Overseas weakness of dollar buoys rupee
Mumbai: The rupee appreciated slightly against the greenback, mainly because of the overseas weakness of the dollar. The domestic currency opened at 40.80/82 and closed the day at 40.75, against Tuesday's close at 40.81.

Bonds: Prices fell by about 10 paise and the yields went up by two basis points on Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year-paper ended at 8.24 per cent against the previous close of 8.22 per cent. The total traded volumes on the order matching system were Rs4,365 crore (Rs4,085 crore).

The 7.49 per cent 10-year-paper closed at Rs94.98 (8.24 per cent YTM) against Tuesday's close of Rs95.07 (8.23 per cent YTM). The 8.07 per cent 10-year-paper closed at Rs99.45 (8.15 per cent YTM) against the previous close of Rs99.60 (8.13 per cent YTM).

Call rates: The inter-bank call rates dipped below one per cent on Wednesday, hitting a new low of 0.20-0.30 per cent.

Reverse repo: The central bank on Wednesday received 34 bids for Rs46,600 crore in the first reverse repo auction while it accepted only Rs1,989 crore. In the second auction, it received 32 bids for Rs29,410 crore, against which it accepted bids to the tune of Rs1,011 crore.
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GIC Housing mulling foray into reverse mortgage segemnt
Hyderabad: GIC Housing Finance Ltd is firming up plans to enter the reverse mortgage segment, targeted mainly at senior citizens. It is also mulling the launch of innovative mortgage linked insurance products.

According to managing director, AK Guha, the company intends to disburse Rs1,000 crore of fresh housing loans in the fiscal 2007-08. It will also open eight new branches in various parts of the country in order to expand its housing loan portfolio and meet growing demands.

During fiscal 2006-07, its loan portfolio touched Rs2,000 crore, disbursals were at Rs600 crore, profit after tax was Rs50 crore and the company paid a dividend of 30 per cent on its expanded equity base.
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Bank of Maharashtra pays dividend of Rs66.10 crore
New Delhi: Bank of Maharashtra has paid a dividend of Rs66.10 crore to the Government for the financial year 2006-07, by way of 20 per cent dividend for the fiscal.

The chairman and managing director, MD Mallya, handed over the dividend cheque to the Union finance minister, P Chidambaram, on Monday.

The Government has a 76.77 per cent stake in the bank.
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Federal Bank receives clearance for representative office in UAE
Kochi: The Central Bank of UAE has cleared a proposal by the Federal Bank to open a representative office in the UAE. With the opening, the bank will become the first Indian bank to have a representative office in Abu Dhabi.

The representative office will allow the Federal Bank to offer personalised services to its 4,00,000 customers in the UAE and other GCC countries, a press release here said.

The representative office is also expected to act as the gateway to the whole of West Asia and to facilitate greater interface between the bank's existing customers and its branch network in India.

The representative office will also become the nodal point for furthering the business relationships with the 20 exchange houses and eight banks in West Asia, with which the bank currently has remittance arrangements.
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