ATM fraudsters auction data abroad, says SBI official

ATM fraud is an organised crime with international linkages for procurement of hi-tech gadgets and auction of data, Mr M S S Srinivas, Additional General Manager, SBI Switch Centre Mumbai said today. “The fraudsters procure skimmers to copy ATM card data from as far as Ukraine and lately stolen ATM card data are auctioned at an international market,” Mr Srinivas said in an awareness programme on ATM frauds here. A pinhole camera on the skimmer placed inside the card slot was used by culprits to read PIN number, he said. The authorities had detected...

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Printing of MICR, IFSC code must on passbook, a/c statement: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India has made it mandatory for all banks to print the MICR and IFSC code on the passbook and statement of account of the customers. “Currently, the MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) code is available on the cheque leaf along with the IFSC (Indian Financial System Code) code of the branch. On a review it has been decided that this information should also be made available in the passbook/statement of account of the account holders,” RBI said in a statement. As per RBI guidelines, MICR code is necessary for all electronic...

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SBI to cut interest on auto, small biz loans

State Bank of India will reduce interest rates on vehicle loans and on loans to small and medium enterprises. “We have already started adjustment of rates on the loan side. Auto loan rates will be cut today or tomorrow,” Mr A. Krishna Kumar, Managing Director, State Bank of India, told newspersons here on Saturday. This will be followed by a reduction in the rates on smaller-ticket loans to small and medium enterprises, he added. On the likely impact of the interest-rate cut on bank profits this financial year, Mr Krishna Kumar said as about 47...

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Bank of Maharashtra trims lending rates

Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has decided to reduce its base rate to 10.5 per cent from 1 May. The interest rates on loans that are linked to base rate will be reduced by 0.10 per cent and the rate cut will benefit existing and prospective home loan borrowers, auto loan borrowers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and all other categories of borrowers. Following the slash in the base rate, the bank on Thursday released its new floating interest rate structure. As per the revised interest rate structure, the loan taken for the tenure up to...

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For Oriental Bank, Kingfisher Airlines account turns substandard

Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines has turned into a non-performing asset for the Gurgaon-headquartered public sector lender Oriental Bank of Commerce. This follows the airline not servicing the interest payments on the bank's exposure of Rs 55 crore (pre-delivery payment finance for aircraft), sources close to the developments said. The repayments were to start in 2013. OBC will make a provision when it closes its books for the quarter ended March 2012 as the account has turned substandard, they said. OBC's financial results for the financial year...

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Bank of Baroda cuts lending, deposit rates by 25-50 bps

Bank of Baroda cut deposit rates by 25-50 basis points across various maturities on Friday. The bank also cut its Base Rate and Benchmark Prime Lending Rates by 25 basis points each. This move follows the 50 basis points cut in the repo and reverse repo rates by the Reserve Bank of India. A press release from BoB said the bank's Base Rate will be at 10.5 per cent and its BPLR will be 14.75 per cent with effect from May 1. On Tuesday, after the RBI action, banks did not seem raring to take the cue, but they now appear to be giving in to Government...

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Banks bow to government; ICICI Bank, PNB cut lending rates, others to follow suit

ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank took the lead among major lenders in lowering deposit and lending rates by 25 bps, which will not only reduce monthly payments on home and car loans but also cheer policymakers. But Bank of Maharashtra's decision to bring down its benchmark rate by just 10 basis points to 10.5% probably reflects the reality - that few believe market rates will trend down and deposit growth will be sufficient for future rate cuts. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Bankers, who were unwilling to commit on rate cuts the day...

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HDFC Bank sees no need to offer premium on bulk deposit rates

HDFC Bank, the second-largest private sector lender in the country, will not offer a higher rate on bulk deposits than it pays for retail deposits of similar maturities. The lender’s comfortable liquidity position, combined with downward bias in interest rates and slow credit growth expectations in the first three months of this financial year, has allowed it to take this decision. “The difference between bulk and retail deposit rates has come down sharply. The difference is probably 50 basis points now. Our view is that the bulk deposit rates...

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SBI officials drive Rs 1 cr NRI acct scam

The CBI has arrested three State Bank of India (SBI) officers for their alleged involvement in siphoning off money to the tune of Rs 1.35 crore from the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) accounts, sources said today. The accused including alleged mastermind and in-charge of NRI section of the main branch Anup Rajurkar, deputy manager Prakash Bhalkar and senior executive Mamata Motwani were apprehended yesterday for their alleged role in fraudulently withdrawing the money from the NRI accounts of the bank, they said. Though the scam was unearthed two years...

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IndusInd Bank Q4 net rises 30% at Rs 223.38 cr

IndusInd Bank on Thursday, reported over 30 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 223.38 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, driven by increase in advances, as against a net profit of Rs 171.76 crore in the same period of last fiscal. Total income increased to Rs 1,773.07 crore in the January-March 2012 period from Rs 1,230.47 core in the same quarter of last fiscal, IndusInd Bank said in a BSE filing. Net interest income (interest earned less interest expended) during Q4 was Rs 464.4 crore, as against Rs 388.08 crore in the same period a...

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Religare Health gets R2 licence from IRDA

Religare Health Insurance Company Ltd has received the R2 licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). The shareholders of Religare Health Insurance are Religare Enterprises Ltd, Union Bank of India and Corporation Bank....

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ICICI Bank launches system for toll collection

ICICI Bank launched the first electronic toll collection on National Highway 1. The Bank said the project was initiated by the Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways. Toll operators would issue RFID (radio frequency identification device) tags to commuters to be read at the toll plazas. Through the system, the commuters will get a convenience of payment without stops at toll plazas, which would lead to less traffic congestion. The Bank will make the tag interoperable so that it can be used across several toll-collection plazas on the Highway....

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PNB reduces base rate; slashes home loan, car loan rates

Close on the heels of the Reserve Bank reducing the repo rate by 50 basis points, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday decided to cut its base rate by 25 basis points from 10.75 per cent to 10.50 per cent. It also slashed lending rates on housing and car loans. All the revised rates will be applicable from May 1, the bank said in a statement here. The bank had last changed its base rate on August 1, last year when it hiked it by 75 basis points to 10.75 per cent. Base rate is the minimum rate below which banks cannot lend. For home loans...

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Andhra Bank to hire 600 clerks

Andhra Bank will be recruiting 600 clerks to work in branches located in various parts of the country. According to a notification released by the Hyderabad-based bank, graduates in the age group of 18-28 and who scored a minimum of 124 in the common written examination for clerical posts are eligible to apply. For candidates in the reserved category, the minimum score has been fixed at 105. As the recruitment will be State-wise, candidates should apply to the vacancies in the State from which they had taken the common written examination. The...

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ICICI Bank cuts deposit, lending rates by 25 bps

ICICI Bank has cut the interest rates on retail fixed deposits for various tenors by 25 basis points. It has also pared its lending rate benchmark — the base rate — by 25 basis points. Both the rate cuts come into effect from April 23. The revised base rate will be 9.75 per cent against 10 per cent at present. India’s largest private sector bank has also announced a reduction of 25 basis points in its benchmark prime-lending rate to 18.5 per cent from 18.75 per cent and in its floating reference rate for consumer loans (including home loans) to...

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Centre turning dictator? Government orders PSU banks to cut rates immediately

The government has ordered state-run banks to lower lending rates immediately even before the ink has dried on the Reserve Bank of India's decision to cut interest rates, potentially adding to the corporate governance debate triggered by the imposition of its will on Coal India. The direction from DK Mittal, secretary, financial services, may put many lenders in a tight spot as profitability and cost structures differ between banks, said two persons familiar with the development. "With the reduction of CRR and repo rate, all lending rates be relooked...

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Loans set to get cheaper, deposits to earn less

Get ready to pay lower loan instalments. Banks are gearing to pare their lending and deposit rates, a day after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signalled a reversal in the interest rate regime by cutting the key policy rate 50 basis points (bps). State-run IDBI Bank on Wednesday announced a cut in the base rate — to which loan rates are linked — by 25 bps to 10.5 per cent. It also announced a reduction in the benchmark prime lending rate — the erstwhile benchmark rate, to which loans taken before July 2010 are linked — by 25 bps to 15 per cent....

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RBI cuts bank rate to 9 per cent

The Reserve Bank today issued a notification to reduce the bank rate or the interest the banks and financial institutions pay to the central bank on borrowed funds to 9 per cent from 9.5 per cent now. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to lower the Bank Rate to 9 per cent per annum from 9.5 per cent per annum with effect from April 17, 2012," the RBI said in a statement. The notification follows the announcement made by RBI Governor D Subbarao in the annual credit policy which was unveiled yesterday. In line with 0.5 per cent cut in short-term...

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Federal Bank chief projects two more rounds of rate cut

“The RBI has given the much needed impetus to the market with the repo rate cut of 50 bps. It is a bold move that should see confidence returning to the markets and lead to the virtuous investment/ capital formation cycle,” the Chief Executive of Federal Bank, Mr Shyam Srinivasan, said. According to him, the year could see at least two more rounds of rate cuts, and depending on the macro economic variables, he foresees a cut in CRR as well. “The challenges on the domestic and overseas front remain. However, I believe that appropriate policy measures...

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IDBI Bank cuts deposit, lending rates

IDBI Bank has cut deposit rates by 10-50 basis points across various maturities. It has also pared lending rate benchmarks — base rate and benchmark private lending rate — by 25 basis points. The public sector bank is the first bank to cut rates following the 50 basis points cut in repo rate by the RBI. Following the rate cut, the new base rate is 10.5 per cent and the BPLR is 15 per cent, said Mr P. Sitaram, Chief General Manager, IDBI Bank. “The impact of the rate cut on the margin will be neutral as we have adjusted the interest rates on assets...

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Bank of India to recruit 3,149 clerks

Bank of India is recruiting 3,149 clerks across the country. Recruitment for these posts will be done State-wise. So, the candidates have been asked to apply for vacancies in the State or Union Territory from which they appeared for the common exam conducted by IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection). Highest vacancies are in Jharkand (485), Uttar Pradesh (423) and Madhya Pradesh (401). The cut-off marks vary from State to State. The bank has fixed 131 as the cut-off marks for general category candidates in the North-Eastern States. While...

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RBI looking into window-dressing by banks

Year-end window-dressing is the norm in public sector banks. Figures pertaining to deposits and loans are inflated to show ‘growth'. This is done by the simple expedient of taking on more deposits and lending more for a very short period, around the balance-sheet date of March 31. After the books are closed both deposits and loans are returned and status quo returns. Fiscal 2012 was no different. Although one thought it could have been. A couple of weeks ago, the Finance Ministry had let it be known that annual deposit and loan growth would no...

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Muthoot arm teams up with Axis Bank for prepaid cards

Muthoot Vehicle and Asset Finance Ltd has signed an agreement with Axis Bank for launching Muthoot shopping/utility prepaid cards. This prepaid card can be used at all merchant outlets on Axis Bank PoS (Point of Sale) / EDC machines. Comprehensive programmeMr George Alexander Muthoot, Managing Director, MVFL, said that this comprehensive programme targeting the common man is a secure, efficient and cost-effective payment system. The prepaid card will be available at all Muthoot branches and can be reloaded from any of them for a maximum amount...

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Oriental Bank of Commerce may cut interest rates further

The Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) is likely to go in for a simultaneous cut in deposit and lending rates following the 50 basis points cut in the repo rate on Tuesday, its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr S. L. Bansal, has said. Only last week, ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's credit policy, OBC had gone in for some reduction in base rate and deposit rates in certain maturities. The base rate was reduced by 10 basis points to 10.65 per cent. “I am assuring you that our interest rates will further come down….When? You will have to wait,”...

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HDFC Bank Q4 net up 30% on retail loan growth

Strong growth in advances, particularly retail loans, and non-interest income helped HDFC Bank's net profit rise 30 per cent to Rs 1,453 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2012 from Rs 1,115 crore in the same quarter last year. For the full year 2011-12, the net profit rose 32 per cent to Rs 5,167 crore against Rs 3,926 crore in 2010-11. The bank declared a dividend of Rs 4.3 on shares having face value of Rs 2. Net interest margin, at 4.2 per cent, was the largest driver of profits, said Mr Paresh Sukthankar, Executive Director. Strong growth...

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A good decision, says Canara Bank CMD

Mr S. Raman, Chairman and Managing Director, Canara Bank: It is a good and decisive move by the RBI. Given the limited space available, the RBI has come up with a good decision. Transmission of rate cut to customers should be possible in the next few weeks. But it also depends on reduction in deposit rates. Deposit rates have to come down first as the cost of deposits had increased significantly; hopefully it would happen very soon. Our ALCO will take a call on interest rates on lending and deposits. Ms Upasna Bhardwaj, Economist, ING Vysya Bank:...

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RBI tightens norms for bank lending to gold loan cos

Non-banking finance companies in the gold loans business may find the going tough when it comes to raising loans from banks. The RBI has directed banks to reduce their regulatory exposure ceiling to a single NBFC, having gold loans to the extent of 50 per cent or more of its total financial assets, from the existing 10 per cent to 7.5 per cent of bank’s capital funds. “There has been a significant increase in loans against gold by non-banking financial companies in the recent period, which has raised several concerns,” the RBI said in its Annual...

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SBI to cut lending rates soon

State Bank of India (SBI), today said it will “do a comprehensive cut” in lending rates on various loans following the Reserve Bank of India’s 0.5 per cent reduction in repo rate. “Of course, there would be a transmission. The transmission of last CRR (cash reserve ratio) cut has also not happened fully because that came in March. We thought we would wait till (April) 17th and do a comprehensive cut,” the SBI Chairman, Mr Pratip Chaudhuri, said after the RBI unveiled its annual credit policy. Lending rate cut“It (a lending rate cut) will not be...

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RBI could have cut CRR too: KVB chief

“The RBI has the habit of springing a surprise. Though the market expected a 25 basis points cut, I expected a 50 bps cut in the repo rates,’’ said the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Karur Vysya Bank, Mr K.Venkataraman. He, however, felt that it could have been more enhanced if it had come with a 25 bps cut in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) as well. (CRR refers to the liquid cash that banks have to maintain with the RBI as a certain percentage of their demand and time liabilities). According to him, a 25 bps cut in repo rate would not have...

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RBI abolishes prepayment charges on home loans

The RBI announced measures that will help home loan customers. Particularly, those who feel shortchanged when they don't get the benefits of lower interest rates. It has now removed charges and penalties for foreclosure/prepayment of home loans taken on floating interest basis. The removal of foreclosure charges/prepayment penalty on home loans will lead to a reduction in the discrimination between existing and new borrowers and the competition among banks will result in finer pricing of home loans with the floating rate, the RBI said. The Damodaran...

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