ICICI Bank has evolved from corporate to day-to-day bank: Chanda Kochhar

Having been largely focussed on corporate banking and big-ticket deals in the past, ICICI has now evolved into a day-to-day banking business, the bank's chief Chanda Kochhar has said."There have been two big changes on the corporate side of our business. In the past, we were mainly focused on large-ticket deals, whereas today we are in the day-to-day banking business and a lot of this is executed through branches," Kochhar said."On the retail side, our focus was through the outside structure but now business is done through the branches. Over...

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RBI may cut repo rate by 25 bps, keep CRR intact

Will the RBI go in for a rate cut, or will it not?This is the question that bothers many who are eagerly awaiting the apex bank's mid-quarter policy review slated for Monday as far as key rates are concerned.Though a 100 basis point cut in the Cash Reserve Ratio has been speculated till three days back, the RBI is now facing fresh realities which could be the game-changers for the economy, in general, and the monetary policy, in particular.The fresh triggers for concern on the inflation front for the apex bank are the increase in food and fuel...

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Corp Bank workshop on Unicode

Corporation Bank conducted a three-day workshop on Unicode for members of Town Official Language Implementation Committee (TOLIC) in Mangalore recently. A bank release said here that Mr P.S. Baliga, general manager of Corporation Bank, inaugurated the workshop. He said that Unicode is the best tool for working in Hindi and Indian languages in the computer age. Corporation Bank, in association with Bilingual Technology Research Institute (under the auspices of TOLIC), conducted the workshop. Mr Anil Kumar Sahu, assistant director, Hindi Teaching...

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Karnataka Bank eyeing Rs 2,520-cr export credit by end of this fiscal

Karnataka Bank is targeting to increase its export credit portfolio by around Rs 1,100 crore during 2012-13.Mr P. Jayarama Bhat, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, said this while delivering the keynote address at the ‘Forex Business Conference' of the bank in Mangalore on Friday.“Export credit is likely to increase from the present level of Rs 1,454 crore to Rs 2,520 crore by March 2013,” he said.Speaking to Business Line after the conference, he said the bank is planning to focus on such sectors as readymade garments,...

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IRDA issues norms on ‘orphan' policies

If your insurance policy is not being serviced due to termination of the agent by an insurer, you will now get relief.The insurance companies are allowed to allot any of the lapsed ‘orphan' life insurance policies to other individual insurance agents with valid licence for rendering effective service to the policyholders.In the guidelines on servicing of orphan policies issued on Friday, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority said the life insurers should notify the particulars of the newly-allotted agent to the policyholders concerned.All...

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SBI cuts lending rates by 50-350 bps for small units, farm sector

The country's largest public sector lender State Bank of India has cut lending rates by 50 to 350 basis points for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and agriculture segments.Without revising the benchmark base rate, which is currently at 10 per cent, the bank has pared the lending rates by tweaking the spread it charges over the base rate.The bank also reduced the tenor premium on term loans by 40 to 100 basis points (bps). A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.According to the bank, borrowers with External Credit Rating of...

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ING Vysya Bank launches new fixed deposit scheme, ING FD+

ING Vysya Bank launched a fixed deposit scheme, offering an interest rate of up to 9.5 per cent per annum for one-year deposits.The scheme, ING FD+, is available for deposits up to Rs 15 lakh and customers can also do a partial withdrawal of the deposit in units of Re 1, the bank said in a statement.Customers can also link the FD with their savings account and activate automatic sweep of funds from the FD, when needed, it said.Customers can therefore withdraw cash from an ATM or write cheques to access their fixed deposit in case of a shortfall...

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Public sector lender Allahabad Bank on Thursday said it has targeted a business growth of 21.39 per cent, and a business level of around Rs.3,300 billion by end of the current fiscal. "Sustaining its growth momentum, the bank has targeted a business growth of 21.39 per cent during the current year and projected a business level of around Rs.330,000 crore as on March 31, 2013," declared Allahabad Bank chairman and managing director J.P. Dua at the bank's 10th Annual General Meeting here.Dua said the focused approach towards enhanced customer...

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Now, pay school/college fees with pre-paid cards

Making life easier for people, the Reserve Bank today allowed holders of pre-paid payment cards, to deposits school and college fees and pay taxes in addition to buying rail and air tickets within the prescribed limit of Rs 10,000.The pre-paid cards, which are convenient alternatives to cash and cheques, are mainly issued by banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) on payment of specified amount and are used for purchasing goods and services from limited outlets.These pre-paid cards which are technically known as semi-closed pre-paid...

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Macquarie questions HDFC accounting practices

Financial services giant HDFC  hit out at global brokerage firm Macquarie, saying the latter did not attempt to "verify the facts and statements" before raising concerns over its stock performance and accounting practices.In a report published today, Macquarie Equities Research said that "a structural de-rating (of HDFC stock) is likely because the quality of earnings and ROE (Return on Equity) reported is being driven more by its corporate book and aggressive accounting practices."Alleging that accounting practices were being used to...

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Corporation Bank to recruit 1,550 clerks

Corporation Bank has invited online applications for the recruitment of 1,550 single window operators (clerks).It has invited applications from Indian citizens who have taken the common written examination for clerical cadre conducted by IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) in 2011-12 and have a valid scorecard issued by IBPS.The last date for online registration is June 26, 2012.The bank has informed the candidates that the single window operator recruitment would be on state/UT-wise (Union Territory) basis.Therefore, it will be...

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Annuity, a must in all pension plans: IRDA

Life insurers will have to provide an immediate or deferred annuity, even in cases where pension products are surrendered before vesting date. At the time of surrender or vesting, the policyholder shall have to buy a single-premium, deferred annuity or an immediate annuity product from the same insurer who sold the original pension policy, Mr J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, said in a circular issued on Thursday. Surrender value For surrenders after the lock-in period of the unit-linked insurance-based...

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LIC told to come up with specific scheme for farmers

The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has directed the Life Insurance Corporation to design a life insurance scheme — a Kisan Bima Yojana — for farmers. This scheme should be on the lines of the Janashree Bima Yojana, a social security scheme, where cover can extend up to 65-70 years. The additional premium could be borne by the farmers covered under the scheme, he suggested. Mr Mukherjee's advice to LIC came during his meeting with the chief executives of public sector insurance companies here on Wednesday. ‘Marginalised group' On...

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RBI broadens scope of prepaid payment instruments

The Reserve Bank of India has broadened the scope of prepaid payment instruments issued by bank and non-bank entities.In a notification, the central bank said semi-closed system payment instruments can also be used for payment of college fees, school fees, and government taxes up to a limit of Rs 10,000. Know your customer Hitherto, these instruments could be used only to pay utility bills and for payments related to essential services, as also to book tickets for air and train travel.The RBI, in its latest notification, said these instruments...

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Karnataka Bank targets Rs 1,000-cr agri sector loans

Karnataka Bank has identified 51 branches for focussed attention to agriculture lending. With this, the bank is targeting Rs 1,000 crore disbursements in agriculture sector during 2012-13.Mr P. Jayarama Bhat, Managing Director of the bank, said this while delivering the keynote address at the ‘Agri-Business Conference' of the bank here on Thursday. Growth centres He said that the bank has already identified certain growth centres throughout India. It would make concerted efforts for increased credit flow.Mr Bhat told Business Line that...

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Muthoot Capital Services to focus on vehicle loans

Shifting its focus from the gold loan business, Muthoot Capital Services Ltd has chalked out plans to concentrate on two- and three-wheeler financing in the current fiscal.The company has set a target of Rs 690 crore for loan disbursement in the current fiscal in vehicle loans, which is more than double that in FY11-12. Last year, the company had disbursed Rs 300 crore in two-wheeler loans, Mr Thomas George Muthoot, Managing Director, MCSL said.In an informal interaction with mediapersons here, he said the decision to stop gold loan financing...

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IRDA appoints public information officers

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has appointed Chief Public Information Officers as per the Right to Information Act. The officers were appointed for different departments including actuaries, brokers, health, accounts, F&I and non-life. The appointments came into effect from June 11, 2012, IRDA said in a circular. nagsridhu@thehindu.co.in...

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ATM companies top small banks in valuation

Managing automated teller machines (ATMs) is turning out to be big business, with companies that have taken over the outsourced functions, commanding valuations of smaller nationalized banks.One of the leading companies in this space, Financial Software & Systems (FSS), is clinching fresh investments at about $350 million (more than Rs 1,900 crore) valuation, topping the market capitalizations of banks like Dhanlaxmi, Punjab & Sind, Development Credit bank and Laxmi Vilas Bank. The Chennai-based company is tracking Rs 650 crore revenue...

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Chakrabarty gets three-month extension as RBI dy governor

K C Chakrabarty, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has got an extension for three more months. Chakrabarty’s three-year term would otherwise have expired tomorrow. He was appointed in June 2009.Business Standard had reported earlier that a proposal for a two-year extension was pending approval with the government. A deputy governor of RBI can be appointed for a maximum of five years and the candidate has to be below the age of 60. A deputy governor can serve till the age of 62. Chakrabarty fulfils these requirements.According...

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Federal Bank takes up management of World Exchange Centre

Federal Bank has taken up the management of World Exchange Centre WLL in Bahrain. With this arrangement, the bank has strengthened its foothold in Bahrain, a press statement said. Federal Bank has presently 8 inward remittance arrangements with Exchange Houses from Bahrain. On signing the Management Agreement with World Exchange, Mr A Surendran, Additional General Manager & Head International Banking, Federal Bank said ‘with the present tie up with World Exchange, Federal Bank is hopeful of serving Indian diaspora in Bahrain in a more...

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E-fund transfers set to become free

In a move that would bring relief to bank customers, the government has asked the Reserve Bank to work out a framework under which funds could be transferred electronically free of charge from one account to the other.These suggestions were made by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee in his address at a meeting with chief executives of the public sector banks, which among others, was also attended by RBI Deputy Governor, Dr K C Chakrabarty.At present, banks charge between Rs 5 to Rs 55 for electronic transfer of funds from an account...

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RBI allows banks to accept spectrum as collateral

The i has approved the proposal to allow mobile phone companies to mortgage airwaves, a move that will allow telcos to use spectrum as collateral and raise funds from banks for the upcoming auctions.The RBI has said that banks will be allowed to seize airwaves in the event of a default or cancellation of mobile permits. Banks will enjoy the rights to sell, transfer, assign, exchange and dispose of the airwaves without any restraining conditions to protect their interests, the central bank said in May 30 communication to the finance ministry.The...

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SBI to hire 9,500 in this fiscal; to focus on retail biz

State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank, said it plans to hire 9,500 employees this fiscal. Its main thrust will be on retail banking in the coming years.Noting that the current economic environment warrants greater prudence, the SBI Chairman, Mr Pratip Chaudhuri, said, the bank would remain vigilant to new opportunities and challenges.“In the coming years, our bank’s main thrust will be on retail, and, as shown by our achievements, we are well positioned to meet the competition,” Mr Chaudhuri said in his letter to shareholders,...

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RBI asks banks to allot unique customer IDs

The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to initiate steps to allot Unique Customer Identification Code (UCIC) to all their customers.To begin with the UCIC should be allotted to customers entering into a new relation with a bank. Further, this code should be allotted to existing customers by banks by end-May 2013.The UCIC will help banks to identify customers, track the facilities availed, monitor financial transactions in a holistic manner and enable banks to have a better approach to risk profile it’s customers, the central bank said.The...

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SBI pitches for CRR cut to spur growth

State Bank of India (SBI) expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 1 percentage point to boost economic growth and improve the bottomline of banks.“We are expecting a 1 percentage point cut in CRR. …We have made a request but it is for the RBI to take a call. We will be very happy if there is 1 percentage point cut. It will recharge investor sentiments, the economy and also stock markets,” Mr Pratip Chaudhuri, Chairman, SBI, told newspersons on the sidelines of a meeting here.CRR is the portion of deposits...

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IRDA worried over growth of single premium group policies

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is concerned about the growth of group single-premium policies.Even as the life insurance business in general has slowed down, the group single-premium policies segment is witnessing growth.“This is a problem and how we define groups needs to be looked into,” Mr J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, IRDA, told Business Line in an interaction here.As per the regulator's data, the group single-premium collected by private life insurers and Life Insurance Corporation in 2011-12 was Rs 5,023 crore...

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SBI breaches RBI norms on RIL exposure for 4th year in 2011-12

State-run banking giant SBI has said it temporarily exceeded RBI-prescribed credit exposure limit for the fourth year in a row in 2011-12 with regard to loans given to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL).During the fiscal ended March 31, 2012, State Bank of India (SBI) also breached RBI's single borrower exposure norms in case of loans to two state-run entities - Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL).The exposure was brought down within the RBI-prescribed limits for all the three borrowers (RIL, IOC and BHEL)...

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NCR Mobile Cash Withdrawal: NCR makes wireless withdrawals in under 10 seconds at the ATM

A new software from NCR Corporation will allow consumers to initiate cash withdrawals from their banking accounts on mobile devices and then complete those transactions at an ATM by scanning a 2D barcode.NCR Mobile Cash Withdrawal will make ATM transactions faster and more secure, by removing cards and PINs from the process at the ATM. The entire transaction, while the consumer is in front of the ATM, can take less than 10 seconds.Consumers will authenticate through their existing mobile banking application and pre-stage the transaction via...

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