5 apr 2003

lic to source 5 per cent business via alternative distribution avenues
mumbai: life insurance corporation of india (lic) plans to procure five per cent of its business in 2003-04 through alternative distribution channels like corporate agents, bancassurance and insurance brokers, lic chairman sb mathur said on thursday after announcing a tie-up with state-run central bank of india (central bank) for bancassurance.

guidance note on securitisation accounting is good move: crisil
mumbai: credit rating and information services of india on thursday said it believed that the recent issuance of the guidance note on accounting for securitisation by the institute of chartered accountants of india deserves to be welcomed.

rbi notifies issue of 8 per cent 2003 savings bonds
mumbai: the reserve bank of india has issued a circular to banks, notifying the issue of eight per cent savings (taxable) bond, 2003, commencing april 21, 2003. the move is in line with the centre’s recent notification.

idf receives rs 590-crore commitments
new delhi: the proposed india development fund, promoted by infrastructure development finance corporation with focus on infrastructure projects, has received capital commitments of rs 590 crore by march 31, 2003, with the latest investment of rs 100 crore from state-run union bank of india.

mahindra gesco may extend pre-emi payment scheme
mumbai: the rs 190-crore-mahindra gesco developers ltd (mgdl), which pioneered a pre-emi payment scheme for customers at two of its properties in the city, may extend it to other locations too.

boi can sell kp's 4.5 per cent in balaji
mumbai: bank of india has obtained an order from the mumbai debt recovery tribunal allowing it to sell 23 lakh shares (about 4.5 per cent of the company's equity capital), held by suspended stock broker ketan parekh in balaji telefilms, to recover the dues that the stock broker owes to the bank.

om kotak expands capital base
mumbai: om kotak mahindra life insurance company (omkm) increased its share capital by rs 30 crore, taking the total capital base of the company to rs 183 crore.

dcb raises rs 66 crore
mumbai: development credit bank ltd (dcb) has raised fresh subordinate debt of rs 66 crore through private placement to fund its large-scale expansion plans. the tier-ii capital was raised at a rate of 8 per cent for a tenor of 63 months, as on march 31, said a press release

central bank zone to hike rural lending
chennai: central bank of india's chennai zone (tamil nadu and kerala) plans to enlarge its rural lending. its direct lendings to the agricultural sector last year was rs 175 crore. the zone proposes to raise this to at least rs 210 crore in the current financial year.

ecgc products soon for services export
new delhi: the export credit guarantee corporation (ecgc) has reduced premium by 20-40 per cent on exports to developing countries and emerging markets, effective april 2003.

bank officers' meet
mangalore: the national president of the all-india bank officers' confederation (aiboc), k.d. khera, will address a meeting of bank officers on april 5 in mangalore.

4 apr 2003

kerala state housing board cuts loan rates
thiruvananthapuram: the kerala state housing board (kshb) has decided to reduce interest rates on housing loans advanced from may 1.

citibank launches property show in hyderabad
hyderabad: citibank has announced the inauguration of its three-day property event - shelter's propshop - here on thursday, claimed to be the biggest property show in the twin cities of hyderabad and secunderabad.

indian promoters of banks may be allowed higher stake
new delhi: parity may soon be restored for indian promoters of domestic private sector banks, with the ministry of finance examining the possibility of permitting them to hold a higher stake, which might even go up to 74 per cent as was recently allowed for foreign direct investment in the sector.

icici bank mulls introducing rain insurance product
mumbai: icici bank has disbursed rs 2,000 crore towards agriculture and food-based projects during the 2002-2003 fiscal, nachiket mor, executive director of the bank, has said.

union bank advances up by 19 pc
mumbai: union bank of india's gross advances have increased by rs 4,278 crore for the financial year ended march 31, 2003, up by 19 per cent over last year, as per the provisional data available.

sbi bangalore card launched
bangalore: the state bank of india has announced the launch of the sbi bangalore card. the card is meant for a broad-based target audience in the 25 plus age group ranging from upwardly mobile professionals and middle class segments.

3 apr 2003

rbi gets tough on `clean-note policy'
mumbai: the reserve bank of india (rbi) has decided to get tough with banks, which do not comply with its `clean-note policy'.

pnb east zone unveils core banking solutions
new delhi: the east up zone of the punjab national bank on wednesday embarked upon core banking solutions by putting its lone high value branch here on the interconnectivity network

max new york unveils corporate agency model
mumbai: max new york life, the insurance company, has tied up with the kerala-based futuristic consultancies ltd, a financial services company, to launch its operations in the state using the corporate agency model.

country club offers to repay prudential loans
mumbai: country club (india) ltd, the city-based hospitality major, has decided to avail loans from other banks and financial institutions to clear the dues of prudential bank.

1 apr 2003

e-transfer of inter-bank funds from today
mumbai: the reserve bank of india, in conjunction with banks, has embarked upon a scheme that would enable safe, secure and same-day electronic transfer of funds across the country.
to be introduced from april 1, the special electronic fund transfer (seft) scheme will have settlement taking place at mumbai for inter-bank funds transfers. the scheme will be made available in over 2,500 bank branches in 500 cities, according to a rbi press release.

bop surplus doubles to $6.11 billion
mumbai: the country's balance of payments (bop) surplus during the october-december 2002 period almost doubled to $6.11 billion from $3.62 billion during the corresponding period in 2001, according to rbi data.
the current account balance surplus was marginally down at $721 million during the third quarter of 2002-03, over $795 million in the year-ago period.

`max ny life stays focused on quality '
coimbatore: the chief executive officer and managing director of max new york life, mr anuroop `tony' singh, has reaffirmed that the company's vision is to emerge as the most admired company in this space and "not necessarily the largest".

ecgc premium income up 11 pc
chennai: the export credit guarantee corporation's (ecgc) premium income for the current year has increased by 11 per cent, to rs 375 crore, compared to rs 338 crore last year.
however, claims settled continue to be higher than the premium income. but `claims settled'

31 mar 2003

new rbi norms for listed banks' quarterly reports
mumbai: as per the new rbi norms the listed banks need not strictly comply with the institute of chartered accountants of india's (icai) accounting standard on `interim financial reporting' (as-25) for their quarterly reporting under the listing agreements.they would, however, be required to comply with the recognition and measurement principles laid down in as-25 for their quarterly reports.

forex inflow dip to hit govt borrowings
mumbai: with forex inflows slowing down considerably in recent weeks and restraining the relentless build-up of the central bank's reserves, the party for large-scale market borrowings by the government at low interest rates may soon be over.

pnb plans two nri branches
new delhi: punjab national bank (pnb), which took over nedungadi bank recently, is planning to open two specialised nri branches in kerala as part of its post-merger business strategy for the state. the branches are likely to be located in malappuram and thrissur districts.

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