e-banking bts online shopping: Netizens

A majority of Indians prefer to use the internet for banking and other financial services than shopping online, shows a new survey. Almost 57 per cent of Indian respondents using the internet prefer to bank online and use other financial services due to hassle- free easy access and time saving feature of online banking, according to the survey conducted by research firm Ipsos. Checking information on products and services online comes a close second at 53 per cent while 50 per cent shop for products online. Around 42 per cent of respondents in...

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No holiday for most, banks to remain open, work full day tomorrow

After three holidays this week, all public sector and many private banks would function full day tomorrow. Banks usually are open for public dealings between 10 am and 1 pm on Saturdays. However, the Finance Ministry has asked all the public sector banks to function full day this Saturday, official sources said. Country's largest bank SBI has said that all its branches will remain open till 5 pm Saturday. "In order to facilitate transactions for our customers, it has been decided to keep all branches of our bank open for public transactions up...

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Corporation Bank cuts home loan rates marginally

Corporation Bank has marginally cut housing loan interest rates with effect from April 1. A bank release said here that the interest rate on loans up to Rs 25 lakh for a period up to five years will be 10.75 per cent. This was 10.8 per cent earlier. Interest rates for other tenures such as five years and up to 10 years; above 10 years and up to 15 years; and above 15 years and up to 25 years remain unchanged at 10.8 per cent, 10.9 per cent, and 11 per cent, respectively. vinayakaj@thehindu.co.in...

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PNB Ernakulam circle posts Rs 107-cr profit

The Ernakulam circle of Punjab National Bank has crossed Rs 100-crore mark in net profit during last fiscal. The net profit as on March 31 stood at Rs 107 crore, Mr K.V. Rajesh, deputy general manager and circle head of the region, said. The total business of the region is nearing Rs 5,000 crore. The Ernakulam circle of Punjab National Bank consists of its branches in eight districts from Trivandrum to Trichur. The bank recently launched exclusive salary accounts for defence/police personnel, nurses of private hospitals and State government employees....

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Whatever happened to the piggybank?

Every March, the priest at Cordel Church near Mangalore used to give Anil Fernandes a tin box. The aim was to collect money meant for sharing with the poor over the next 12 months. “I developed an interest in saving money and, apart from putting it in the tin box, I used to save money separately too, ” recollects Fernandes. His daughter Ruth, 11, has now taken to the habit. Three years ago, she began putting coins in a box. Now, she also has a bank account. In this era of instant gratification, the concept of children saving money is rapidly disappearing,...

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RBI for waiving ATM charges for senior citizens, differently-abled

The Reserve Bank of India wants banks to do senior citizens and physically/visually challenged customers a good turn. The banking regulator wants banks to see if these category of customers can be allowed unlimited number of ATM transactions at any bank ATM. It also wants the annual ATM card fee waived for these customers. Since senior citizens and physically challenged persons will use ATMs only for genuine purposes, banks could allow them to use any bank ATM for any number of times, said Mr S. Govindan, General Manager, Union Bank of India. Currently,...

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Vijaya Bank plans to recruit 1,200 every year

Vijaya Bank plans to recruit about 1,200 clerical and officer staff every year, the bank's Executive Director, Ms Shubhalakshmi Panse, said. She said, “We are planning to open around 100 branches every year. Besides, 800 to 900 staff will retire each year. That is a big number for a bank of our size.” This is in line with the trend seen in many other banks. With the average age of employees hovering at around 50, fresh recruitments have seen a surge in recent times. Outsourcing trainingGiven that the existing training infrastructure is not geared...

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Corporation Bank clocks 16% growth in biz

Corporation Bank has registered a 16 per cent growth in business during 2011-12. Speaking at the 40th year celebrations of Corporation Bank Officers’ Organisation on Wednesday, Mr Ajai Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, said that the target was to reach around 25 per cent growth in business. However, the bank could achieve a growth of 15-16 per cent. “I will not call it as a very good performance. But it is not a bad performance also. It is a pretty good performance after looking at the macroeconomic conditions in the country,” he said. Stating...

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Now, UCO Banks bonds downgraded

The season of downgrades for banks just got extended. Rating agency ICRA on Wednesday cut the rating for Kolkata-based UCO Bank’s lower Tier-II bonds from “AA+” to “AA” due to deterioration in asset quality and weak solvency profile. ICRA had already lowered the rating for Oriental Bank of Commerce’s bonds for increase in non-performing assets. Global rating agency Moody’s has also downgraded the rating for some instruments of Union Bank of India and Bank of India. ICRA revised the ratings for UCO Bank’s Upper Tier-II Bonds and Innovative Perpetual...

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HSBC Private Equity, ePlanet to shed Trivitron stake

HSBC Private Equity and ePlanet Capital are planning to sell their stake in Chennai-based medical diagnostics firm Trivitron Healthcare. "Since their investment cycle has matured, both PE firms are exploring a partial exit from the company," GSK Velu, MD, Trivitron told ET. Trivitron Healthcare has appointed Kotak Investment Bank to scout for a buyer. Both PE firms had invested close to $11 million in Trivitron Healthcare in 2007, picking up minority stake in the company. Trivitron Healthcare is one of India's largest medical technology company,...

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SBI reverses stance on minimum account balance

Customers of State Bank of India would need to keep a minimum balance in their savings accounts, at least for now. This became clear after the bank directed branches to ‘keep in abeyance' the waiver of service charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance. LATEST CIRCULARIn February, an e-circular had announced the waiver as a ‘major step forward towards customer retention and acquisition.' This is now sought to be reversed and kept in abeyance according to another circular dated April 4. “It has been decided to keep in abeyance the instructions...

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Federal Bank hikes interest rate on term deposits

Federal Bank has hiked the rate of interest on both-resident as well as NRE term deposits for a period of 1 year to 10 per cent effective from April 3, a statement issued here said. The rates of interest for resident deposits of other maturity periods has been fixed at for 7 days to 45 days - 5.00 per cent, 46 days to 180 days - 7.00 per cent, 181 days to 199 days - 8.50 per cent, 200 days - 9.50 per cent, 201 days to less than 1 year - 8.50 per cent, above 1 year to less than 3 years - 9.50 per cent and 3 years and above - 9.25 per cent. The rate...

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RBI asks Kotak Bank promoters to cut stake to 10%

The Reserve Bank of India has asked the promoters of Kotak Mahindra Bank to cut their stake in the bank to 10 per cent from 45 per cent by 2016. This regulatory directive is in keeping with the guidelines for entry of new private sector banks. The guidelines require promoters to gradually bring down their stake to 10 per cent. Promoter holding in Kotak Mahindra Bank was at 45.40 per cent as on December-end 2011 against 63 per cent in 2003, when it became a bank. Promoters of private sector banks such as Kotak Mahindra bank, YES Bank and Development...

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ICICI Pru Life to augment agency network; ramp up online sales

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is looking to engage 20,000-25,000 new agents this year. Currently, its agency network is about 1.25 lakh strong, said Mr Tarun Chugh, Chief Distribution Officer. After the IRDA upgraded the training model for agents, the company is investing more in its training programme. It currently has 700 trainers. “The training programme for insurance agents has now become more meaningful and the quality of output is significantly enhanced. The new curriculum ensures that agents become more of financial advisors. They are...

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More capital infusion in SBI this fiscal

The Centre will infuse some more capital in State Bank of India during 2012-13, Mr D.K.Mittal, Financial Services Secretary, said here today. This remark comes close on the heels of the Government pumping in nearly Rs 7,900 crore in SBI through a preferential allotment route last month. Mr Mittal said that the Government would ensure a Tier-I capital of 11 per cent for SBI in the next two years. Currently, SBI's Tier-I capital is around 9 per cent. The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, had in the Budget set aside about Rs 15,888 crore for...

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Central Bank of India to close zero balance accounts

Central Bank of India will be closing those accounts which have zero balance. “The account holders are aware that stipulated minimum balance has to be maintained in their accounts. It is noticed that in certain accounts, there are no financial transactions during the last 12 months,’’ the bank said in a notification. As there was also zero balance in these accounts, it was evident that the account holders do not want to maintain their accounts with the bank for financial transactions. As such, the bank has decided to close all such accounts, it...

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LIC pumps in Rs 2,317 cr in four PSU banks

The state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has pumped in Rs 2,137 crore in four public sector banks through the preference share route. Life insurance monolith LIC, according to separate filings in BSE, has pumped in Rs 1,037 crore in Bank of India (BOI), Rs 650 crore in Union Bank of India (UBI), Rs 302 crore in Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Rs 148 crore in the United Bank of India. All these banks have issued preferential shares to the LIC. The infusion of capital is expected to help the PSU lenders to enhancing their lending activity...

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South Indian Bank announces new deposit schemes

South Indian Bank has opened its 700th branch in Thiruvananthapuram. The bank, which has achieved total business of Rs 63,000 crore, also announced the launch of special deposit schemes to mark the occasion. The schemes, SIB 700 and SIB 700 Plus, are for amounts ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore, Dr Joseph said. The products that come with a free insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh and attractive interest offers will be available for a limited period effective from April 1, Dr Joseph said. The bank brought together 10 septuagenarian men and women with...

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Syndicate Bank opens 108 branches

Syndicate Bank opened 108 branches across the country on Saturday. Speaking at the inauguration event, Mr M.G. Sanghvi, Chairman and Managing Director, Syndicate Bank, said that the bank plans to open 200 branches during the 2012-13 fiscal. Currently, the bank has a network of over 2,700 branches. With a capital adequacy ratio of 12 per cent and net NPA below 1 per cent, the bank is geared up to grow qualitatively, he said. “We are on the verge of crossing Rs 3-lakh-crore business, and we are confident of achieving this in the first quarter of...

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UCO Bank opens 100th branch in TN circle

UCO Bank today opened its 100th branch in Tamil Nadu circle, which includes Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Port Blair. Mr S. Chandrasekharan, Executive Director, inaugurated the branch at Kodungaiyur in North Chennai. Starting with a deposit base of Rs 47 crore, this branch now holds the record for having the highest amount on the inauguration day. “I want to see that this amount touches Rs 100 crore by June-end,’’ he said inaugurating the branch. The earlier record was held by the recently inaugurated Mogaippair branch in west Chennai, which started...

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Canara Bank home loan rates reduced from April 2

Canara Bank has reduced home loan interest rates with effect from April 2. The rate of reduction is for all borrowers across repayment tenors and quantum slabs, said a press release from the bank. With the revision, the rate of interest now range between 10.75 per cent and 11.25 per cent. For loans between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, the interest rate reduction ranges between 25 basis points to 75 basis points depending on the repayment tenor. For loans above Rs.75 lakhs, the interest rate reduction ranges between 25 Basis points to 175 Basis points...

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