Latest news with #CAMS
Hans India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Hans India
HDFC Bank's digital loan against mutual funds
HDFC Bank now offers a fully digital loan facility against mutual fund investments, allowing individuals to unlock liquidity without redeeming their holdings. This seamless and paperless process ensures that investors continue to stay invested in the market while accessing instant funds. What Is a Loan Against Mutual Funds (LAMF)? A Loan Against Mutual Funds (LAMF) allows investors to pledge mutual fund units as collateral in exchange for a line of credit or overdraft. It's a convenient option to meet short-term financial needs without selling off long-term investments. The loan amount varies based on the type, value, and tenure of the pledged mutual funds. How Does HDFC Bank's Digital LAMF Work? HDFC Bank is one of the first financial institutions to offer a completely digital LAMF service. Through the HDFC Bank website or internet banking, customers can select eligible mutual fund schemes, authorize the pledge using OTP, and receive the loan within three minutes. The platform is powered by CAMS for real-time verification and processing. Loan Limits and LTV Ratios Borrowers can pledge both equity and debt mutual fund units: Loan amount: ₹50,000 to ₹1 crore for debt funds; up to ₹20 lakh for equity funds Loan-to-Value (LTV): Up to 80% for debt funds, and 50% for equity funds Interest is charged only on the used amount, and there are no fixed EMIs Interest Rates on HDFC Bank's Loan Against Mutual Funds Interest rates range from 10% to 15% per annum, with festive promotional rates starting at 9.90%. Actual rates may vary depending on the borrower's profile and market conditions. Can You Stay Invested While Borrowing? Yes. The pledged mutual fund units remain invested, ensuring continued market exposure and the possibility of returns during the loan period. Key Risks to Consider Regularly monitor the Net Asset Value (NAV) and loan eligibility Ensure pledged units are not linked to ongoing SIPs or redemption plans Avoid long-term borrowing to reduce cumulative interest burden Use loans for essential needs—avoid speculative investment usage Why It Matters As digital and non-traditional lending gains popularity, HDFC Bank's LAMF offers a smart way to maintain investment growth while accessing liquidity. It provides financial flexibility, particularly during volatile market phases. Expert Advice Charu Pahuja, CFP and Group Director at Wise Finserv, notes: 'Digital loans against mutual funds can be a smart short-term solution, but only when used with caution. Assess your repayment capacity and understand the associated risks.' Disclaimer: This article is intended for educational purposes. Always consult a certified financial advisor before taking credit. Loans come with risks, including high interest and potential market-related losses.
Business Upturn
23-06-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
SEDA Experts Enhances AML and Fraud Investigations Capabilities with Addition of Colin L. Schmitt
New York, NY, June 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 'We are delighted to welcome former FBI Special Agent Colin Schmitt to SEDA Experts,' said Peter Selman, Managing Partner of SEDA Experts. 'Colin brings extraordinary investigative experience and a deep understanding of financial crime, which will be of great value to our clients globally.' Colin Schmitt is a seasoned investigator and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) with over 25 years of distinguished experience in federal law enforcement and private investigations. Retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Mr. Schmitt served as a Special Agent, Supervisory Special Agent, and Unit Chief, specializing in range of critical national and international investigations, including financial fraud, healthcare fraud, public corruption, civil rights enforcement, and counterterrorism operations. During his FBI tenure, Mr. Schmitt led the Financial Crimes, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Squad in Riverside, under the Los Angeles Field Office. He established the first Public Corruption Task Force in collaboration with the District Attorney's Offices of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Under his leadership, the task force executed the largest cash bribe sting in FBI history—paying a $1.2 million bribe. Mr. Schmitt also directed the logistics support component of the San Bernardino terrorist investigation, coordinating over 900 leads within 20 days and contributing to the successful prosecution of remaining co-conspirators. Before his leadership in Riverside, Mr. Schmitt was stationed at FBI Headquarters within the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate. As Supervisory Special Agent and later Unit Chief of the Operations Unit, he oversaw the national Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Coordinator Program and led multi-agency training exercises in partnership with U.S. intelligence entities. Over his career, he contributed to more than 40 major federal cases involving crimes such as terrorism financing, fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. He also served in specialized roles including SWAT Operator, Profiler, Informant Coordinator, and Inspector-in-Place. Following his retirement from the FBI, Mr. Schmitt founded Chronos Investigations, where he applies his deep expertise as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) to conduct high-stakes corporate investigations. His private-sector work includes cases involving workers' compensation fraud, embezzlement, sexual assault, hostile workplace complaints, and inventory shrinkage. Mr. Schmitt holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Economics from the University of Missouri – Columbia and an MBA from Northeastern University – Boston. About SEDA Experts LLC SEDA is a leading expert witness firm specializing in financial services. We support international law firms by offering the highest level of expertise across the financial industry and providing access to the most influential financial services industry leaders. We provide superior independent advice, data analytics, valuation, and elite expert reports and testimony services to law firms, regulators, and leading financial institutions. Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash
The Hindu
20-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Analysing Internet access and digital skills in India
One important target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education. Within this broad goal, there are two important targets pertaining to Internet and digital skills. Target 4.4.1 talks about the share of youth and adult population who have some Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skill. Target 4.4.2 pertains to a degree of proficiency in digital skills. Therefore, to attain the SDG4 target of education, providing ICT infrastructure and assessing digital skills is important. The data to assess these skills were rather sparse until the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) conducted the Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey (CAMS) between July 2022 and June 2023. This is arguably the first sample survey which asks a set of questions about people's access to, and use of, digital technology. The survey was conducted across India in 3.02 lakh households and with 12.99 lakh people. At the all-India level, 76.3% of households have broadband Internet facilities. In rural areas, 71.2% of households have the facility, while in urban areas, 86.5% do. This data shows the deep penetration of the Internet in India. But there are variations across States, castes, gender, and class. In some States, more than 90% of the households have a broadband connection. These include Delhi, Goa, Mizoram, Manipur, Sikkim, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. But in some other States, fewer than 70% have a broadband connection. These include West Bengal (69.3%), Andhra Pradesh (66.5%), Odisha (65.3%), and Arunachal Pradesh (60.2%). There are also significant variation within caste groups on the issue of broadband connectivity at home. In households in the general category, 84.1% have broadband connection, while the numbers for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are 77.5%, 69.1%, and 64.8% respectively. While it is significant that within all social groups, the majority of the households have broadband connectivity, OBC, SC, and ST communities are still significantly behind households in the general category in this aspect. The most striking difference predictably exists in terms of income. Generally, the monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) is used as a proxy for income, since income data at the household level is not available. From the unit-level data of CAMS, we have arranged the population from the bottom 10% to the top 10% in terms of MPCE (Chart 1). Chart 1 | The chart shows the broadband connectivity of households according to the decile classes of Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (in %) While in the lowest decile class, 71.6% households don't have broadband connectivity, the number for the highest decile class is only 1.9%. However, even for those who belong to the second lowest decile class, the majority (56.2%) have broadband connection at home. In other words, while the poorest are still on the wrong side of the digital divide, broadband connectivity improves with every decile class. Economic status is a significant determinant of broadband connectivity. The government has said that provision of high-speed Internet is a fundamental utility akin to water or electricity (Digital India website). To facilitate coverage of the poorest sections of the society, the government can think of subsidising broadband connections so that there is universal coverage. According to the CAMS report, 94.2% of rural households and 97.1% of urban households have mobile or telephone connections in their households. When we look at people aged 15 years and above, 92.4% in urban areas and 83.9% in rural areas can use mobile phones. However, a deeper look at the data shows that the use of mobile phones is not as universal as the headline numbers suggest. Table 2 shows the share of the population who use a mobile phone with an active SIM card exclusively, for making calls or accessing the Internet. The data shows that women and socially deprived sections are at a disadvantage. For example, within the general category, only 25.3% of women use mobile phones exclusively in rural areas, while the number for urban areas is 51.2%. For SCs, STs, and OBCs, the numbers are far below the general category for both men and women. While there is a lot of discussion about 5G connectivity in India, data show that just more than half the population in rural areas uses 4G, while more than 70% in urban areas use the same. A significant share of the population (40.4%) still uses mobile technology which is more primitive than 4G. The share of people with 5G connectivity is negligible in the country. To gauge digital skills, we focused on some basic tasks such as using the Internet, sending emails, copy-pasting from documents, using arithmetic operations in spreadsheets, and performing online banking transactions (Chart 3). Chart 3 | Select digital skills of the rural and urban populations of India (15 years and above) (in %) Around 53.6% of the population (15 years and above) can use the Internet in rural areas and 74% in urban areas. The proportion who can send/receive emails is even lower (20% for rural, 40% for urban). Only around 40% of the rural population can perform the copy-paste function, while 60% of the urban population can. The share of people who can perform arithmetic operations in spreadsheets is extremely low. Only 37.8% of India's population aged 15 years and above can perform online banking transactions. Subhanil Chowdhury is an Associate Professor of Economics at St. Xavier's University, Kolkata, and Samiran Sengupta is a data analyst
The Print
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Print
More salaried than self-employed Indians earning less than Rs 25k a month face borrower stress—study
The study analysed 20,000 borrowers for over a year to determine their credit scores, using AI, machine learning, and data science techniques on the Algo360 platform. With both data science and Artificial Intelligence, is a firm that helps banks and financial institutions make credit decisions. It is a subsidiary of Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) that works as a mutual fund transfer agency. New Delhi: Over 70 percent of the self-employed earning less than Rs 25,000 a month in India are witnessing acute financial strain in servicing the multiple small loans they have been taking, according to a study conducted by . The study has revealed that though both the salaried and the self-employed—earning less than Rs 25,000/month—faced financial strain, the share of the salaried missing to pay at least one of the equated monthly instalments (EMI) on loans was 76 percent, a higher share than the 64 percent of the self-employed who missed at least one EMI payment. ThePrint contacted Mr. Amit Das, the CEO, who said, 'Credit stress across India is uneven: low-income borrowers, often managing multiple small loans, driven by multiple life priorities, face the highest risks and defaults, whereas those earning steadily above Rs 25,000 a month enjoy steadier finances and lower defaults.' Das further said, 'Smaller towns and semi-urban areas in Bharat have lower financial literacy and higher reliance on informal lenders, whereas large city centres have easier and broader access to formal credit.' The study cited a macroeconomic headwind, which can be due to ongoing global conflicts and prevailing uncertainties over tariffs, most impacts those servicing multiple loans at low income or salary levels. 'On average, salaried borrowers hold three active loan accounts, while self-employed individuals manage four, with a higher tilt towards informal and collateralised credit products,' the study has explained. Perfios and PWC India published a report, How India Spends: A Deep Dive into Consumer Spending Behaviour, earlier this year, showing that salaried individuals across city tiers allocate over a third of their monthly income towards EMI. This finding reflects a high level of reliance on loans by salaried individuals—a trend that increases the risk for lenders. The study has recommended moving beyond the traditional credit scores, which, in underserved segments, can not determine the financial situation, for the timely assessment of the risks. It also emphasised a behaviour-driven underwriting framework to give more inclusive and accurate credit assessments for individuals whose incomes are irregular and fall outside the formal credit systems. Using and analysing alternative data, including spending patterns, transaction volume, and repayment trends, can help to create more accurate borrower profiles, which are open to risk-based segmentation, the study has asserted. According to Das, 'lenders, especially, tech-driven lenders, are responding with enhanced credit assessment, nuanced risk-based pricing, continuous risk monitoring, financial education, flexible repayment options, and alternative data partnerships, thereby building a more resilient and inclusive financial ecosystem'. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Don't count countries above India in per capita GDP. Look at the population instead
Mint
17-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Now, you can transfer mutual fund units held outside demat to others. Here's how
In a major shift for mutual fund investors, units held in Statement of Account (SoA) form — that is, outside of demat accounts — can now be transferred to relatives or even third parties entirely online. This long-standing restriction has been eased with new features rolled out by mutual fund registrar and transfer agencies (RTAs), opening up new flexibility for investors looking to gift or restructure their holdings. Until recently, mutual fund units could only be transferred between parties if held in dematerialized (demat) form. But with the latest changes, unitholders in non-demat form can carry out transfers directly via RTA websites like CAMS and KFintech. Read this | Invest in mutual funds for your children? Here's what to do when they turn 18. The changes are being rolled out in phases. In phase 1, which went live on 14 November 2024, three key features were enabled: Surviving joint holders can now add new joint holders to a folio after the death of a co-holder. Nominees can transfer units to legal heirs upon the demise of the unitholder. When a minor turns 18, they can add parents, guardians, or siblings as joint holders to their account. In phase 2, which began on 19 May 2025, the system allows full-fledged transfer of units to relatives and third parties, and enables adding or deleting joint holders — all through a few simple online steps. 'By allowing spouses to be added as joint holders, the transmission in the event of death becomes easier. A joint holder is essentially inheriting in its own right and not as a trustee of the eventual heir. In a way, a joint holder is a shared heir rather than a nominee, who is required to transfer the amount to the legal heir," said Harsh Roongta, a registered investment advisor (RIA) and founder of Fee Only Investment Advisers. 'Allowing such additions will reduce the burden during hard times." How does the online transfer work? Investors must first visit the MF Central website and select the asset management company (AMC) whose units they wish to transfer. Once the AMC is chosen, MF Central automatically redirects the user to the respective registrar and transfer agent (RTA) platform — CAMS or KFintech — depending on which agency services that AMC. Alternatively, investors can log in directly via the relevant RTA website. The transferor, who must be an individual (minors are excluded), needs to enter their PAN, folio number, email address, and mobile number, and specify whether the transfer is to a relative, a third party, or intended as a gift. This choice is critical, as it determines the subsequent tax treatment. (More on that shortly.) Both the transferor and transferee must have 'KYC validated' status. Those who completed KYC using Aadhaar typically have validated status already. Following OTP verification on both email and mobile for the transferor, they select the mutual fund units and quantity they wish to transfer. The RTA will automatically verify that the units are free of any lock-ins, freezes, or liens before proceeding. Next, the transferee's details are entered, including their folio number. 'If the balance units in the transferor's folio falls below specified threshold / minimum number of units as specified in the Scheme Information Document (SID) of the respective MF scheme, such residual units shall be compulsorily redeemed, and the redemption amount will be paid to the transferor," stated Amfi (Association of Mutual Funds in India) on its website. Importantly, the transferee must have an active folio with the same AMC. For example, if Mr. A wants to transfer HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities to Mr. B, Mr. B must first open a folio with HDFC AMC. To facilitate this, Amfi instructed AMCs via a letter dated 14 August 2024, to enable zero-balance folios so recipients without existing folios can still receive transferred units. Read this | Mutual fund mis-selling: What the first public disclosures reveal Once both parties complete OTP verification, the transfer request is initiated. According to Amfi, the transaction should be reflected within two working days. To safeguard against fraud, the transferred units are locked from redemption for 10 days. Units are transferred on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis, meaning the oldest units are transferred first. Tax implications: Transfer vs gift Crucially, unitholders must carefully select whether they classify the transaction as a transfer or a gift, as tax treatment differs significantly. 'While transferor can choose any of the option while transferring units, considering the tax implications that vary with each scenario viz., gifting of units/transfer to third parties/transfer to legal heir etc, transferor/transferee is advised to consult with their tax consultant before initiating the transfer," said ES Varadarajan, Chief Risk & Process Officer, CAMS. According to Prakash Hegde, a Bangalore-based chartered accountant, when a transaction is classified as a transfer, tax authorities treat it as being done for consideration, triggering capital gains tax for the transferor. 'The sale consideration minus cost of acquisition is considered as capital gains. The transferor needs to pay applicable tax on the gains," he explained. The latest available NAV is used for calculating stamp duty. For instance, if Mr. A initiates a transfer at 4 pm on Wednesday, Tuesday's closing NAV will be used to compute the consideration value and the applicable stamp duty (@0.015%) payable by the transferor, since Wednesday's NAV will only be published late at night (typically around 11 pm). However, for capital gains purposes, the applicable NAV will be based on the actual settlement date of the transfer, treated as a redemption for the transferor and a purchase for the transferee. In contrast, if the transaction is classified as a gift, the transferor is exempt from capital gains tax since no consideration is received. However, if the recipient is a non-relative and the value exceeds ₹50,000, the recipient must pay tax on the entire gift amount, as income from other sources, at their applicable slab rate. 'For instance, if the gift is worth ₹75,000, tax will apply to the entire amount based on the recipient's slab rate," Hegde noted. The NAV at the time of transfer is used to calculate the value of the gift. Separately, a stamp duty of 0.005% applies to all transfers (whether to relatives or others), but gifts are exempt from stamp duty, Varadarajan of CAMS clarified. What should investors keep in mind? Abhishek Kumar, RIA and founder of Sahaj Money, advised investors to factor in the mandatory 10-day lock-in following a transfer before units can be redeemed. "They should plan liquidity needs accordingly so they are not caught off guard," Kumar said. Also read | The ONDC mutual fund pipeline has arrived. Will it take over the industry? He also cautioned that the eventual cost of acquisition for the recipient depends on whether the transaction was treated as a transfer or gift — a key factor that will affect future capital gains tax when the units are eventually sold. Moreover, only units free of lien, lock-in, or freeze are eligible for transfer, Kumar emphasized.
