21 Dec 2002

Code on lenders liability draws mixed reaction
Mumbai: Both bankers and borrowers have expressed mixed feelings to the code draft on Lenders Liability released by the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday While the bankers have been very selective about their preferences for some parts of the code, prominent corporates have said that it has fallen short of their expectations.

ABN Amro moves HR operations to online
Mumbai: ABN Amro Bank has moved most of its human resource processes online. The e-HR approach of ABN amro includes shifting its recruitment, induction, goal-setting and performance appraisal, HR guidelines, leave applications, greviance addressal and ideation platforms to a web based medium.

'KPFC's Rs 200-crore bonds get good feedback'
Kochi: The private placement of the Rs 200-crore worth of bonds of Kerala Power Finance Corporation received good response and was oversubscribed.

NRIs, PIOs allowed to settle credit card dues from NRO a/c
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said that non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin could now settle the dues of their international credit cards out of funds they hold in their non-resident ordinary rupee account.

AP Co-op bank bags `profitability' award
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Bank has been selected the best in the category of `Profitability' for the year 2001-02 by the National Federation of State Co-op Banks Ltd, Mumbai, which evaluates the performance of the State co-operative banks every year and announces the awards.

Excellent Insurance awaits direct broker licence
Hyderabad: Excellent Insurance Broking Services Ltd (EIBSL), the Hyderabad-based firm formerly known as Expert Healthcare Management Services Ltd, is planning to become direct insurance broker.

Nabard outlay for Kerala put at Rs 11,603 cr
Kochi: The Kerala State credit plan for 2003-04, prepared by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), envisages an outlay of Rs 11,603 crore.

Ernakulam home loan fair gets under way
Kochi: Ernakulam Home Loan Fair 2002, two-day exhibition of housing and housing loans organised by the Corporation Bank, has commenced here on Friday by showcasing an array of retail loan products.

Tata Finance PTC issue gets `AAA'
Mumbai: Tata Finance Ltd's Rs 47.78-crore senior-class `A' pass-through certificates (PTCs) issue has been assigned the `AAA' rating by Crisil.

States told to go easy on bond guarantees
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India is understood to have advised State Governments to "go easy" on guaranteeing bond issues of their subordinate entities.

KPFC bond issue closed
Thiruvanathapuram: Kerala Power Finance Corporation Ltd announced the closure of its bond issue, which aggregated a total of Rs 200 crore.

Punjab & Sind Bank likely to go for IPO
New Delhi: Keeping with the current trend among public sector banks, Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) is also considering the option of queuing up in front of the initial public offer (IPO) window.

20 Dec 2002

Bank Of India attaches assets worth Rs 1.74 crore
Mumbai: Bank of India has taken possession of assets worth Rs 1.74 crore as on date under the Securitisation Ordinance, while the news of attaching assets keeps flowing in to the BoI headquarters from zonal offices in different parts of the country.

RBI tells lenders to play a fair game
Mumbai: RBI has made it clear that banks and financial institutions, armed with the new securitisation enforcement law, must also honour their part of the deal.

OM Kotak accrues Rs 30-crore premium in 8 months of fiscal
Mumbai: Mumbai-based OM Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance has mobilised Rs 30 crore of premium by selling 25,000 policies during the first eight months of the current fiscal. The company is aiming to double both the premium and policies in the next five months.

CIFCL Plans Pact For Home Loan Distribution
Chennai: Chennai-based non banking finance company Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd is looking at entering into agreements with a slew of banks and housing finance companies to distribute their housing loan products.

Aviva, ABN Amro tie up for child insurance scheme
Mumbai: Aviva Life Insurance plans to tie up with a large private bank shortly in its quest to complete a bouquet of distribution channels through the bancassurance route.

i-flex solution for Bulgarian bank
Bangalore: i-flex Solutions has announced that its flagship product Flexcube has been selected by Hebros Bank in Bulgaria to centralise its banking operations and provide the technology platform for accelerating retail banking operations.

Nabard pegs Karnataka's credit potential at Rs 9,729 crore
Mumbai: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has estimated a rural credit potential in Karnataka of Rs 9,729 crore for the year 2003-04, up from Rs 9,265 crore in 2002-03.

Corpn Bank eyes overseas turf
Mangalore: Corporation Bank is looking at overseas markets, courtesy its tie-up with Life Insurance Corporation. For starters, it has sought to leverage its relationship with LIC to explore opportunities among the NRI population.

Union Bank sells 224 policies in two days
Mumbai: Union Bank of India yesterday said its has sold 224 insurance policies in two days of commencing its bancassurance business. The bank has tied up with HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd to market life insurance and pension products.

Model Steels assets seized
Vijayawada: Andhra Bank has taken possession of Model Steels Private Ltd at Nidamanuru village near here "in exercise of powers conferred under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Ordinance, as the company has failed to repay dues of Rs 2.76 crore within 60 days from the date of notice.

Indian Bank seizes defaulter property in Coimbatore
Coimbatore: Indian Bank, Coimbatore circle, has taken the lead among the nationalised banks that have a presence here by taking possession of a property within Corporation limits on Wednesday.

19 Dec 2002

IFC set to pick 10 per cent stake in Birla Home Finance
Mumbai: The Washington-based International Finance Corporation has agreed to pick 10 to 15 per cent equity stake in KK Birla Group company Birla Home Finance Ltd, besides providing a Rs 100 crore line of credit to the company.

Corp Bank to use LIC's overseas property for opening offices
Mangalore: Corporation Bank is planning to open offices overseas at premises owned by Life Insurance Corporation of India and was at an advanced stage of introducing debit card within the current financial year, its chairman and managing director K Cherian Varghese said on Wednesday.

CIFCL to launch co-branded credit card next month
Chennai: Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd, part of the Rs 4,200 crore Murugappa group, is planning to launch co-branded credit card in alliance with a public sector bank in January 2003.

RBI likely to agree to reopening of Charminar Co-op Bank
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India is likely to agree for reopening of the city-based Charminar Urban Co-operative Bank, subject to certain conditions.

BoJ report sees uncertain economic recovery ahead
Kolkata: The Bank of Japan maintained its sombre assessment of the economy in a monthly report on Wednesday, saying domestic demand remained weak and that the chances of a recovery were unclear.

Interest waived on kharif loans - Banks to bear brunt of Rs 2,000-cr loss
New Delhi: Bowing to pressures from the Agriculture Ministry and State Governments, the Centre has decided to grant a complete interest waiver on crop loans availed of by farmers during the drought-affected 2002 kharif season.

Aviva may raise capital by Rs 50 cr
Mumbai: Aviva Life Insurance Company's capital is likely to be enhanced by Rs 50 crore. The promoters, Aviva plc of the UK and Dabur, will bring in the money next month. This will take the capital base of the company to Rs 160 crore.

Punjab & Sind Bank to `wear' a new look
New Delhi: Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) is attempting a facelift that could well set a trend in the public sector banking industry. Neckties are now a must as part of a dress code that is being strictly implemented.

South Indian Bank bid to bridge NRI gulf
Abu Dhabi: South Indian Bank is concluding new arrangements with correspondents in some Gulf states as it plans to diversify its portfolio and also widen access for its large NRI clientele in this region, according to the bank's Chairman, A. Sethumadhavan.

LIC licence to Corpn Bank
Mangalore: With the Mangalore-based Corporation Bank having secured the corporate agency licence to sell products of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, the Zonal Manager of LIC, Hyderabad, is to officially hand over the licence to the Chairman K. Cherian Varghese, at the bank's corporate office here on Thursday

Banks look to IDBI for recovery against Roofit
Mumbai: Banks are awaiting a decision from IDBI Ltd, the term lending institution which has major exposure to Roofit Industries Ltd, to go ahead with the recovery proceedings.

RBI proposes stiff prudential norms for setting up ARCs
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India yesterday said an asset reconstruction company (ARC) would have to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio of not less than 15 per cent of its total risk-weighted financial assets on an on-going basis.

18 Dec 2002

Deustche AMC to launch bond fund
Mumbai: Deutche Asset Management Company (AMC) is to launch an institutional bond fund targeted at the big corporates, banks and high net-worth individuals.

Improve macro-economic policies for BoP safety: Jalan
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India governor Dr Bimal Jalan highlighted the need for pragmatic and realistic macro-economic policies for safeguarding balance of payments in emerging markets.

FinMin calls stakeholders meet before finalising recast of RRBs
New Delhi: The Ministry of Finance has convened a meeting with the other stakeholders of the regional rural banks before it finalises its verdict on the recommendations of the Chalapathy Rao Committee, set up to suggest the revival path for RRBs.

DTA receipts from SEZ allowed credit in EEFC account
Mumbai: The RBI has decided that payments received in foreign exchange by a unit in DTA for supply of goods to a unit in Special Economic Zone from its foreign currency account will be treated as eligible foreign exchange earnings for the purpose of credit to the Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency Account.

ICICI Bank eyes 30 per cent share in retail credit market
Mumbai: ICICI Bank is targeting a market share of 25 to 30 per cent of the burgeoning retail credit segment from banking industry in the country.

Goldquest plans to set up mint in Bangalore
Bangalore: Goldquest International, a Hong Kong-based multi-level marketing company dealing in numismatic and medallion collectibles, plans to set up a mint in Bangalore at the cost of $25 million and has approached the Reserve Bank of India for permission.

ICICI Bank offers to help Federal, South Indian Bank
Mumbai: ICICI Bank has said that it was open to providing resources to support the capital base of both Federal Bank Ltd and South Indian Bank.

SBI, BoI going in for US GAAP
Mumbai: State Bank of India and Bank of India are going in for US GAAP. This is viewed as a prelude to listing by the banks in a US exchange. SBI has already appointed global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to advise the bank.

Corpn Bank, Bank of Rajasthan to share teller machines
Mangalore: The Mangalore-based public sector Corporation Bank and the private sector Bank of Rajasthan signed an agreement in Jaipur on Wednesday for the mutual sharing of their automated teller machine networks.

Banks meet today on Roofit asset seizure
Bangalore: A consortium of banks led by Karnataka Bank may soon invoke the Securitisation Act to seize the assets of Roofit Industries Ltd, manufacturer of asbestos cement sheets, to recover about Rs 250 crore in advances and interest due.

BoI cuts deposit rates
Mumbai: Bank of India (BoI) has revised interest rates on domestic rupee term deposits of less than Rs 1 crore, downwards by 25-40 basis points, in the maturity buckets of `40 days to 90 days and above'. The new rates will be effective from December 18.

17 Dec 2002

IBA to seek local support for attaching defaulter assets
Kolkata: Indian Banks' Association has decided to seek the support of local governments, local police and local administrative bodies such as municipal corporations, local panchayats and zilla parishads in their member banks' attempts to attach the properties or assets of wilful defaulters under the Securitisation Act.

Irda eases regulations for TPA agreements
New Delhi: Diluting its norms for third-party administrators, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has decided to take a lenient view of tripartite agreements with clients being entered into by TPAs and insurers for the sake of business considerations.

RBI raps banks for failure to follow SJSRY guidelines
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has pulled up banks for not following its guidelines for implementation of the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojna.

RBI asks ADs to obtain evidence on export incentive before allowing write-off
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked authorised dealers in foreign exchange to obtain documentary evidence to ensure that exporters surrender their export incentives availed of, before permitting them to write off their unrealised bills.

Cash management services set to transform: HSBC
Mumbai: Cash management services in India are expected to under go major changes in the future, predicts HSBC. According to the newly released `HSBC 's Guide to Cash and Treasury Management in Asia-Pacific 2003'.

IOC, Citibank launch co-branded debit card
Mumbai: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Citibank yesterday introduced a co-branded debit card for Citibank Suvidha and banking customers across 15 cities in India.

16 Dec 2002

Life's a fair play, insurance body to adopt 'code of good practice'
Mumbai: The life insurance council is expected to adopt a 'code of good practice' for industry self-regulation at a meeting scheduled in Hyderabad on Monday.

Insurance cos offload high-coupon securities
Mumbai: Bond markets remained subdued during last week due to the liquidity mopping-up operations while the undertone of the market remained firm. The ten-year yield to maturity (YTM) on a weighted average basis ended the week at 6.40 per cent, up from the previous weekend.

Lenders seek to shut BIFR door against defaulters
Banks and financial institutions (FIs) are opening up a new front in their offensive against defaulters. Lenders are now busy joining hands to drill a hole in Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) umbrella that for long was was being used by defaulters as a shelter whenever creditors appeared to be on hot pursuit.

Karur Vysya seizes properties in 8 cases
Coimbatore: In a swift turn of events, Karur Vysya Bank has taken possession of properties in 8 cases, all of them residential, as per the provisions conferred on the banks by the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Second) Ordinance 2002