17 may 2003

bajaj allianz opens second office in j&k
mumbai: bajaj allianz general insurance company ltd has opened its second office in jammu & kashmir, in association with the jammu & kashmir bank, located at the latter's corporate head quarters. since the time the bank tied up with the insurance company for bancassurance, the business generated has increased to more than rs 5 crore involving a sale of over 17,000 policies. with the setting up of this branch , the bank expects to generate over rs 10 crore in the current year, said a press release quoting m.y. khan, chairman, j&k bank. bajaj allianz is the first private general insurance company to have offices in the state at jammu and srinagar. the two branches would be networked with the head office and thus would be able to issue policies on-line and other web-enabled operations, said the release quoting sam ghosh, ceo, bajaj allianz general insurance company.

om kotak to focus new policy only in 6 cities
kolkata: om kotak mahindra life insurance company ltd will focus its recently launched policy, kotak safe investment plan (ksip), only in six major cities. the managing director of om kotak life insurance, shivaji dam, announced this at a press conference after launching the product here. he said the product is designed in such a manner that it meets the demands of an urban resident rather than a rural individual. ksip is a market-linked insurance plan that offers to invest in capital market and gain market-linked returns. however, it offers safety against the fluctuations of an equity market. the premiums paid by a policyholder is converted into units and invested in any one or a combination of four managed funds.

nbfcs seek powers under securitisation act
new delhi: it is now the turn of non-banking financial companies (nbfcs) to knock at the doors of officialdom for greater empowerment. after co-operative banks got themselves listed under the securitisation act, the nbfc sector has recently moved the ministry of finance seeking powers under the legislation to enable them to wield the stick against defaulters. the securitisation act provides enormous powers to the lenders to recover non-performing assets (npas) from chronic defaulters allowing them to seize and auction the assets of borrowers unwilling to come for settlement or to change the management of the defaulting companies.

nmc unveils tax-free bonds to execute drainage projects
mumbai: the nashik municipal corporation (nmc) is mobilising rs 50 crore through aa rated tax-free bond issue at 7.5 per cent coupon rate payable half yearly which effectively translates to a 11.75 per cent pre tax returns. nmc proposes to use proceeds for carrying out infrastructure projects including storm water drainage system phase-i and underground sewerage scheme phase-ii for the nashik city. the centrum finance is the sole arranger for this bond issue. banking sources said on friday that so far rs 20 crore have already been mobilised from banks and insurance companies. nmc is the first of the total 13 municipal corporations in the state to have taken the cue from the centre's tax free status being given to municipal bonds.

s&p may downgrade more debt ratings
new delhi: standard & poor's (s&p) has warned of further downgrading of debt ratings in the high technology, insurance, media/entertainment, consumer products and retailing sectors. however, s&p's rating services said on thursday, in absolute terms the number of "fallen angels" may be lower than the record high reached in 2002. the number of "fallen angels" or debt issuers downgraded to speculative ('bb+' and below) from investment grade ('bbb-' and above) has increased each year since 1996, peaking in 2002 amid widespread credit deterioration, combined with anxiety about corporate scandal and accounting impropriety. s&p's pointed out that while the cumulative number of fallen angels recorded year to date indicates that 2003 is approximately running apace with last year, the par value affected by these downgrades has shrunk sizably.

rural co-op banks may get adb recap
kolkata: some of the rural co-operative banks may get recapitalised by the asian development bank (adb). this was indicated by y.c. nanda, chairman of the national bank for agriculture and rural development (nabard), here. nanda said that discussions were on with adb on the issue of fund flow to the indian rural co-operative banking sector. he said some of the rural co-operative banks were under-capitalised and needed to be recapitalised for their survival. the nabard chairman clarified that the apex refinancing bank for the rural credit did not need any recapitalisation. currently, it has a paid-up capital of rs 2,000 crore and an authorised capital of rs 5,000 crore.

federal bank posts rs 105-cr net
kochi: the net profit of the aluva-based federal bank has crossed the rs 100 crore mark in the last fiscal to touch rs 105 crore, recording a growth of 28 per cent. the bank, which has been in a high growth trajectory over the past few years, has crossed several important landmarks during the year, k.p. padmakumar, chairman of the bank said at a press meet here on friday. "we have reached several important yardstick of good financial performance and are in a position to aim for still more aggressive and ambitious growth in the years ahead," he added. the bank's focus on reduction of npa level has yielded good results with its gross npa levels falling from rs 638 crore to rs 528 crore. the net npa levels declined from rs 445 crore to rs 307 crore thus taking it to 4.95 per cent from 8.60 per cent in the previous fiscal. "our aim is to bring down the npa level to 3 per cent next year," he said.

ing vysya net up 26 per cent; to pay 40 pc
mumbai: ing vysya bank has logged a net profit of rs 86.35 crore for the financial year 2002-03, up from rs 68.75 crore last year, a growth of 26 per cent. the board has recommended a dividend of 40 per cent for the year ended march 2003 (results in a payout of rs 4.51 per share including the dividend tax), as against 35 per cent in the previous year. according to a press release, the bank's interest spread went up to rs 216.93 crore, up from rs.182.91 crore last year. for the same period, non-interest income rose from rs 280.59 crore to rs 358.33 crore, an increase of 28 per cent.

cashtech implements cashin for andhra bank
coimbatore: cashtech solutions india pvt. ltd has implemented its cash management product - cashin for andhra bank. according to company sources, this product would enable andhra bank provide its corporate clients with a host of value-added cash management services by ensuring speedy and efficient collection of their receivables from all over the country. the founder director of cashtech, r.n. iyer, said: "besides reducing paper work, the product would help the bank in having greater control over the money."

sbi to bundle mfs with insurance
kolkata: the state bank of india group is finally bundling its mutual funds with insurance, courtesy a proposal mooted by sbi funds management, which has as its usp a cover structured by sbi life insurance. the proposal, magnum income plus, will provide group life insurance for all investors between 20 and 54 years of age, nris included. the sum assured in each case will be the amount of investment, subject to a maximum of rs 2 lakh. the proposal has been recently sent to sebi for clearance, said n. sethuram iyer, chief investment officer at sbi mutual fund. the insurance cover should help the fund attract investors in larger numbers, he added.

16 may 2003

lvb to up tier-ii capital by rs 50 cr
chennai: karur-based the lakshmi vilas bank ltd (lvb) is planning to raise its tier- ii capital by adding another rs 50 crore. the bank is currently in talks with various merchant bankers for arranging the issue. the issue is slated to open sometime in june.

the bank has posted a net profit of rs 34.16 crore during the year-ended march 2003, as against the previous year's performance of rs 30.22 crore. total income was rs 355.21 crore (rs 357.47 crore). business volume of the bank has gone up to rs 4,610 crore. deposits rose to rs 2,770 crore while advances increased to rs 1,841 crore. the bank is targeting a business volume of rs 5,200 crore during the current fiscal. deposits should be rs 3,150 crore while advances should be rs 2,100 crore."

syndicate bank net up 37 per cent, to pay 15 per cent dividend
bangalore: manipal-headquartered syndicate bank has posted a net profit of rs 344.13 crore in fy03 registering a growth of 37.35 per cent as against rs 250.55 crore in fy02. the operating profit of the bank has shown an increase of 74.19 per cent to touch rs 618.79 crore as against rs 355.24 crore in the previous period. the bank has declared a dividend of 15 per cent for fy03.