Press Releases for February 2026
Bharat Fintech Summit 2026 Returns with its 4th Edition to Shape the Future of Digital Finance in India
The Digital Fifth has announced the 4th edition of the Bharat Fintech Summit (BFS) 2026, set to be held on 10th and 11th February 2026 at JW Marriott, Sahar, Mumbai. The two-day summit will bring together BFSI leaders, fintech founders, investors, technology providers, and regulators to discuss the next phase of India’s digital financial transformation.
Bharat Fintech Summit 2026 will address key priorities shaping the BFSI sector, including digital banking, payments, lending, cybersecurity, AI-led transformation, data privacy, and the evolution of financial infrastructure. The event is expected to host over 250 speakers across 95+ sessions, along with product unveilings, report launches, awards, workshops, and masterclasses.
“Bharat Fintech Summit was built to move conversations beyond vision to execution,” said Sameer Singh Jaini, Founder & CEO, The Digital Fifth. “As the ecosystem matures, the fourth edition will focus on institutional decision-making, responsible innovation, and building scalable digital finance models for India.”
A key highlight of the summit will be Investment Day, a structured investor–startup engagement platform that connects select BFSI and fintech startups with active investors in a deal-focused setting. The event will also feature the Fintech & Digital Excellence Awards, recognising financial innovations and leadership across the banks, financial services and fintech ecosystem.
Shashank Shekhar, Co-Founder & Head of Consulting, The Digital Fifth, added, “The summit is built to drive tangible outcomes. It enables startups to connect with investors and institutions, fosters meaningful partnerships, and brings leaders together to exchange perspectives that shape long- term strategy. Our aim is to catalyse collaboration that accelerates digitisation and broadens access to financial services across India.”
With over US$1.69 billion raised by over 140 startups in 2025, India’s fintech funding landscape witnessed a significant shift towards disciplined and selective capital deployment. Investors continue to back technology enabled, scalable, regulation-ready models across lending, payments, wealth-tech, and compliance-led platforms. Mid- stage and late-stage deals remained central to capital flowss, alongside sustained early-stage investments— signalling a maturing ecosystem focused on long-term value creation.
Sreekant Rudrabhatla, Co-Founder & Head of Sales & Partnerships, The Digital Fifth, said, “As Bharat Fintech Summit enters its fourth edition, the focus is firmly on strengthening collaboration across institutions, fintech innovators, investors, and regulators. Bharat Fintech Summit 2026 is designed to enable meaningful engagement—where partnerships are formed, solutions are evaluated, and the ecosystem collectively works towards building a scalable and resilient digital financial future for India.”
ICICI Bank launches Capital Gains Account Scheme
ICICI Bank announced the launch of the Capital Gains Account Scheme (CGAS), enabling customers to deposit un-invested long term capital gains or sale proceeds from the sale of specified capital assets*. This facility allows them to avail tax exemptions* for up to three years while earning interest on deposited funds. The launch follows the Government’s approval of ICICI Bank as an authorised institution to handle CGAS deposits.
Starting January 1, 2026, this scheme is available for Resident individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs). It will be available for non-individuals and NRIs shortly. It benefits taxpayers who are unable to reinvest long term capital gains before the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing deadline. Customers can open a Capital Gains Account by visiting their nearest ICICI Bank branch (except rural locations, as per CGAS rules).
An ICICI Bank spokesperson said, “We thank the Government of India for recognising ICICI Bank as an authorised institution for CGAS deposits. With this scheme, customers can park un-invested long term capital gains, earn interest, and claim tax exemptions, while planning reinvestment up to three years. This offering reinforces our commitment to deliver financial solutions that meet evolving customer needs.”
India Exim Bank Creates History with US$ 1 Billion Dual-Tranche Bond Issuance: Prices First-Ever 30-Year Issuance by an Indian Banking Financial Institution
India Exim Bank has successfully issued USD 1 billion dual-tranche Senior Unsecured Bonds spread across 10-year (USD 500 million) and 30-year (USD 500 million) in the 144A/Reg-S format. This issuance makes India Exim Bank the first Indian issuer to open the markets for dollar bond issuances in 2026. Notably, this transaction also marks the first ever 30-year USD bond issuance by any Indian Banking Financial Institution in the international bond markets, thus establishing a new benchmark for the sector in the global capital markets.
The transaction received an overwhelming response and are priced at a spread of 85bps over the 10-year US Treasury benchmark and at a spread of 95bps over the 30-year US Treasury benchmark.
This also marks the lowest spread over Treasuries ever achieved by any Indian issuer in the public USD bond markets on both the 10-year and the 30-year tenors. The 10-year issuance was priced inside of India Exim Bank’s secondary curve. Further, the spread over Treasuries differential of 10 bps between the 10-year and 30-year is the lowest for any USD bond issuer from Asia ex-Japan in the last 5 years.
In terms of geographical distribution, the bonds were well distributed, with 59% in Asia, 13% in EMEA region and 28% in the USA. In terms of distribution to investor types, the bonds were distributed to high quality investors with around 73% distributed to Asset and Fund managers, 11% to Banks, and 8% to Insurance, Pension Funds, followed by private banks and others.
BofA Securities, Citigroup, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners for the offering. India Exim Bank has been rated as Baa3 (Stable) by Moody’s, BBB (Stable) by S&P, BBB- (Stable) by Fitch and BBB+ (Stable) by CareEdge.
HDFC Bank Launches Startup Lounges in Bengaluru and Guwahati on National Startup Day
HDFC Bank announced the launch of its exclusive Startup Lounges ahead of the 10th anniversary of the National Startup Day on January 16. The startup lounges, a part of the Bank’s continued focus on strengthening engagement with India’s startup ecosystem, will be launched at the HSR Layout, 24th Main Road branch in Bengaluru, and the GS Road branch, Guwahati.
Startup Lounges will be dedicated to servicing startups while also providing a professional environment for them to work and ideate. Further, the lounges will provide the Bank an ideal space to connect with founders, investors, venture capital firms, and the broader startup ecosystem. The space will also see the Bank host the events involving the startup ecosystem.
Mr. Sampath Kumar, Group Head – Retail Branch Banking and Alternate Banking Channel & Partnerships, HDFC Bank, with responsibility for West and South regions, said, “With Bengaluru being a vibrant startup hub of the country, the Bank’s Startup Lounge in the city will serve as a networking centre for founders who will be able to work with like- minded people. They can also benefit from the Bank’s exclusive suite of products and services under the Startup Buildup programme. We hope that our Startup Lounge in the city will provide the environment for the startup ecosystem to flourish more.”
Mr. Arun Mediratta, Group Head – Retail Branch Banking and Alternate Banking Channel & Partnerships, HDFC Bank, with responsibility for North, East and Central regions said, “Guwahati is fast emerging as a centre of the startup ecosystem in the north east region of India, supporting a spirit of entrepreneurship. We’re pleased to have opened a Startup Lounge to welcome startup founders to use the space for working and engaging with the startup community.”
