KFA lenders to meet in 15 days, says SBI

With the revival plan of grounded Kingfisher Airlines getting nowhere, its lead lender State Bank today said the creditors will meet in a fortnight to decide the future course of action to secure their money even as the airline chairman Vijay Mallya met employees to reassure them of the plan.“Bankers are going to meet within 15 days. Consensus (on liquidation or whatever action that bankers take) can emerge only when the company comes up with a credible plan,” said Pratip Chaudhuri, Chairman of State Bank of India having an exposure of Rs 1,600...

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IDBI Bank crosses Rs 1 lakh cr in tax collection

IDBI Bank said that it has collected Rs One lakh crore in central taxes in the current financial year so far.R M Malla, Chairman and Managing Director said that the bank will collect 25 per cent more in central taxes by end of March 2013.The central government, in its 2012 budget, estimated a total gross tax receipt of Rs 10,77,612 crore in the current fiscal.Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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Canara Bank Q3 net drops 19% as provisioning for bad loans rises

Canara Bank’s net profit has decreased 18.85 per cent to Rs 710.51 crore for the third quarter of the current fiscal mainly because of higher provisioning for bad loans.Announcing the results, the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director R. K. Dubey said in a statement that the total income rose 9.5 per cent to Rs 9,390 crore on a year-on-year basis, which includes Rs 5,958 crore income from loans and advances.The state-owned bank saw its interest income rise 9.37 per cent to Rs 8,544.48 crore. Non-interest income also went up, by 11 per cent...

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Union Bank, Dena Bank reduce base rates

Following most banks, public sector lenders Union Bank of India and Dena Bank reduced their base rates thereby making loan borrowing cheaper for customers.The base rate is the minimum lending interest rate below which banks cannot lend.Major banks including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank Ltd and Punjab National Bank among others have already slashed their base rates.Union Bank revised its base rate downwardly by 25 basis points (bps) to 10.25 per cent from the existing 10.50 per cent, while, Dena Bank decreased its base rate...

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Kerala LIC agents to go on strike today

LIC agents in the State will go on a one-day strike on Friday against industry reforms ‘that affect not just them but also policyholders.’Kerala LIC Agents’ Organisation of India and All-India LIC Agents’ Federation will observe strike to provide moral support to the industry strike on February 20 and 21, said P.G. Dileep and K. Ramachandran, conveners, LIC Agents Coordination Committee.Trade union leaders will address a sit-in in front of LIC branches in the State. Agents will not transact any business on Friday.Agents are demanding withdrawal...

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RBI for change in laws to deal with fake currency menace

The Reserve Bank said it is in talks with the Government to amend the relevant laws to ensure that persons generating fake currency are punished and not those who possess such notes innocently.“We are in negotiations with the Government of India on how this law can be reviewed and changed so that the responsibility for the fake currency is actually on the people who are responsible for generating the fake currency,” RBI Governor D Subbarao told newspersons after the board meeting here.“But at the moment, regrettably, the holder of fake currency...

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HDFC raises up to Rs 500 cr via debentures

Mortgage lender HDFC today raised up to Rs 500 crore through issue of debentures for general corporate requirements.Debenture is a type of debt instrument that is not secured by physical assets or collateral.According to sources, the debentures issue closed for Rs 300 crore with a green-shoe option of Rs 200 crore.Investors were being offered an annualised interest of 9.18 per cent through the debentures that had a maturity of five years.The funds were raised to meet general corporate needs, sources said.Private sector lender Axis Bank was...

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Dewan Housing enters education loan space

Non-banking finance company, Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), entered into the education loan segment with 'Avanse' where it aims to have a portfolio of Rs 200 crore in the first year of operations.Avanse will be a subsidiary of DHFL with a capital base of Rs 50 crore, of which the World Bank-promoted International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed in-principle to pick up a 20 per cent stake for about Rs 10 crore. The promoters of DHFL will own 51.1 per cent stake” said Kapil Wadhawan, Chairman and Managing Director, DHFL.The loans will...

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Axis Bank rolls out 500 cash deposit machines

Axis Bank has deployed 500 cash deposit machines at its branches in over 300 cities.The cash deposit machines will give customers the convenience of depositing cash, with funds getting credited instantly to their accounts for all successful transactions without filling deposit slips, provides mini statement and account balance for all the card-based transactions.The machine segregates the notes as per each denomination, counts and displays them for the customer’s confirmation before crediting the account.This reduces the customers’ time to...

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NHB tax-free bond issue likely to hit market soon

National Housing Bank (NHB) plans to come out with a public issue of tax-free bonds for retail investors during the third week of this month, it’s Chairman and Managing Director, R. V. Verma, said.Of the Rs 5,000 crore for which Government approval is already available, NHB is looking to mop up as much as Rs 2,500 crore from retail investors.“We will definitely be in the market. We are making every possible effort to come to the market as soon as possible,” Verma said.He was responding to a query on whether NHB had dropped plans for public...

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Royal Bank of Scotland fined $610 mn; settles Libor probe

State-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland said it will pay fines totalling $612 million to US and British regulators to settle allegations of Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) interest rate rigging.RBS, which is 81-per cent owned by the British Government, said it has agreed to pay the equivalent of GBP 391 million to regulators, becoming the third bank to admit its part in the Libor affair after Barclays and UBS.The investigations uncovered “wrongdoing” by 21 employees, predominantly in relation to the setting of the bank’s yen and Swiss franc...

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PAN must for high value gold buys: RBI panel

Seeking to check demand for gold, an RBI committee today proposed a slew of measures like mandatory quoting of PAN numbers for high-value purchases, restriction on gold loans and check on NBFC branches dealing with gold loans.The Reserve Bank committee also suggested cheque payment for gold purchase beyond a threshold, introduction of other savings products to discourage investment in physical gold, prohibition of bank finance for buying gold and revival of the two-decade-old proposal to set up a Bullion Corporation.“There is a need to moderate...

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Syndicate Bank hopes to bring down share of bulk deposits to 15% this fiscal

Syndicate Bank is confident of bringing the share of bulk deposits to total deposits to 15 per cent by March 2013.Addressing newspersons , Anjaneya Prasad, Executive Director, said the bank could shed around Rs 7,169-crore high-cost bulk deposits in the first nine months of the current fiscal.As a percentage of total deposits, bulk deposits have come down to 16 per cent; at the end of March 2012, it was around 22 per cent. He said the bank can bring it to 15 per cent anytime.(Bulk deposits are usually term deposits of above Rs 1 crore. Banks...

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Kotak Bank buys Barclays’ loan portfolio for Rs 700 crore

Kotak Mahindra Bank has acquired the business loans portfolio aggregating Rs 700 crore from Barclays Bank (India Branch) and Barclays Investment and Loan (India) Ltd.Kotak Bank will gain access to around 6,000 business loan customers from the foreign bank, said Paul Parambi, Head - Group Strategy, Kotak Mahindra Bank.The bank official, however, did not disclose the financial details of the deal.Kotak Mahindra had last year acquired a part of the UK-based lender’s local credit-card portfolio.According to Parambi, “The business loan portfolio...

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HDFC cuts retail prime lending rate by 10 bps to 16.4%

Housing finance major, HDFC has reduced its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) by 10 basis points. With effect from February 6, the RPLR will be 16.40 per cent against 16.50 per cent earlier. HDFC gives home loans at a discount, ranging from 6-6.25 percentage points, to the RPLR.Following the reduction in RPLR, HDFC will offer home loans up to Rs 30 lakhs, and above Rs 30 lakhs at 10.15 per cent (10.25 per cent earlier) and 10.40 per cent (10.50 per cent), respectively.“Over the past couple of months we have seen a drop in the cash reserve ratio...

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UCO Bank Q3 net drops 69% on steep rise in provisioning

An over 70 per cent increase in provisioning dragged down UCO Bank’s net profit 69 per cent, to Rs 102 crore, for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.Provisioning for non-performing assets and other employee liabilities swelled to Rs 728 crore against Rs 420 crore in the year-ago period.On a sequential basis, profits remained almost flat, from Rs 104 crore during the quarter ended September 30, 2012.According to S. Chandrasekharan, Executive Director, UCO Bank set aside nearly Rs 417 crore as provisioning towards NPA (non-performing assets)...

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Bank employees' strike on Feb 20 & 21

As many as a million bank employees and officers are to strike work on February 20 and 21.The strike call has been given by the United Forum of Bank Unions, a representative body of the nine bank unions of the country.The employees are demanding that the Government should desist from banking reforms and outsourcing of banking related work.The demands include early wage revision besides settling of pending issues like compassionate appointment scheme, according to C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees Association. srivats.kr@thehindu.co.inSource:...

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Indian Bank cuts lending rate by 0.30%

Indian Bank on Monday announced that it will cut its lending rate by 0.30 per cent to 10.20 per cent with effect from February 9, 2013.The bank has decided to reduce its base rate by 0.30 per cent from the existing 10.50 per cent. It has also decided to cut its benchmark prime lending rate by 0.25 per cent."The Benchmark Prime Lending Rate of Indian Bank is reduced by 0.25 per cent from the existing 14.75 per cent to 14.50 per cent per annum with effect from February 9, 2013," it added.This comes a week after the Reserve bank of India cut its...

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Citi Bank reduces base rate by 25 bps

Foreign lender Citi Bank cut its base rate by 25 basis points to 9.50 per cent.The new rate is effective from January 10, 2013.Base rate is the rate below which a bank cannot lend money to its borrowers.The base rate cut was done prior to the central bank's policy rate cut in its third quarter monetary policy review on January 29. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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Axis Bank raises Rs 811 cr through preference issue

Private sector Axis Bank today said it has alloted 58.37 lakh shares on preferential basis to promoters raising Rs 811.4 crore.The board has decided to allot 58,37,945 lakh shares of face value Rs 10 at a price of Rs 1,390 on preferential basis to promoters, including LIC and General Insurance Corporation, Axis Bank said in a BSE filing.Of the total, about 42.40 lakh shares were alloted to Life Insurance Corporation, it said.The remaining shares were alloted to other promoters namely General Insurance Corporation, National Insurance Company,...

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Corporation Bank unveils new products

Corporation Bank has launched two new savings account variants — SB Super and SB Signature.According to a bank release, Ajai Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, launched the new products at an NRI meet at Dubai on Saturday.A customer should maintain a minimum quarterly average balance (QAB) of Rs 15,000 for SB Super and Rs 1 lakh for SB Signature.For both SB Super and SB Signature, preferential loan processing will be offered by affixing ‘priority’ seal by the branch while forwarding loan applications.Bundled demat and trading account is...

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Jammu and Kashmir Bank Q3 net up 36% at Rs 289 cr

Jammu and Kashmir Bank today reported a 36 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 289.4 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012.The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 213.19 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal, Jammu and Kashmir Bank said in a filing to the BSE.Total income increased to Rs 1,623.77 crore during the October-December quarter from Rs 1,340.16 crore in the same period last year.During the first nine months of 2012-13, the bank’s profit rose by 35 per cent to Rs 805.02 crore from Rs 595.13 crore in the same...

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Security protocol for net-banking, Facebook has serious weaknesses

The protocol that provides security for online banking, credit card data and social networking site Facebook has “major weaknesses” which may lead to interception of sensitive personal data, UK scientists warn.The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol is used by millions of people on a daily basis. It provides security for online banking, as well as for credit card data when shopping on the Internet.In addition, many email systems in the workplace use it, as well as a number of big companies including Facebook and Google.Professor Kenny Paterson...

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Bank of Baroda Q3 net profit falls 21.5%; stock drops 5.7%

Bank of Baroda has reported a sharp drop of 21.5 per cent in net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012.The stock dropped 5.7 per cent or Rs 49 and was trading at Rs 818 at noon today.The bank has posted a net profit of Rs 1,011.62 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 1,289.85 crore for the same quarter last fiscal. Total income has increased to Rs 9,685.51 crore (Rs 8,821.32 crore).Bank of Baroda's board of directors has approved issue of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each, for cash at a premium to be determined...

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UBI seeks permission from China to upgrade its Shanghai office

Union Bank of India has applied for permission to Chinese government to upgrade its representative office in Shanghai to a full-fledged branch, sources said.Currently, UBI has its representative offices in Shanghai and Beijing and permission has been sought to upgrade Shanghai office into full-fledged branch.UBI opened Shanghai office in 2007 and is looking to convert it into branch as it has already completed the two year mandatory period required to open a branch in China, UBI sources told PTI here.UBI is the latest among India-government...

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LIC cuts stake in 27 Nifty firms; sells shares worth Rs 8,000 crore

State-run insurance giant LIC has lowered its holdings in as many as 27 of the 50 blue-chip firms forming the market benchmark index Nifty, while selling shares worth an estimated Rs 8,000 crore.Amid stepped-up share purchase by FIIs and an uptrend in the stock market, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) appears to have booked profits in many blue-chip stocks, shows an analysis of shareholding data of Nifty companies for the three-month period ended December 31, 2012.LIC holds shares worth about Rs 2.33 lakh crore in all the Nifty...

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RBI draft norms for loan restructuring may hit banks’ earnings

RBI’s new draft guidelines for restructured loans are likely to hit earnings of banks by at least 3-8 per cent over the next two years, while some public sector banks are expected to get most impacted, a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch has said.Reserve Bank last week issued revised draft policy norms for restructured loans, post the working group (WG) guidelines issued in July, 2012. According to the draft norms, banks would need to step up provisioning on restructured loans by 1 per cent from FY’14 to 3.75 per cent and to 5 per cent...

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Why investors don’t bank on tax-saving deposits

In 2006, bank deposits held for five or more years were exempt from tax in the hope that this would draw retail investors to park more long-term money with banks. But seven years on, numbers belie the hope. These deposits have not proved a big hit.The proportion of five-year plus deposits in the fund base of banks has not changed much in these years. Eleven per cent of total bank deposits was parked in five-year plus deposits in 2006. In 2011, the number was barely changed at 12.3 per cent.Nor have depositors shown any special preference for...

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