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24 march 2002
uti bank mulls
second public issue
bangalore:
uti bank may go in for its second public issue this year to mop up
more than 15 per cent of its paid-up capital, which is rs 200
crore currently.
uti bank had made a rs 71-crore public issue in 1998.
nabard
sanctions rs 26 cr for chhattisgarh roads
raipur:
the nabard has sanctioned a loan of rs 26.03 crore to chhattisgarh
for construction of roads and bridges in the state.
with this latest sanction of loan, the national agriculture and
rural development bank has sanctioned a total of rs 46.79 crore to
the new state from its rural infrastructure development fund.
23 march 2002
rbi lifts lock-
in for repatriation
mumbai: the
rerserve bank of india (rbi) has removed the lock-in period for
repatriation of sale proceeds of the immovable properties
purchased in india by non-resident indians (nris) and persons of
indian origin (pio) through inward remittances.
the rbi, however, said
the sale proceeds allowed to be repatriated should not exceed the
foreign exchange brought in to acquire the property. this facility
will also be available to nris and pios who have already made the
payment for acquiring immovable properties in india, an rbi press
release said.
currently nris and pios
are permitted to repatriate the sale proceeds of immovable
properties only after a lock-in period of three years from the
date of acquisition or the payment of the final instalment for the
purchase, whichever is later. the repatriation of sale proceeds is
limited to the foreign exchange brought in to purchase the
property.
uti bank
considers public issue
thiruvananthapuram: uti
bank is planning to come out with a public issue some time in the
next financial year - that is, if the market conditions prove to
be favourable.
the bank is already in
the process of bringing down the equity holding of uti, the
promoter, from 44.88 per cent to 40 per cent through the private
placement route, says uti bank chairman and managing director dr p
j nayak. this is in line with rbi guidelines.
earlier, the promoters
stake had come down - to 44.88 per cent from 61.90 per cent -
consequent to cdc financial services (mauritius) ltd and south
asia regional fund taking up 26.01 per cent in the banks
equity.
nayak told newspersons
here that the bank is looking at the possibility of coming out
with a public issue to expand the equity-base. but, if the market
conditions turn out to be unfavourable, it may consider going in
for private placement.
nayak, who was here in
connection with the opening of the banks new branch in the
city, its 107th in the country, said the branch network will be
expanded to 140 during the next financial year. the number of
atms will also go up to 800 from 470 as of now.
vysya banks
new clearing facility
bangalore:
vysya bank has launched its city centralised clearing
process in bangalore. covering 40 of the banks outlets in the
city, the process provides customers anywhere, anytime
deposit of clearing instruments in the city.
the clearing process allows customers to deposit local instruments
for clearing/collection in their branch or in any of the banks
branches under the vysamulya project. the facility also provides
customers drop in boxes at any of the banks vysamulya or atm
centres in the city.
according to the bank, the clearing is so programmed that a
customers cheque deposited or dropped before 2.30 pm on
weekdays (1.30 pm on sundays) will hit the immediate next clearing
- giving customers a whole days advantage in their account
being credited.
bnp
paribas brings in more capital
mumbai: the french bank bnp paribas, which had
recently cut back its retail banking in india, said it has brought
in rs 80 crore as additional capital for indian operations. of
this, around 75 per cent will constitute tier-i, while the balance
will be tier-ii capital, resulting in an increase of 43 per cent
in its capital base.
on 28 february 2002, the
bank had said it was in the process of re-evaluating its
project of retail banking activity with the objective of
repositioning its offer. last year, the bank had also shut down
its securities brokerage arm.
the additional capital
infusion will cover the statutory capital requirements stipulated
by the reserve bank of india for foreign banks operating in the
country, a bank press release said. the additional capital will
further augment the banks thrust in developing its corporate
banking, fixed income and private banking activities, the release
added.
the focus of the bank
will continue to be on liabilities and capital market programmes.
it will also pursue the objective of becoming a substantial
player in the asset management business.
bnp paribas has around 500 domestic and multinational corporates
as its clients in india. currently, it provides working capital
loans, trade finance, cash management, foreign exchange and
specialised finance for its customers.
central bank
reduces lending rates
mumbai: central
bank of india (cbi) has decided to reduce its medium-term lending
rates (mtlr) for term loans by 50 basis points. it has also cut
its deposit rates by 25 basis points.
with these cuts, cbi
becomes the first bank to reduce its lending and deposit rates
after the 50-basis points cut in the small savings rates in the
budget 2002-03. the medium-term lending rate of the bank has been
brought down to 12 per cent from 12.5 per cent, with effect from 1
april 2002. the prime-lending rate of the bank, however, remains
unchanged at 12 per cent.
the bank has also trimmed its deposit rates by 25 basis points
across the board. for deposits of less than rs 15 lakh for a tenor
of 15 to 45 days, the rate is now 4.75 per cent; for a period of
46 to 179 days, the rate will be 5.5 per cent; for a period of 180
days to less than one year, the rate is 6.5 per cent; the rate is
7.25 per cent for deposits of one year to less than two years; 7.5
per cent for two years to less than three years; 8 per cent for
three years and above.
a bank press release said the revised deposit rates will apply
only to fresh deposits and renewals of maturing deposits.
canara banks
laghu udhyami card
bangalore:
canara bank has introduced the laghu udhyami credit card to
provide free credit to small borrowers under the retail trade,
small business, artisans, village and small industries and
professionals.
a bank release said the
credit limit on this card will be rs 2 lakh for meeting working
capital requirements. all borrowers having three years of
dealing with the bank will be eligible for the credit card.
the release said it will
also work cheaper for the borrowers, as they have the liberty to
credit their surplus cash and withdraw it later. this is because
an interest is charged only on the outstanding portion in the
credit card account.
andhra
bank to merge finance arm
hyderabad: andhra bank proposes to merge its housing
finance subsidiary, andhra bank housing finance ltd.
as part of this exercise,
the bank plans to enhance its holding in the housing finance
subsidiary by way of acquiring the shareholding of other equity
participants at a valuation to be done by individual valuers.
a proposal to this effect
will be considered by the bank at its ensuing board meeting,
according to a communiqu to stock exchanges.
stanchart plans
youth card
bangalore: standard chartered is planning to launch a youth
card sometime this year.
with the launch of the co-branded card with mumbai-based cellular
service provider orange scheduled for next week, and an
international women's card called diva launched recently,
stanchart is launching two products in quick succession.
diva is loosely modelled on a co-branded card stanchart has with
fashion company esprit in hong kong which has close to 100,000
subscribers. stanchart has women's cards in singapore and thailand
as well.
sbi home finance
reports rs 7.25cr net loss
kolkata: the sbi home finance reported a net loss of rs
7.25 crore during the third quarter ended december, 2001 against a
lower net loss of rs 6.31 crore in the corresponding quarter in
the previous year.
net sales slipped to rs 9.20 crore from rs 10.20 crore during the
quarter ended december, 2000 whereas total expenditure came down
to rs 1.23 crore from rs 1.44 crore.
the cumulative net loss during the nine month of the current
fiscal stood at rs 19.09 crore against rs 16.27 crore in
2000-2001. net sales during the period amounted to rs 28.09 crore
against rs 29.74 crore last year.
sbi home finance
reports rs 7.25cr net loss
kolkata: the sbi home finance reported a net loss of rs
7.25 crore during the third quarter ended december, 2001 against a
lower net loss of rs 6.31 crore in the corresponding quarter in
the previous year.
net sales slipped to rs 9.20 crore from rs 10.20 crore during the
quarter ended december, 2000 whereas total expenditure came down
to rs 1.23 crore from rs 1.44 crore.
the cumulative net loss during the nine month of the current
fiscal stood at rs 19.09 crore against rs 16.27 crore in
2000-2001. net sales during the period amounted to rs 28.09 crore
against rs 29.74 crore last year.
taib bank invests $
4 million in india
bangalore: bahrain-based taib bank has pumped in around $15
million towards various technology-related initiatives of which
its indian operation has received $4 million.
the banks objective is to be a partner to growth-oriented
verticals and companies with a view to enhance value.
recently the company set up three online trading portals--indiadirect.com,
usdirect.com and fxdirect.com-- as part of its online trading
strategy. launched in association with financial portal myiris.com,
these portals have enabled the bank to offer sophisticated online
and research solutions while retaining the flexibility.
currently taib is working with investors from the middle east and
assisting them to invest in the us and indian markets in portfolio
markets.
the company recently picked up a majority stake in a kolkata-based
technology firm, mindware.
central bank
of india cuts mtlr by 0.5 per cent
mumbai: central bank of india has announced a reduction in
its medium term lending rates by 50 basis points to 12 per cent
with effect from 1 april.
the rate would be applicable for loans of one year and above.
the bank also revised its domestic term deposit rates by 25-50
basis points for various slabs.
the new rates on domestic term deposit of less than rs 15 lakh has
been fixed at 4.75 per cent (for 15-45 days), 5.5 per cent (46-179
days) and 6.5 per cent (180-to less than one year).
for loans above one year and less than two years it would be 7.25
per cent and 7.5 per cent for two years to less than three years
and eight per cent for three years and above.
uti bank
plans ipo
thiruvananthapuram: uti bank is planning to come out with a
public issue some time in the next financial year.
the bank is already in
the process of bringing down the equity holding of uti, the
promoter, from 44.88 per cent to 40 per cent, in line with the rbi
guidelines, through private placement, according to the banks
chairman and managing director p.j. nayak.
nayak told reporters here
that the bank was looking at the possibility of coming out with a
public issue to expand the equity base.
22 march 2002
remittance
limit for nris, pios hiked
mumbai: non-residence indians (nris) and persons of indian
origin (pios) will now be able to remit up to $1,00,000 per
calendar year out of assets in india, acquired through
inheritances or legacies, without the approval from the reserve
bank of india (rbi). earlier this limit was $30,000.
an rbi press
release said the move is aimed at liberalising the
exchange-control regulations and providing additional facilities
to nris and pios.
ceiling in goi
relief bonds lifted
new delhi:
finance minister yashwant sinha has offered some relief to
retiring employees in private and public sectors by announcing the
lifting of the rs 2-lakh investment ceiling in government of india
(goi) relief bonds.
this announcement was
made during sinhas reply to the debate on the 2002-03 union
budget here.
a ceiling of rs 2 lakh
per year on investment in goi relief bonds was proposed in the
2002-03 union budget along with the 50-basis-point reduction in
the interest rate applicable on these bonds.
new
stanchart bank card for women
mumbai: standard chartered bank has launched an international
credit card, exclusively designed for women.
a press
release issued by the bank said: "the diva credit card has
been customised for the indian woman who seeks to balance home and
work, and therefore has several features revolving around the
woman her home and her family."
services such as
entertainment, travel services, errands, home services, gifts and
information services are available to the cardholder.
bob staff
calls for strike on mar 30
mumbai: bank of baroda employees have called for a one-day
strike on 30 march 2002.
the bank has
received a notice from a section of its employees, from four
employee associations and unions, namely all-india bank of baroda
officers association, all-india bank of baroda employees
federation, all-india bank of baroda employees coordination
committee and eastern regional council of bank of baroda employees
association.
according to a notice filed at the bombay stock exchange, the
regional labour commissioner is kept informed in the matter and
the bank is initiating other necessary actions in this regard.
20-m credit line
to exim bank iran
mumbai: exim bank has extended a $20-million credit
line to exim bank of iran to finance indias exports to iran.
an agreement in this regard was signed by exim bank executive
director r m v raman and bank markazi (central bank of iran)
director a erfan and area manager n falahatchian.
the facility, involving a
credit period of one year, will cover a 100-per cent value of
exports from india to iran. under the arrangement, any of the
designated iranian banks bank mellat, bank melli iran, bank
sepah, bank saderat and bank tejarat can open letters of
credit that will be advised and negotiated by indian banks
designated by exim bank.
exim bank has designated
bank of maharashtra, union bank of india and uti bank as the
advising/negotiating banks in india, which will be reimbursed by
exim bank.
visa, hdfc bank
launch kerala card
kochi:
visa international, the worlds largest payment system, and hdfc
bank, indias leading private sector bank, has launched the
kerala card acceptance programme.
the programme will run from march to july 2002 and will involve
the deployment of an acceptance framework that will increase the
number of visa cards issued and the number of merchant acceptance
locations in cites, including ernakulam, thiruvananthapuram,
thrissur, kottayam and kollam.
under the programme, hdfc bank will sign up new merchants and
provide merchants with electronic terminals to accept visa cards.
the number of visa cards-accepting merchants is expected to
increase by 50 per cent (from 1,000 to 1,500) after the programme.
visa will also conduct several promotions and provide exclusive
benefits and rewards as incentives to cardholders to use their
cards. this is a payment industry initiative driven by visa
international to grow card-acceptance. hdfc bank will be the lead
acquirer for the project and all visa card-issuing banks will
jointly run usage programmes to offer an additional value to their
cardholders.
says hdfc bank country head (retail branch banking and credit
card) uma krishnan: "as the lead acquirer, hdfc bank will
play a significant role along with visa in signing on new
merchants, training them, providing electronic acceptance
terminals and opening new categories of payment, including basic
telephony, hospitals and clinics and petrol stations. this will
raise the merchant acceptance base in the state and enable
cardholders to experience the safety, simplicity and convenience
associated with a payment card."
says visa international country manager (south asia) santanu
mukherjee: "acceptance is a key driver of growth for the
payment-card industry and visa realises that apart from issuing
cards to consumers, it is also important to increase the
merchant-base that accepts these cards. we are confident that the
acceptance framework developed by visa will be successful and will
benefit cardholders in kerala, and we are happy that hdfc bank is
partnering with us in developing the payment-card industry in this
state."
as the payment industry leader in india and the world, visa has
taken the initiative, in partnership with its member banks, to
grow card-acceptance, he says. "we are committed to rolling
out this project in several other tier-ii cities in india in the
coming days." visa conducted the first pilot project on
acceptance in vadodara in june 2001 and this six-month pilot
project helped build awareness for both credit as well as debit
cards.
it also achieved an overwhelming 79 per cent increase in
transaction volume year-on-year and a 70 per cent increase in
merchant sales volume (msv) over the six-month period, as against
the india msv growth of 30 per cent. during the programme, 280 new
merchant establishments and 200 new merchants with electronic data
capture terminals were added.
vijaya
bank's npa comes down
dhagamandalam:
the non performing assets of vijaya bank has come down from 6.2
per cent to 5.4 per cent this year.
the bank had been performing well in all spheres, with net profit
during the third quarter of this fiscal going up by 173 per cent.
stanchart
plans corporate advisory services
mumbai: standard
chartered bank plans to offer corporate advisory services for its
corporate clientele in india.
the bank already has syndications, fixed income
and bullion desks and now wants to offer a whole range of
services.
stanchart has about 1,200 clients on the
wholesale banking side out of which 200 are top-tier companies.
new stanchart card for women
mumbai: standard
chartered bank has launched an international credit card
exclusively for women.
a bank release said that the diva credit
card was customised for the indian woman who seeks to balance home
and work, and therefore has several features revolving around the
woman, her home and her family.
services such as entertainment, travel services,
errands, home services, gifts and information services are
available to the cardholder.
exim bank pact with iranian bank
mumbai: exim
bank has signed an agreement with bank markazi jomhouri islami
iran (bank markazi - central bank of iran) for extending a line of
credit to the latter for $20 million to finance india's exports to
iran.
according to a press release, the facility
involves a credit period of one year and will cover 100 per cent
value of exports of goods from india to iran.
rbi moots gold exchange
new
delhi: reserve bank has mooted a
gold exchange for trading in gold and a self-regulatory
agency as part of efforts to develop a market for the precious
metal and integrate it with the financial market.
establishment of a gold exchange would help in efficient price
discovery and emergence of healthy and transparent practices in
the market, rbi's deputy governor y v reddy said at a
conference organised by the world gold council here.
he said a formal move towards gold exchange would be made once
banks start trading among themselves along with mmtc, stc and
other big traders in accordance to the demand-supply dynamics.
investment
limit in rbi relief bonds lifted
new
delhi:
the government has lifted the rs two lakh investment limit for
investing in rbi relief bonds but kept the interest rate on the
bonds at a lower 8 per cent.
the move is part of government's effort to provide some relief to
small investors and retired persons in earning high returns on
their savings even after the 0.5 per cent cut in small savings
rates.
the ceiling of rs two lakh per investor will not apply to relief
bonds, which were purchased prior to 1 march 2002 but are yet to
mature.
icici bank
to raise rs 1,000 cr
mumbai:
icici bank ltd proposes to raise rs 1,000 crore through an
unsecured bond issue, having a maturity of 10 years with
market-related coupon rates.
credit agency care has assigned the issue a
triple a rating due to its focus on the top end of the credit
spectrum which is reflected by the low npa level, comfortable
liquidity position and high profitability parameters, adequate
risk management and controls systems.
gande takes over as gtb's md
hyderabad:
sudhakar gande has assumed charge as the new managing director of
global trust bank (gtb).
21 march 2002
rbi liberalises
shares issue norms
mumbai:
the reserve bank of india (rbi) has liberalised the norms for
issuing and pricing the shares by private sector banks. under the
revised norms all these banks, listed or unlisted, will be free to
issue bonus and rights shares without the apex banks prior
approval.
also, the bonus issue
will now be delinked from the rights issues, the rbi said; its
approval will be necessary for initial public offerings and
preferential shares. banks will also be free to price their
subsequent issues once their shares are listed on stock exchanges.
while detailing the
pricing norms, the rbi has stated that the price should be based
on the merchant bankers recommendation. the pricing of
preferential issues by listed banks may be as per the formula of
the securities and exchange board of india (sebi), while for
unlisted banks a chartered accountant or a merchant banker may
determine their fair value.
in the case of pricing of
issues, where rbi approval is not required, the pricing should be
as per sebi guidelines. in cases where the prior approval of the
apex bank is required, pricing should take into account both sebi
and rbi guidelines, an rbi statement said.
banks will, however, have
to meet sebis requirements while issuing bonus shares.
lic to
terminate childrens policy
mumbai: life insurance corporation of india (lic) is
terminating its childrens money back policy from 31 march 2002.
says lic managing
director n c sharma: we have decided to discontinue the
childrens plan, which assured returns of rs 80 per rs 1,000.
but the scheme will be relaunched later in a different form.
lic has been
discontinuing many of its high-return schemes due to the falling
yield on investments. earlier this month it discontinued its
jeevan sanchay and childrens growth schemes.
the life insurer,
however, has recorded a tremendous growth in its business with
sales of 1.78 crore policies as on 15 march 2002. the public
sector giant has collected rs 13,349 crore in the first premium
income in the current year so far, as compared to about rs 6,600
crore for the entire last year.
birla sun life
insurance raises capital
mumbai: birla sun life insurance has augmented its
capital to rs 150 crore from rs 120 crore. its joint venture
partners - the aditya birla group and sun life financial - have
infused the additional capital of rs 30 crore. the fresh capital
will be used to increase the pace of its growth on national
distribution and new products infrastructure. birla sun life
currently has 12 branches in nine cities and is expected to double
this in the next fiscal and possibly expand it into other cities
as well, says birla sun life associate director (business
development) anjana grewal. the joint venture partners, as per
their share-holding pattern, will share the increase of rs 30
crore. under this pattern the aditya birla group contributes 74
per cent and sun life financial 26 per cent, in keeping with irda
regulations.
lic to discontinue
children's policy
mumbai:
life insurance corporation of india (lic) is terminating its
children's money back policy from the end of the month.
the children's plan,
which assured returns of rs 80 per rs 1,000 would be discontinued
after 31 march. the scheme would be re-launched later in a
different form.
birla sun
life increases capital by rs 30 cr
mumbai:
birla sun life insurance has augmented its capital to rs 150 crore
from rs 120 crore. the additional capital of rs 30 crore has been
infused by the joint venture partners the aditya birla group and
sun life financial.
the fresh capital will be
used to increase the pace of growth on national distribution and
new products infrastructure. birla sun life currently has 12
branches in nine cities and is expected to double this in the next
fiscal.
il&fs to
merge 3 subsidiaries
mumbai:
infrastructure leasing & financial services has decided to
merge its three subsidiaries - investsmart, debtonnet and
il&fs merchant bank.
investsmart was promoted as a web-enabled equity brokerage for
retail investors. it has a net worth of around rs 40-45 crore. it
has 21 full-fledged branch offices across 11 cities including
mumbai, chennai, pune, bangalore, delhi and kolkata.
debtonnet is a web-based platform for issuers and investors in the
wholesale debt market to buy and sell bonds. the paid up capital
is rs 5 crore, with il&fs and the national stock exchange
holding 50 per cent each in the joint venture.
il&fs merchant bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of il&fs.
its activities merchant banking in fixed income, equity and loan
syndication and placement of money market instruments.
rbi eases
norms for share issue
mumbai:
the reserve bank of india has liberalised norms for issue and
pricing of shares by private banks.
all private sector banks, listed or unlisted, under the revised
norms would be free to issue bonus and rights shares without its
prior approval.
moreover, the bonus issue would now be delinked from the rights
issues, the rbi said, adding its approval would be necessary for
initial public offerings and preferential shares.
banks would also be free to price their subsequent issue once
their shares are listed on the stock exchanges.
20 march 2002
ifci plans spv for
asset securitisation
new delhi:
ifci ltd is planning to set up a special purpose vehicle for
securitisation of assets.
the financial institution has already generated around rs 800
crore through the securitisation route in the current financial
year.
a pool of assets would be transferred to the spv which would be
then securitised with other banks and financial institutions.
another option is to transfer the receivables - interest and
principal - into an escrow account.
icici chair
at iim-b
bangalore:
icici will institute a chair in "change management'' at the
indian institute of management, bangalore. announcing this at the
iim-b convocation, icici md and ceo k.v. kamath said the new
economy has handed the baton to us after almost 1,000 years and if
we drop it now, it may be after 1,000 years before we get another
opportunity.
rbi cancels
sj shares & stock brokers licence
new
delhi:
reserve bank of india has cancelled the licence of delhi-based
money-changer sj shares & stock brokers.
the ffmc (full-fledged money changer) licence of sj shares &
stock brokers, which was issued on 23 march 1999, and valid till
22 march 2002, has been cancelled, rbi said in a statement.
lord krishna
bank plans ipo
new delhi:
lord krishna bank is considering an initial public offering (ipo)
and listing on leading stock exchanges.
the bank's rights issue, which concluded on 9 march, garnered rs
35.77 crore pushing up its net worth to rs 109.55 crore, lkb said
in a statement. shareholders were offered the rights issue at a
premium of rs 2 per share, in the ratio of 10 equity shares for
every nine equity shares held.
the bank's capital adequacy ratio has improved from 12.90 per cent
at the end of 31 december 2001, to 14.87 per cent on 15 february
2002, which is higher than the stipulated level of 9 per cent.
it posted
a net profit of rs 15.37 crore in the first nine months of current
fiscal compared with rs 94 lakh profit in the same period last
fiscal.
19 march 2002
sbis tn
customers suffer due to strife
chennai: the officers
of the state bank of indias (sbi) tamil nadu cadre have
resorted to the work-to-rule protest path as a reaction to the
management initiating criminal proceedings against some officers.
the officers
commence business transactions only around noon everyday, although
the bank is open to the public from 10 am onwards.
further, the systems
administrators run the end-of-day (eod) transaction only the
following morning, instead of reconciling the same on the very day
of the transaction. fresh entries cannot be keyed in until the eod
transaction and the stock-of-the-day transaction (for the day) are
complete.
as a result, the banks
customers in all its computerised branches in tamil nadu and
pondicherry wait for hours in a row every morning to encash their
cheques, or get a demand draft or even to remit cash.
out of the 600-odd
branches of the bank in the state, 260 branches have been
computerised.
aaa(so) rating
for citibank mbs issue
chennai:
the credit rating information services of india (crisil) has
assigned a aaa(so) rating to the issue of mortgage-backed
pass-through certificates (ptc), backed by mortgages originated by
citibank.
this is the sixth rating
assigned by crisil to a mortgage-backed securitisation (mbs)
programme of citibank in the last one year, said a press release.
banking
to remain public utility service
new
delhi:
banking services will continue to be part of the public utility
service under the industrial disputes act for a period of another
six months. a notification for the purpose has been issued aiming
to check the frequent strikes resorted to by the industry.
the
services of the banking industry was earlier declared as a public
utility service on 19 march 2001 and was subsequently extended for
another six months from 19 september 2001.
the move
means that bank employees will be required to give a notice to
their employers at least six weeks in advance before going on
strike, so that conciliatory proceedings can be started. also,
bank employees cannot go on strike during the conciliatory
proceedings and seven days after its completion.
hdfc bank starts
net-banking service
mumbai:
hdfc bank has launched a new online account aggregation service,
oneview, which will enable its net-banking customers to take stock
of the balances in their accounts across several banks - all on
one web page.
oneview is protected by
encryption-based security measures, and to begin with customers
can view account balances in hdfc bank and citibank, say bank
officials.
the new service is
expected to help customers get a quick comprehensive display of
their account balance summary, transaction history, fixed deposit
summary, account balance and fd summary across the various account
providers on a single screen.
with the launch of
oneview, not only can our customers get a whole range of products
and services under one roof, they can also view their
relationships with many other banks at one site, says hdfc bank
managing director aditya puri.
state bank
of mauritius cuts rates
chennai:
state bank of mauritius has cut
its interest rates on domestic term deposits. the bank has cut its
rates by 100 basis points to 8 per cent for deposits of one year
and above.
it has
cut rates by 25 basis points to 8.25 per cent in the 181 days to
one-year time period. the bank has, however, revised upwards its
interest rates for the 91-to-180 days deposit by 50 basis
points to 8.50 per cent. the revisions take effect from this week,
says a bank press release.
sbt
hikes rates on fcnr deposits
thiruvananthapuram: state
bank of travancore (sbt) has raised its interest rates on foreign
currency non-repatriable (fcnr) deposits in us dollars with effect
from 18 march 2002.
the revised rate for
deposits of one year to less than two years is 2.75 per cent,
above two years to less than three years 3.5 per cent and above
three years 4.25 per cent.
rbi sells
remaining stake in stci
new delhi: reserve bank of india has sold its
remaining 14.41 per cent stake in securities trading corporation
of india (stci) to infrastructure development finance company (idfc).
rbi, which initially had 50.18 per cent stake in stci, brought its
holding down to 14.41 per cent in 1997. now it has sold the
remaining stake to idfc.
currently, bank of india has the largest share of 28.15 per cent
in stci, which is the country's largest primary dealer in
government papers.
bob offers
schemes for riot victims
ahmedabad:
bank of baroda has announced two special schemes for
rehabilitating victims of violence in gujarat.
these schemes are specially designed by the bank and expected to
help the affected people in the state to pursue their normal life
and business activities.
under the special scheme for business community, loans up to rs 1
lakh will be sanctioned to enterprises like retail trade, small
business, professionals and self-employed persons and activities
allied to agriculture with no margin.
for small scale units affected in the violence, loans will be
sanctioned up to rs 5 lakh.
no collateral/third party guarantee will be taken for loans up to
rs 1 lakh in case of small businesses and up to rs 5 lakh for
small-scale units with repayment moratorium of six months.
the second scheme was for housing, designed to meet credit needs
of repairs and renovation of houses units damaged in the riots.
rbi to allow
floating rates on td schemes
new delhi:
reserve bank of india is likely to allow floating interest rates
on term deposit scheme of banks.
there will, however, be options for depositors to opt for either
fixed or floating interest rates.
rbi had allowed banks to lend at floating or flexible interest
rates to corporates a few years ago but deposit rates are still
rigid.
while savings bank account offers a 4.0 per cent return to
depositors, a term deposit scheme of three-year maturity offers a
higher 8.0 per cent interest rate.
the proposed floating rate schemes are likely to attach a premium
or discount depending on the long-term movement of the bank rate
at which rbi lends funds to the banks.
rbi would allow banks to revise the floating rate every six
months.
pnb
offers first public issue
jaipur:
punjab national bank has announced its first public issue of rs
5.31-crore equity shares of rs 10 each for cash at a premium of rs
21 per share to be opened on 21 march.
the public issue will augment the long term resources of the bank
and the capital base to meet its future capital adequacy
requirements.
18 march 2002
icici info mulls jv
for china
mumbai:
icici infotech services ltd is looking for a local partner to set
up a joint venture in china to target financial services sector.
the company is currently
in talks with four-five local players.
ifci in
talks with lic for strategic pact
new delhi:
the industrial finance corporation of india (ifci) has initiated
talks with the life insurance corporation (lic) for a strategic
alliance.
lic may substantially
increase its stake in the financial institution from the existing
level of around 8 per cent and route a part of its premium income
through ifci for further investments.
as per insurance
regulatory and development authority (irda) guidelines, lic can
acquire up to 20 per cent stake in ifci.
ifci had earlier
approached lic to raise rs 2,500 crore in long-term loans. but the
plan was put on hold because lic had already reached the exposure
cap.
nabard
sanctions rs 1,037cr for rural infrastructure
mumbai: nabard has sanctioned loans totalling rs
1,037.14 crore under the rural insfrastructure development fund to
16 states.
nabard's project sanctioning committee approved these loans for
various projects pertaining to flood rescue centres cum primary
schools and power sector in west bengal, rural drinking water
schemes in andhra pradesh and mizoram, secondary schools in tamil
nadu and rural market yards in kerala.
world bank
to shift it jobs to india
chennai:
the world bank is exploring the possibility of shifting its
information technology-dependent activities to india.
world banks chennai
back office will process a part of the activities of the banks
accounting division that includes payroll processing, accounts
receivables and payables and country office accounting.
the office would also act
as a help desk providing data requirement on a real-time basis.
the chennai office
employs around 90 consultants and many of them had received
training in washington.
world
bank may fund vrs for public sector
new delhi:
the disinvestment ministry has asked for the world banks
support to fund voluntary retirement schemes in various public
sector units.
the world bank has funded
various voluntary retirement schemes for companies at the state
level. it is interested in increasing funding for reform-related
programmes like vrs at the central level.
the world bank has funded
vrs for companies slated to be closed or liquidated under the
andhra pradesh economic restructuring projects.
idbi drops
reform-based finance plan
mumbai: the
industrial development bank of india (idbi), which has a large
presence in power projects, has dropped its plans to adopt a
reform-based financing pattern for independent power projects.
instead, it is planning to continue with its traditional
three-tier payment security mechanism - escrow cover, letter of
credit and state guarantee - for financing new power projects.
indias leading financial institutions, including idbi, were
pursuing a reform-based approach in the power sector financing, as
the concept was projected as an economically feasible mode for
financing power projects.
under the reform-based financing, state governments, state
electricity boards and other lenders to the projects have to enter
into a memorandum of agreement. the state and its seb also have to
undertake obligations to achieve reform milestones in a time-bound
manner as prescribed by the lenders.
also, the lenders will enjoy a charge over the revenues of sebs
along with the banks that provide capital. moreover, the escrow
cover will have to be made available to the lenders 31 days before
the commercial operation of the project. but the idbi board
recently decided that the security mechanism has to be ensured
before financing any new project and, under the given
circumstances, idbi feels escrow is the most viable security
mechanism.
"the payment risks continues to be the most important
impediment to financing power projects, as the financial health of
the sebs is deteriorating day by day. besides, problems of lack of
tariff rationalisation, high transmission and distribution losses
are the other major hurdles in the indian power sector," says
a top idbi source.
the industrial development financial corporation was the first
financial institution that implemented the reform-based financing
in the karnataka state for the karnataka power trading corporation
two years ago. the outcome of this new experiment is yet to be
known.
following this, the andhra pradesh government had introduced this
concept for financing around six projects with an installed
capacity of over 2,500mw last year. but an fi source say the
process did not go any further from the preliminary levels.
aptransco, a party to the agreement, had failed to provide escrow
cover to two projects even after their successful commissioning.
these projects together generate over 550mw (300mw from the
kondappally project and 250mw from the spectrum project). andhra
then promised to evolve a business plan for the transmission
companies by february 2002. but, so far, no headway had been made,
the source say.
hdfc standard
life in rajkot, nagpur
mumbai: hdfc standard life insurance has launched
its operations in rajkot (gujarat) and nagpur (maharashtra). in
both the cities the insurer will operate from the premises of its
parent company, hdfc ltd.
hdfc standard life has also indicated that 60 per cent of its
customer-base has opted for an extra rider on the base policy,
moving forward the customisation of its products.
sbi
life ties up with sundaram finance
mumbai:
in an arrangement between two insurance companies, sbi life and
sundaram finance (the promoter of royal sundaram alliance, a
non-life insurer) have come together to ink an arrangement to
market insurance products.
under the pact, sundaram finance will exclusively distribute sbi
lifes life insurance products through its 110 branches, while
sbi life will customise products for customers of the various arms
of sundaram finance under group insurance schemes.
sbi life has also
unveiled super suraksha, a group insurance scheme for sbi
accountholders. according to the plan, customers in the age group
of 20-60 will get a cover of rs 50,000-rs 1 lakh.
tata aig,
thomas cook join hands
mumbai:
tata aig general insurance has tied up with thomas cook india to
sell insurance products for overseas travel through the latters
wholly-owned subsidiary, india alive tours ltd.
under this alliance, thomas cook will focus on providing
travel-related insurance along with other travel services such as
air tickets, foreign exchange and travellers cheques.
india alive tours has
been given the status of preferred corporate agent for
procuring all general insurance business for tata aig.
rbi
nod for bob capital dealership
mumbai:
the reserve bank of india has granted the final approval to bob
capital markets ltd to operate as a primary dealer in the
government securities market.
with this the number of
primary dealers in the government securities market has gone up to
18, said a press release.
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