Indian banks are set to benefit from enhanced oversight by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a more robust supervisory toolkit, which should reduce systemic risks and improve the operating environment, a report said.

These shifts, paired with strong economic growth prospects and reduced inflation risks, are credit positive for the sector, global rating agency Fitch said in a report.

“We believe regulatory responses to stress events, frameworks for monitoring risks and recovery of impaired loans have improved in recent years. Consequently, weaknesses that contributed to the last non-performing loan spike between the financial year ended March 2016 (FY16) and FY18 have been significantly reduced,” it said.

Banking system metrics are the strongest in years. However, some more recent reforms have not been tested in a down cycle, it said, adding that the sector non-performing loan ratio fell to 2.2 per cent in 1HFY26 (from a peak of 11.2 per cent in FY18). The common equity Tier 1 ratio has risen to 14.8 per cent, from estimates of 9.3 per cent in FY14.

The sector’s return on assets is also comparable with peer banking systems in the Asia-Pacific region, with a ‘bbb’ category operating environment, at around 1.3 per cent in recent years, it said.

“We believe the implementation of an ECL framework should contribute to reduced volatility by helping to smooth earnings over the cycle,” it said.

Over the medium term, the country’s robust economic growth – above 6 per cent over the next two years – should continue to offer banks ample opportunities for profitable lending growth, it said.

“We estimate the banking sector credit/GDP ratio at 59 per cent in 2025, which remains below the peer average of 101 per cent, suggesting there is headroom for lending growth to exceed nominal GDP growth moderately over the medium term without posing major risks to systemic stability, if underwriting standards hold up,” it said.

Published on January 6, 2026

Insurtech firm Turtlemint Fintech Solutions Ltd is set to file its updated draft papers with markets regulator SEBI in the next two weeks as it prepares to launch its ₹2,000-crore initial public offering (IPO) anywhere between March and April, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.

The company had confidentially filed its preliminary IPO papers in September and received SEBI’s approval in December to move ahead with the public issue.

Following SEBI’s approval, the company will file its updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) in the next two weeks, which will be open for public comments for 21 days. After this, the firm is required to file UDRHP-II incorporating public comments and then RHP for the actual launch.

According to people familiar with the development, the insurtech firm is targeting a public listing by April.

Founded in 2015 by Dhirendra Mahyavanshi and Anand Prabhudesai, the company focuses on simplifying the purchase and management of insurance policies and has sold around 1.6 crore policies through a network of more than five lakh advisors.

Turtlemint claims to have processed over 90 crore claims for more than 1.2 crore customers. Its technology helps financial advisors instantly match customers with insurance products best suited to their needs, thereby improving efficiency and supporting business growth.

On the investor side, the company counts Amansa Capital, Jungle Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners among its backers.

Turtlemint connects insurers, advisors and consumers on a unified technology platform and has forged long-term partnerships with over 40 insurer partners, accounting for nearly 65 per cent of all life and general insurers in India.

The proposed listing comes amid rising interest in insurtech offerings. In November 2021, PB Fintech, which operates Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, tapped the markets with a ₹5,710-crore IPO.

Published on January 6, 2026

Gold extended gains on Tuesday to hit a ‌one-week high, as dovish comments from Federal ​Reserve officials boosted bets on interest rate cuts and Venezuela tensions bolstered safe-haven demand.

Spot gold was up 0.4 per cent at $4,463.63 per ounce, as of 0722 GMT, after rising nearly 3 per cent in the last session. Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26, and logged its best annual performance since 1979 last ​year with a jump of 64 per cent

U.S. gold futures ⁠for February delivery rose 0.5 per cent to $4,473.90.

“(Comments by Fed officials) certainly didn’t hurt but it doesn’t look like the calculus has changed all that much. ​We of course have a ⁠big week this week with the jobs report on Friday,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Monday inflation was slowly ‌easing, but there was a risk the jobless rate ‌could “pop” higher, increasing the likelihood of a rate cut.

Investors currently expect at least two rate cuts ‍this year, while they look to the nonfarm payroll report, due on Friday, for more monetary policy cues.

Toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas ‍Maduro pleaded not guilty on Monday to narcotics charges after U.S. President Donald Trump’s capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to regroup.

“The capture of Maduro illustrated this rupture between the U.S. and China and more broadly (the ongoing trend of) de-globalisation,” Spivak said.

Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of geopolitical or ⁠economic uncertainty.

Spot silver gained 2.8 per cent to $78.64 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on December 29. Silver ​ended 2025 with annual gains of 147 per cent, far outpacing gold, in ⁠what was its best year on record.

Spot platinum was up 2 per cent at $2,315.69 per ounce, after rising to an all-time high of $2,478.50 last Monday. It rose more than 5 per cent earlier in the session to a one-week high.

Palladium traded ⁠2.2 per cent higher at $1,745.68 per ounce.

Published on January 6, 2026