Live from the Global Fintech Fest here in Mumbai, this is Inside with Haslinda Amin, where we dive deeper into the stories that matter with crucial context and sharp analysis. India has already built one of the world's most dynamic digital financial ecosystems. Now the question is: what's next? Today on Inside, we'll speak with Jio Financial Services MD and CEO Hitesh Sethia about the next phase of growth for one of India's most closely watched financial firms. We'll also be joined by Dipesh Shah, Executive Director of the International Financial Services Centres Authority, on India's push to create a global financial hub. And keeping with the fintech theme, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong will be joining us with his outlook on digital assets and the future in the AI era. But first, here are the top stories we're tracking today.
Well, we'll be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran, which is taking place right now. We're with it. We're winning it. We control the Strait of Hormuz. I think we should call the Strait of Hormuz—we should call it the Trump Strait. I should get something out of it. The Trump Strait.
Even as President Trump insists that the U.S. is winning the war, Iran warns it's prepared for a more intense conflict if the U.S. keeps attacking its territory and energy infrastructure. Asian stocks meantime track losses on Wall Street as oil holds above 100 bucks a barrel and Treasury yields climb. Investors now turn their attention to Friday's U.S. inflation report, despite Treasury Secretary Bessent's warnings, threats, and tariffs. Oil and bonds are already moving in the opposite direction from where he wants them. We'll discuss whether the yen traders will ignore him as well.
Our top story today: President Trump signaling confidence that the U.S. will win the war against Iran. He made that remark as he rallied supporters at a Republican midterm convention in Dallas. Polls show that his popularity is at record lows as the Iran conflict pushes gas prices to painful levels for Americans. Trump, meanwhile, reiterated that he cannot let Iran have nuclear weapons, doubling down on his threat of striking a heavily fortified mountain site near Iran's main uranium enrichment facility.
If we don't hit them now, they're going to have a nuclear weapon within one month. You know, the places we bombed would have been turned into nuclear—nuclear weapons. I call it nuclear dust right now, but the nuclear dust gets very violent and we hit them really hard. We did an amazing job. Those B-2 bombers came in from Missouri, and we may have to do it. There's another place called Pickaxe Mountain. Another nice place. We may have to give them a shot there, too, because somebody said there was a little movement at the site.
Meanwhile, oil is back in the spotlight as Brent trade above $100 per barrel, rattling regional equity markets. While in FX, the recent yen strength is being hotly debated as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenges speculators for more. Bloomberg Markets reporter Anthony Stevens is with us. Anthony, take us through the market action.
You know, we're having yet another leg higher in oil compared to actually the start of the conflict. We are a little bit higher here. And one of the reasons for that is the latest round of tit-for-tat violence between Iran and the U.S. is coming into a seasonally strong time for heating demand, and stockpiles across the world are low. So you're seeing the short squeeze element in the oil price, especially in Brent oil, which is relevant to Asia. And I flip the board and you can see why equity markets are a little bit vulnerable.
This time we had shaken off the oil crisis, led by strength in tech. But some of that dynamic now looks a little bit misplaced. You see, especially in India and in Europe, volatility is very low. People are quite complacent compared to the start of the war, where we were right. So now we're so much lower on volatility, but so much higher on oil. And it does look like that dynamic is going to get challenged, especially in the last couple of days where you've seen equity markets react on the downside to oil.
Now, the other macro demand that we have on markets is the movements in the yen and JGBs. So if you flip the board, we can kind of run through some of the dynamics around Bessent's comments, right? You do see the trend in the yen starting to play out here as his comments start to bite. But a turning point could come from the Japanese themselves, as commentary out of Japan points to the fact that the BOJ recognizes that it needs to follow through on rates for Bessent's comments to have any hope of working. Also, there's increased speculation that the GPIF, Japan's pension fund, can start returning money to Japan away from Treasuries into JGBs, which are now yielding better than Treasuries on a currency-adjusted basis. So there's a lot of moving parts, and this is a focus of speculation. It matters to the rest of the world because if money comes back to Japan, it's coming out of something else, and that could add to the geopolitical pressures being placed on markets by oil already.
Anthony, thank you. Bloomberg Markets reporter Anthony Stevens. Let's get more on markets with You-Ting Hsiao, Senior Global Macro Strategist at Manulife Investment Management. Good to have you with us. So a couple of themes in the markets, including oil inching to $101 per barrel, yet when it comes to tech, that rally stays intact.
Yeah, to be honest, I think the oil price fluctuation and the upside of some of the near-term escalations that we've seen has really been one of the key risks that market has to fathom as we head towards the end of this year. So, in our opinion, for a long time oil prices have been relatively steady. Given that we're six months into this conflict, there has been the expectation that the conflict eventually will cool down. And once oil prices stay elevated, say above 100 on Brent for quite a bit of time, then there is going to be more incentive for both sides to seek at least a diplomatic off-ramp or to try to cool down the sentiment on that for a little bit. So in our opinion, that would in theory help put a bit of a lid on the oil prices. But that said, now that China has started importing oil again and some of the SPR release eventually will not be able to close the gap that's currently in the marketplace in terms of the supply-demand dynamics, it does mean that we have some upside risk on oil prices, at least in the near term.
Do you think it is a bifurcated equities market? I mean, mega-caps, energy doing well versus the others. How do you play this?
So in our opinion, again, oil prices are one part of a pillar when it comes to the key risks the market currently is facing. We also have quite a few other factors that are still supporting. I think one of that is perhaps some of these quote-unquote dark trends that perhaps is happening that's not being fully captured in the data that we track that's still providing some of the supply that we've seen. But again, the longer this disruption drags on, the higher risk eventually that a supply-demand mismatch starts really being reflected in the marketplace when it comes to prices. But again, we are still of the opinion that, especially now that we are about two months ahead of midterms, there is incentive from the U.S. side at least to try to seek some diplomatic resolution or at least try to cool down the temperature on the geopolitical front, should oil prices stay high for longer.
The thing is, it's not just about oil prices. It's also about surging yields, ten-year yields inching quite close to that 5% psychological level. At what level would equity markets start worrying?
Yes. So in our view, the trend of yields moving higher has really been a bit of a global theme recently, right, on the back of the inflationary risks that we've seen from higher energy prices, but also on the policy uncertainty along with more of the fiscal spending and all of that. So I think to your point exactly, the 5% threshold is a bit of a psychological level, and we're likely to see more, I guess, in terms of jawboning and perhaps more intervention from the authorities if we reach that level. But I think the caveat to that is we have seen the equity market staying relatively resilient despite the yields moving higher. And when you think about where to put the money in at this moment, equity still gives you the best return, especially considering volatility has been relatively steady given everything that's been unfolding. Of course, we're keeping close focus on the market, and one of the key events coming up, of course, is towards the end of this week with the data releases. And of course, we've got central banks—quite a few key ones coming down the pike with ECB later today and also the Fed and Bank of Japan next week. All of these will also give us, I guess, new clues and signals in terms of where policy is going and how that will in turn impact equity performance.
You-Ting, let's turn to the yen. Expectations in the market have now tied to back-to-back rate hikes already. When it comes to three hikes within a period of 12 months, that's already pretty aggressive at the block. What are some assumptions you are making, and what impact on the yen going forward?
So we have actually turned technically bullish the yen following, of course, the joint intervention that we've seen over the past couple weeks and months. But of course, also on top of that, the more hawkish shift in terms of the Bank of Japan's policy tone. We think the Bank of Japan will likely hike rates next week. This is pretty much 100% priced in almost by the market at this point, and we also have terminal rates moving higher above 2% now already. So in terms of what we need to see from here is whether Japan will follow through on the hawkish turn that we've seen, to really have this faster pace of normalization to really solidify some of the reversal on the argument that Bank of Japan is perhaps behind the curve. But also on top of that, more on the GPIF allocation perspective, I think some of the speculation that there is potentially changes to GPIF allocation towards more domestic purchases has been supporting the movements. Of course, we need to see follow-through on that. But also in terms of the overall hedging activity and behavioral preferences for some of the Japanese exporters and corporates is also something to keep an eye on. And of course, on top of that, given the very entrenched positioning that we've seen in the short yen trade, do we see a further unwind of that carry trade? That is also something to keep a close eye on as well.
You-Ting Hsiao, Senior Global Macro Strategist at Manulife Investment Management, we thank you for your time today. Still to come on Inside, Jio Financial is reportedly targeting 100 million customers as it looks to expand its business. We'll be speaking exclusively with the company's Managing Director and CEO in just a few minutes. Keep it tuned with us. This is Bloomberg.
Welcome back. You're watching Inside, coming to you live from the Global Fintech Fest here in Mumbai. Jio Financial Services is reportedly aiming to quadruple its customer base to 100 million by next year. CEO Hitesh Sethia had described the target as an aspiration. The company will build its business through partnerships with global institutions, including BlackRock and Allianz. Hitesh Sethia is MD and CEO of Jio. He joins us now exclusively. It's good to have you with us. We talk about that 100 million target.
Yeah, ambitious, doable. And that's the aspiration.
See, again, the brand Jio is—maybe three or four reasons if I can paraphrase it for you, Haslinda. One, the brand is extremely well known. Jio needs no introduction in the country, so people are familiar with the trust and the quality that comes with it. Number two, in the last two, three years that we've been in existence as a company, the foundation is set in terms of our verticals of business: lending, investments, insurance, all with global market partners. And most important is our marketplace, which is, we believe, the first of its kind in the country with two or three differentiating factors. One, it's truly the first what we call agentic neural marketplace in the country, truly an N equals to 1, and it's truly neutral and beneficial for the customers. All the recommendations, because of the generic AI framework, give only what is right for the customer. So that's a huge differentiator; not many platforms actually are able to do that. Number two, we are in fact launching in today's Fintech Fest Jio Finance 360, a first-of-its-kind financial fitness report which spans everything in terms of your fitness score across the spectrum of an individual's finance. So that's very important. And third, we offer value back as well to customers because we believe that the cost of intermediation has come down in the country, and a part of it can be shared with the customer. So there are a lot of exciting features and the brand is familiar.
So you're optimistic when it comes to that 100 million target? Is there a timeframe we're looking at? Within the next—triple to quadruple the customers in the next 12 months, that's what you mentioned?
That can be faster than that. Certainly the potential is vast in the country, Haslinda. So it can certainly be faster than that, and every aspiration is to make it happen.
Three years since your IPO and you've grown at such a breakneck pace. Is it sustainable without, you know, new capital injection from Reliance?
So we are well capitalized already. Just for the record, when we got demerged we had 20,000 crores of cash equity. Thereafter, the promoters have further infused another 16,000 crores now. That would be in USD terms let's say about $2.5 billion roughly as cash equity we got demerged with. And thereafter, the promoters infused close to another $1.5 billion, $1.75 billion as preferential allotment of equity to the promoters. And then we had the recent BofA transaction of 2 billion. So we are sufficiently capitalized. Can the growth be sustained? I believe yes, the growth rate can be sustained.
Well capitalized. What will you do with that capital?
So in our world, there are two businesses which consume capital. One is going to be the lending business, and the second one is going to be insurance. Others will need capital to break even, but these are the two capital-consuming businesses.
So talk to us about the lending business, the kind of growth you're anticipating, the kind of target.
Sure. So in dollar terms, let's say from start effectively through two and a half years of business, we have grown from zero to about $2.6, $2.7 billion in book size. Now, if you look at our capital base, currently before the BofA transaction, we are about $700 million. BofA comes in with $1.9 billion, so our total equity base will be $2.5, $2.6 billion. Standard leverage in the Indian market multiplied five times, so we have a clear runway of $10 to $12 billion of growth ahead of us. The demand is there.
And where is demand coming from? It is a highly competitive space as well. How are you viewing that competition?
Yes, but we are extremely well placed. Now, when it comes to lending, one of the biggest factors is: what is our cost of borrowing? We are again blessed with a Jio brand, capital, and a AAA rating, so our cost of borrowing tends to be the best in the country amongst all our peer classes. Second, being a late entrant, our cost of operations, cost of servicing a customer, and being Jio as a brand, the cost of acquisition is lower. Therefore, costs being lower, we are able to pass on a significant part of the benefit to the customers, and that's how we remain competitive.
It's not just lending, it's also asset management, it's also insurance. What kind of growth, and which one will lead your growth in the next 3 to 5 years?
I would say each one will grow in their own verticals, that is for sure. And the aspiration clearly with Jio BlackRock, Jio Allianz, or Jio Bank of America is going to be in the top tier in their respective segments. Capital consumption-wise, it's going to be lending. Lending started earliest, so that will continue to grow. AMC started last year, so that will grow from here on. We have already reached an AUM of about $2.25 billion as of the last reported number, and that number is only expected to grow. Reinsurance has started off already in the last quarter—so that's March of last financial year rather—so that's something that will grow faster. General insurance we expect will start this year. So I would say by the end of next year, all businesses are set, and then each one will scale at its pace.
You talked about how you kept costs low and the customers have benefited. AI will likely keep costs even lower on the back of that. How do you see AI playing out for the business, and to what extent are you embracing AI?
Excellent question. Again, AI for us—we were born two and a half years ago, so we are truly AI-native. That's table stakes for us. Having said that, there is a lot of talk about AI. I evaluate it as any other business proposal in terms of what is the return on investment for it, i.e., does it lead to better revenue, lower cost? We evaluate it with great excitement because there is a lot of excitement in it. Eventually what I will do is look at customer outcomes. Clearly, as far as customer service is concerned, our app, for example, a lot of the interface that the customers have on the app is entirely bot-driven. All the recommendations that the customers get is entirely agent-driven. So that is clearly a customer outcome. As far as operations are concerned, a fraction of the physical touchpoints and manpower that is needed is what is needed in India like today. If you have to set up an institution, I don't need tens of thousands of call center agents. A lot of it can be agentified, and therefore there is a huge cost play. And our own assessment is financial services in India has become a game of cost engineering at scale, and AI will enable that to grow faster.
How low can we go when it comes to costs? What does it mean for customers necessarily?
If you look at the lending space, the cost-to-income ratio is roughly in the region of 35 for the best institutions, 50 on an average for some of the larger banks. That's the ZIP code. Our benefits can be a significant fraction of that. It can be much lower than that, and therefore part of it can be shared with the customer while we retain a part of it for the shareholders.
I guess the key issue when it comes to AI and digital is fraud and cybersecurity. In fact, that is the biggest issue on the minds of a lot of CEOs. How are you investing to ensure that the space is safe?
Cybersecurity, data privacy, data protection is paramount because finally, without customer trust, there is not much we can do. So as we go on AI, the guardrails for cybersecurity is extremely, extremely important and something that we are investing heavily in. Again, thanks to being a part of a large telco group where billions of customer data are handled, there's a lot of learnings. We have defined that investment in cybersecurity safety because that's key to the business. Again, just as you mentioned, it's not about the money that is invested, but it's about what kind of security measures that you take. Because AI has somehow managed to decouple the cost and the amount of investments that you make with the outcomes that you can get, so even at low cost, one can be highly secure. So, for example, everything that we do is in compliance certainly with the DPDP Act and some of the best global standards in terms of security.
And in addition, when it comes to your expansion and your scale, it has a lot to do with the partners you have gotten on board, the likes of BlackRock. Talk to us about the benefits that have come along with that partnership, and how big do you think that might become?
All the partnerships, if you look at it, there are two vectors of benefits. One is our stated objective has always been to bring the global best to India. You look at Allianz, BlackRock, Bank of America—they come with decades of experience and some of the best products in the developed markets in which they have been operating. So that is the customer benefit that they bring. The second aspect is the institutional benefit, i.e., if you look at Bank of America, it's an institution which is two centuries old; Allianz is 130 years; BlackRock is now close to 40, 45 years. They have built resilient institutions which have seen cycles, risk management, governance, compliance practices. That is something we as a young institution will be able to imbibe—those learnings from them. And clearly, our NBFC, for example, right now is at $2.5 billion or thereabouts, $2.7 billion. From here to the next leap of, say, 5 billion, 10 billion, we'll be able to grow with the guardrails and with the risk and governance practices of BofA. Likewise, we started off with BlackRock; that is already seeing tangible benefits in terms of bringing systematic active equity, bringing a lot into India. So there are tremendous benefits, and we hope the same will get replicated.
Any reason to think that you might think about getting other partners?
So again, it's our stated objective to get the global best to India. We've got three in three years, which I think is a record; no one has done that. And I'm very proud of my team about that. We think if there are more opportunities, we will evaluate it. Right now, the priority is to grow and nurture these partnerships.
Thanks for stopping by. Thank you for your time.
That was Jio Financial Services MD and CEO Hitesh Sethia. Still to come on Inside, we'll be speaking with the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase. We'll be getting his outlook for crypto and the regulations he thinks are holding the sector back. That conversation in just a few minutes. Keep it here with us. This is Bloomberg.
Welcome back. You're watching Inside, coming to you live from the Global Fintech Fest here in Mumbai. Bitcoin's overall value is down about $1 trillion from its October 2025 peak, even after a recent rally. And amid the AI boom, the cryptocurrency has had to compete with soaring tech stocks for the attention of investors looking for quick gains. The rise of AI has also triggered a rush among miners to convert their facilities into data centers. On top of that, the industry is also grappling with a rash of cyberattacks. Estimates suggest $1.4 billion have been taken by hackers so far in 2026. Let's get further insights with my next guest, who runs the biggest crypto exchange in the U.S. Brian Armstrong, co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Coinbase, joins us from Singapore. Brian, good to have you on the show. Right now, the key issue in the crypto space is really regulatory clarity. In your view, what's the biggest challenge standing in the way of crypto right now?
Well, regulatory clarity has been getting a lot better, from a U.S. lens. Last year, the GENIUS Act was passed into law for stablecoins, and we saw 150 large companies adopt stablecoins in the wake of that. And now the CLARITY Act, which is the second piece which deals with crypto market structure, it's right on the finish line. We actually have a big vote next week in the Senate to see if that legislation is ready to become law. We've been meeting with both sides of the aisle for many years on this. There's hundreds of pages of compromises. Many banks have come out and endorsed it, law enforcement groups, the crypto companies. And it's good for America, good for the consumers. I think the rest of the G20—some of them have already gotten some legislation like this live, and so it's time for the U.S. to do it. And that'll be a big milestone for crypto. And then honestly, if it doesn't pass, the regulators in the U.S., the SEC and the CFTC, have come out and said they're ready to publish clear rules anyway. And they've kind of been waiting for this vote from the Senate to see which one. So we'll either get it from the Senate or from the regulators, I think in the next week or two.
