Loans to small units safe: Corpn Bank official

Corporation Bank’s small and medium enterprises (SME) asset quality continues to be robust with gross NPA ratio at 1.66 per cent, said Ashwani Kumar, Executive Director, Corporation Bank.Addressing reporters to announce the bank’s ‘SME festival loan bonanza’, Kumar said “Funding SMEs is a challenge. So far the bank has exposure to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore and we are managing it well.”“The bank has set a target of lending Rs 5,300 crore to SMEs by March 2013. Though the target is steep, we hope to achieve it. In the last six months (April...

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ICICI Sec to counsel govt for public sector ETFs

The Department of Disinvestment has selected ICICI Securities (ICICI Sec) to act as its adviser to create and market the proposed central public sector enterprise (CPSE) exchange traded funds (ETFs).Three other i-bankers — Citi, SBI Caps and Yuanta Fund — were in the fray for this.The proposed PSU ETF will comprise shares of listed central PSUs and will act as an additional mechanism for the disinvestment process.“Yesterday, we made a presentation to the Disinvestment department, after which we have been selected to act as the adviser to the...

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Punjab and Sind Bank Q2 net falls 21%

Punjab and Sind Bank on Friday said its net profit for the July-September period fell by 20.8 per cent to Rs 117.07 crore.Its net profit over the same quarter a year ago stood at Rs 147.76 crore.The total income of the state-owned lender grew by 10.2 per cent to Rs 1,885.75 crore in the second quarter from Rs 1,711.27 crore over the corresponding period a year earlier, PSB said in filing to BSE.However, its income from other sources fell to Rs 87.34 crore in the second quarter from Rs 104.74 crore.“Net NPA stood at Rs 774.49 crore as on September...

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IDFC Q2 net drops 13% on higher finance costs

Infrastructure finance company IDFC has reported a 13 per cent drop in standalone second quarter net profit at Rs 461.38 crore on the back of higher finance costs.In the corresponding quarter last year, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 529.21 crore.For the June to September quarter, finance costs (the cost at which the company borrows to lend) increased 44 per cent to Rs 1189.71 crore (Rs 825.66 crore, a year ago).Total income from operations rose 17 per cent to Rs 1947.94 crore.The shares of the Mumbai-based company ended at Rs 157.65,...

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Indian Overseas Bank Q2 profit dips 24%

As a result of interest reversal on restructured loan accounts during the quarter, Indian Overseas Bank reported a 24 per cent drop in net profit for the quarter ended September 30 at Rs 158.43 crore against Rs 207.46 crore in the corresponding previous year quarter.The bank’s total income rose to Rs 5,515.02 crore from Rs 4,822.56 crore, registering a growth of 14.36 per cent. Announcing the results, the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director M. Narendra, said interest reversal on restructured accounts and additional provisions made during...

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Bank of Baroda to scale up recruitment from institute

Bank of Baroda will increase the intake of candidates through the Baroda-Manipal School of Banking to meet its human resource requirement.Addressing presspersons here on Friday, M.D. Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, said that the institute began offering one-year diploma in banking in August 2011.The bank offers jobs to students graduating from the institute, besides education loans at subsidised rates, he said.“Every quarter, we take one-fourth of the requirement of the year. Last year, we had taken 180 per quarter. For...

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ICICI Bank net jumps 30% in Q2 on strong interest income

Higher interest and dividend incomes helped boost ICICI Bank’s net profit by 30 per cent, to Rs 1,956 crore, in the July-September quarter.India’s largest private sector lender had posted a net profit of Rs 1,503 crore in the year-ago period.Net interest income (the difference between interest earned and expended) rose 35 per cent to Rs 3,371 crore (Rs 2,506 crore in Q2 FY12).Non-interest income grew 17 per cent to Rs 2,043 crore (Rs 1,740 crore). Dividend income increased to Rs 160 crore ( Rs 120 crore).Provisions towards bad loans increased...

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United Bank net rises 16% on treasury gains

Backed by growth in other income, United Bank of India posted 16 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 145 crore for the quarter ended September 30.Other income grew 49 per cent. However, the bank’s net interest income dipped three per cent.Sequentially, however, profits dipped about 17 per cent from Rs 174 crore in the first quarter ended June 30.According to Bhaskar Sen, Chairman and Managing Director, the drop in net interest income was on account of a slowdown in credit offtake.“The growth in net profit came from a higher other income, primarily...

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Higher provisioning drags PNB net down 11.5% in Q2

A sharp rise in provisioning towards bad loans weighed on Punjab National Bank’s bottomline in the September quarter.The bank’s net profit declined 11.5 per cent to Rs 1,066 crore (Rs 1,205 crore). NPA provisioning was higher at Rs 1,140 crore (Rs 319 crore).The public sector lender’s financial performance was hit by incremental slippage in bad loans of Rs 4,544 crore in the second quarter and Rs 6,875 crore in the first half of this fiscal.The recovery during the first half of the fiscal was Rs 954 crore, and during the current quarter was...

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Syndicate Bank plans joint venture to enter life insurance sector

Syndicate Bank has firmed up plans for diversifying into insurance business. It has decided to form a joint venture with a large insurer to enter the life insurance sector.The Executive Director of the Manipal-headquartered bank, A. Anjaneya Prasad, told Business Line : “We have shortlisted the company and will announce the name as soon as we get the okay from the Reserve Bank of India and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority”.The bank has a small presence in the bancassurance sector with a tie-up with the General Insurance Company...

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Kotak Mahindra Bank Q2profit muted at Rs 280 cr

Higher interest expenses and provisions tempered Kotak Mahindra Bank’s net profit in the July-September period.The private sector lender’s standalone net profit increased 8 per cent to Rs 280 crore in the reporting period from Rs 260 crore in the year ago period.Net interest income (the difference between interest earned and expended) grew 25 per cent at Rs 758 crore (Rs 605 crore in the year ago period).Interest expended rose 36 per cent to Rs 1166 crore (Rs 859 crore). Provisions towards bad loans jumped to Rs 78 crore (Rs 16 crore).During...

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Better operating efficiency boosts Oriental Bank net 80%

Oriental Bank of Commerceon Thursday reported an 80 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 302 crore (Rs 168 crore) for the quarter ended September.A 21 per cent rise in operating profits boosted bottomline performance. Provisioning requirement for the quarter was also lower.In the second quarter of last fiscal, there was a spurt in provisions towards non-performing assets (NPAs) as the bank had moved to system-driven NPA recognition. There is a base effect that has played to the advantage of the bank in the quarter under review, as the NPA...

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YES Bank Q2 net up 30% on higher income

YES Bank reported a 30 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 306 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.The private sector lender had recorded a net profit of Rs 235 crore in the year ago period.Net interest income (the difference between interest earned and expended) increased 36 per cent to Rs 524 crore (Rs 386 crore).Other income grew 29 per cent to Rs 277 crore (Rs 214 crore) on the back of financial advisory, transaction banking, and retail banking fees.The bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) during the quarter declined...

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Western Union, ICICI Bank launch pre-paid card

Western Union has launched a pre-paid card in India with ICICI Bank and MasterCard.The target customer base for this product is mainly un-banked people who use cash for transactions. With this card, the company hopes to reach out to people, for instance migrant workers, who are looking for a safe store-house for their cash.Customers can load money on their pre-paid cards, which will be issued by Western Union at a fee of Rs 100. The card can be used at any of the ICICI Bank ATMs free of cost and at other non-ICICI Bank ATMs at Rs 25 a transaction.The...

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Bank of Maharashtra Q2 net up 65% at Rs 166 cr

Pune-based Bank of Maharashtra has registered a 65.3 per cent growth in its Q2 FY’13 net profit which stands at Rs 166 crore versus Rs 100.4 crore in the same quarter of FY’12.Total income in the two quarters being compared rose 25 per cent to Rs 2,434 crore (versus Rs 1,945 crore), while gross NPAs dipped slightly to stand at 2 per cent against 2.15 per cent as on September 30, 2011.With total business crossing the 1.5 lakh crore milestone to touch Rs 1,51,320 crore at the end of September 2012, the bank has joined the league of medium category...

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RBI to issue Rs 100 note with rupee symbol

The Reserve Bank will soon issue bank notes of Rs 100 denomination with the rupee symbol in the Mahatma Gandhi Series—2005.These bank notes will bear the rupee symbol on the observe and the reverse with inset letter E in both the numbering panels, bearing the signature of governor D Subbarao, RBI said in a notification.The bank notes with the year of printing 2012 on the reverse, will be similar in all respects to the Rs 100 bank notes in Mahatma Gandhi Series—2005 issued earlier, it said.All the bank notes in the denomination of Rs 100 issued...

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LIC files applications for 2 more online products

Life Insurance Corporation of India has filed applications for two new products in the online term insurance segment, Chairman D.K. Mehrotra said.“We have got one product online. We have made applications for two more products with the insurance regulator. Once it goes through, we will take it online,” he said.He said that putting money into equity issues of public sector companies is not a bail-out for the Government but purely for investment purposes. LIC will invest about Rs 2-2.2 lakh crore in the markets this year, including equity and...

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Syndicate Bank raises $ 500 mn to fund overseas biz

State-owned Syndicate Bank has raised $ 500 million (about Rs 2,600 crore) through bonds to fund its overseas business growth.“We have raised from overseas market $ 500 million, the second and final tranche under the bank’s MTN (medium term note) programme size of $ 1 billion,” a senior Syndicate Bank official said.The bond with maturity period of 5.5 years carries a coupon rate of 4.125 per cent per annum payable semi-annually in arrear.The money raised would be utilised for expanding operation of the bank’s London branch functioning since...

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YES Bank plans to enter mutual fund biz

Private sector lender YES Bank on Tuesday announced that its Board has approved to enter into the mutual fund business.“We will enter as an Asset management Company (AMC) in the next 12 months in the business of mutual fund to augment our retail offering,” said Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, YES Bank.After the approval today, the bank will now apply for regulatory licence from the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).Last month, the bank had received a retail equities broking...

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Moody’s affirms Exim Bank’s Baa3 ratings; outlook stable

Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank)’s foreign currency long-term deposit, issuer, and senior unsecured debt ratings of Baa3.The Baa3 foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt rating is in line with the Baa3 rating for the Indian Government.The foreign currency short-term deposit rating for Exim Bank remains at P-3. The outlook on all ratings is stable, a release issued by the international credit rating agency said. RATINGS RATIONALE These ratings take into consideration Exim Bank India's...

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LICHFL plans Rs 1,200-cr QIP issue by December

LIC Housing Finance is targeting to raise up to Rs 1,200 crore through an institutional placement offer by December, company’s top executives have said.“We have already appointed five merchant bankers and will be completing the QIP (qualified institutional placement) in a month or two,” LICHFL Chief Executive V K Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of an event here last evening.Sharma did not give a possible size of the issue, maintaining only that the company plans to issue 4.6 crore new shares.However, a senior company executive said it...

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We will recover Kingfisher dues, says Oriental Bank chief

Oriental Bank of Commerce has said it is confident of recovering its money from the ailing Kingfisher Airlines even as other lenders have nearly given up hope.The bank also said that such one off cases will not affect its working.“We are in the business of banking. Banking is a business of taking risks. If you don’t take risks, what is the intermediation (part a bank plays),” the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director S.L. Bansal told Business Line.He pointed out that the airline had serviced the interest component of the loan till June so the...

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Corp Bank offers 0.75% concession on interest rate to women SME customers

Corporation Bank will offer 0.75 per cent concession on interest rates for women SME customer under its 'grand festival loan bonanza' campaign.Quoting Ajai Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, a press release said here that the ‘SME grand festival loan bonanza’ is specially launched for the benefit of the SMEs for the ongoing festival season.Under this offer, the bank offers interest rate concession of 0.50 per cent on the applicable rate on all the SME credit schemes. Added to this, women entrepreneurs will get additional interest...

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Home loans up to Rs 35 lakh must get priority sector tag: IBA panel

Banks want strategic changes in regulations, including revision in the definition of home loans under priority sector and reduction in margin requirement for buying a house, to give fillip to the housing sector.Given the increase in property prices in the last few years, an Indian Banks’ Association committee has recommended to the Finance Ministry that home loans up to Rs 35 lakh (extant limit: Rs 25 lakh) should get the priority sector tag.The move will lead to banks providing loans to house buyers at affordable interest rates, said the committee...

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Syndicate Bank Q2 profits jump 43.5%

Syndicate Bank profits jumped 43.48 per cent to Rs 463.37 crore during the second quarter of this fiscal.Revenues were also up 13.21 per cent to Rs 4,546.33 crore, while EPS stood at Rs 7.70 (Rs 5.63).The bank’s asset quality is robust with Gross NPA ratio and Net NPA ratio at 2.47 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively as on September 30, 2012 compared with 2.38 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively during the same period last year.Return on assets of the bank rose to 1.03 per cent from 0.83 per cent in the same period last year.The scrip...

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Karnataka Bank conducts exporters’ meet in Ludhiana

Karnataka Bank, in association with the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), conducted an exporters’ meet in Ludhiana recently, according to a bank release here on Monday. The meeting was organised to promote export business in Punjab, especially in and around Ludhiana, it said. Speaking on the occasion, P. Jayarama Bhat, Managing Director of the bank, said that the bank has earmarked Rs 1,100 crore for export credit disbursement during 2012-13, the release said. Chandrashekar Rao , Deputy General Manager of Karnataka Bank, said...

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HDFC Q2 net up 18.5% at Rs 1,151 cr

Individual loan borrowings lifted Housing Development Finance Corporation’s (HDFC) net profit 18.5 per cent to Rs 1,151 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2012.In the corresponding quarter of 2011, India’s largest private housing loan lender earned a net profit of Rs 970.70 crore.For the half year ended September 30, 2012 the loan book stood at Rs 1,55,128 crore against Rs 1,26,992 crore a year ago.“About 78 per cent of the increase in loan book was because of individual loans and the rest came from non-individual loans,” Keki...

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Bank of Baroda net profit up 12% in Q2

Bank of Baroda today reported a better-than-expected net profit of Rs 1,301 crore for the quarter ended September 30 this year.This reflects a 12 per cent increase over the net profit of Rs 1,166 crore recorded in the same quarter last year.Total revenue for the quarter under review increased 20 per cent to Rs 9,551 crore (Rs 7,986 crore).M.D.Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, expressed optimism that the current strong performance will continue in the coming quarters as well.He also maintained the guidance of 19-20 per cent...

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PNB to raise headcount; expand network

Punjab National Bank (PNB) today said it will recruit about 6,000 to 8,000 personnel each year for the next few years and open 500 branches across the country in the current year.“We will be recruiting 6,000-8,000 personnel each year for the next few years,” S R Bansal, Executive Director, PNB said here.“As of now, we have over 5,800 branches across the country. In the current year, we plan to open another 500 branches. The new branches would include about 22 in Tamil Nadu and 10 in Tiruchirapalli circle alone,” he added.Its new venture, PNB...

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Central Bank adopts new management solution to speed up process, cut costs

Central Bank of India has implemented a human resource management solution (HRMS) package to improve the productivity of its 36,000 odd employees, ensure skill development and chart out succession planning.After automating all customer-centric functions through the core banking platform, the bank has done the same for its internal customers (employees), said Executive Director V.R. Iyer.The HRMS package, which has been implemented by IBM, has automated 30 human resource (HR) processes, including pay roll, leave application, reimbursement of...

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Axis Capital to commence operations from Monday

With all regulatory clearances in place, private sector lender Axis Bank on Sunday said Axis Capital would commence operations from tomorrow.“Axis Bank has launched Axis Capital upon completion of the required legal processes for the transfer of the financial services business of Enam Securities to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank,” a statement issued here said.Axis Capital combines Axis Bank’s financial strength and Enam’s expertise to create a vibrant financial services powerhouse by bringing together the bank’s commercial banking and...

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Syndicate Bank aims for 15% loan growth

Syndicate Bank is targeting a loan growth of 15 per cent and net interest margin of over 3 per cent in 2012-13, a top official said on Saturday.“We are estimating about 15 per cent loan growth, that we are likely to achieve....Net Interest Margin (NIM) actually we are targeting 3 per cent plus for the year and that we will definitely meet,” Syndicate Bank Executive Director, Ravi Chatterjee, said on the sidelines of a launch here.In 2011-12, Udupi-based public sector lender’s global advances grew by 15.94 per cent to Rs 1,25,617 crore.Meanwhile,...

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KVB bags CNBC–TV18 award for consistent performance

Karur Vysya Bank has received the CNBC–TV18 Special Jury Commendation Award for ‘Consistent performance in growth and profits’ under the Small Banks Category for the year 2012.The award was received by K. Venkataraman, MD and CEO of the bank, from C. Rangarajan, Chairman of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, at Mumbai on Wednesday....

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South Indian Bank net up 24% in H1 as interest margin improves

South Indian Bank posted 24 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 220.18 crore for the half-year ended September 30 against Rs 177.44 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.V.A. Joseph, Managing Director and CEO of the bank, stated that despite subdued growth of the economy during the first half, the bank could achieve this performance due to improvement in net interest margin.The bank will be able to achieve the total business target of Rs 75,000 crore, 750 branches and 750 ATMs by March 31, 2013, as envisaged in the Vision Document...

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Corp Bank aims to disburse Rs 5,000 cr to SME sector

Corporation Bank is targeting to disburse Rs 5,000 crore loans nationally this year to the SME sector.The bank is planning more visibility for the Small and Medium Enterprise sector, Corporation Bank Chairman and Managing Director, Ajai Kumar, told reporters here on Saturday.In Kerala alone, Rs 500 crore will be disbursed as loans to the sector, he said.Since small entrepreneurs are finding it difficult to get loans, loans of up to Rs 1 crore would be given by the bank to the sector without any collateral, he said.There were also plans to introduce...

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