22 June 2002

Sicom To Close Down Housing Finance Arm
Sicom Ltd, has decided to exit from the housing finance sector and close down the operation of its arm, Sicom Housing Development Finance (SHDF).

Sicom Ltd has also decided to sell SHDF whicha share capital of Rs 8.75 crore and an asset base of Rs 10 crore. Its employee strength is 25.

Corporation Bank instals ATM in Chandigarh
Corporation Bank has installed its first ATM in Chandigarh at its branch in Sector 8.

The branch was inaugurated by TV and cinema personality Jaspal Bhatti.

The bank had entered into a strategic alliance with LIC on June 6 whereby the latter obtained 27 per cent of the stake in the bank.In terms of the MoU, the bank can now explore possibility of opening its extension counters, branches and installation of ATMs at premises of LIC, which has over 2,100 offices countrywide.

KMFL to convert into bank by year-end
Kotak Mahindra Finance, a non-banking finance company, expects to convert itself into a private bank by end-December and may relocate some of its branches.

Currently, the company is looking into technical aspects like conversion of the balance sheet of NBFC into that of a bank.

IRDA fixes cap on rider charges
Insurance companies can now charge a maximum of 30 per cent of the premium of the main product for all riders attached to any policy.