and swap transactions also affect forex reserves.

India’s foreign currency assets fell $50.6 billion from their September peak.

Read more: https://t.co/Rm9ISdMB3E
✍️: @_RituSingh

#RBI #Rupee #ForexReserves #IndianEconomy

[CNBC-TV18 @CNBCTV18Live]

Did #RBI deploy $80 billion to defend #rupee? SBI economist explains the numbers

@_RituSingh
https://t.co/xLnPaAYw4j

[Nimesh Shah @nimeshscnbc]

CLSA on M&M Fin
O-P, TP Rs 405
Delivered another strong quarter, with 2QFY27 PPOP/PAT beating estimates by 5%/12%, driven by higher fees and lower credit costs.
PPOP growth was a healthy 20% YoY.
Calculated net slippages declined c.15bps YoY and the stage 2 + 3 loans ratio declined to a multi-year low.
Disbursement growth has accelerated over the past two quarters and should translate into stronger AUM growth in the coming quarters.
That said, a largely fixed-rate loan book and c.50% floating-rate borrowings could put pressure on spreads in a rate hike cycle.

CITI on M&M Fin
Buy, TP Rs 420
Despite 30bp NIM compression, contained credit costs (at 1.55%, seasonally weak quarter), fee/assets of 1.6%, and slight opex moderation sustained RoA at 2.2%, with PAT up 55% YoY (-2% QoQ), surpassing CitiE.
Company navigated 1H volatility well augmenting underwriting scorecards, portfolio monitoring, and collections.
GS3/GS2 improved to 3.42%/4.7% (vs 3.45%/4.87% in 1Q, 3.41%/4.76% QoQ) on higher CE of 97% (vs 95%/96% YoY/QoQ).
Loan spreads narrowed 30bps as growth tilted toward trade advances (incremental 3% QoQ delta) & lifted liquidity to 10% of balance sheet size.
Disbursements rose 22% YoY, broad-based across PV (+28%), pre-owned vehicles (+15%), CV/CE (+16%), and tractors (+13%), driving 15%+ AUM growth.
Notwithstanding rural headwinds, resilient 1H credit costs reinforce management's confidence in retained guidance.

Nomura on M&M Fin
Buy, TP cut to Rs 400
Asset quality holding up well
2QFY27 net profit: 14% vs estimates
Trim net profit estimates by 1-9% over FY27-29F;
Insurance distribution reform a risk

HSBC on M&M Fin
Buy TP cut to Rs 340
Healthy operating performance driven by higher fee income and lower credit cost led to beat in our 2QFY27 estimates
Tweak FY27-29e EPS estimates to reflect higher AUM growth outlook but rising pressure on NIM and fees
Lower TP at an implied valuation at 1.5x FY28e BVPS (from 1.7x)
@CNBCTV18News @_RituSingh

[WordPress @WordPress]

The PHP project has released fixes for 2 critical vulnerabilities affecting servers that host PHP applications. Site owners and technical teams should confirm their hosting provider’s update plan and update PHP immediately. Versions before PHP 8.2 no longer receive security updates. These issues are not specific to WordPress, and no WordPress update is required. https://t.co/2Bgok9Vdcq

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

Websites taken down worldwide as critical cyber-security update issued.

International governments and agencies have urged websites to address 2 critical cyber-security flaws in a programming language which powers much of the internet, #PHP.

https://t.co/fB85IMxFko

[Ministry of Electronics & IT @GoI_MeitY]

A security incident concerning eMudhra’s Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) was reported in the public domain.

Meity has taken serious note of the reported incident. A special team has been constituted to investigate the matter.

[Anuj Singhal अनुज सिंघल @_anujsinghal]

In today’s earnings release, Eternal released a shareholder letter. What caught my eye was Deepinder Goyal’s Key Takeaways on AI https://t.co/QZZ2u1KRfE: A privacy-first AI platform

•Deepinder is developing https://t.co/QZZ2u1KRfE, an AI platform focused on privacy and confidentiality.

•It aims to protect conversations, personal thoughts, research and business ideas.

•The platform will use fine-tuned open-weight models, its own infrastructure and end-to-end encryption.

•Users will control their encrypted memory across sessions.

•It is designed for founders, researchers, scientists, enterprises and governments.

•Deepinder hopes to launch https://t.co/QZZ2u1KRfE globally within 2026.

•He says its AI models will prioritise truth over simply pleasing users.

AI agents: Threat or opportunity for Zomato and Blinkit?
•Zomato and Blinkit face relatively low risk from AI agents, while District faces medium-to-high risk.

•More than 65% of Zomato app opens are exploratory, according to Deepinder. Customers enjoy discovering restaurants, browsing menus and looking at food pictures.

•AI agents may take over repetitive tasks such as repeat orders and restocking, but Deepinder says reordered carts currently account for only a low-single-digit share on Zomato and Blinkit.

•AI can place an order, but fulfilling it reliably is much harder.

•Zomato depends on coordination between restaurants, kitchens, delivery partners, routing and payments.

•Blinkit relies on real-time inventory, dark-store operations, picking and dispatch to enable rapid deliveries.

•Deepinder argues that the company controlling fulfilment and taking responsibility for the customer outcome will retain significant value.

Five important implications for investors
1Execution becomes the moat: Operational excellence and fulfilment infrastructure may matter more than owning the customer interface.

2Markets could consolidate: AI agents may direct customers towards the best-performing platforms, strengthening market leaders.

3Content advantages may weaken: AI can aggregate reviews, ratings and information from across the internet, reducing the value of proprietary content alone.

4New market opportunities could emerge: Strong fulfilment infrastructure may help companies enter categories previously protected by established content advantages.

5AI could generate incremental demand: Personalised recommendations from AI agents may create additional transactions, potentially reducing reliance on traditional customer acquisition channels such as Google and Meta.

What about profitability?
•Deepinder believes AI intermediation need not automatically compress margins for Zomato and Blinkit.

•Platforms that continue to power sales and fulfilment should be able to capture a fair share of the transaction economics.

•However, this is his strategic thesis, not a guarantee that margins will remain unaffected.

The central investment takeaway: Deepinder believes AI may weaken businesses that rely primarily on customer discovery and content, while strengthening companies with superior supply chains, fulfilment capabilities and execution.

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

Black mirror world

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

Exclusive: AI just found one of the most severe online bugs ever. It puts up to 70% of the world’s websites at risk. https://t.co/nVnN8vs5QH

[CNBC-TV18 @CNBCTV18News]

#DataBreach #CyberSecurity | 2 Separate Incidents Reported

* SBI: Preliminary analysis indicates around 3.75 lakh customer records available on dark web
* eMudhra: Compromise of private keys linked to 8 intermediate digital certificates

@_ritusingh
@CNBCTV18News #SBI #DataBreach #CyberSecurity #eMudhra

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

😂

[Ramesh Srivats @rameshsrivats]

Looks like Narayana Murthy personally designed the 2027 calendar.

[Nimesh Shah @nimeshscnbc]

HSBC on Bajaj Fin
Buy, TP Rs 1270
BAF’s segment-leading performance continues, with MSME loan growth also likely to revive as move ahead
BAF is likely to find enough levers to offset potential revenue headwinds, and protect its ROA / ROE over FY28/29e
Potential capital raise will be positive for growth, profitability

Nomura on Bajaj Fin
Buy, TP Rs 1270
2Q27 net profit in line with estimate
Loan growth guidance for FY27E revised to 26-27%, with medium-term guidance unchanged at 23-25%
Management expects credit cost run rate in 2H27E to be at par with 1H27’s
Given rising rate environment, management has indicated marginal headwinds on NIMs.
Trim EPS estimates by 2-3% & expect ROA /ROE of 4.2%/19.9% over FY28-29F
Stock currently trades at a 1- year-fwd P/B of 3.4x

JPM on Bajaj Fin
OW TP Rs 1260
Delivered a strong operating performance in 2Q, with key metrics in line with JPMe: NII at Rs 133.3bn (+24% y/y, +6% q/q, in line), PPoP at Rs 107bn (+21% y/y, in line), PAT (post MI) at Rs 62.7bn (+29% y/y, +5% q/q, in line)
Key things that stood out for us in the earnings (more details in paragraphs below):
(i) Growth guidance upgrade to 26-27% , underscoring the strong business momentum across segments,
(ii) continuation of benign asset quality trends across segments with only a transient impact in gold in short tenure product,
(iii) focus on RoA preservation despite the rising risk to NIM from higher funding costs
See BAF as the best-in-class earnings compounder supported by a combination of healthy loan growth, operating leverage gains from ongoing AI initiatives and a strong track record of managing credit costs that should support a 21% earnings CAGR over FY27-29E

CLSA on Bajaj Fin
O-p, TP Rs 1300
2QFY27 PBT was in line with
However, adjusted for a macroeconomic provision of Rs3.4bn, it was 4% above estimate.
It was a strong quarter on all fronts. AUM growth picked up from 24% YoY in 1QFY27 to 26% in 2QFY27 and management raised FY27 growth guidance by 3-4ppt to 26-27%.
BAF benefitted on cost of funds due to interest rate swaps, though it cautioned on margins going forward due to rate hikes.
PPOP came in slightly above estimates.
Asset quality remained strong with the net slippage ratio declining 110bp YoY.
Management clarified that it is raising equity capital for two reasons – strong growth and leverage exceeding 5x.
On insurance guidelines impact, it said it would work to offset it, but did not specify details.

@CNBCTV18News @_RituSingh

[CNBC-TV18 @CNBCTV18Live]

#JustIN | #SBI Says: Bank Received CERT-In Communication w.r.t Suspected Exposure Of Customer Data On #DarkWeb

🔴Prelim Analysis Identified 3.75 Lk Records Available On The Dark Web. 3,897 Customer Records Containing Personally Identifiable Information (#PII) Were Identified

🔴Bank Promptly Activated Its #CyberIncident Response And Containment Protocols

🔴Independent CERT-IN-Empanelled Cybersecurity Agency Engaged To Conduct Comprehensive Assessment

🔴Alleged #DataLeak Does Not Have Any Material Impact On Bank’s Core Biz Ops

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

@imFmoharkan @MorningContext All the best @imFmoharkan! Shine on!

[Ritu Singh @_RituSingh]

FM @nsitharaman blames easy exits, and excess liquidity for #equity market's underperformance.

She said India wouldn’t be “hurt” from any spillover if AI bubble burst, as it had not received “AI kind of investments coming into different jurisdictions.”

https://t.co/fAUBkr6l7Z

[Nimesh Shah @nimeshscnbc]

CLSA on PNB
O-P, TP Rs 140
2QFY27 PAT beat estimate by 20%.
This was driven by a beat on NII and one-off recoveries, partly offset by lower other income.
Loan growth accelerated to 16% YoY from low-double digits a few quarters back.
Deposit growth remains stable at 10%% YoY.
Reported NIM improved 8bp sequentially driven by loan yields and deposit cost.
Management guided that NIM could further improve. Asset quality was stable, with a gross slippage ratio of 0.8%

CITI On PNB BK
Sell, TP raised to Rs 110
PNB's NIM rose 8bps QoQ to 2.58% (domestic NIM at 2.74%), propelling NII growth of 10.8% YoY/7.4% QoQ — surpassing CitiE.
Runoff of wholesale deposits via FCNR inflows trimmed CoD by 5bps, while continued paring of retail IBPC and low-yielding corporate exposure lifted yields by 8bps.
Release in standard asset provisioning offset NPA and floating-provision buffers, pushing credit cost to near zero.
RoA held firm above 1%.
Global advances climbed 14.7% YoY/5.3% QoQ — outpacing FY27 guided 12–13% band — aided by FCNR-funded overseas exposure (1.5% of the book).
Management reaffirmed guidance of 12–13% loan growth, NIMs of 2.6–2.7%, sub-40bps credit costs, RoA above 1%

@CNBCTV18Live @_RituSingh

[Nimesh Shah @nimeshscnbc]

HSBC on Ujjivan Small Fin
Buy, TP Rs 90
UJJIVANS beat PAT estimate by 14% in 2QFY27; it further indicated that it expects to surpass its FY27 ROA guidance
Increase FY27-29e PAT estimates 9-17% to reflect higher AUM growth, efficiency gains, and preferential issue
Offers strong re-rating potential
Appointment of new CEO is expected to take 3-4 months to complete, starting from 1 Sept 2026

HSBC on L&T Fin
Buy, TP cut to Rs 310
Sound 2QFY27 results with most metrics broadly in line with estimates; softer disbursements, asset quality were concerns
However, management commentary on both was reassuring; upgrade EPS by 0.8-4.6% for FY27-29e on better NIM outlook
TP cut to reflect macro-economic concerns in valuation multiples

HSBC on Bajaj Hsg
Reduce, TP Rs 78
In 2QFY27, 3% beat in profit was driven primarily by better-than-estimated NIM
Upgrade FY27-29e EPS estimates by 0.6-4.7% to reflect strong AUM growth and better-than-estimated NIM
Valuing at 2.2x FY28e BVPS; retain Reduce rating given expensive valuations, sustained pressures
@CNBCTV18Live @_RituSingh

[Nimesh Shah @nimeshscnbc]

Bernstein on HDFC BK
O-P, TP Rs 1150
Weak earnings growth trend for HDFC Bank continued in 2Q27
While balance-sheet growth remained healthy & asset quality stayed resilient, weaker treasury income, & margin pressure weighed on profitability.
As a result, RoA moderated marginally to 1.8% despite continued opex discipline.

JPM on HDFC BK
OW, TP Rs 970
Delivered a steady 2Q27 with NII at Rs 346.2bn (+10% y/y) and PAT at Rs 195.1bn (+5% y/y) coming broadly in line vs JPMe.
Reported NIMs declined by 10bps q/q to 330bps and trailed JPMe on FCNR impact.
HDFCB underscored a positive NIM outlook (neutral to positive going forward) driven by positive impact of a 25bps repo rate hike (70% book is floating with a significant portion linked to repo), along with mix shift towards higher yielding retail and MSME, partly offset by full impact of FCNR (B) in 3Q .
A decline in average LCR to 113% (vs 115% in 1Q, 110-120% target range) does reduce balance-sheet flexibility.
Asset quality remains healthy

GS on HDFC BK
Buy, TP Rs 861
2QFY27 core PPOP growth improve to 13% YoY from 8% in 1Q and was 2% above GSe, aided by continued cost optimization.
Core revenue growth picked up to 10% YoY vs. 7% YoY last quarter.
Loan growth trends were positive, and bank saw improved traction in business banking, unsecured loans, and autos for instance.
NIMs, however, declined by 8bps QoQ, a larger-than-expected contraction vs GSe.

Nomura on HDFC BK
Buy, TP Rs 940
Largely in-line 2QFY27, with core PPOP of INR287bn (+12% y-y / +3% q-q).
NII growth of 3% q-q lagged peers (Axis/ICICI at 5%/6%), reflecting lower FCNR(B) mobilization as a share of deposits (3.3% vs 7%/8% for Axis/ICICI).
Loan and deposit growth were healthy at 16% y-y / 5% q-q and 19% y-y / 5% q-q, respectively, though FCNR(B) inflows contributed ~3pp of q-q deposit growth.
However, LCR moderated to 113% (-2pp q-q) vs largely stable levels of 124%/119% at ICICI/Axis, leaving the bank close to the lower end of its 110-120% operating band.
This could constrain incremental loan growth, making deposit momentum the key swing factor.

Kotak Inst Eqt on HDFC BK
Buy, TP Rs 1050
Reported 5% yoy earnings growth in 2QFY27, broadly in line with operating profit growth.
While NII growth continued to improve, NIM contracted by 10 bps qoq, primarily due to the impact of FCNR deposit mobilization.
As bank navigates a series of leadership transitions, it enters a new phase in its evolution.
A supportive operating environment and attractive valuations reinforce our constructive view, although execution remains the key monitorable.
@CNBCTV18Live @_RituSingh