RBI to monitor banks' global books; SBI, ICICI, BoB among banks to face scrutiny

The Reserve Bank of India will send its officials to thoroughly inspect the fast growing overseas operations of Indian banks as they do for the local business to ensure that events outside the nation do not rock the domestic business. State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda are among the prominent banks that will face the RBI inspection as some banks have as high as a fifth of their total assets beyond the shores, said two people who are familiar with the central bank briefing. This will be effective next fiscal. "RBI conveyed the message...

Read more »

IDBI Bank collects Rs 1 lakh cr of central tax

Public sector lender IDBI Bank today said it had collected Rs 1 lakh crore of central tax through its network in the current fiscal. "IDBI Bank has achieved the landmark of Rs 1 lakh crore in respect of collection of central taxes during 2011-12. The Bank's present collection of direct taxes has been over 16% of the government's revised target," it said in a release. The Centre, which had initially estimated direct tax collections at Rs 5.33 lakh crore, later revised to Rs 5.8 lakh crore for the current financial year. The public sector lender...

Read more »

Manappuram to trim loan offer against gold

Manappuram Finance today said it will reduce the loan amount to 60 per cent of the gold value, at par with the Reserve Bank directions. Currently, the average Loan-to-Value (LTV) offered by Manappuram Finance on its gold loan is at 66 per cent. RBI earlier this week had directed all non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) not to sanction loan beyond 60 per cent of the value of gold jewellery. "We are of the opinion that the new RBI measures will ultimately strengthen the well-capitalised established players in the business with sound operating and...

Read more »

Bank of Baroda to hire 2,000 clerks

Bank of Baroda will be filling up 2,000 clerical vacancies soon. As per the notification released on Wednesday, candidates who wrote the common written examination for clerical positions conducted by the Institute for Banking Personnel Selection in 2011 and qualified are eligible to apply. Since clerical recruitment will be on a State or Union Territory basis, candidates will have to apply for vacancies in a State/Union Territory from which they had taken the common written exam. They must possess proficiency in the official language of the State/Union...

Read more »

Cheques, drafts validity only for 3 months from April

Come April 1 and cheques and bank drafts will be valid only for 3 months, a development that RBI thinks will help mitigate frauds related to such instruments. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed that with effect from April 1, 2012, banks should not make payments against cheques, drafts, pay orders or banker’s cheques if they are presented after the period of three months from date of issue. It has been brought to its notice by the government that some persons were taking undue advantage of the six month validity of cheques, drafts, pay...

Read more »

SKS Micro securitises loans worth Rs 321 cr

SKS Microfinance Ltd on Friday securitised its portfolio worth Rs 321 crore. This included two rated pool assignment transactions worth Rs 221 core and two assignment transactions worth Rs 100 crore from two public sector banks. These four transactions were closed at an annual interest rate of 12 per cent, priced 150 basis points lower than the previous two transactions. "Fund flow has been gaining momentum in recent months with overall environment turning positive for the microfinance sector,'' Mr S. Dilli Raj, Chief Financial Officer, SKS Microfinance...

Read more »

Q3 performance: Bank of Baroda leads large banks

Nationalised banks form an important category in the banking space of India as they account for almost half of the total assets of the banking system. Recently, the banks declared their third quarter (Q3) results. What do the results suggest about the performance of individual banks? Quarterly performance can be studied across different performance indicators and different time dimensions. We have considered performance across five dimensions capturing business growth, asset quality, efficiency, pricing power and, above all, profitability. While...

Read more »

BoB launches 1001 ultra small branches

Bank of Baroda launched 1001 ultra small branches to provide banking services to the people of un-banked villages under the financial inclusion initiative. The virtual launch of 1001 ultra small branches (USBs) was done by Dr K. C. Chakraborty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, in the presence of Mr M. D. Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director, Bank of Baroda, at Varanasi. On the same day, 551 USBs were inaugurated across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, said a press release issued by the bank. BoB plans to open 1,700 USBs in various villages...

Read more »

Axis Bank rolling out ‘new look' branches

Given the high real estate costs and the convenience of online banking, a large bank branch may seem like a luxury. But banks are increasingly revamping their branches to attract and retain customers. Axis Bank, India's third largest private sector bank, is changing the layout and look of its branches. “The idea is that people should feel attracted from outside to walk into a branch, which are brand ambassadors for the bank. They should have a nice experience and leave thinking ‘I am coming back'”, said Ms Manisha Lath Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer,...

Read more »

Syndicate Bank shareholders okay Rs 866-crore capital infusion

The shareholders of Syndicate Bank have approved Rs 866.20 crore capital infusion by the Government and LIC of India. The bank informed the BSE on Thursday that an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders at Manipal approved the preferential issue of shares worth Rs 866.20 crore at Rs 114.15 a share of face value of Rs 10 each. This included preferential issue of equity shares to the Government of up to Rs 539 crore and to LIC of up to Rs 327.20 crore. Post-preferential allotment issue of 4,7218,572 equity shares to the Government, its shareholding...

Read more »

Muthoot Finance welcomes RBI move to tighten lending rules

Muthoot Finance Ltd on Thursday hailed the Reserve Bank of India move to tighten lending norms of NBFCs that are predominantly engaged in lending against gold jewellery. Besides stipulating that loan-to-value (LTV) ratio should not exceed 60 percent, the RBI has also mandated that such NBFCs should maintain a Tier-I capital of 12 percent by April 1, 2014. The Central Bank on Wednesday said in a circular that these NBFCs should not grant any advance against bullion/primary gold and gold coins. These measures will go a long way in ensuring that the...

Read more »

Bank unions plan agitations from mid-April

The United Forum of Bank Unions has decided to hold protests in April on some issues confronting the banking industry. Speaking to Business Line here on Thursday, Mr C. H. Venkatachalam, Convenor of UFBU (United Forum of Bank Unions), said that recommendations of Khandelwal Committee, proposing amendments to the laws relating to the banking sector, and outsourcing of banking activities will be the focus areas for the agitations. The UFBU, which met in Mangalore, has decided to undertake agitations across the country from mid-April. They will be...

Read more »

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme plan may allow trading in top 100 stocks

The proposed Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme is expected to come with safeguards that will permit small investors to purchase shares only in the top 100 stocks traded on BSE and NSE. An exception is, however, expected to be made for public sector companies with the government likely to relax the rule to allow trading in stocks that are part of the top 500 list. The move is aimed at increasing retail participation in not just the stock market but also in disinvestment exercise . The scheme will allow 50% deduction for those who invest up to Rs...

Read more »

Banks should open 25 pc branches in unbanked areas: RBI

The Reserve Bank today asked banks to comply with the prescription of opening at least 25 per cent of new branches in a year in unbanked areas with a population less than 10,000. "At RBI we have said at least 25 per cent of all the branches opened in a given year should be opened in unbanked areas with population of less than 10,000," RBI Governor D Subbarao told a state-level conference of bankers here today. "I hope that prescription would be complied with (by all the banks). It should be done in consultation with state government," the Governor...

Read more »

Small savings like NSC, PPF, post office deposits to fetch higher returns

There is finally some good news for individuals in a season of duty hikes and provident fund rate cut. The government is raising interest rate on small savings schemes such as National Savings Certificate (NSC) and post office deposits by 20-50 basis points. The new rates will, however, be applicable on investments that you make from April 1 and not on those that you park over the next 10 days to meet your tax saving requirements. As a result, NSC and public provident fund (PPF), which is a voluntary deposit as opposed to employee provident fund,...

Read more »

Bank of Baroda to hire 2,000 clerks

Bank of Baroda has notified 2,000 clerical vacancies. As per the notification released on Wednesday, candidates who wrote the common written examination for clerical positions conducted by the Institutue for Banking Personnel Selection in 2011 and qualified are eligible to apply. Since clerical recruitment will be on a State or Union Territory basis, candidates will have to apply for vacancies of a State/union territory from which they had taken the common written exam. Complete details on elegibility criteria and other aspects will be available...

Read more »

Nabard sanctions Rs 423-cr loan for Narmada link projects in Gujarat

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) on Wednesday said it has sanctioned loan assistance of Rs 423 crore to the Gujarat Government under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund for an irrigation project. The project, envisaging laying of a pipeline to link the Narmada Main Canal with three major reservoirs in Sabarkantha district in North Gujarat, is expected to be completed by December 31, 2015. The State Government had accorded priority to strengthening the water resource infrastructure for supplying surface water...

Read more »

ICICI Bank launches new credit card for super rich

ICICI Bank has launched a new card product for the super affluent segment and the bank’s Wealth Management clientele. Called ICICI Bank Sapphiro, it is the third in the bank’s gemstone collection of credit cards, after ICICI Bank Coral and ICICI Bank Rubyx. Card members will receive two cards -- the ICICI Bank Sapphiro Platinum American Express Credit Card and the ICICI Bank Sapphiro Platinum Chip MasterCard Credit Card, said a press release from the bank. The cards, which are linked to a single card account with a single statement and a single...

Read more »

Bank of India hikes rates on over 3-month deposits

Bank of India has hiked deposit rates on select maturity periods by 25-50 basis points, the bank said in a press release to the Bombay Stock Exchange. According to the release, the bank has hiked interest rates on deposits having more than three months maturity period. For deposits of up to Rs 15 lakh, having maturity of 91 days to 179 days, the rate has been hiked to 7 per cent (7.25 per cent). For deposits of 270 days to less than one year maturity, the revised rate is 8.25 per cent (8 per cent). For deposits of one year to less than two years,...

Read more »

IDBI Federal Life Insurance launches ‘Bondsurance Plan'

IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company has launched a ‘Bondsurance Plan' with guaranteed returns and life cover. The plan is meant for those willing to invest for a short to medium term to earn a guaranteed return along with tax benefits. The insurance company, in its product illustration, said customers in the 8 to 32 years age bracket would get a guaranteed maturity amount of Rs 1,38, 293 for a single premium of Rs 1 lakh for a 5-year term. The effective tax-free return would work out to 14.89 per cent, said a company statement. The guaranteed maturity...

Read more »

Canara Bank institute hits IT off with meritorious poor

The Canara Bank Institute of Information Technology (CBIIT) has just completed 11 years of ‘meaningful existence' in the service of its beneficiaries. And they happen to be meritorious youngsters from among the needy and poor for whom IT education with its attendant costs has remained a distant dream. In the words of Ms Mary James, Director, CBIIT, information technology is a sector which offers enormous employment opportunities. The institute was set up in year 2001 by the Canara Bank Centenary Rural Development (CBCRD) Trust. The brief of the CBCRD Trust, itself established in 1981, was to drive the vision of founder late Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. And this was all about improving the economic...

Read more »

SBI offers new, lower rates to old home loan borrowers

State Bank of India's old home loan borrowers have a reason to rejoice. The bank has decided to allow these borrowers to switch over to the new floating rates that are lower, said a bank official. Borrowers who have taken loans linked to SBAR (State Bank Advance Rate or the prime lending rate) are paying as much as 2-3 percentage points more than existing floating rates that are linked to the Base Rate. This is because the Base Rate is lower than the SBAR. SBI's Base Rate is currently at 10 per cent, while the SBAR is 14.75 per cent. Besides, the...

Read more »

Nabard seeks Rs 5,000 cr from Centre

With its borrowing capacity nearing the authorised limit, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sought capital infusion of Rs 5,000 crore from the government for business growth during 2012-17. Chairman Prakash Bakshi told Business Standard the thrust on increasing lending to the agriculture sector and scaling up rural development plans meant a substantial increase in the bank's capital needs. It has sought the additional capital for balance-sheet expansion through refinancing operations and funding cooperative bodies. Nabard...

Read more »

Tax-free infra bonds may lose sheen in 2012-13

The optimum utilisation of the enhanced Rs 60,000-crore limit for issuing tax-free infrastructure bonds by companies seems unlikely. This is despite the government trying hard to boost infra development in the country by doubling the issuance limit for such bonds, which received a euphoric response in 2011-12. Firms that secured approvals to raise funds are unsure if these would be able to harness the entire available limit, owing to delays in decision making by the government and the increase in bank rate. Companies like National Highways Authority...

Read more »

SBI shareholders approve Rs 7,900 cr capital infusion

Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today said its shareholders have approved Rs 7,900 crore capital infusion by the government. The shareholders of the bank at the general meeting on March 19, 2012, have passed a special resolution approving preferential allotment of equity shares to the Government for a consideration of Rs 7,900 crore, SBI said in a filing to the BSE. SBI would allot over 3.60 crore shares at an issue price of Rs 2,191.69 a share to the government, it added. In January, the government had approved capital infusion of Rs 7,900 crore into SBI to help the lender increase its business activities. The capital infusion by the government will raise the Tier-I (equity)...

Read more »

ICICI Bank picks banks for up to $1 bn bond issue

ICICI Bank plans to raise up to $1 billion through a 10-year overseas bond issue as early as this month, two sources with direct knowledge said, signalling a pick-up in overseas bond issuances on improved global liquidity. ICICI Bank, the country's top private lender, has hired Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Standard Chartered for the issue, said the sources, declining to be named as the process is not public yet. "We continously keep exploring various avenues of fund raising in form of public bond issuances and private placements...

Read more »