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Financial statement contains the financial information about the operations of firms over a period, as well as the value of assets, liabilities and equity at a specific date. The major objective of this study is to ascertain the relationship between leverage ratios and stock returns of deposit money banks in Nigeria for the period 2011-2022. The study used total debt to asset ratio, total debt to equity ratio as independent variables. While, stock returns of deposit money banks was used as the dependent variable. The study used secondary data obtained from the financial statement of sampled banking firms and the records of Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) for analysis. The study Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique for data analysis. Findings from the analysis revealed that total debt/asset ratio had positive and significant relationship with stock returns of deposit money banks in Nigeria, while total debt/equity ratio had negative and no significant relationship with stock returns. The positive relationship as exhibited by debt asset ratio confirm the asset transformation process of bank operations, especially as deposit transformed to loan becomes the assets of banks. While, the indirect relationship as shown by debt equity ratio revealed the danger posed by increase in debt in relation to equity, if debt is not linked to investment in viable assets. Therefore, the study recommended that; Deposit Money Banks should invest created liabilities in verified-profitable choices of assets, to generate “above-cost” returns and ensure favourable leverage; and cost of debts should be properly analyzed prior to procurement.

JEL: G10, GII, G53, F65.
Keywords: Leverage Ratios, Stock Returns, Deposit Money Banks, Total Debt/Asset ratio, Total Debt Equity Ratio.

India is a growing nation and is now the fifth largest economy of the world as per the reports of Forbes India and International Monetary Fund in April 2024. Despite the sustainable growth of the Indian economy, the sovereign debt of India is a major concern for the researchers and economic thinkers across the country. This article is an attempt to pro- vide a statistical outlook of India’s external debt and its key indicators based on a historical data set by the end of September 2023. A comparison has also been made among the top-5 economies of the world for their external debt burden. This article also signifies the role of estimated volatilities for major key indicators of external debt for India as well as for the leading economies of the world. This article is expected to build up a road map of India for the debt handling to avoid the debt crisis in future.

Keywords: Indian economy, debt burden, external debt, volatility, top-5 economies.

In mainland India, number of states having international border is eighteen and this is numerically more than states without such boundaries. Most states have one international border, three & four states are contiguous with two & three foreign countries respectively. Borders of northern half of India are mainly land based while in southern part it is mostly marine. Foreign trade of India is taking place from both border and borderless states since time immemorial. There can be some differentiation on the basis of trade volume, nature of partner countries, transport infrastructure, etc for redirecting exports and imports as well as Covid-19 had also some discernible impact on border trade like its global affect being perceived on international arena. From these perspectives, this paper makes a descriptive and exploratory attempt to study foreign trade pattern of India with particular emphasis on international trading partners of neighbouring countries.

Keywords: International trade, Indian Borders, Covid-19
JEL: E60, F10, I10, R10, R40, R50

The budget deficit affects current account balance through the trade deficit, and the current account deficit is an important source of foreign indebtedness. By linking these variables with other relevant macroeconomic variables in a path diagram framework, this study reveals that although remittance and trade surplus positively affect the current account balance, an increase in home GDP negatively affects the current balance by worsening the trade balance. Exchange rate depreciation positively affects the current account balance by improving the trade balance. However, the combined effect of world GDP, home GDP, and the exchange rate on the current account balance (CAB) is negative. A long-term negative position in CAB causes the external debt to accumulate and poses debt repayment and amortization problems for countries such as Bangladesh, which are characterized by a heavy debt service ratio and a low reserve-to-external debt ratio. Efficiently utilizing external resources, increasing net exports, and reducing budget deficits by curtailing less important projects are some possible options for resource-constrained countries to avoid rapid external debt accumulation problems.

Keywords: Budget Deficit; Trade Deficit; Current Account Imbalance; External Debt; Remittances; Debt Service Ratio; Balance of Payments.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of fintech’s on the financial stability of banks in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To do so, we used data from the Global Financial Development Database (GFDD) and World Government Indicators (WGI) covering a panel of 28 countries over the period 2014-2021. The results of the estimation using the panel standard error correction (PSEC) method, combined with a robustness test using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), revealed that financial innovations have no negative effects on financial stability (as measured by the banking Z-score) in SSA. Better still, the rapid development of fintech’s is helping to strengthen the financial stability of banks in SSA. In addition, our results revealed that economic growth, pollical stability and bank concentration improve financial stability in SSA. However, our results show that the inflation rate negatively influences financial stability in SSA. In any case, commercial banks would benefit from taking financial innovations into account in their development process, by offering financial products and services that are accessible to all, via digital channels. Moreover, policymakers must constantly assess the adequacy of their regulatory frameworks in the context of the development and growing adoption of fintech’s.

Keywords: fintech’s, financial stability, PCSE, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
JEL codes: C23, E44, G23

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are pivotal in promoting financial inclusion by offering diverse products and services, including microloans, savings accounts, insurance, and remittances. On the supply side, MFIs address underserved segments by tailoring services to the socio-economic profiles of low-income groups. Despite progress, challenges like high operational costs, limited technological adoption, and regional disparities persist. Strengthening delivery models through digital platforms and partnerships with banks can enhance outreach. Regulatory support and capacity building are critical to sustaining MFIs' financial viability and scalability, ensuring their role in inclusive growth (RBI, 2021; CGAP, 2023).

The Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) -MFIs lead the microfinance sector by leveraging extensive networks, efficient staffing, and robust financial disbursement models. Based on secondary data sources, the paper covers trends in the microfinance portfolio, revealing a quarter-on-quarter decline of 4.3% as of September 2024 and rising delinquencies, especially in states like Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha. A critical analysis of borrowers exposed to microfinance and retail loans shows an alarming increase in delinquency rates, emphasizing the need for regulatory and structural interventions to safeguard the sector's sustainability.

Keywords: Microfinance, NBFCs, Financial inclusion, Financial Stability, Regulatory Interventions
JEL classifications: G21, O16, D14, E44

Digital innovation has been pursuing throughout global world for the efficient trend of operations of central banks; the Central Bank Digital Currency is one among them. Following the footsteps of the developed countries, India has launched the Digital Rupee in December 2022. Digital Transactions over the years has been directing the way people transact and has been the primary driver for launching of Digital Rupee. It is part of the broad initiative by the Indian Government and the Reserve Bank of India to modernise the financial system and enhance financial inclusion while promoting the use of digital currency over physical cash. How money is perceived, used for transactions and managed are the significant steps of Digital Rupee. Introduction of Digital Rupee presents multiple opportunities in generating economy as a significant move towards becoming a digitally evolving nation even though it faces certain challenges. The e-Rupee as a legal tender is different from an individual holding deposit in bank account. It usually does not gain interest like traditional deposits. Nevertheless, an individual held deposit in the bank can be converted into digital rupee and vice versa.