22 May 2004

Rupee firms up
Mumbai: The rupee closed at 45.28 in its value against the dollar on Friday, firming up by 5 paise over its previous close.

Forwards Market: The six month rupee forward rate closed at - 0.70 per cent (- 0.70 per cent), while the one year forward closed at - 0.33 per cent (-0.35 per cent).

G-Secs: The 8.07 per cent 2017 paper closed lower at Rs 123.13/18. The 7.46 per cent 2017 paper closed at Rs 118.10.

Call rates: Stable at 4.25-4.50 per cent levels.

PFRDA to start with six pension fund managers
New Delhi: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) plans to allow six entities to perform the role of pension fund managers (PFMs) and one PSU under the new pension structure initially, PFRDA officials said on the sidelines of a tax conference, organised by Assocham.

According to the officials, PFRDA would first appoint a Central Record-Keeping and Accounting Agency (CRA) and then start issuing licences to the PFMs. The officials indi9cated that they hoped to put everything in place within the next 30 weeks.

SBI launches Trade Finance cells in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: The State Bank of India (SBI) is launching dedicated "trade finance cells" in the State from May 22. The cells will be launched in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Changanacherry, Kottayam, Thodupuzha, Palakkad and Shoranur.

Traders dealing in agricultural and industrial products, stockists, distributors, professionals, service providers and contractors can directly approach the trade finance cell, which is a single-window facility for quick sanction of financial assistance.

Bengal may add Mediclaim to provident fund scheme
Kolkata: The West Bengal Government is planning to join hands with the National Insurance Company Ltd for introduction of a medical insurance scheme, popularly known as mediclaim, for the landless farmers and unorganised labourers.

This was announced by Dr Asim Dasgupta, West Bengal Finance Minister, at a function organised by National Insurance Company Ltd. At present, the State has two provident fund schemes for landless farmers and unorganised labourers, which together cover more than 15 lakh farmers. According to the minister the Government was considering adding mediclaim as an extra benefit to the existing provident fund schemes.

BoI Q4 profit up 24 per cent
Mumbai: Bank of India (BoI) has recorded a 23.56 per cent growth in net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2004, at Rs 349.10 crore, as against a net profit of Rs 282.53 crore in the same period last year. After obtaining special permission from the Reserve Bank of India, BoI's board has recommended a final dividend of 10 per cent, taking the total to 20 per cent for the year under review.

The bank has reported an 18.5 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 1,008.32 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2004, compared with Rs 851 crore posted in the previous financial year. Recently, the London High Court directed the bank to pay around $82 million (around Rs 370 crore) in compensation over alleged fraudulent transactions with the collapsed Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), in the mid eighties. An appeal had been filed against the order and the outcome was expected by the year-end, he added. The bank has brought down the net non-performing assets to 4.5 per cent from 5.59 per cent.

Federal Bank to pay 70 per cent
Kochi: The net profit of the Aluva-based Federal Bank has grown by 30 per cent to Rs 136 crore (Rs 105 crore) for the year 2003-04. The bank has reduced the net non-performing assets percentage from 4.95 per cent to 2.89 per cent. The book value per share has increased from Rs 243.77 to Rs 298.24. Earnings per share also increased from Rs 48.36 to Rs 62.65 during the year. The capital adequacy ratio has grown to a comfortable 11.48 per cent against the RBI mandated level of nine per cent. The Board of Directors approved of a 70 per cent dividend, subject to the approval of the RBI.

Karur Vysya Bank posts 10 per cent rise in profits
Chennai: Karur Vysya Bank has reported a 10 per cent growth in profits for the fourth quarter ended March 2004 at Rs.40.65 crore. For the full financial year ended March 2004, net profits rose 29 per cent to Rs 161.05 crore on the back of a 11per cent rise in total income at Rs 722 crore. The bank's net NPAs were down to 2.32 per cent from 4.20 per cent in the previous year. The bank's capital adequacy ratio was at 17.11 per cent.

21 May 2004

Rupee weaker
Mumbai: The rupee closed at 45.33/35 on Thursday, weaker by 11 paise compared to Wednesday's close of 45.22/24 per dollar.
Forwards Market: The six-month closed at - 0.70 per cent (-0.65 per cent) and the one-year ended at - 0.35 per cent (-0.30 per cent).

G-Secs: The 8.07 per cent 2017 paper came down to Rs 123.62. The 7.46 per cent 2017 paper came down to Rs 118.30. The 7.37 per cent 2014 paper closed at Rs 116.74/75.

Call rates remained in the range of 4.25 to 4.50 per cent in the inter bank market.

Andhra Bank opens financial services branch
Hyderabad: Andhra Bank has opened an exclusive branch for non-interest income operations. The branch provides a range of financial products and services under one roof. The bank said that the concept of financial services centre, which operates on a `hub and spoke' model to economise and provide modern facilities, would be initially confined to the bank's 110 branches in Hyderabad.

General insurance officers' body gets recognition
Kochi: Following the referendum held on March 22 in the public sector insurance companies, the General Insurance Officers All India Association (GIOAIA), affiliated to INTUC, has received recognition. Other associations such as the United India Insurance Officers Association, National Insurance Company Officers Association, New India Assurance Officers Association, Oriental Insurance Company Officers Association have also received recognition. The criterion for recognition is 20 per cent representation of the total employees, he said.

20 May 2004

Rupee gains 26 paise
Mumbai: The rupee closed at 45.22/24 on Wednesday, stronger by 26 paise compared to Tuesday's close of 45.48 per dollar.

Forward Market: The six-month forward closed at - 0.65 per cent (-0.22 per cent) and the one-year forward closed at - 0.30 per cent (-0.08 per cent).

G-Secs: The 8.07 per cent 2017 came down to Rs 123.50/55. The 7.37 per cent 2014 closed at Rs 116.82/85.

Call rates: Remained steady at 4.25 per cent in the inter-bank market.

State loan sales on May 26
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has announced a state loan auction for Rs 8,000 crore to be held on May 26 Nineteen State Governments have offered to sell, on tap, 5.70 per cent State Development Loans, maturing in the year 2014. The States will have an option to retain up to 20 per cent of excess subscription, on account of debt swap scheme in the current financial year, said an RBI press release.

The States that will tap the market are, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In addition, Kerala and Tamil Nadu will be raising an aggregate amount of Rs 380 crore as a part of their normal market borrowings, the release said.

Central Bank doubles net profit
Mumbai: Central Bank of India has recorded a 102 per cent jump in net profit for the financial year ended March 31,2004, at Rs 618.11 crore as against a net profit of Rs 305.52 crore in the corresponding period, the previous year. Operating profit grew to Rs 1,528.93 crore (Rs 923.85 crore), said a press release. The capital adequacy ratio was up at 12.43 per cent (10.51 per cent).

19 May 2004

Rupee weaker
Mumbai: The rupee closed at 45.33/35 on Thursday, weaker by 11 paise compared to Wednesday's close of 45.22/24 per dollar.

Forwards Market: The six-month closed at - 0.70 per cent (-0.65 per cent) and the one-year ended at - 0.35 per cent (-0.30 per cent).

G-Secs: The 8.07 per cent 2017 paper came down to Rs 123.62. The 7.46 per cent 2017 paper came down to Rs 118.30. The 7.37 per cent 2014 paper closed at Rs 116.74/75.

Call rates: remained in the range of 4.25 to 4.50 per cent in the inter bank market.

Andhra Bank opens financial services branch
Hyderabad: Andhra Bank has opened an exclusive branch for non-interest income operations. The branch provides a range of financial products and services under one roof. The bank said that the concept of financial services centre, which operates on a `hub and spoke' model to economise and provide modern facilities, would be initially confined to the bank's 110 branches in Hyderabad.

General insurance officers' body gets recognition
Kochi: Following the referendum held on March 22 in the public sector insurance companies, the General Insurance Officers All India Association (GIOAIA), affiliated to INTUC, has received recognition. Other associations such as the United India Insurance Officers Association, National Insurance Company Officers Association, New India Assurance Officers Association, Oriental Insurance Company Officers Association have also received recognition. The criterion for recognition is 20 per cent representation of the total employees, he said.

18 May 2004

Rupee rides out the storm
Mumbai: The rupee tumbled along with the Sensex to an intra-day, 8-month low of 46 but recovered and closed nine paise higher at 45.51/52, up from previous close of 45.60/63.

Forward Market: The six months forward closed at - 0.17 per cent ( - 1.25 per cent) and the one-year forward closed at - 0.05 per cent ( - 0.56 per cent).

G-Secs: Sucked into the maelstrom, Gsecs crashed by over 50 paise to Re 1 across maturities, on Monday. The 8.07 per cent 2017 went down by 80 paise to Rs 122.45. The 7.46 per cent 2017 paper closed at Rs 117.30/40. The 6.05 per cent 2019 paper went down to Rs 103.

Call Rates: remained stable at 4.25 per cent.

RBI acts on misuse of customer data by banks
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks not to share customer data with its affiliates and subsidiaries for cross-selling purposes. The RBI-constituted, Committee on Procedures and Performances Audit on Public Services has observed that the information collected from the customer is being used for cross-selling of services of various products by banks, their subsidiaries and affiliates, and at times, such information is also provided to other agencies.

"Banks, as they are aware, should know that the information provided by the customer for `Know Your Customer' (KYC) guidelines while opening an account is confidential and divulging any details thereof for cross-selling or any other purpose would be in breach of customer confidentiality obligations. Banks are, therefore, advised to instruct all the branches to strictly ensure compliance with their obligations to the customer in this regard,' said the RBI notification. The bank has said that all information from the customer has to be collected separately, purely on a voluntary basis, after explaining the objectives to the customer and taking his express approval for the specific uses to which such information could be put.

17 May 2004

United Bank takes new credit delivery initiatives
Kolkata: United Bank of India, has unveiled a set of initiatives aimed at better interaction with borrowers.

A general manager has been delegated to handle a special cell (called `corporate business group') for very large proposals. The bank has also fixed specific time limits for the disposal of credit applications.

A branch manager, for instance, would need to take a decision and submit complete information within 10 days, while a regional manager would have to do the same within seven days (from the date of receipt from the branch concerned). And at the head office level, a General Manager or an Executive Director would be required to take decisions within three days.

Dena Bank: Finmarts are the new mantra
Mumbai: Dena Bank has announced it will develop a number of 'Finmarts' in its branches during the next few months of the current financial year. Around 40 such 'Finmarts' will be set-up to boost the bank's retail loan business, and will function, as a 'branch within a branch'. A group of bank employees would be specially trained to operate these new outlets. Dena Bank has set a target to double its retail loan portfolio from Rs 699 crore in FY-04 to Rs 1,425 crore in the current financial year.