State Bank of Mysore yearly net up 12.3 % at Rs 500.62 cr

Bangalore: State Bank of Mysore reported 12.3 per cent rise in net profit for the year ending March 31, 2011 at Rs 500.62 crore compared to the previous fiscal. The lower year-on-year growth is caused by the necessity to make higher provisions towards non-performing assets (NPA), SBM's Managing Director Dilip Mavinkurve told reporters. The percentage of gross NPA to gross advances rose to 2.51 per cent as of last month-end as against two per cent a year ago, he said, adding, about Rs 280 crore in regard to agriculture debt waiver and relief scheme...

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Punjab & Sind Bank Q4 net down 13%

New Delhi: State-owned Punjab & Sind Bank today reported 12.75 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 130.2 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2011 on account of increase in provisioning for bad debts and pension. The bank had a net profit of Rs 149.1 crore in the corresponding quarter of the . Total income of the bank rose by 20.8 per cent to Rs 1,485.5 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, from Rs 1,229.6 crore in the same period previous fiscal. At the same time net interest income of the bank has improved to Rs 393 crore...

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State Bank of Patiala net profit up by 18.53 %

Patiala: State Bank of Patiala (SBOP) on Saturday reported a growth rate of 18.53 per cent in net profit to Rs 652.96 crore for the year 2010-11. Bank's net profit in 2009-10 was Rs 550.89 crore, said an official release said on Saturday. The total business of the bank also crossed Rs 1,20,000 crore comprising deposits of Rs 68,066.05 crore and advances of Rs 51,433.20 crore in 2010-11. The Bank is Basel-II compliant with Capital Adequacy Ratio of 13.41 per cent against the regulatory requirement of 9 per cent. The Tier-I capital is 8.65 per cent...

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RBI asks banks to set up committees to protect IT data

Mumbai: To deal with problem of cyber crimes in the banking sector, the Reserve Bank asked banks to set up committees to focus exclusively on information security management. "For banks, as purveyors of money in physical form or in bits and bytes, reliable information is even more critical and hence information security is a vital area of concern," an RBI working group said. The recommendations are on information security, e-banking, technology risk management and cyber frauds. The data and other informations are vital assets for banking operations. The...

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State Bank of Hyderabad register 42% increase in net profit

State Bank of Hyderabad has registered an increase of 42 per cent in net profit during the year ending March 31, 2011. Renu Challu, Managing Director, SBH told mediapersons last evening that the net profit increase was at Rs 1166 crore (42 per cent up) against Rs 823 crores the previous fiscal. The operating profit grew by 35 per cent to Rs 2319 crore as against Rs 1721 crore for 2009-2010. She said the increase in profit is primarly on the back of higher net interest income which grew by 53 per cent. Challu said total business grew by impressive...

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RBI showcause notice for Citibank India

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today issued a showcause notice to Citibank India for the Rs 400-crore fraud by one of its employees at the bank's branch in Gurgaon. According to sources, if the bank failed to provide a satisfactory response, it may be fined as much as Rs 65 lakh. Sources, however, said the penalty could be reduced, depending on the bank's response to the showcause notice. Citibank declined to comment on the issue. In December, Citibank had discovered a fraud, allegedly committed by its employee, Shivraj Puri, by siphoning off...

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Corporation Bank FY 2011 net up 20.77% at Rs 1,413 cr

Mumbai: Helped by a healthy growth in loans and a drop in non-performing assets (NPAs), public sector Corporation Bank has clocked a 20.77 per cent jump in net profit in FY 2011 at Rs 1,413.27 crore as against Rs 1,170.25 crore in the previous fiscal.Advances grew by a healthy 37.42 per cent, while both the gross and net NPAs decreased to 0.91 per cent and 0.46 per cent, respectively. "Our total business stood at Rs 2,03,598 crore in FY 2011. We are targeting a total business of Rs 2,65,000 crore in FY 2012," Corporation Bank Chairman and Managing...

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RBI kicks off savings bank rate debate

The interest rate on savings bank deposits, the last bastion of the administered rate of interest, is set to be deregulated, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kicking off a discussion for a market-driven rate. The rate has remained at 3.5 per cent since March 2003. While a strong argument favouring such a move is better transmission of the monetary policy, concerns like those regarding unhealthy competition among banks and asset liability mismatches remain. RBI seems to suggest the advantages of the move outnumber the concerns. In a discussion...

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Pension provisions drag Dena, Corp Bank profits

Net profits of Dena Bank and Corporation Bank took a hit in the quarter ended March, as the public sector lenders provided for pension liability. Also, increased cost of funds added pressures to the banks’ margins. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had mandated banks to provide entirely for pension liabilities of retired employees in the financial year 2010-11, while provisions for existing employees who exercised a second pension option could be amortized over a period of five years. Accordingly, Dena Bank provided for Rs 188.42 crore towards the...

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Credit offtake up 20.6% in FY'11; services lead the way

Mumbai: Credit offtake from banks to major sectors accelerated in 2010-11, registering a growth of 20.6 % as against 16.8 per cent in the previous fiscal, suggesting an upsurge in the economic activity.However, two major sectors agriculture and industry saw lower growth in their annual credit offtake in the last fiscal vis-a-vis 2009-10, according to data released on Friday by the Reserve Bank. The total outstanding credit stood at Rs 36.67 lakh crore at the end of March 2011, up from Rs 30.40 lakh crore in 2009-10."Non-food bank credit grew by...

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OBC Q4 net profit up 5% at Rs 333.6 cr

New Delhi: Public sector lender Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) announced a 5 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 333.6 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March, 2011. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 317 crore for the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Total income of the bank increased to Rs 3,532.1 crore during the quarter from Rs 2,950.9 crore in the same period a year ago. For the fiscal ended March 31, 2011, the net profit of the bank rose by 32 per cent to Rs 1,502.8 crore from Rs 1,134.6 crore recorded in the previous fiscal. At...

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Corp Bank's novel method to force defaulters repay loans

Mumbai: Walk into some Corporation Bank branches across the country and you are likely to see a few individuals with their photographs on the notice-boards, much like the wanted list that one sees in police stations. Those at the bank branches are, however, not criminals in the normal sense of the word, but simply wilful defaulters on loans taken from the bank. Once their pictures and names are thus put on the notice-boards, the bank says the social stigma attached to it forces most to repay their loans. "We have made substantial recoveries through...

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ASBA to be mandatory from May 2

Mumbai: All non-retail investors will have to use the ASBA facility - where money is debited from investor's account only after share allotment - the date being from May 2 to apply for share sale offers in the capital market, Sebi said today. Under the Application Supported By Blocked Amount (ASBA) facility, the application money of investors remains blocked in his bank account until the process of allotment of shares is completed. "It has been decided that non-retail investors i.e., qualified institutional buyers and non-institutional investors,...

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RBI brings fresh norms to help banks manage risks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday came out with fresh norms for tightening the risk management of banks, asking them to scale up to the Basel-II norms — the third stage of international banking norms. The Advanced Management Approach (AMA) norms, released by RBI, will guide banks to measure operational risk, maintain solvency and migrate to the next stage of the capital adequacy requirements. The AMA guidelines, which deal with computation of capital charge for managing operational risks, are likely to be implemented from April 1, 2014. To...

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Vijaya Bank net drops 58.5%

Public sector lender Vijaya Bank on Thurday reported a 58.5 per cent drop in its net profit at Rs 54.23 crore for the quarter ended March 31, compared to the year-ago period. The operating profit of the bank stood at Rs 109.9 crore, a drop of 65 per cent. “The drop in net profit was mainly on account of provisions for wage revision. The bank made a one-time provision of Rs 180 crore towards second pension for retiring employees,” said H S Upendra Kamath, cmd. The total income of the bank during the quarter rose 15.8 per cent to Rs 1,751.6 crore,...

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Inflation control: RBI builds case for freeing savings bank rate

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India, criticised for failing to contain inflation , is building a case to do away with the last of the regulated interest rates - savings bank rate - for an effective policy transmission. But the freedom for banks to set rates could hurt the poor, for whom savings account is the lone investment product, and limit access to financial services. The central bank may proceed gradually in letting it free by keeping a floor on the rates offered in the early stages. The freeing-up could also lead to higher rates for savers,...

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RBI seen raising key rates by 25 bps

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India, battling surging price pressures, is widely expected to lift key interest rates by 25 basis points when announcing its annual monetary policy on May 3, even as some economists call for a 50 basis point rise. A quarter-point rise would take the repo rate, at which it lends to banks, to 7 per cent and the reverse repo rate, at which banks park funds with it to 6 per cent, and would be the ninth increase in rates by the Reserve Bank of India since March 2010. Following a March headline inflation reading of nearly...

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Yes Bank to foray overseas, cards biz in FY12

Mumbai: Yes Bank is in advanced stages of applying for a wholesale bank licence in Dubai International Financial Centre and has plans to foray into credit card business, a top official told reporters late on Wednesday. The mid-sized private lender also plans to open a representative office in UAE. It is an objective this year to have one wholesale bank overseas and one representative office in the course of this year, Managing Director Rana Kapoor said. The bank, which also has approval to open 35 branches in India, plans to complete the roll-out...

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Bank of Baroda Q4 net up 43% at Rs 1,294 cr

Mumbai: Public sector Bank of Baroda recorded 43 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 1,294.3 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011. The bank had a net profit of Rs 906.2 crore in the same quarter in the previous fiscal, BoB informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. Total income rose to Rs 7,168.6 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, from Rs 5120.7 crore in the same period last fiscal. Interest Income improved to Rs 6334.10 crore against Rs 4353.8 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The board proposed a dividend of Rs 16.50 per equity...

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EPFO to pay 9.5% till new rate decided

New Delhi: Subscribers of retirement fund manager EPFO, settling their final claims before the new rate is announced for the current fiscal, will get the existing 9.5 per cent interest on their deposits. "Since the rate of interest (on deposits) for 2010-11 has been declared as 9.5 per cent per annum, settlement of claims of the EPF subscribers during 2011-12 shall be made at 9.5 per cent per annum till rate of interest is declared for 2011-12," said an order issued by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The decision will benefit...

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Bank of Baroda to increase overseas branches to 100

MUMBAI: State-run lender Bank of Baroda is planning to increase the number of overseas branches to 100 in FY12 from 85 now, a top official said on Thursday. It plans to open branches in Malaysia, Uganda, Botswana, the Gulf and Australia, Chairman and Managing Director M.D. Mallya told reporters. The bank posted a 43 percent increase in net profit to 12.94 billion rupees for Jan-March quarter. Source: EconomicTi...

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ICICI CEO expects credit growth of at least 20 pct in FY12

MUMBAI: ICICI Bank , India's second-largest lender, expects credit growth of at least 20 percent in fiscal 2012, its Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar said on Thursday. The bank is focused on maintaining net interest margins going forward, she said in a conference call. Earlier, ICICI reported a 44 percent jump in quarterly net profit on strong demand for loans and a rise in fee income in India's fast growing economy, but missed forecasts due to treasury losses and higher expenses. Source: EconomicTi...

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Reserve Bank penalises two cooperative banks

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank has imposed penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh on two cooperative sector lender -- Bhuj Co-operative Bank and Independence Co-operative Bank -- for violations of rules relating to various provisions. A monetary penalty of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on the Kutch-based Bhuj Co-operative Bank for violations of RBI instructions relating to Know Yours Customer (KYC) norms, anti-money laundering guidelines, temporary overdrafts (TOD) and use of the bank's name without the word 'Co-operative', an official statement said. In the case of Nashik-based...

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