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Bonds
rally - rupee firms up
Mumbai: The rupee gained on strong inflows ending
trade at 43.54/55 against Tuesday's close of 43.57/5750.
G-Secs: The bond market saw a rally on Wednesday
with the prices rising between 30 paise and 70 paise.
The 7.55 5-year 2010 paper opened 25-30 paise higher
at Rs104.05 (6.58 per cent YTM) and ended at Rs104.10/14
(6.55 per cent YTM) against Tuesday's close of Rs103.90.
The 7.38 10-year 2015 benchmark paper ended trade
at Rs104.05/10 (6.83 per cent) against the earlier close
of 103.65/70 (6.87 per cent YTM). The 8.07 12-year
2017 paper, which is the most actively traded paper,
opened about 30-35 paise higher than the previous close.
It closed trade at Rs109.03/31 (6.89 per cent) against
Tuesday's level of Rs108.76 (6.95 per cent YTM).
Call rates: The inter bank rates were between 4.95
and 5 per cent (5 per cent).
CBLO market: 164 trades in the rate range of 4.50
to 5.05 per cent aggregating to Rs7,091.70 crore were
realised.
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Nabard-Crisil
launch ratings for micro-finance institutions
Mumbai: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (Nabard) I n conjunction with the rating agency
Crisil has tied up to launch a rating scheme for micro-finance
institutions (MFIs).
Called the Nabard-Crisil MFI Grading Scheme, it is an
initiative to encourage banks to enhance credit delivery
to the poor, said a press release from Crisil. The grading
rates the ability of MFIs to scale up and sustain operations
on an eight-point scale, the release said.
According to the release, barring a few, most MFIs are
unable to get credit from the banking sector, and hence
the quantum of credit flow to MFIs is currently not significant.
As part of the scheme, Nabard will reimburse the banks
the grading fees paid to Crisil. The scheme will initially
be operational for a year. It will support the grading
of those MFIs that have an outstanding loan of between
Rs50 lakh and Rs5 crore.
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Standard
Life realigns its HDFC stakes
Mumbai: Standard Life has sold a substantial stake
in the Indian mortgage finance company Housing Development
Finance Corporation (HDFC), in a strategic move to refocus
its investment in the sub-continent towards the insurance
market.
The Edinburgh-based insurer said yesterday it had sold
4.9 per cent of the HDFC parent company in the open market
for over Rs1,000 crore (£128 million) leaving it
with 9.35 per cent of the corporation.
The rationale for the move centres on Indian law governing
foreign investor shares in its insurance market, which
caps investment at 26 per cent. Standard Life's other
interest in HDFC is split between HDFC Standard Life Insurance,
in which it holds just under 15 per cent, and HDFC Asset
Management, in which it holds 49.9 per cent. The sale
now allows Standard Life to increase its stake in the
insurance division to that 26 per cent limit. It will
also put it in a strong position for further expansion
should the investment cap change.
The Indian government has announced its intention to raise
the foreign investment cap in insurance to 49 per cent,
but it has yet to go to parliament with the proposal.
Sandy Crombie, chief executive of Standard Life, said:
"As a consequence of this sale, Standard Life will
be able to increase its share of HDFC Standard Life Insurance
and will do so immediately to the maximum level presently
permitted by Indian insurance law. And Standard Life intends
to increase its stake to a level of parity with HDFC should
legislation permit it in the future.
"The Indian financial services market offers strong
long-term growth potential and we believe that we have
one of the very best partners in that market. Standard
Life expects to remain a major shareholder in one of India's
best-known and most successful businesses."
Standard Life launched its insurance partnership with
HDFC in 2000.
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Centurion
opts for Misys Equation banking tool
Bangalore: The Centurion Bank has selected Misys'
Equation tool for its banking solutions.
Misys is among the largest and strongest vendors of industry-specific
software products and solutions in the world. Equation,
Misys' flagship product, offers banking solutions for
branch automation, data warehousing and Internet banking.
Equation will bring considerable operational benefits
to the bank in the form of more detailed customer focus
and streamlined banking operations.
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RBI:
T-bill auctions fully subscribed
Mumbai: The auctions of the 91-day Treasury bill and
the 364-day Treasury bill on Wednesday were fully subscribed.
The notified amount for the 91-day T-bill was Rs2,000
crore.
The Reserve Bank of India received 39 competitive bids,
amounting to Rs3,570 crore. Of these, the RBI accepted
25 bids. The cut-off price was Rs98.69.
The partial allotment percentage amounted to 68.83 per
cent from 18 bids. The weighted average price was Rs98.69.
The RBI also received one non-competitive bid, amounting
to Rs265.84 crore, which was accepted.
In the case of the 364-day T-bill, the notified amount
was Rs2,000 crore. The RBI received 43 competitive bids,
amounting to Rs3,110 crore. Of these, the RBI accepted
31 bids. The cut-off price was Rs94.69.
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