SBI approves revision in pension schemes

The Central Board of SBI has accorded approval for revision of family pension and minimum pension with retrospective effect from November 1, 2007. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the board held last week, according to banking sources. BASIC PENSION For those in the scale of pay up to Rs 7,090, 30 per cent of the pay shall constitute the basic family pension. Thirty per cent of allowances which are counted for making contributions to Provident Fund but not for dearness allowance shall be the additional family pension. The aggregate...

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Banks to operate one-man branch in rural areas

EW DELHI: The finance ministry will treat a bank representative offering basic services in villages using a Net-enabled laptop as a branch, widening the reach of the government's financial inclusion plan and doing away with the need to spend on infrastructure. The ministry directive comes at a time when banks have raised questions about the viability of setting up brick-and-mortar branches in rural areas. At present, only about 5% of India's 6 lakh villages have bank branches. There are 296 under-banked districts in states with below-par banking...

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Banks extend festive offers

The festive season may be over, but festive offers on loans are open for the next couple of months. Public sector banks offering housing and auto loans at discounted rates under their festival campaigns that began in September, have decided to extend the discounts beyond December 31, as the demand for loans remains muted. While recent data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows credit demand has been poor despite these offers, bankers hope the demand would pick up in the last quarter of the financial year. Credit growth during the April-December...

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Government to interview executive directors for bank CMD post on January 12

MUMBAI: The appointments committee is slated to interview candidates for the CMD post at government owned banks on January 12. Earlier the interviews were fixed on January 4. The appointment's committee includes D K Mittal, secretary, department of financial services and deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India Anand Sinha among others. Ten executive directors of public sector banks will be considered for CMD post at six banks. These candidates include S.S. Mundra from Union Bank of India, R V Iyer and Rajiv Dubey from Central Bank of India, Ashwini...

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Citi ups NRE deposit rates, DCB offers 10%

Citibank on Friday became the first foreign lender to hike interest rates on NRE deposits in the wake of RBI deregulating interest rate offered on deposits by non-resident Indians early this month. Citi’s rates vary between 5 percent and 8.75 percent across maturities, and are lower than the aggressive strategies adopted by domestic lenders who are offering as high as 10 percent per annum. A deposit of over Rs 30 lakh but under Rs 50 lakh will earn an interest of 8.75 percent for a 356-400 days bucket and 8.50 percent for 401-1095 days, Citi said...

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SBI expects capital infusion soon

Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday said it expects fund infusion from the government soon. The capital infusion will take place during the current fiscal itself, SBI Managing Director Mr Diwakar Gupta told PTI. “We are yet to get official communication from the government on the quantum (of fund infusion in the bank),” he added. The government has already announced that it is committed to providing adequate capital to public sector banks so as to maintain their Tier-I capital at 8 per cent. As of September, 2011, the capital...

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Basel III norms will push up capital requirements, say bankers

The capital and provisioning requirements for banks will increase once Basel III guidelines come into force. However, there will be no pressure on banks to raise capital immediately as the deadline for implementation is 2017, said bankers. The Reserve Bank of India released the draft guidelines for implementation of Basel III capital regulation on Friday. As per the draft guidelines, banks have to build up capital buffers, called Capital Conservation Buffer, during normal times which can be drawn down as losses are incurred during a stressed period. Common...

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SBI, 14 other banks to get Rs 16k-cr funds by March

About two months after the Moody’s downgraded outlook on Indian banks on concerns over asset quality, the finance ministry has proposed to infuse Rs 15,000-16,000 crore in about 15 public sector banks by March 31, 2012. More than one-third of this amount (Rs 6,000 crore) is likely to go to the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, while the demand for most other banks is less than Rs 1,000 crore each. SBI saw its financial strength rating cut by Moody's earlier this fiscal. Those who are not likely to get capital infustion include Canara...

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SBI may opt for QIP in FY13

Govt stake to rise to 64% and Tier-I to 9% after Rs 6,000-crore fund infusion. Pratip Chaudhuri State Bank of India (SBI), which had received a commitment from the government for capital infusion of Rs 6,000 crore in the current financial year, may opt for another round of fund-raising through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) in the next financial year. After capital infusion through the preferential allotment of equity shares, the government’s stake in SBI would rise from 59.4 per cent to 64 per cent, chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told Business...

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Citigroup sells Rs 22 crore worth Fortis shares

MUMBAI: Foreign fund house Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius Pvt Ltd today sold 25.55 lakh shares of hospital chain Fortis Healthcare for Rs 22 crore in the stock market. Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius Pvt Ltd sold 25.55 lakh shares of Fortis for Rs 86.47 a piece through a bulk deal, according to the data available with the BSE. As on September quarter, Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius Pvt Ltd held 11,520,896 shares or 2.84 per cent stake in Fortis. Shares of the company closed at Rs 84.60 on the BSE, up 3.23 per cent from the previous close. Source:...

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Sachin Tendulkar buys Rs 100 cr cover

Having moved into his "dream house", ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has now secured his five-story Bandra residence with a staggering Rs 100 crore insurance cover, one of the biggest insurance deals by an individual. The cricket icon has bought the insurance from a consortium of general insurers, according to industry sources. "A consortium of general insurance companies has given an insurance cover for the cricketer's home in Bandra for a value consideration of Rs 100 crore," an official of a public sector general insurance company, who wished...

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Sebi cracks down further on IPOs fraud

Capital market regulator Sebi is reviewing the process for initial public offerings (IPOs), its chairman said on Thursday, a day after it banned seven small companies from fund-raising for what it said were IPO rule violations. We are currently reviewing the entire IPO process, including shortening the timeline for the entire process, U.K. Sinha said. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said on Wednesday a probe revealed a fraud in IPOs, inadequate documentation and due diligence and possible trading violations on the day of listing. The...

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CCI okays acquisition of Barclays' credit card biz by StanChart

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given approval to the proposed acquisition of credit card business of Barclays India by the Indian arm of Standard Chartered Bank. "...The Commission is of the opinion that the proposed acquisition is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India. The Commission, therefore, hereby approves the proposed combination...," the CCI said in an order. The CCI had on December 12 received a notice on the proposed acquisition. The application stated that the credit card business proposed...

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IDBI Bank seeks capital support from govt

State-owned lender IDBI Bank today said the government was considering capital support to the bank to boost up its capital. The government of India is actively considering the bank's request for capital support and intends to infuse capitals funds in the bank by way of preferential allotment of equity, IDBI Bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Last year, the government had agreed to infuse Rs 3,119.04 crore. Post-capital infusion, the stake of the central government increased to 65.15% from 52.6%. The was capital infused through preferential...

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Rs 36 lakh looted from UBI branch

Armed dacoits looted Rs 36 lakh from the United Bank of India (UBI), Bagnan branch in Howrah district today, police sources said. Four armed dacoits entered the UBI, Bagnan branch, when the sweeping staff was cleaning the bank. They locked the cleaning staff in a room, the sources said. When the branch manager entered the bank, the dacoits brandishing revolvers forcibly took away the keys of the vault from him and looted Rs 36 lakh from the bank, they said. The dacoits fled away with the money in motorcycles, sources said....

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Insurance made child's play, with comic books

The country's insurance regulator will use the power of comic books to drive home the basic concepts, needs and importance of insurance in one's life, starting right from the school level. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has readied comic books and hand-books for high school students. They will be distributed in select schools and later scaled up. The books will contain attractive stories which will try to weave the basic concepts of insurance, products, both traditional and unit-linked, the need for insurance and how to address...

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Claims settlement: LIC fares better than private insurers

Life Insurance Corporation of India has performed better in terms of claims settlement ratios as compared to private life insurance companies, according to the IRDA annual report. “The claims settlement ratio of LIC was better than that of the private life insurers. Settlement ratio of LIC increased to 97.03 per cent during the year 2010-11 when compared to 96.54 per cent during the previous year,” the IRDA said in the report. The percentage of claims rejected by LIC stood at 0.01. The ratio of claim rejections to total reported claims declined...

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ICICI Bank hikes NRE deposit rate to 6.50%

ICICI Bank has increased its one-year NRE term deposit rate from 3.82 per cent to 6.50 per cent. Customers investing over Rs 15 lakh and up to Rs 50 lakh get another 0.50 per cent, the bank said. Those investing over Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs 1 crore get 8.25 per cent. Other top banks such as SBI and HDFC Bank have increased their NRE term deposit rates of the same tenor to between 9 per cent and 9.25 per cent....

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Union Bank of India cuts Base Rate

Union Bank of India has reduced its Base Rate by 10 basis points from 10.75 per cent to 10.65 per cent, with immediate effect. This will lead to reduction in rates of all loans linked to Base Rate. The bank is the first to reduce the Base Rate in the last one year or so, since the Reserve Bank of India was on a rate hiking spree to tackle inflation. While going ahead there could be a tendency to reduce rates, an across-the-board reduction by banks would happen only if the RBI cuts repo and reverse rates, said Mr Madan Sabhnavis, Chief Economist,...

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SBI, Dena Bank up interest rates for NRE deposits

State Bank of India on Tuesday hiked interest rates on Non-Resident (External) Rupee term deposits by up to 5.74 percentage points. Following the revision in NRE deposit rates by India's largest bank, other public sector and private sector banks are expected to follow suit. Beginning January 1, India's largest bank will pay a uniform 9.25 per cent interest on NRE deposits (below Rs 1 crore) of all maturities. It has also increased the highest tenor for NRE term deposits from 5 years to 10 years. Currently, retail NRE term deposits in the 1 year...

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RBI to issue commemorative coins for 100 years of civil aviation

The Reserve Bank of India today said it will shortly issue coins of Rs 5 denomination to commemorate hundred years of civil aviation. “The RBI will shortly put into circulation coins of Rs 5 denomination... to commemorate 100 years of civil aviation and are legal tender as provided in the Indian Coinage Act, 1906,” the apex bank said in a statement. The coins will be circular in shape and have a diameter of 23 mm. On the obverse side, the face of the coin shall bear the Lion Capitol of the Ashoka Pillar in the centre. It shall also bear the denominational...

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Kotak Mahindra Bank hikes NRE deposit rates

Kotak Mahindra Bank has hiked interest rates on Non Resident (External) Rupee term deposits, with immediate effect. The rates are applicable for deposits of all sizes, said a press release from the bank. Most banks have hiked the interest rates on NRE deposits following the deregulation of rates by the Reserve Bank of India. The rates are now linked to banks’ domestic term deposit rates. Revised Rates: Tenor BucketRate (% per annum) 1 year - less than 2 years 9.25 2 years – less than 3 years 9.00 3 years – up to and including 5years 8.50...

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SBI Capital looks to expanding mergers business

SBI Capital Markets Ltd, the investment banking subsidiary of State Bank of India, expects its mergers and acquisitions business to account for 30-40 per cent of its topline in the next three-to-four years. Close to 95 per cent of SBI Caps' total business comes from debt syndication at present. The company – which sees a huge potential in mergers and acquisitions in areas like automobiles, pharmaceuticals, power and FMCG in countries like Australia, Indonesia and Mozambique – has created specific verticals and is in the process of training its...

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Don't charge for account closure: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks not to charge fees from customers closing their accounts due to change of employment or transfer to another city. The implication of this circular is that such fees can be levied if customers are closing accounts only to switch banks so as to cash in on better interest rates. (The author is a New Delhi-based chartered accountant.)...

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Bill to raise Exim Bank capital to Rs 10,000 cr passed

Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to increase the authorised capital of Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) from Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore. Introducing the Export Import Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2011, in the Upper House, Minister of State for Finance Mr Namo Narain Meena said it seeks to authorise the government to raise the authorised capital of the bank in future through a notification. The Lok Sabha had approved the Bill on December 21.The bill also seeks to increase the number of executive directors in the bank to two from...

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NHAI plans electronic toll collection from next year

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is set to launch its first-ever tax-free public issue of secured redeemable non-convertible bonds (NCDs) on Wednesday, said it plans to roll out the electronic toll collection (ETC) system across the country in 2012. New system ETC will replace the existing cash-and-receipt tax payment system, Dr J.N. Singh, Member (Finance), NHAI, told reporters here on Tuesday. The vehicles' number-plates will be electronically-recorded and tax collected through a specially-created credit card for making...

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Travel insurance premiums may rise with falling rupee

Travellers may have to shell out more for their outbound travel expenses as travel insurance bills may rise due to the sliding rupee. The claims for outbound travel insurance are paid out by general insurance companies in foreign currency while the insurance companies collect premium in rupees. The record decline in the value of the Indian rupee has hit the travel portfolio of travel insurance companies, said experts in the insurance industry. The fall in the Indian rupee, which has seen a depreciation of 22 per cent against the US dollar, from...

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