03 january 2004

vrs for 4 psu general insurance companies staffers
new delhi: the government on friday cleared the much delayed voluntary retirement scheme for class i, class iii and class iv staff of the four public sector general insurance companies - new india assurance, national insurance, oriental insurance and united india insurance. the scheme is effective january 1 and will remain open for the next 60 days.

j&k bank lowers plr to 11 per cent
new delhi: the jammu & kashmir bank has announced reduction of prime lending rate (plr) to 11 per cent effective from january 1, 2004 from the earlier 11.5 per cent while also slashing down interest rates on car loans by 200 basis points . the interest rate on auto loans has come down from 11.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent.

02 january 2004

irda wants 100% equity-driven pension plan out
mumbai: the insurance regulatory and development authority (irda) has asked life insurance companies to withdraw the growth option for pension, gratuity and superannuation funds, where investment in equity is up to 100 per cent. a small note to this effect was sent early this week to life insurance companies. government officials have, however, indicated that the pension reforms will allow for up to 100 per cent investment in equities.
this runs contrary to irda's view, which does not believe that pension plans be allowed to invest up to 100 per cent in equities. hdfc standard life insurance company, which today launched its unit-linked endownment and unit-linked pension plans, has been asked to withdraw the growth option under its existing unit-linked group gratuity plan.

vijaya bank home loans have free nic cover
bangalore: vijaya bank has tied up with national insurance company ltd to offer a free insurance policy to those availing themselves of housing loans from the bank. vijaya home loan suraksha bima covers borrowers against destruction of the property under home loan in a natural calamity and a personal life cover of the borrower.

the bank feels that this value-added feature is likely to boost its home loan portfolio in near term. incidentally, vijaya bank is the first bank in the country to offer bundled insurance policy covering housing property and personal accident of the borrowers.

hdfc standard unveils unit-linked plan, pension product
mumbai: hdfc standard life has launched its unit-linked insurance and pension plans. the premium for both the products will be invested in units of the investment fund, as per the investors' choice.

the minimum premium amount is rs 10,000 each year for both the plans, with a single premium option of rs 25,000 for the pension plan. the plans are targeted at individuals who want to make their own investment choices. they also have the flexibility of increasing premium contributions in any existing accounts. the endowment plan allows investments in liquid, secure, balanced and growth plans with the equity component rising from 0 to 100 per cent.

01 january 2004

lloyds finance fails to repay investors despite clb order
coimbatore: lloyds finance ltd, a non-banking finance company, has failed to implement the directives of the company law board on repaying investors here, their dues.

central bank lowers plr to 11 pcer cent
new delhi: central bank of india on wednesday pegged the benchmark prime lending rate at 11 per cent and slashed the interest rate for agriculture and ssi loans, while offering higher returns on savings of senior citizens.

sbt fixes benchmark plr at 11 per cent
thiruvananthapuram: state bank of travancore has fixed its benchmark prime lending rate at 11 per cent, representing a reduction by 50 basis points from its current plr/ptlr.

30 december 2003

sbi slashes deposit rates; benchmark plr at 10.25%
mumbai: state bank of india (sbi) has fixed its benchmark prime lending rate (plr) at 10.25 per cent, effecting a cut of 0.25 percentage point from the existing rate. the bank has also announced a deposit rate cut of 0.25 percentage point in particular maturities. the new lending rate to be called state bank advanced rate and will be effective 1 january 2004. with this tenor linked prime lending rates will be discontinued, according to a press release from the bank.

all existing borrowers of loans with rates presently linked to the plr, state bank medium term lending rate and state bank short term advance rate will now be linked to the new rate, and will therefore, enjoy a reduction of 25 basis points in terms of interest rate with effect from 1 january. in recent weeks, three major banks have snipped their benchmark plr in response to the reserve bank of india suggesting to banks to determine benchmark plr by taking into account actual cost of funds, operating expenses and a minimum margin to cover regulatory requirement of provisioning/capital charge and profit margin.

uti bank to buy stake in two shriram group firms
chennai: uti bank will pick up a little over 5 per cent stake in two shriram group companies, shriram investments ltd and shriram transport finance company ltd. the bank has an arrangement with the shriram group, under which it makes available funds for the shriram group companies to lend to its customers.

alongside, the promoters of the shriram group, through the closely held company shriram chits & investments p ltd, will also raise their stake in the two companies. in shriram investments, the promoters will raise their holding by around 9 per cent, on the post-expanded capital of rs 45 crore. in shriram transport, the promoters' stake will go up by around 7.5 per cent, company officials were quoted as saying.

29 december 2003

banks invest more in gilts
mumbai: banks have been putting even more of their money in gilts. on an incremental basis in 2003-2004, bank investment in government securities is far higher than the growth in credit. indeed, their investment in gilts accounts for roughly 66 per cent of their incremental assets, against the stipulated 25 per cent.
according to the reserve bank of india's weekly statistical data released on saturday the incremental non-food credit of banks in the first nine months of the year (between april and december 12) is rs 55,125 crore - about 60 per cent of banks' investment in government securities during this period. banks put rs 97,197 crore in government paper during the nine months.

banking bill will lapse if polls are advanced
new delhi: an early general election will bring the curtains down on quite a few significant bills the bjp government had pushed for during its tenure, says a report. of these the most important will be the long-pending banking companies (acquisition and repeal) bill to reduce government stake in public sector banks to 33 per cent. the government will also have to re-promulgate the ordinance to keep alive the national tax tribunal as the bill will lapse with the dissolution of the lok sabha.

the banking bill was introduced in the lok sabha in december 2001 as part of the budget promise made by former finance minister yashwant sinha. the bill is yet to return from the standing committee on finance, which has not submitted its report on it. the government securities bill to make the gilts market attractive for retail investors by allowing them to transfer or mortgage their debt securities is also likely to share the same fate.

idbi to move rbi for recast of priority sector lending norms
mumbai: the industrial development bank of india (idbi), which has been converted into a banking company by parliament, will soon initiate discussions with the reserve bank of india (rbi) so that development finance, which will remain its core area of activity, is brought within the definition of priority sector for it, a newspaper report said.

alongside, idbi will also apply for 100 branch licences soon as it begins its conversion into a full-fledged bank. currently, idbi has 36 branch offices which will be converted into bank branches once the change takes place operationally. idbi has also invited presentations for a fresh brand-building exercise which would reposition the institution in its new avatar before the public. the presentations would begin soon.

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