Letter #13: What we’re reading and thinking about at Nuclei
Published in
2 min readApr 12, 2019
- LVB and Indiabulls announced a merger last week. It is interesting to understand the motives of both parties. Clearly for LVB, they need help and this merger gives them access to growth capital. For Indiabulls, generally such a merger would give them access to cheaper capital through public deposits, but that’s not true in this particular case. LVB’s deposit base (specially CASA) is very low (~5%) compared to their combined asset base.
So what’s really driving this merger? Getting a fresh banking license is tough, as it should be, and Indiabulls learnt it the hard way in 2014 when it got passed over. But has Indiabulls figured out a regulatory gap, through which it can obtain a license relatively easily? RBI still needs to approve the merger, but if it goes through smoothly, then this could be a sign of things to come. Other small private banks would definitely become acquisition targets for big NBFCs and Corporate houses! - Blockchain is often misunderstood and often confused with cryptocurrency. This three-part podcast covers the basics of it and is a simple-to-understand introduction to the world of blockchains and crypto. The link also lists down a few useful books and 1-o-1 conversations with people from the field of crypto, if you want to go deep.
- Only in Japan, something as mundane as, a “manhole” cover can be converted into a cultural phenomenon. Just another example of how unique and fascinating Japan is!
- The very first actual images of a black hole are here. Was first imagined by Prof. Falcke in 1993, took him 20 years to persuade the council to fund this project. Life’s work!
- Tennis balls have surprisingly high strength!
