SBI to introduce green-channel banking at more branches

BERHAMPUR: State Bank of India (SBI) will introduce "green-channel banking" at more of its branches to promote paperless work and to facilitate faster transactions for customers, SBI sources said. All major transactions, including withdrawals, deposits and remittances up to Rs 40,000, will be made through green-channel banking, which was introduced at 26 out of 680 branches of the bank in the first phase, the bank's General Manager (Network-II), Devendra Prasad, said today. Although there was no specific number of branches to be covered in the...

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ICICI Bank, Lanka's Sampath Bank launch fund transfer service

MUMBAI: India's largest private lender ICICI Bank has tied up with Colombo-based Sampath Bank PLC to launch an online cross-border money transfer facility between the two countries. Money2SriLanka (M2SL) is a web-based online platform which facilitates the sending of remittances from various geographies to beneficiaries in Sri Lanka in a convenient and economical manner, ICICI Bank said. "We remain committed to extend expertise in the cross border payments business and the online tracking service for money transfers is the first step towards...

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Indian Bank plans to raise $1 bn in FY12: Source

MUMBAI: State-run Indian Bank plans to raise up to $1 billion in fiscal 2012 that ends in March and is in talks with arrangers for the first tranche, which it expects in three to four months, a senior bank executive told Reuters. "We are looking overseas as funds are available at favourable rates. We are examining various possibilities. The exact quantum will depend upon the market appetite," said the executive, who did not wish to be identified. The bank has already received government approval to sell 61.4 million shares in a follow-on public...

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SBI lifts prime lending rate 75 basis points to 14%; demand for homes, cars to fall

MUMBAI: The country's largest bank, State Bank of India , on Tuesday raised deposit and lending rates steeper than rivals, which may push up cost of funds across industry as well as for borrowers. The bank's profitability, which is already under pressure due to rising interest rates in the last few months, may get eroded further as it will pay more for funds. The bank raised its benchmark prime lending rate 75 basis points to 14%, and the base rate below which it will not lend to anyone by the same amount to 9.25%. Deposit rates on shorter tenors...

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BoI, IoB plan to raise $850 mn through overseas bonds

Owing to robust demand from Indian corporates, public sector lenders Bank of India (BoI) and Indian Overseas Bank (IoB) plan to raise about $850 million from the international market through bonds in the next few months. BoI Chairman and Managing Director Alok Misra said the bank was expanding its overseas balance sheet and there was a demand for funds. The bank has an option to raise funds under medium-term notes (MTN). It would raise up to $500 million. Another official said the timing of the issue would depend on the market environment, including...

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Govt to tweak norms for appointing I-bankers for PSU issues

NEW DELHI: The government is in the process of redrafting the proposal document format for appointment of merchant bankers to avoid the conflict of interest between the public and private share sale issues. "There was an issue in SAIL... That part (appointment of merchant bankers) of the document was drafted way back in 2001, we are trying to update that," Disinvestment Secretary Sumit Bose told reporters here. To avoid the conflict of interest of investment bankers (I-bankers) handing public issue of both state-run and private companies at the...

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HDFC Q4 net up 23% at Rs 1142 cr

Mumbai: Housing finance lender HDFC Ltd said its net profit rose by 23.2 per cent to Rs 1,141.9 crore for the quarter ended March, 2011. The company had a net profit of Rs 926.3 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal, HDFC Ltd said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Total income rose to Rs 3,784.8 crore in the quarter ended March 31, from Rs 2,899.3 core in the corresponding period a year ago, registering an increase of 30.5 per cent. The board proposed a dividend of 450 per cent or Rs 9 per share on the face value...

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Union Bank of India to open branches in Sydney, Belgium

Kozhikode: The Union Bank of India has got clearance from the Reserve Bank of India for opening new branches in Sydney and Belgium. The bank at present has one established branch in Hong Kong and representative offices in Sydney, Shanghai, London, Beijing and Abu Dhabi, UBI Chairman and Managing Director M V Nair said. It is also opening a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and has already got the permission to open representative office in Canada, he added. Nair was speaking at the inauguration of the Bank's 200th branch in Kerala at Vatakara in...

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IOB plans to raise overseas biz contribution to 15% in FY12

 Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) today said it plans to raise the overseas business contribution from 10% to 15% in the current fiscal and open new branches in Dubai and China. "We are planning to open new branches in Dubai and China. We have already sought permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in this regard," bank's Chairman and Managing M Narendra said here today on the sidelines of ICC organised banking summit. IOB currently has six overseas branches – one each in Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Colombo and two in Hong Kong....

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SKS Micro to focus on gold loans, mobile phone financing

Expecting pressure on company financials in the near term, SKS Microfinance today said it will start focusing on non-core activities like gold loans and mobile phone financing in places other than Andhra Pradesh, Executive Chairman of the company Vikram Akula said today. The company suffered a net loss of Rs 69.77 crore in Q4 (FY11) largely due to the situation in Andhra Pradesh where its loan collection has plunged . It expects the pressure on financials would continue over the next couple of quarters.SKS has outstanding loans of Rs 1,285 crore...

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SBI to raise base rate by 75 bps from May 12

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, said on Tuesday it will raise its benchmark lending rate, or base rate, by 75 basis points (bps) to 9.25% per annum, with effect from May 12. The Reserve Bank of India last week raised the repo and reverse repo rate by a larger-than-expected 50 bps to battle stubbornly high inflation. ICICI Bank, India's second-largest lender, last week raised its benchmark base rate by 50 bps. Source: Business Stand...

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HSBC bank under US IRS scanner

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has asked HSBC Bank to provide information on incomes of US residents who may be using accounts in India to evade income taxes. The move has raised several questions. First, why did US authorities single out HSBC? Second, would US IRS also approach banks like State Bank of India and Citibank for information? Responding to questions by Business Standard on what steps the US IRS was likely to take in its investigation, a spokesperson for the US Embassy press office in India said, “ As a rule, the IRS doesn’t...

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Rs 25 lakh housing loans come under priority sector lending

Mumbai: Reserve Bank raised housing loan limit to up to Rs 25 lakh against the existing Rs 20 lakh to be eligible for classification as priority sector lending. Pursuant to the announcement made by Finance Minister in Budget 2011-12, it has been decided to increase the above limit from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, RBI said in a notification. "On account of increase in prices of residential properties in urban areas, I propose to enhance the existing housing loan limit from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh for dwelling units under priority sector lending,"...

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ICICI rejigs directors allowances, Kochhar to get Rs 7 lakh pm

Mumbai: Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has revised allowances paid to its executive directors including that of its Managing Director Chanda Kochhar. The board of the bank has decided to pay Rs 7 lakh per month as allowance to Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar from April 1, 2011, ICICI Bank said in a filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The present cash allowance consisting of leave travel allowance, house rent allowance and medical reimbursement has been clubbed into supplementary allowance, it said. Besides, Executive...

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Ambani in unique gold vs loan offering

New Delhi: Reliance Commercial Finance, an Anil Ambani group company, today forayed into the business of providing loans against gold units -- a first-in-industry offering where gold in paper form can be used as collateral. The company will provide loans up to Rs 1 crore under this programme, for which it has entered into an exclusive tie-up with another group firm, Reliance Mutual Fund. Initially, these loans would be available to investors in Reliance MF's Reliance Gold Savings Fund, Reliance Commercial Finance CEO K V Srinivasan said. The company...

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Sebi warns India Inc over 'fixing' markets

Mumbai: In the wake of a spurt in allegations of fraudulent behaviour by India Inc, capital market regulator Sebi, gave a stern warning to corporates to be on the "right side" and not indulge in market manipulation and insider trading. "Some corporates, who ideally should not have fallen into this category or this trap, we are discovering that due to lack of focus this (illegal activity) is happening...I'd like corporates in India to be on the right side of Sebi," its new Chairman, U K Sinha, said during an address to the members of industry body,...

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ICICI Bank on top 100 global brands list

New York: Software giant Apple has emerged as the world's most valuable brand surpassing search engine major Google, while ICICI Bank is the lone Indian company to feature in the list of top 100 global brands. With a brand value of USD 14.9 billion, India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank is ranked at the 53rd position in the league of world's 100 most valuable brands compiled by global brands agency Millward Brown. This is the second straight appearance for ICICI bank in annual BrandZ study. Interestingly, the report said that with a...

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Temasek Holdings will not buy TPG Stake in Shriram Transport Finance

MUMBAI: Singapore state investment fund Temasek Holdings has decided to drop its plans to buy private equity major TPG Capital's stake in India's largest commercial vehicle financing company Shriram Transport Finance , two people familiar with the matter told ET. "Temasek, after evaluating the company (Shriram Transport), has taken a call not to go ahead with the stake buy," said a person with direct knowledge of the deal. Shriram Transport and TPG were not available for comment. Temasek's decision comes in the wake of the Reserve Bank of India's...

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Kotak Mahindra raises base rate, BPLR by 50 bps

MUMBAI: Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank said on Monday it has raised its base rate by 50 basis points to 9.25 percent and benchmark prime lending rate by a similar quantum effective May 10. All categories of loans, other than exceptions permitted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will henceforth be priced with the reference to the revised base rate, it said in a statement to the stock exchanges. ICICI Bank , India's second-largest lender, said on Friday it would raise its benchmark base rate by 50 basis points to 9.25 percent per annum with...

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Development Credit Bank ups base rate, BPLR by 0.5 per cent

MUMBAI: Private sector lender Development Credit Bank (DCB) today said it has hiked both its base rate and benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 0.5 per cent. Its base rate now stands at 9.50 per cent, while the BPLR is at 16.75 per cent, the bank said in a press release issued here. The new rates came into effect from May 7. Source: EconomicTi...

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YES Bank hikes interest rates on term deposits

MUMBAI: Private sector lender YES Bank today increased interest rates on term deposits by up to 50 basis points depending on the maturity. The move, which comes within a week of the Reserve Bank hiking its key short term rates by 50 basis points, is in line with other lenders like Kotak Mahindra Bank and Union Bank of India . Under the revised rates which are applicable from today, a 7-14 day deposit under Rs 15 lakh will earn an interest of 4 per cent per annum from 3.5 per cent earlier, YES Bank said. Similarly, 12 months to 15 months 21 days...

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Saraswat Bank FY11 net up 78% at Rs 212 cr

Country's biggest lender from the co-operative space, Saraswat Bank, has posted a 78% growth in net profit at Rs 212.27-crore in FY11 on the back of a lower base but said RBI's rate tightening will result in margins getting dented by up to 80 basis points this fiscal. "Our profitability will be hit because of the rate hikes by the Reserve Bank...As we are in co-operative sector, we have no immediate plans of passing the hike on to our borrowers," the bank's Chairman Eknath Thakur told reporters here today. The bank's net interest margins stood...

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Punjab & Sind Bank to raise Rs 600 crore in 2011-12

New Delhi: State-owned Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) plans to raise Rs 600 crore during the current fiscal from bonds to fund business growth. "The board has given approval to raise Rs 600 crore from Tier-II bonds in 2011-12," said Punjab & Sind Bank Executive Director P K Anand. It would be raised in phased manner depending on the requirement, he said. The bank expects to clock 28 per cent increase in advances, while deposits are likely to grow at 30 per cent in the current fiscal, he said. During 2010-2011, deposits rose by 21.5 per cent to...

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