Bank employees to strike work on July 7

About 10 lakh bank employees across the country will go on strike on July 7 to protest against the government's policies on public sector banks, the United Forum of Bank Unions has today. "The Centre is following a policy that will destroy public sector banks in the country," AK Ramesh, National President of Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) told reporters here. The striking employees are demanding no privatisation of public sector banks, non merger of banks and ban on outsourcing, he said. Source: Business Stand...

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India likely to be largest economy by 2050: Robert Blake

KOLKATA: US Assistant Secretary of State (Bureau of South and central Asian affairs) Robert O Blake today said the future of Indian economy seems very bright and the country is likely to become the world's third largest economy by 2030, and the largest by 2050. He added, "The incredible growth of India's economy has resulted in positive spillover effect for the US between 2002-2009, US goods exports to India quadrupled, growing from $ 4.1 bn to more than $ 16.4 bn in 2009." "US services exports to India more than tripled from $ 3.2 bn to $ 9.9...

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Saurabh Agrawal to join StanChart as i-banking head

Saurabh Agrawal, the high-profile banker known for his deal-making skill in sectors like telecom, media, technology and infrastructure, is all set to join Standard Chartered Bank as head of its investment banking division for south and south-east Asia, sources said. Agrawal, 42, will join Standard Chartered Bank after a 16-year stint with DSP Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America Merrill Lynch) where he is currently the managing director and head of investment banking. The top position at Standard Chartered Bank’s investment banking division has been...

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Rajasthan to set up mini banks

JAIPUR: Rajasthan government is planning to set up mini cooperative banks at Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra. The state cooperative minister Parsadilal Meena Tapesh Panwar told ET that these mini banks will reach out to small and marginal farmers of villages which are out of cooperative net. There are 9,184 village panchayats and 249 panchayat Samiti in the state out of which more than 1000 villages don't have any cooperative set up. "We are not able to disburse agriculture loans at panchayats which are not covered by central cooperative...

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RBI credit policy: Home, auto loans to become costlier on rate hike

MUMBAI: Be prepared to pay more every month on your home, auto and other loans, as the Reserve Bank today, for the 10th time since March, 2010, raised key interest rates by 25 basis points in its effort to control spiralling inflation. The RBI has raised the short-term lending (repo) rate by 25 basis points to 7.50 per cent and the short-term borrowing (reverse repo) rate will move up by a similar margin to 6.5 per cent. It kept other rates and ratios unchanged. The mid-quarterly policy initiatives, the RBI said, are expected to contain inflation,...

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Bank deposits grow faster than advances

Higher interest rates on bank deposits continued to attract funds, as the deposit base of banks grew by around Rs 58,000 crore in the fortnight ended June 3. Banks disbursed loans worth around Rs 28,000 crore in the same period. According to data provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), deposits grew 18.2 per cent annually, up from 17.37 per cent a fortnight ago. The data reflects the fact that the focus of banks has now shifted to strengthening the base of deposits. “At the moment, deposit growth is very important for banks, as the credit...

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RBI may hike key rates by 25 bps: Bankers

New Delhi: With inflation hovering much above the comfort zone, the Reserve Bank may raise key policy rates by 25 basis points in its first mid-quarterly review of the credit policy for FY'12 on Thursday. "I think the RBI would take one more small step to curb inflationary expectations. Market is expecting a 25 basis points increase," Indian Overseas Bank Chairman and Managing Director M Narendra said. One thing is certain, inflation is beyond the comfort level and the RBI has already expressed its concern on many occasions, he said. In its annual...

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No talks with Nigeria's Spring Bank: ICICI

Lagos: ICICI Bank said on Wednesday it was not in talks with Nigeria's Spring Bank about any investment, denying a statement made a day earlier by the Nigerian lender. "ICICI Bank is not in discussions with Spring Bank for any investment," a spokesman for the Indian bank said. Spring Bank said in a statement on Tuesday it was in recapitalisation talks with several possible investors including ICICI and U.S.-based private equity firm Cloudleap Partners. Source: Financial Expr...

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Muthoot Finance faces RBI probe on gold bonds

Muthoot Finance's method of raising money through gold bonds has been questioned by its competitors, including a few public sector banks. This has resulted in a probe by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to a few banks, the bond issues by Muthoot Finance were not in strict compliance with norms relating to raising money from the public, and this gave Muthoot Finance an advantage over its competitors, said two people familiar with the development. “The complainants have, in their detailed report to RBI, said how the bonds were being issued...

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Manappuram to take NCD route to raise Rs 1,000 crore

MUMBAI: Manappuram General Finance and Leasing will raise up to Rs 1,000 crore through retail non-convertible debenture issue by the second week of July, sources told ET. The non-convertible debentures (NCDs) will likely have a coupon size of 12% with 3-5 years tenure, an investment banker with knowledge of the company's fund raising plans said. The gold finance company is in talks with Morgan Stanley , Axis Bank and AK Capital to manage the issue, sources said. "The Rs 1,000-crore issue would comprise Rs 500-crore greenshoe option and the proceeds...

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Rising interest rates to hurt banks' profit: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today cautioned rising interest rate and high cost of funds could hurt the profitability of the banking sector. "Going ahead, with hardening interest rates and the imminent increase in cost of funds, the credit growth is expected to slow down, which could adversely affect the profitability," the RBI said in Financial Stability Report released today. The hike in savings account interest rate, amortisations of pension liabilities and potentially enhanced provisioning requirements for NPAs may also impact profitability,...

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Savings account interest is exempt from TDS

When do I have to file Form 15H to banks for not deducting TDS on fixed deposits-Ruchi Gupta It is advisable to submit the applicable form to the bank branch at the beginning of the assessment year in case of existing deposits or at the time of opening a fixed deposit account. You should also mention your PAN details, without which it would be invalid and TDS at the applicable rate or 20%, whichever is higher, will be deducted. This form should be submitted to all the branches where you have the deposit and for each new deposit that is placed with...

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Check status of deducted tax online

Gone are the days where taxpayers would have to wait till the end of the financial year to receive their withholding tax certificates/Form 16s in the physical form. Now the income tax department has put in place a facility to enable taxpayers to view their tax credits online or through the internet. The consolidated annual tax statement in Form 26AS is now available to PAN holders. The endeavour is to streamline and synchronise the tax paid/deposited under each PAN and identify and resolve discrepancies, if any, at an early stage. Discrepancies...

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Bank of Maharashtra eyes 66% jump in retail lending

State-run lender Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) today said it is aiming to increase its retail loan book to a quarter of its total assets from the present 15% in the current fiscal. "We will increase the retail loan book to 25% from the current 15%. We have already opened 34 dedicated retail lending hubs to achieve the target," AS Bhattacharya, the Pune-based bank's chairman and managing director, told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. All segments like home, vehicle and personal loans will drive the retail loan growth, he added. Retail lending...

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NABARD plans to raise Rs 2 bn via bonds

Mumbai: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is looking to raise Rs 2 billion through 3-year bonds at 9.70 percent, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. The bond has a put/call option at the end of 1st year, the sources said. Barclays Capital is the sole arranger to the deal, the sources said. Source: Financial Expr...

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RBI to issue Rs 500 notes packets in non-sequential order soon

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Monday said it will soon start issuing bank notes of Rs 500 denomination in packets, which may not be sequentially numbered, for easier transactions. The measure has been announced to increase operational efficiency, the RBI said in a statement. "With a view to enhancing operational efficiency and cost effectiveness in bank note printing at banknote presses, it has been decided to issue...fresh banknotes of Rs 500 denomination in packets which may not necessarily all be sequentially numbered," it said. The apex bank...

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MSF debut: Banks borrowed Rs 100 cr on Friday

Banks on Friday used the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) marginal standing facility (MSF) for the first time since its inception in May. According to data released by the central bank on Monday, banks borrowed Rs 100 crore for three-day loans through the facility. To borrow funds through this window, banks have to pay interest at a rate 100 bps higher than the repo rate, which currently stands at 7.25 per cent. Banks are allowed to use MSF only after exhausting the excess statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), which stands at 24 per cent of their net demand...

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Transactions by cheques up marginally in April: RBI

Mumbai: Cheque transactions worth over Rs 8.66 lakh crore were carried out in the country during April, 2011, a growth of over 0.7 per cent from the same month last year. Banks had cleared cheques worth almost Rs 8.60 lakh crore in April 2010, as per the latest data from the Reserve Bank. However, the total number of cheques cleared during April fell by over 6.6 per cent as against the same month of last year. A total of 1,097.5 lakh cheques were cleared by the banks during the month under review compared to 1,175.3 lakh in the corresponding month...

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Deutsche Bank India' net profit up 41%

New Delhi: Foreign lender Deutsche Bank today said its Indian banking operation has recorded a 41 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 630 crore for the fiscal ended March 2011. The bank had a net profit of Rs 446 crore in 2009-10, Deutsche Bank said in a statement. Total income of Indian operation of Germany-based bank increased by 19 per cent to Rs 2,861 crore from Rs 2,396 crore in the year ended March 2010. At the same time, profit before tax grew by 43 per cent to Rs 1,190 crore as against Rs 833 crore in the previous fiscal. During the year,...

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Andhra Bank to increase branches, double biz in UP

LUCKNOW: Expanding its base in Uttar Pradesh Andhra Bank has set a target of increasing its branches and double its business in the current fiscal. "The bank plans to double its branches from existing 24 to 48 in this year, besides increasing our business to Rs 2,500 crore from existing Rs 1,225 crore," bank's Chairman and Managing Director R Ramachandran told reporters here. Ramachandran along with bank's Executive Director Anil Girotra inaugurated the zonal office of the bank. "The Andhra Bank is embarking upon the policy of expanding its...

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