10 August 2002

Banks begin to switch off from shared ATM network
Mumbai: Swadhan, India's first shared payment network service, is facing tough times. Banks have begun distancing themselves from the network after Swadhan service provider India Switch Company's five-year contract with the Indian Banks' Association came to an end during the year.

State Bank to serve notices on 50 wilful defaulters soon
New Delhi: The countrys largest public sector commercial bank, State Bank of India, will shortly serve notices on 50 wilful defaulters.

ITI to shift to B category NBFC
Chennai: The Investment Trust of India Ltd, a Chennai-based non-banking finance company, has decided to repay its existing deposits and shift to B category company.

Asian currencies recover as Yen rebound
Most Asian currencies recovered from their early lows to finish the week on a positive note, helped by the yens rebound against the dollar.

Banks rescheduling farm loans
Mumbai: Banks have begun work on restructuring and rescheduling agricultural advances in regions affected by the current drought.

Nabard, German body to develop accounting norms for co-op banks
New Delhi: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and German Co-operative Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV) are jointly developing a common accounting system for co-operative banks.

RBI eases norms for forex dealers
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted authorised dealers to maintain foreign exchange open positions in their foreign exchange exposures, representing the mismatch between foreign currency purchase and sales as also balance sheet.

LIC's monopoly intact, says workers' federation
Mumbai: The entry of private players into the insurance fray has not affected the business monopoly of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), according to the National Federation of Insurance Field Workers of India.

IndusInd to open 2 more branches in Chennai
Mumbai: IndusInd Bank plans to open two more branches and at least six ATMs in Chennai, according to the sources.

Karnataka Bank review meeting
Mangalore: The Chairman of the Mangalore-based private sector Karnataka Bank, Mr Ananthakrishna, has called upon the regional heads of the bank to gear up to face `the increasing competition and emerging challenges' in the banking sector.

Corpn Bank pays Rs 32.8 crore as dividend to Govt
New Delhi: The Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank handed over a dividend cheque for Rs 32.80 crore to the Union Minister of State for Finance, Mr Anantha Geethe, at a ceremony held in New Delhi.

SBH to unveil new package for SMEs
Hyderabad: State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), the leading associate bank of State Bank of India, is piecing together a new scheme for the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment.

Union Bank plans branches in Gulf
Kolkata: Union Bank of India, which does not have any foreign branch, is planning to open representative offices in Muscat (Oman) and Dubai (UAE) to serve NRI accounts better.

RBI sets Aug 31 deadline for G-sec SGL, CSGL trades
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has set a deadline of August 31 to comply with the regulation relating to holding investments in government securities portfolio in either SGL, CSGL or in a dematerialised account with depositories.

Mortgage-backed securities begin to gain acceptance
Mumbai: Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) are finally getting their place in the sun, even if it is in part due to the huge liquidity overhang in the debt markets.

ICICI Bank cuts NRE term deposit rates
Mumbai: ICICI Bank has cut non-resident external (NRE) term deposit rates by 50-100 basis points for various maturities, with effect from August 8. On deposits up to Rs 15 lakh, for a maturity period of six months to one year, the rate is now seven per cent.

RBI move to strengthen MIS of co-op banks
Mumbai: In a bid to strengthen the management information system (MIS) of co-operative banks, the Reserve Bank of India has set in motion a technical assistance programme. The programme would focus on strengthening the MIS in co-operative banks.

Bankers going back to basics
Mumbai: Bankers are quietly going back to the basics of building an asset portfolio in the current year, having lost the comfort of trading profits which played up balance sheets over the last two years.

KCCI initiative on coin shortage
Mangalore: In view of the shortage of coins affecting the business community in Mangalore, the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in association with the Reserve Bank of India as well as banks in Mangalore and Udupi will help in the distribution

PwC to rejig Lord Krishna Bank strategy
Kochi: Lord Krishna Bank has appointed global consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers for formulating its future business strategy and risk management.

HDFC to directly hold stake in JV
New Delhi: The US-based insurance major Chubb Global Financial Services Corporation will end up paying over Rs 70 crore as premium for picking up a 26% stake in its non-life insurance joint venture with HDFC.

9 August 2002

North Malabar Gramin cuts rates
Kochi: The Kannur-based North Malabar Gramin Bank has cut interest rates on priority sector advances to 12.5 per cent for amounts up to Rs 2 lakh.

Partners lost faith in Kale: Ferguson
Mumbai: Audit firm A.F. Ferguson and Co (AFF) today said that all the partners of the firm had "lost faith' in Mr Y.M. Kale after an internal inquiry threw light on a "number of issues relating to Mr Kale's past conduct'.

ICAI seeks DCA advice on probe
New Delhi: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has sought the assistance of the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) to find if there is any ground for inquiry into the alleged professional misconduct by A F Ferguson in l'affaire Tata Finance Ltd.

Bill payment through the Net
Hyderabad: Centurion Bank has tied up with e-seva, the Andhra Pradesh Government IT-enabled services centre to enable the bank's customers pay their regular utility bills through the Internet.

Impasse over Bank of Tokyo branch closure continues
New Delhi: The conciliation meeting, which the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) called on Thursday to resolve the impasse created over the sudden closure of the local branch of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi was inconclusive.

No investment limits on new tax-free bonds
New Delhi: The Government has decided not to fix an annual investment limit on the new seven per cent tax-free bonds announced by the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, in a bid to restore the feel good factor and bolster savings.

Holiday Inn, Pune auction put off to August 19
Pune: The auction of Holiday Inn, Pune, has been adjourned to August 19. It was previously scheduled to take place on August 7. According to IndusInd Bank, which had filed a recovery suit against Ram Laxman Hotels (Pvt) Ltd at the Debts Recovery.

Nanyadarshini 2002
Bangalore: Coins and currencies displayed at "Nanyadarshini - 2002", an exhibition organised by the Karnataka Numismatics Society in Bangalore on Thursday.

Lord Krishna Bank comes under RBI lens for violating advance norms
Kochi: The Reserve Bank of India is looking into the alleged irregularities in some of the advances made by the Connaught Place branch of the Kochi-based Lord Krishna Bank Ltd.

Depositors seek penal action against RBF Nidhi Promoters
New Delhi: The RBF Nidhi Ltd Depositors Welfare Association has urged the Economic Offences Wing to take criminal action against the erstwhile chairman and other directors of RBF Nidhi Ltd for speedy recovery of funds.

StanChart offers Sapnay Card to minimise frauds
Mumbai: Standard Chartered Bank has introduced an exclusive electronic credit card Sapnay, which the bank claims, would minimise the possibility of frauds. Full story

IFCI to tap banks for raising $400-million by November
New Delhi: Armed with the government guarantee, IFCI will now approach banks to raise about $400 million to meet its foreign debt obligations by November.

8 August 2002

SBI firms up five-year IT roadmap with KPMG
New Delhi: The State Bank of India has chalked out a five-year integrated information technology roadmap with the help of global consulting firm, KPMG Consulting, for maintaining its leadership in the technology sphere as well.

Follow extant guidelines for calamity donations: RBI
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks not to wait for separate instructions for providing relief in areas affected by natural calamities, and follow the standing guidelines issued earlier relating to such occasions.

Crisil downgrades Rs 1,000-cr Tata Power NCDs
Mumbai: Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd on Wednesday downgraded the ratings assigned to Tata Power Company Ltds non-convertible debentures worth Rs 1,000 crore.

More corporates prefer Yen Borrowings: Icra
New Delhi: Taking advantage of the interest rate differential, more Indian firms are moving towards yen borrowing.

StanChart in talks with Bank Of China
Hong Kong: Standard Chartered Bank said on Wednesday it is in talks with state giant Bank of China about co-operative ventures including credit cards, a high-yielding part of the business which has yet to be developed in the booming country.

Prakar Software new version
Bangalore: Prakar Software Ltd, Bangalore, specialising in computerisation of bank accounts, has launched the 2002 version of Auto Banker.

IRDA to lift ceiling on life policy riders
New Delhi: The cap on the maximum permissible premium relating to riders on life insurance policy placed recently by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is to be removed.

IBA for speedy disposal of loan applications
IBA has suggested that banks should acknowledge loan applications on the date of receipt at the branches.

Vijaya Bank shelves tier II issue
Hyderabad: The state-owned Vijaya Bank has shelved plans for the time being to foray into the bond markets with a tier two issue in view of falling yields.

Labour Commissioner to review closure of Bank of Tokyo branch
New Delhi: The Regional Labour Commissioner of the Union Government will review on Thursday the situation arising out of the sudden closure of the local branch of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Lord Krishna Bank cuts deposit rates
Kochi: Lord Krishna Bank has cut interest rates on deposits ranging from 0.25 to 0.75 per cent, which will become effective from August 10.

7 August 2002

Banks inch towards IFR build-up after hiccups
New Delhi: Eleven state-run banks and some private sector banks have built an IFR of more than the average one per cent during the first year, out of the five per cent of the reserve the regulator had asked them to build over a five-year tenure, dispelling initial apprehensions about the possibility of meeting the norm and its impact on their profits for 2001-02.

BOBL to hawk mutual fund, insurance products
Chennai: Bharat Overseas Bank Ltd is planning to foray into distribution of insurance and mutual fund products soon.

IBA waives multiple charges on Swadhan
New Delhi: The Indian Banks Association has waived off all charges except transaction fees for new banks joining its automated teller machine shared payment network, Swadhan.

HDFC Standard life targets 1 Lakh policies In '02-03
Mumbai: HDFC Standard Life Insurance has set a target of 100,000 policies worth Rs 85 crore premium for the year 2002-03. The company had managed to sell 31,000 policies last fiscal, for which Rs 35 crore was collected as premium.

Bank of Tokyo to transfer deposits to HSBC
Kolkata: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (BTM) and The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) have entered into a tie-up for the transfer of deposits of BTM's customers to HSBC in Kolkata.

States seek deregulation of development loans
New Delhi: States in the western and southern regions have sought a free pricing regime for raising resources through State development loans.

Grasim mops up Rs 50 cr from `inverse floater'
Mumbai: Grasim Industries has raised Rs 50 crore for 5 years through an instrument called the `inverse floater'. The `inverse floater' is an instrument where the coupon yield behaves inversely to the general direction of interest rates.

NPA ordinance:Empowering the financial sector
New Delhi: The new Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, deserves to be complimented for introducing the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Bank of Rajasthan cuts deposit rates
Jaipur: The new interest rates effective from August 5, 2002, on deposits for a period of 15 to 45 days will be lowered to five per cent from 5.25 per cent previously, 46 days to 90 days will decrease to six per cent from 6.25 per cent.

Union Bank says IPO will shore up resources
Mumbai: Union Bank of India yesterday announced that its initial public offering of Rs 288 crore would open on August 20, and close on August 28. The issue of 18 crore-equity shares of Rs 10 each carries a premium of Rs 6 per share.

Irda to open head office in Hyderabad On Aug 12
New Delhi: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority will open its new head office in Hyderabad on August 12.

Union Bank notice to 30 defaulters
Mumbai: Union Bank of India is in the process of serving notices to 30 of its borrowers as per the provision under the new debt ordinance.

Bank Of Punjab opens 93rd branch
Chandigarh: Having opened its third branch in Panchkula, Haryana last week, Bank of Punjab is now gearing to shortly open branches in Cochin, Pathankot, Morinda, Manimajra (Chandigarh) and Samrala.

HSBC India record 17.06% fall in net for FY-02
Mumbai: Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation India operations have posted a 17.06 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 166.59 crore for financial year ended March 31, 2002, compared to Rs 200.88 crore in the previous financial year.

Stanchart ties up with Prudential ICICI fund
Mumbai: Standard Chartered Bank plans to launch a new scheme, Principal Protection Plan', along with Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund.

6 August 2002