IRA’s norms
Mumbai: The Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRA) will soon define terms for proper working of the insurance industry. According to IRA chairman, N Rangachary,  the regulator would be vested with powers to change management if it is found not "fit and proper".

The term "fit and proper" will be clearly defined and will not be left to the imagination of the players in the insurance industry. According to Mr.Rangachary, IRA will frame the Insurance Act in such a manner that "trust" is given due importance.

The minimum capital for insurance players will be fixed at Rs.100 crore. The promoters will have to comply, on a daily basis, with solvency margin requirements. This will ensure that fly-by-night operators do not enter the industry.

The insurance players should also be in a position to justify the premium they charge on each new product. The chief of IRA has hinted that there will be no limit on the number of licences for setting up insurance companies.
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DoT says 3 firms may default
New Delhi: According to a report in the Business Standard, Hughes Ispat, a basic operator, and Fascel, JT Mobile, celullar operators may default on payment to the Department of Telecommunications for changing over to the new system of payment. Today, 8 September 1999 is the last day for making the payment.

DoT is proposing a 15 per cent revenue sharing arrangement with the paging operators in New Delhi. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had fixed a cap of  5 per cent for the paging operators.
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Union Bank’s bonds sell easily
Mumbai: The Union Bank of India which came out with a Rs.500-crore, 7-year bond issue on a private placement basis has sold out its issue. The bank used the book building method to sell the unrated bond issue with a coupon rate in the range of 12.3 per cent to 12.6 per cent. The cut-off yield works out to 12.5 per cent.

Commitments worth over Rs.700 crore were received. The Life Insurance Corporation and the Unit Trust of India are said to be big investors in the issue.
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Working group constituted by RBI for SMART card
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has set up a committee headed by its executive director A Vasudevan to study and recommend standards for the SMART card-based payment system.

Project SMARS, a joint project between the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, the Institute of Development & Research in Banking Technology, State Bank of India, Canara Bank and some hardware and software vendors, have earlier made recommendations for SMART.

The committee’s reference point will be the recommendations made by project SMARS.
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LIC to focus on its brand
Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India will focus on promoting its brand. G P Kohli, managing director, LIC, says that he welcomes private competition simply because they will cause a shift in funds from the normal savings avenues into the insurance sector.
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HSBC’s new card may give currency notes a run for their money
Calcutta: Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation and MasterCard are developing ‘Mondex’, a card that is designed to replace cash. Mondex leaves no audit trail after each transaction unlike credit cards. It does not get soiled on usage. HSBC has approached the Reserve Bank of India for its okay. Mondex is already available in Hong Kong.
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