RBI permits LuLu group chief Yusuffali MA to hold 4.99% stake in Catholic Syrian Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has permitted LuLu group chief Yusuffali MA to hold 4.99% stake in the Thrissur-headquartered Catholic Syrian Bank or CSB. The regulator has also cleared the appointment of Rakesh Bhatia, a senior official of HSBC as managing director and CEO of the bank. Bhatia, who has worked with HSBC Indonesia and Hong Kong has also picked 1% stake in the bank for about Rs8 crore.The Reserve Bank of India has cleared the appointment of Rakesh Bhatia as MD & CEO and he has picked up one per cent stake in the bank. He would have...

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Chidambaram opens Bank of Baroda's 100th global branch in Dubai

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has inaugurated the 100th overseas office of state-run Bank of Baroda at Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) here.S S Mundra, Chairman & Managing Director, V H Thatte, General Manager (International Operations) of the bank and other eminent dignitaries were present on the occasion yesterday.DIFC is an offshore financial centre strategically located between East and West that provides a secure and efficient platform for business and financial institutions to reach out to the emerging markets of the region.With...

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HDFC Bank cuts base rate by 10 bps

HDFC Bank has decided to cut its base rate by 10 basis points to 9.6 per cent. The reduction in rate will be with effect from March 30.Base rate is the minimum rate at which banks can lend its borrowers.The country’s second largest private sector lender is the first bank to reduce its lending rate after the Reserve Bank of India cut its repo rate by 25 bps on March 19.Post this reduction, HDFC Bank’s base rate will be the lowest among major banks. Among other private banks, ICICI Bank’s base rate is 9.75 per cent since April 2012, while that...

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After women's bank, Congress moots specialised financial institution on lines of Sidbi

After lauding P Chidambaram's move to set up a state-run women's bank, there is a growing concern in Congress that this may not be enough to fulfill the party's promise to empower rural women with better access to credit.Senior Congress leaders and sections of the government feel that a specialised financial institution similar to Nabard or Sidbi would be more effective in meeting the party's objective.In a letter to Chidambaram, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has suggested an alternative strategy and proposed setting up a "specialised developmental financial institution" on the lines of Sidbi through an act of Parliament. He has suggested that the budget's allocation of 1,000 crore...

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Pension scheme for Muthoot employees

Muthoot Finance Ltd has announced the launch of a pension scheme for the group employees under the National Pension System (NPS).The employees’ contribution to the scheme will be linked with a contribution by the company.NPS, a social security measure of the Union Government launched by the PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority), has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Muthoot Group for implementation as an optional scheme for the employees.The long-term retirement savings plan for the Indian citizens in the 18-60...

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HDFC Bank cuts lending rates by 0.1%

HDFC Bank has decided to cut its benchmark lending rates by 0.1 per cent with effect from March 30.The base rate, or the minimum lending rate, of the country’s second largest private sector bank will become 9.6 per cent from the existing 9.7 per cent, sources said.At the same time, the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) of the bank is expected to be slashed by similar margin to 18.10 per cent.The new rates would be effective from March 30, sources added.HDFC Bank has become the first bank to cut lending rate after the RBI cut the short-term...

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DHFL Vysya cuts housing loan interest rate, aims for 50% growth in FY14

South-based DHFL Vysya Housing Finance, an associate company of Dewan Housing (DHFL), has decided to reduce the interest rate in 0.2-0.5 per cent range on housing loans from April 1 while aiming for 50 per cent growth during 2013-14.“We are the first among the HFCs to reduce rate of housing loan by 20 basis points for both existing and new customers under variable interest scheme. But, for the priority sector housing scheme for loan up to Rs 10 lakh there is additional rebate of 30 basis points,” DHFL Vysya Housing managing director R Nambirajan...

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Canara Bank chief launches inclusive growth drive

R.K. Dubey, chairman and managing director of Canara Bank, has launched the ‘inclusive growth campaign’ of South Malabar Gramin Bank at Malappuram.SMGB has introduced several innovative products like Sneha Card for freeing villagers from the clutches of money lenders and then general purpose credit card, joint liability group loans, SHG group loans etc on the occasion.Dubey on the occasion declared open 19 branches of the bank in various parts of the state and 10 ATM’s in seven districts. He also launched a micro insurance scheme for SHG and...

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RBI notifies new rates for small saving schemes

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today notified 0.1 per cent reduction each in the interest rates on Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) to be effective from fiscal beginning April 1, 2013.The rate of interest on PPF has been lowered from 8.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent with effect from April 1, 2013, the RBI said in a notification.The rate of interest on 5 year SCSS has been reduced to 9.2 per cent from 9.3 per cent for entire 2013-14 fiscal, it said.The RBI said the new rates will come into force from April 1,...

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Citigroup told to improve money laundering controls

The Federal Reserve has ordered Citigroup to strengthen its controls against money-laundering, pointing to problems in subsidiaries including the US unit of Citi’s Mexican bank, Banamex.In a consent order released by the Fed and signed by the bank, Citigroup pledged to take extensive actions to better comply with the US Bank Secrecy Act on preventing money-laundering.The consent order—an undertaking by Citi to comply with various steps laid out by the Fed—did not provide any details on what problems were unearthed by regulators.But it said...

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Karur Vysya Bank will have new operation model

Banks need new ideas to win in today’s marketplace. While technological interventions have helped the common man perform many banking and investment transactions from home, we still see a crowd at select branches .Customers visit the bank to remit cash, operate the locker, avail jewel loan and to just catch up with a banker friend.“While innovation and technology adoption have helped capture the market initially, continuous improvement in branch operation model would help improve the in-branch experience,” says the Chief Executive of Karur...

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South Indian Bank achieves Rs 75,000-cr biz target

South Indian Bank has achieved the business target of Rs 75,000 crore as envisaged in Vision Document 2013.V.A. Joseph, Managing Director and CEO, said the achievement is the culmination of the vision set in 2008. The total business of the bank in that year was Rs 25,000 crore.The bank had set a goal to achieve a total business of Rs 75,000 crore, network of 750 branches, 750 ATMs and 7,500 employees by 2013.“What makes this achievement special is the fact that SIB could achieve a total business of Rs 75,000 crore, 750 branches and 800 ATMs...

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Exim Bank raises A$200 million through overseas bond sales

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has raised A$200 million through an offshore-debt offering that would mature in April 2018.This is significant as it is the first Australian dollar-denominated bond to be issued by an Indian issuer.The unsecured Notes, which will carry an annual coupon of 5.76 per cent, are being issued by Exim Bank’s London Branch and will be listed at the Singapore stock exchange.They are being issued as part of the $6-billion medium term note programme of the bank. Moody’s Investors Service had assigned a Baa3 rating...

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Near to Central Drug Research Institute (New Campus),Lucknow Aliganj 9690000115

State Bank of India has started a new facility for the online booking of tickets for puja and donations for Shri Kashinath temple here.“The money from online booking and donations will directly go to the temple’s trust. We will also provide the temple with modern banking facilities,” said Sudhir Dubey, SBI Chief General Manager, Lucknow branch, after inaugurating the facility here.A similar facility was started for the Somnath temple earlier, which led to an increase of 40 per cent in the temple’s earnings, he said.At present, only SBI account...

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Moody's downgrades OBC, Syndicate Bank ratings; outlook stable

Ratings agency Moody's today downgraded the ratings of Syndicate Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), but said the outlook is stable.The global local currency deposit rating of both the PSU bank has been lowered to Baa3/P-3 from Baa2/P-2.Instruments rated 'Baa' are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics"The outlook on the bank deposit rating is stable," Moody's said for both lenders.It further downgraded both the banks standalone ratings to 'D/ba2', which...

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Interest rate on small savings schemes reduced

The Finance Ministry has cut interest rate on PPF (Public Provident Fund) by 0.1 per cent to 8.7 per cent.It has also cut the interest rate on five-year NSC (National Savings Certificate) to 8.5 per cent from 8.6 per cent and on 10-year NSC to 8.8 per cent from 8.9 per cent.The Ministry has cut the interest rate on five-year postal recurring deposits to 8.3 per cent but has kept the savings deposit rate unchanged at 4 per cent. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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RBI offices, banks to work through March 29-31

RBI offices conducting government business and designated branches of banks will remain open on March 29, 30 and 31 to facilitate tax collection.March 29 is holiday on account on Good Friday.“With a view to providing greater convenience to the tax payers, it has been decided that all designated branches of agency banks and RBI offices conducting Government business will keep their counters open on March 29, 30 and 31, 2013 to accept Government taxes,” the RBI said in a statement.March 31 is the last day of the financial year 2012-13.The central...

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YES Bank signs up as official partner of IPL

YES Bank today signed up as the official partner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the financial services category.The mid-sized private sector lender is the latest addition to IPL’s partner list. Earlier, Pepsi signed up as the official title sponsor, and Vodafone renewed its association with the tournament.Rana Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO, YES Bank said, “We are confident that YES Bank’s association with IPL for 5 years will facilitate our brand recognition, and further propel our pan India retail banking franchise. We look forward...

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Lending rates to remain high in near term: Bankers

Borrowers troubled by elevated interest rates will have to wait for a bit longer for relief as bankers have virtually ruled out any immediate cut in the lending rates, citing high cost of funds.The stance comes even after the Reserve Bank delivered two successive rate cuts of a cumulative 0.50 per cent this year.“The basic thing that is required - the cost of deposits - is still in the higher side,” Union Bank of India Chairman and Managing Director D Sarkar said, explaining his bank’s inability to cut rates now.Pratip Choudhary, the chairman...

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