PMO rejects FinMin proposal on bank chief appointments

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has turned down a finance ministry proposal to allow bankers with less than two years of residual service to be appointed as public sector bank chiefs.The move will affect several candidates in race for top posts of banksSources close to the development said PMO was against dilution of appointment norms, which have been in place for several years and have coincided with the re-emergence of public sector banks as strong players in the banking space.The sources said a term of less than two years did not give individuals time to implement their decisions properly.Following the feedback from South Block, the finance ministry has prepared a fresh set of names and...

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PSBs to get new chiefs soon, plan set into motion

The government is set to appoint a slew of public sector bank chiefs and in the fray are executive directors (ED) of various state-owned banks. A communication to this effect was sent by the Centre late on Tuesday evening. A number of EDs have given their consents to the government for their promotions to the top posts of few PSBs RM Malla, who is currently serving as chairman and managing director (CMD) of SIDBI, will succeed IDBI Bank CMD Yogesh Agarwal, who has been appointed as the chairman of PFRDA from next month. Similarly, Uco Bank CMD SK Goel is likely to head India Infrastructure Finance Company and Corporation Bank CMD JM Garg is likely to get berth in chief vigilance commission(CVC)....

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Licensing regulations relaxed: banks gear for expansion

RBI has allowed banks to set up branches in Tier III to VI cities without prior approval from the apex bank. With this relaxation hitting the banking platform, banks have doubled their plans of expansion.RBI had permitted scheduled commercial banks in December 2009 that they can open up branches in Tier III to VI cities without prior permission. This has resulted in doubling of number of branches opened by banks this year in comparison to last year.PNB plans to come up with 550 branches in the country. According to CMD, K.R. Kamath, the bank does not require license for 440 branches as they are located in areas having population less than 50,000.SBI is also on expansion spree. The bank has spent...

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PSU banks target personal loans to boost margins

Banks such as Allahabad Bank, Uco Bank, Union Bank of India and United Bank of India have prepared plans on how to sell personal loan products to the retail client.The retail loan portion of these banks is far below the industry average and so they have to catch up. The retail loan share of these banks is mere 12-14% as against the industry average of 20-22%. These banks along with others had halted their personal loan segment due to fright of default after the financial slowdown.JP Dua, chairman and MD of Allahabad Bank said, “Personal loan gives a better spread as well as it helps in building relationship”. The present retail loan share of the bank is 13.92% which it plans to raise to 22%...

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UCO follow-on offer likely by mid-June'

Public sector lender UCO Bank is hoping to come out with its follow-onoffer (FPO) by the middle of next month. The bank hopes to raise aroundRs 500 crore by issuing six crore equity shares.“We hope to come out with the FPO by mid-June,” said Chairman andManaging Director SK Goel.The FPO is expected to bring down the government shareholding from63.59 per cent to 58.60 per cent. Earlier, the bank was also mulling toraise funds through qualified institutional placement (QIP), butultimately shelved the proposal.“In general, the government prefers FPO, as the shareholding isbroadbased. In QIP, the shares are concentrated in few hands. However,the cost is much less in QIP,” Goel had earlier said.As...

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Issue of Rs.20/- denomination banknotes with `R' Inset letter

Issue of Rs.20/- denomination banknotes with `R' Inset letter in bothnumbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series – 2005 bearing the signature ofDr. D. Subbarao, GovernorThe Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs.20/- denominationbanknotes with `R' inset letter in both numbering panels in MahatmaGandhi Series – 2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor.Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes tobe issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in MahatmaGandhi Series – 2005, with additional / new security features issued onAugust 16, 2006. All banknotes in the denomination of Rs.20/- issued bythe Bank in the past will continue to be legal ...

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SOME VERY POPULAR SCHEMES FOR INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING FOR TAX SAVINGS)

SOME VERY POPULAR SCHEMES FOR INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING FOR TAX SAVINGS)NAME OF THE SCHEME WHO CAN INVEST MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM INVESTMENTS ALLOWED OTHER DETAILSPublic Provident Fund (PPF) A PPF account can be opened at anytime during the year in a Post Office, or in SBI & its associates or in other selected nationalized banks. It is safe to invest in the instrument, as it is government-backed. It can be held by single, joint, minor with parent/guardian and HUF Min Amount : Rs. 500/- per annum, and thereafter in multiples of Rs 5/-Max Amount :Rs. 70,000/-The PPF account matures after 15 years. Tax benefit: Rebate under section 80C for the amount invested. Interest accrued is Tax-free. Interest...

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Some Help About Section 80C of IT ACT

What to Check before investing for Section 80CorHow to Make Best Use of Section 80CMost of the Income Tax payee try to save tax by saving under Section80C of the Income Tax Act. However, it is important to know theSection in toto so that one can make best use of the options availablefor exemption under income tax Act. One important point to note hereis that one can not only save tax by undertaking the specifiedinvestments, but some expenditure which you normally incur can alsogive you the tax exemptions. Here are some tips for you : -(1) Always Check YOUR FORCED SAVINGS / EXPENDITURE ELIGIBLE FORDEDUCTION :(A) Home Loan :There is a provision that the payment made for repayment of theprincipal...

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PSBs score over pvt peers in interest income growth

Public sector banks' (PSBs) growth in net interest income (NII) vis-à-vis private banks has been higher during the fourth quarter ending March 2010 as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a study of 24 PSBs and 12 private banks.Despite higher NII, net profit of the PSBs declined 4.8% during the quarter. However, the fee-based income growth of PSBs, at 14.2%, was marginally higher than that of their private peers, at 14%.The fee-based income of the PSBs increased to Rs 46,460 crore from Rs 40,690 crore.When compared...

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4 banks to get Rs 1,500-cr fund infusion soon

Four state-run banks -Vijaya Bank, Central Bank of India, UCO Bank and United Bank of India- are likely to get Rs 1,500 crore as part of their recapitalisation package soon, according to sources. The fund infusion will enable these banks to maintain comfortable level of capital to risk-weighted asset ratio for supporting credit requirement of the productive sectors. Of the total, Vijaya Bank will get Rs 700 crore, UCO Bank Rs 300 crore, Central Bank and United Bank of India Rs 250 crore each, sources said, adding the government has already made a provision for subscription to tier-I instrument for capitalisation of these bank in the budget. During the past fiscal, the government had provided...

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RBI to decide 'Indian-ness' of banks now

The Reserve Bank of India will decide on the ‘Indian-ness’ of the country’s leading private sector banks as the government deliberates a solution for them without relaxing the provisions of the new foreign direct invesment policy. After over a year of discussions, the government has finally asked the central bank to suggest a framework for deciding on the ownership and control of such banks. The new norms will be based on parameters such as voting rights and the power to appoint directors, a senior government official said. “We need to recognize that the structure of each bank is different and accordingly redefine the concept of ownership and control for the banking sector,” he said. The move...

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