26 july 2003

exim bank extends line of credit to djibouti bank
mumbai: the export import bank of india has extended a line of credit of $10 million to the central bank of djibouti to support india's exports. an agreement regarding this was signed in mumbai on thursday by r m v raman, executive director, exim bank, and djama m haid, governor of central bank of djibouti.
under the line of credit, importers from djibouti will be required to make an advance payment of 10 per cent of the contract value to the indian exporters. the remaining amount will be reimbursed by exim bank to the exporters upfront upon the shipment of goods. the credit period available to the importers through the central bank of djibouti is up to 10 years.

south indian bank bond issue fully subscribed
kochi: the subordinate bond issue on private placement basis of the thrissur-based south indian bank has been fully subscribed.
the rs 65-crore issue carries a coupon rate of 7.7 per cent for a period of 80 months.

union bank launches multi gains scheme in coimbatore
coimbatore: union bank of india has launched its `multi gains savings account scheme' in coimbatore region. the scheme would be implemented in 10 out of 46 branches in this region before the end of september, c abraham, regional manager, said. while the union flexi deposit scheme launched earlier was a combination of savings and fixed deposit scheme, the latest one offers a bouquet of benefits to the savings bank depositors, who maintain a minimum balance of rs 25,000 in their accounts. the freebies include credit card, atm card, interest at the rate of 3.5 per cent at quarterly intervals, instant credit for local and outstation instrument, 10 chequebooks etc.

ubi proposes fast-track for ssi, farm credit
kolkata: united bank of india is planning to establish a fast-track system for processing credit applications from small-scale and agriculture sectors. this will necessitate a minor reorientation of its administrative structure, an exercise aimed at reducing delays in handling of queries. in keeping with the plan, the bank has proposed to bring together a few key centres - kolkata north & south, mumbai, chennai and new delhi - which will have direct access to its headquarters.

the idea is to reduce the time required for processing. the bank, said madhukar, cmd, had decided to establish a special business group, to operate under a general manager, for handling new business proposals exceeding rs 10 crore. he was speaking at a seminar organised under the banner of `united udyogshree yojana' on friday. ubi has further proposed to empower female relatives of borrowers based on recommendations made by its customers.

syndicate bank to distribute allianz bajaj life products
hyderabad: syndicate bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with allianz bajaj life insurance company for the distribution of insurance products through the bank's branch network. in the first phase, the bank will sell allianz products through 11 branches and subsequently the services will be extended all over the country, according the bank's executive director,. k. m. shet.

shet said the bank is targeting an income of about rs 1.5 crore this year and about rs 5 crore per annum by 2006 through the sale of life insurance products. the bancassurance agreement was formalised on thursday between michael bastian, chairman of syndicate bank and rahul bajaj, chairman of allianz bajaj. shet said that the bank would be opening 140 additional branches across the country. for the current fiscal, it had targeted a business of rs 57,000 crore, comprising rs 37,000 crore of advances and rs 20,000 crore of deposits.

tata aig declares 4% bonus
mumbai: tata aig life insurance company ltd has announced a reversionary bonus of 4 per cent of the sum assured for its customers, for the financial year 2002-03. the bonus is applicable for eligible participating plans, reaching their first and second policy anniversary. the reversionary bonus declared by tata aig, was on the "sum assured or face value" of the policy, and not on the premium paid and on a compounded basis.

"we are proud to announce one of the highest bonuses among the private insurance companies for the second consecutive year. this was achieved in a falling interest rate scenario and is a testament to the commitment that we make to all our policy-holders," said ian j watts, managing director, tata aig life insurance company ltd.

five psbs to share atms
chennai: about 3 million customers of five banks - bank of india, indian bank, union bank of india, united bank and syndicate bank - will have access to all the atms of all the five banks from tomorrow, when the `shared atm network' of the five banks, interlinked by the switch provided by india switch company, is to be launched.