30 October 2004

Rupee gains 18 paise
Mumbai: The rupee climbed to a four-and-a-half month high, closing at 45.37/38 against the dollar on Friday, firming up 18 paise from its previous close of 45.54/55.

Forwards Market: the six-month forward closed at 2.33 per cent (2.60 per cent) while the twelve-month premia ended at 1.95 per cent (2.2 per cent).

G-Secs: Prices rose by nearly 40 paise intra-day in medium term papers, before settling to close lower. The 11-year benchmark 7.38 per cent 2015 paper closed at Rs103.60. The 6.65 per cent 2009 paper after rising 25 paise intra-day closed at Rs101.12 at a yield of 6.35 per cent.

Call Rates: In the range of 4.65 per cent to 4.85 per cent with a few deals struck at 5 per cent.

CBLO Market: 116 trades worth Rs4, 205.30 crore were transacted at rates of between 1-5 per cent.

Chidambaram: Foreign banks may acquire controlling stake in private banks
Mumbai: The Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram has said that the Government is open to allowing acquisition of shares - up to 10 per cent a year - by foreign banks in domestic private banks and to assume controlling stake in three-four years.

Stressing the need to encourage consolidation in the sector, Chidambaram said that size, efficiency and scale of operations were important for a bank. He also said that the government would favour consolidation among public sector banks and the acquisition of private banks by PSU banks.

The Government also plans to reintroduce a Bill in Parliament allowing voting rights in accordance with the shareholdings, he said. At present, voting rights of foreign shareholders in local banks are capped at 10 per cent.

Chidambaram also said that the government will continue to retain 51 per cent stake in public sector banks and that there may not be enough "head room" to sell further stakes in banks.

BoI Q2 profit down 78 percent
Mumbai: On account of higher provisioning Bank of India's net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2004, has dipped 78 per cent at Rs49.54 crore as against Rs226.76 crore in the corresponding period the previous year.

During the second quarter, the bank transferred Rs13,600 crore worth of SLR securities to its `held to maturity' (HTM) portfolio, which resulted in a depreciation of Rs383.25 crore.

While income from treasury operations declined to Rs207.18 crore (Rs331.70 crore), provisions and contingencies grew to Rs313.75 crore (Rs225 crore). Total income was higher at Rs1,781.74 crore (Rs1,894.93 crore). This is inclusive of interest earned at Rs1,521.98 crore (Rs 1,403.93 crore) and other income at Rs259.76 crore (Rs491 crore).

Total expenditure was at Rs1,390.55 crore (Rs1,327.85 crore). Gross non-performing assets were at Rs3,601.59 crore (Rs4,131.47 crore). Net non-performing assets have risen to Rs2,052.67 crore (Rs2,243.74 crore).

Capital adequacy ratio was at 13.05 per cent (12.90 per cent).
For the half year ended September 30,2004, the net profit of was at Rs212.23 crore (Rs430.68 crore).

During this period, total deposits grew to Rs75,637 crore from Rs67,189 crore.

PNB H1 net up at Rs.735 crore
New Delhi: The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has registered a net profit of Rs735.22 crore for the six-month period ended September 30, 2004, a 33.3 per cent growth over the corresponding period last year.

The total business of the bank stood at Rs1,46,459 crore, a 21.7 per cent growth over the previous year's Rs1,20,382 crore. Its capital and reserves increased to Rs5,743 crore compared with Rs4,579 crore, registering a growth of 26.4 per cent while the capital adequacy ratio stood at 12.58 per cent.

The net non-performing assets (NPAs) as a per cent to the net advances recorded a decline from 2.47 per cent to 0.30 per cent.

Karnataka Bank Q2 profit dips
Mangalore: The Karnataka Bank Ltd has registered a net profit of Rs31.28 crore in the second quarter of the current financial year compared to Rs34.43 crore during the same period last year.

The bank posted a net profit of Rs70.01 crore during the first half of the current fiscal compared to Rs69.17 crore during the corresponding period in the previous year.

The bank registered an operating profit of Rs195.57 crore (Rs190.80 crore). This figure stood at Rs78.34 crore during the second quarter (Rs77.9 crore).

The bank, for the current financial year, has mobilised Rs9,251 crore of deposits and Rs4,810 crore of advances at the close of first half, it added.

IDBI Bank Q2 net up at Rs38 crore
Mumbai: IDBI Bank recorded a net profit of Rs37.7 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, as compared to Rs36.2 crore in the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.

The bank made a provision of Rs25.3 crore consequent to transfer of Government securities from 'available for sale' (AFS) category to `held to maturity' (HTM) category in keeping with RBI guidelines, said a press release from the bank.

Loan loss provisions; write offs and depreciation on investments went up by 43.8 per cent to Rs29.8 crore (Rs20.7 crore).

Total income was at Rs166.8 crore (Rs141.4 crore) comprising net interest income at Rs105.8 crore (Rs75.9 crore), fee income at Rs56.4 crore (Rs46.2 crore) and trading fees, which dropped by 76.2 per cent to Rs4.6 crore (Rs19.3 crore).

Total assets reflected a growth of 39.5 per cent to touch Rs13,886 crore (Rs9,952 crore). Capital adequacy ratio as on September 30, 2004 stood at 10.1 per cent (8.2 per cent). For the half-year ended September 2004, net-profit went up by 27.1 per cent to Rs 74.4 crore (Rs 58.5 crore).

Oriental Bank net rises 29 per cent
New Delhi: Oriental Bank of Commerce has registered a 29 per cent increase in net profit to Rs395.41 crore for the first six months ended September 30, 2004, against Rs305.17 crore in the same period last year.

The total income stood at Rs1, 883.72 crore (Rs2, 015.69 crore). The interest income rose by more than 6 per cent to Rs1,717.82 crore (Rs1, 614.57 crore). The capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.07 per cent while net non-performing assets was zero per cent.

For the second quarter, the net profit of the bank went up by more than 31 per cent to Rs214.89 crore, compared with Rs162.83 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The total income was at Rs918.61 crore.

The total business of the bank for the first half of 2004 grew by 22 per cent to Rs58,488 crore (Rs47,847 crore). The advances grew by Rs4,095 crore to Rs21,008.73 crore, whereas the deposits grew by 21 per cent to Rs 37,479 crore.

SBI Life H1 premium income up 5-fold
Mumbai: SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd has said that its premium income rose more than five times to Rs202 crore in the first half of fiscal, as compared to about Rs40 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Bancassurance recorded a premium income of Rs 163 crore or about 80 per cent of the total premium income. SBI Life, a joint venture between State Bank of India and Cardif SA of France, has entered into agreements with 41 banks (including regional rural banks) to sell life insurance, it added.

29 October 2004

Rupee up nine paise as securities rise
Mumbai: The rupee firmed up by 9 paise on Thursday closing at 45.54/55 per dollar against Wednesday's level of 45.63/64.

Forwards Market: The six-month premia closed at 2.6 per cent (2.8 per cent) and the one-year premium ended at 2.2 per cent (2.3 per cent).

G-Secs: Were up by 45 paise in some maturities. The 7.38 per cent 2015 paper opened at Rs103 and got dealt up to Rs103.45.

Call rates: Steady in the 4.75 per cent range in the inter-bank market.

CBLO Market: 123 trades were conducted to the tune of Rs4,407 crore.

RRBs can act as insurance agents
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has given the go ahead to Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to undertake insurance business as corporate agents, without risk participation.

The bank has said that the RRBs must have a positive net worth and must have the prudential norms on income recognition, asset classification, provisioning, investment norms, exposure norms, according to a circular issued by the bank.

The bank should not have violated any directive in the last two years and should not have gross NPAs of more than 10 per cent. The bank should be in net profit during last three years and should not have any accumulated losses, the RBI has said.

The RRBs wanting to undertake such business should comply with the IRDA norms and should not adopt any restrictive practice of forcing its customers to go in only for a particular insurance company in respect of assets financed by the bank.

Canara Bank Q2 net up 22 per cent
Bangalore: Canara Bank has reported a 22 per cent increase in net profits in the second quarter of this fiscal despite fall in treasury incomes.

The Bank said that net profit for the second quarter was Rs396.79 crore, up from Rs325.35 crore in the same period last year. The bank improved its net profit despite sharp drop in operating profits during the period. Operating profit in the second quarter was Rs574.84 crore (Rs998.43 crore). However, since the provisions were low, the bank's net profit improved.

Gross provisions were Rs178 crore (Rs673.08 crore). Gross income fell to Rs2,206.12 crore in Q2, down from Rs2,521 .85 crore. Interest income was Rs1,839.65 crore (Rs1,745.27 crore).
The Canara Bank has fully provided for its exposure in the BPL group and treated it as a sub-standard asset. Bank sources said that they had provided Rs100 crore this quarter. The gross provisions made for non-performing assets during the second half of this year was Rs 240 crore which included the BPL group. Last quarter, Canara Bank provided Rs50 crore.

Andhra Bank Q2 net down 20 per cent
Mumbai: Higher provisioning led Andhra Bank Ltd to record a 20 per cent dip in net profit at Rs109.33 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, as against Rs136.98 crore in the same period last year.

Provisions and contingencies during Q2 zoomed to Rs194.89 crore (Rs71.91 crore). During the quarter, the bank shifted a portion of its G-Secs to the `held to maturity' category, as per RBI guidelines, by charging a depreciation to the tune of Rs153.25 crore, arising out of shifting of securities. While Treasury income of the bank was at Rs168.90 crore (Rs143 crore), total income grew to Rs828.79 crore (Rs770.39 crore).

Total expenditure was at Rs488.57 (Rs499.50). The bank's net profit during the half year ended September 30, was at Rs259.49 crore (Rs255.66 crore).

IndusInd Bank Q2 profit at Rs.59 crore
Mumbai: Indusind Bank Ltd registered a decline of 22.7 per cent in net profit to Rs58.91 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 as against Rs76.23 crore in the second quarter of the previous fiscal.

The current results of the bank include the financial performance of the erstwhile Ashok Leyland Finance and therefore are not comparable.

For the half-year ended September, net profit registered a marginal increase of 3.49 per cent to Rs104.39 crore.

Kotak Mahindra Q2 profit up at Rs.20.65 crore
Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has recorded a marginal increase in net profit at Rs20.65 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, as against Rs19.84 crore in the same period last fiscal. Total income went up by over 33 per cent to Rs123.16 crore (Rs92.18 crore). This is inclusive of interest earned at Rs97.52 crore (Rs67.07 crore) and other income at Rs25.63 crore (Rs25.10 crore).

Total expenditure grew by nearly 53 per cent to Rs 90.95 crore (Rs 59.53 crore). This is inclusive of interest expended at Rs 42.78 crore (Rs 30.56 crore) and operating expenses at Rs 48.17 crore (Rs 28.96 crore).

ING Vysya posts Rs.29.2 crore loss
Bangalore: ING Vysya Bank has proposed increasing its capital by Rs300 crore through a rights issue for expanding lending and to partly offset the erosion in capital during the current year.

The bank said that its Tier-I capital had eroded to 5.75 per cent in the second quarter, down from the March figure of 6.14 per cent. The Tier-I funds, which included both equity and free reserves, was Rs473.57 crore as against Rs539.43 crore in March this year.

For the second quarter of the year ended September, the bank has posted a net loss of Rs29.2 crore as against a profit of Rs25 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. The losses were driven by the sharp rise in yields, as a result of which the bank incurred a large depreciation. Besides, income from treasury operations has also dropped.

Deutsche Bank (I) hikes capital by Rs.419 crore
Chennai: The Deutsche Bank (India) has announced the infusion of Rs419 crore ($91 million) to its existing capital base of Rs832 crore.

Deutsche Bank currently operates through five branches in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. The fresh capital would be used to scale up its existing business - including corporate business, asset management, custodial business and private wealth management, the bank has said.

Sundaram Fin. and Lakshmi Gen. Fin. fix swap ratio
Chennai: The boards of Sundaram Finance and Lakshmi General Finance have decided that the swap ratio for merger of the two companies will be one share of Sundaram Finance for every 1.52 shares of LGF.

The swap ratio was arrived at on the advice of ICRA Advisory Services and CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory. The valuation took into account the market position, quality of assets, funding profile, investments and growth opportunities for both companies.

Sundaram Finance says that the merger would take effect from April 1, 2004. Sundaram Finance will get a large client base and 260 trained employees from the merger.

28 October 2004

Rupee firmer - securities continue downslide
Mumbai: The rupee strengthened further ending at 45.6300/6400 against the dollar, up from the previous close at 45.6850/6900.

Forwards Market: The six-month forward closed at 2.83 per cent (2.77 per cent) while the 12-month premia ended at 2.34 per cent (2.25 per cent).

G-Secs: Continued their downslide with a further fall of 50 paise across maturities. The 10-year benchmark 7.37 per cent 2014 paper closed at a yield of 6.86 per cent. The 11-year benchmark 7.38 per cent 2015 paper closed at Rs103.60 at a yield of 6.90 per cent.

Call Rates: In the range of 4.50-5.00 per cent.

CBLO Market: 150 trades worth Rs5,453.25 crore were transacted in 3.10-5.00 per cent range.

7.36 per cent State loan auction
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India will conduct a state development loan auction on November 2, aggregating Rs6,200 crore. The 7.36 per cent State Development Loan, 2014, will have a maturity of ten years, said a RBI release.

Good response for T-bills sale
Mumbai: The auction of treasury bills by the Reserve Bank of India received a good response, inspite of the higher cut-off yields set for these papers.

The 91-day bills received 90 bids worth Rs3,709.25 crore of which 59 bids for Rs2,000 crore were accepted. Cut-off yield was set at 5.36 per cent, against the previous cut-off at 5.20 per cent. The cut-off price came at Rs98.68 (Rs98.72).

In case of 364-day bill auction, 101 bids were received of which 33 bids worth Rs2,000 crore were accepted at the cut-off of Rs94.63 (Rs94.81). Cut-off yield was set higher at 5.69 per cent (5.49 per cent).

LIC Housing Finance Q2 net up 27 per cent
Mumbai: LIC Housing Finance Ltd has reported a 27 per cent increase in net profit for the second quarter of the current fiscal. Net profit was Rs45.68 crore, as against Rs35.98 crore reported for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Income from operations stood at Rs249 crore (Rs.237.97 crore) while other income amounted to Rs7.72 crore (Rs.10.78 crore). Total income, at Rs256.92 crore, was up 3.3 per cent. Gross profit (after interest and before depreciation and taxation) amounted to Rs57 crore (Rs47.19 crore).

Dewan Housing Q2 net up 14.36 per cent
Mumbai: Dewan Housing Finance Corporation has reported a 14.36 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2004.

Net profit for the quarter amounted to Rs6.03 crore, as against Rs5.27 crore reported for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Loan disbursements rose 89 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, and were at Rs170.33 crore, up from Rs90.16 crore. While operating income stood at Rs40.24 crore, up from Rs35.62 crore, total expenditure amounted to Rs32.69 crore (Rs28.85 crore), while interest costs amounted to Rs25.72 crore (Rs24.56 crore).

While gross profit amounted to Rs7.89 crore (Rs7.15 crore), net profit for the first half of the fiscal rose 18.38 per cent, to Rs11.64 crore (Rs9.83 crore). The total loan asset size at the end of the period under consideration rose 32 per cent, and stood at Rs1,412 crore, as against the year-ago size of Rs1,069 crore.
For contingency during the first half, in compliance with the new NPA norms of National Housing Bank, an amount of Rs2.98 crore (Rs 0.45 crore) has been provided. In spite of this, said a news release from the company, the level of NPA is very comfortable, at below 1 per cent.

BoB Q2 net falls 18 percent
Mumbai: Bank of Baroda has recorded a 17.82 per cent decline in net profit at Rs213.31 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2004 on account of fall in income from sale of investments. Net profit during the year-ago period was at Rs259.56 crore.

Total income grew to Rs1,907.61 crore (Rs2,049.31 crore). This is inclusive of interest earned at Rs1,548.14 crore (Rs1,528.19 crore) and other income, which fell to Rs37.62 crore (Rs57.43 crore).

Total expenditure during the quarter under review was at Rs1,357.70 crore (Rs1,365.03 crore), this is inclusive of interest expended at Rs859.85 crore (Rs899.29 crore) and operating expenses at Rs497.85 crore (Rs465.74 crore). Gross non-performing assets were at Rs 3,725.08 crore (Rs 4,108.33 crore). Net non-performing assets were also lower at Rs 833.43 crore (Rs 1,086.40 crore.). Provisions and contingencies increased to Rs 245.69 crore (Rs 208.72 crore). Provisions for NPAs were at Rs 155.78 crore (Rs 226.73 crore).

During the half year ended September 30, the bank's net profit was at Rs 506.30 crore (Rs 504.03 crore).

27 October 2004

Secs tumble by Rs.2 -Rupee weakens
Mumbai: The rupee ended marginally weaker at 45.6850/6900 against the dollar. The currency had finished at 45.6350/6450 in the previous closing session.

Forwards Market: The six-month forward closed at 2.77 per cent (2.60 per cent) while the 12-month forward finished at 2.25 per cent (2.05 per cent).

The bond market saw turmoil on Tuesday as prices plummeted up to Rs 2 on certain maturities, with yields touching two-year highs. The prices tumbled with the announcement of the repo rate hike in the mid-term review of the Reserve Bank of India's annual policy statement. According to the market the Repo rate hike, of 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent, signalled the central bank's acceptance of rising interest rates.

G-Secs: The 11-year benchmark 7.38 per cent 2015 paper fell by Rs.2.00 to Rs103.25. Yield on the 10-year benchmark rose to as high as 6.85 per cent during the day. Prices recovered by nearly a rupee towards the end of trading hours as statements from the RBI Deputy Governor, Mr Rakesh Mohan, portraying repo rate hike as a temporary measure with indications of discontinuing MSS if required improved the prices.

Call Rates: Eased off to 4.55-4.60 per cent after touching 4.80 per cent levels earlier.

CBLO Market: 141 trades worth Rs5,955.45 crore were transacted.

Credit Policy: Bank rate untouched - lower growth projected
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has announced its busy season credit policy keeping the Bank Rate untouched at 6 per cent. The inflation forecast has been raised from 5 to 6.5 per cent. It has reduced the GDP forecast for the financial year 2005 from 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) has also been left untouched.

The bank has discontinued the seven-day and 14-day repo and reverse repo auctions, while asking banks to give more loans to small farmers. The RBI said the farm growth target of 3 per cent for FY05 would not be met, while the trade deficit might widen on higher crude prices. It said deficient rain might hit farm growth this fiscal. On the forex reserves front, the bank said they were comfortable now, but may go slow in FY05. However, it predicted higher foreign direct investment inflows.

The bank said that it would pursue an interest rate environment conducive to macro-economic growth and price stability and maintaining the momentum of growth. The overall stance of the monetary policy for 2004-05 would be provision of appropriate liquidity to meet credit growth and support investment and export demand in the economy while placing equal emphasis on price stability. Banks have been allowed to fix the ceiling on interest rates on FCNR(B) deposits on a monthly basis.

RBI raises risk weightage on home loans
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has raised the risk weight that banks will have to assign on home loans to 75 per cent from 50 per cent and on consumer credit to 125 per cent from 100 per cent.

In the Mid-Term Review of the Annual Policy Statement, the central bank has said, "It is observed that in the recent past, the growth of housing and consumer credit has been very strong. These measures have been proposed as a temporary counter cyclical measure."

RBI had earlier cautioned commercial banks on the aggressive growth of their housing portfolios. Over the past couple of years, banks have been aggressively and profitably pushing retail credit and housing loans, in particular, due to the absence of any `greenfield' projects to deploy their funds.

Competition in the housing loan segment assumed serious proportions with the aggressive slashing of interest rates by banks, in order to capture larger volumes of business, according to industry analysts. However, in the past year, concerns have emerged about the quality of home loans and the increase in non-performing assets in this sector.

Govt. to complete market borrowings programme
New Delhi: The Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, has said that the Centre would go ahead with its market borrowings programme for the current fiscal, even as the cost of governmental borrowings is showing a rising trend.

"We have to borrow what we have planned to borrow. We will complete the borrowings programme and borrow at whatever rate the market decides," Mr Chidambaram told newspersons here.
At the same time, he ruled out the possibility of governmental borrowings `crowding-out' borrowings by corporates, leading to an overall increase in interest rates.

As on October 21, the Centre has completed gross market borrowings of Rs 75,044 crore, corresponding to 49.8 per cent of the budgeted amount for 2004-05.

The Finance Minister has welcomed the overall policy stance taken by the RBI as being "in broad agreement with our approach" and "there is nothing in it that will discourage investment or hamper growth".

Cholamandalam Investment Q2 net up
Chennai: Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company has reported a net profit of Rs8.6 crore for the quarter ended September, compared with Rs8.35 crore in the same quarter of last year.

In a press release, Cholamandalam Investment has said that in the first six months of the current year, the company posted a growth of 18 per cent in disbursements. Total disbursements for the period were Rs509 crore. The company's gross asset base, including securitised assets, grew by 13 per cent to Rs1,843 crore.

For the half-year, the company has reported a net profit of Rs18.02 crore against Rs17.60 crore previously. The company's capital adequacy ratio stands at 18 per cent of its risk-weighted assets, against the RBI's requirement of 12 per cent, stated a press release.

26 October 2004

Rupee at four month high -bonds dip
Mumbai: The rupee closed on Monday at 45.635/645 against the dollar, as against its previous close of 45.73 per dollar and thereby touched its four-month high. It had touched 45.665/680 per dollar on June 18.

Forwards Market: The six-month forward closed at 2.60 per cent (2.68 per cent) and the twelve-month forward finished at 2.05 per cent (2.15 per cent).

G-Secs: The 10-year benchmark 7.37 per cent 2014 paper closed lower by nearly 60 paise at Rs104.60 at a yield of 6.65 per cent. The 11-year benchmark 7.38 per cent 2015 paper finished at 40 paise, lower than the opening level at Rs105.40 at a yield of 6.68 per cent.

Call Rates: In a tight range of 4.75 per cent-4.90 per cent with liquidity showing signs of drying up.

CBLO Market: 143 trades worth Rs4,660.65 crore were transacted in the rate range of 4.50-5.00 per cent.

MoF asks RBI to consider prior approval for share purchase of private banks
New Delhi: The Ministry of Finance has asked the RBI to explore the possibility of according prior approval to share deals that result in breaching the threshold shareholding limits, instead of granting acknowledgment after the transaction has actually taken place.

Under the present system, investors whose share purchases touch or go above 5 per cent of paid-up capital of a bank are required to get acknowledgement from the RBI after entering into the deals.

The bank in question is allowed to proceed with the allotment and transfer of shares only after receiving the central bank's go-ahead.

The onus on providing the details of the deals to the RBI lies with the bank's board whose shares are being acquired. It is felt that the requirement of post-facto acknowledgment has at times resulted in investment deals in private banks getting stuck with the RBI for unduly long periods causing unease among investors.

PNB to go ahead with second public issue
Mumbai: The Punjab National Bank has obtained the Union Government's approval for its 'follow-on public offer' slated to hit the markets by the end of this fiscal.

The bank will file an application with the Securities and Exchange Board of India within a week, the bank has said. PNB, the third largest public sector bank, recently announced plans for a further issuance of up to 5 crore shares with pricing to be discovered through the book-building process.

Currently, the Government holds 80 per cent stake in PNB.PNB's initial public offer in 2002 was oversubscribed by over 300 per cent, with the total subscription touching about Rs690 crore against the issue size of Rs164.49 crore.

HDFC to float real estate venture funds
Mumbai: HDFC has decided to enter into the real estate venture funds business and will set up two companies for the purpose.

HDFC Venture Capital Ltd will undertake the business of managing the property fund, subject to approvals; HDFC Ventures Trustee Company will act as trustee to the fund, HDFC has said in a notice to the stock exchanges from HDFC.

The board of directors has also approved issue of 10,000 shares of Rs10 each of Home Loans Services India Pvt Ltd (HLS) for cash at par amounting to Rs1,00,000. HLS undertakes the business of sale of home loans products of the Corporation. Pursuant to the said acquisition, HLS would become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation.

25 October 2004

Forex reserves rise to $119.64 billion
Mumbai: India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $119.64 billion on October 15 from $119.30 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India said in its weekly statistical supplement on Saturday.

The central bank said foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms included the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in its reserves such as the euro, pound sterling and yen.

The reserves include India's Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) in the International Monetary Fund, it said.

RBI to prepare ground for upward interest rate bias
Mumbai: The rising oil prices and high inflation rate may influence the Reserve Bank of India to clear the deck for an upward interest rate bias in the mid-term review of annual policy statement for the year 2004-05 to be announced on October 26.

According to analysts the rising oil prices in the international market may influence RBI Governor Dr Y V Reddy to place all the indicators in the mid-term review to mentally prepare the country to break the trend of soft interest rate regime continuing for the past four years.

Vijaya Bank Q2 net at Rs168.98 crore
Bangalore: Public sector Vijaya Bank has earned a net profit of Rs168.98 crore, while the bank's operating profit, excluding treasury profit, has gone up by 54.87 per cent during second quarter ending September 30-2004.

The bank has made a provision for diminution in investments to the extent of Rs197.84 crore during the half year ended September 30, according to a release.