KYC norms: Showcause notices to be issued for violation

The Reserve Bank of India will issue showcause notices to banks which transgressed Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines.This move comes after three private sector banks — ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank — employees were allegedly caught in a sting operation by online magazine cobrapost.com offering to convert tax evaded money into legitimate money.“First we will show the audit report to all the banks and ask them to explain. If we feel that their explanation is unsatisfactory, we will issue a show-cause notice and based on that we will take...

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Kotak Mahindra net up 47% on robust loan growth

Higher interest income and robust loan growth helped Kotak Mahindra Bank post a 47 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 436 crore in the January to March quarter of 2013. The mid-sized private lender had posted a net profit of Rs 297 crore in the year-ago quarter.Net interest income (difference between interest earned and expended) increased by 31 per cent to Rs 903 crore from Rs 688 crore in Q4 of 2012-13. Other income during the quarter rose 43 per cent to Rs 364 crore. Total advances The bank’s net profit in the full financial year...

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PNB waives home loan processing fee

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has waived the processing fee on housing loans till June 30, 2013. This was disclosed by R.K. Chatterjee, Head of PNB-AP Circle at a builders’ conclave organised by the bank here. “We are offering personalised service and quick disbursement of advances through retail asset branches with special focus on housing loans and car loans,” he said. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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SBI comes to aid of Hyderabad blast victim kin

The kin of an unfortunate victim of Dilsukhnagar bomb blasts had an unexpected support in the form of a scheme of State Bank of India (SBI).The parents of Harish Karthik Kadechur, who succumbed to injuries he sustained in the terror strike here on February 21 this year, approached SBI’s Gaddiannaram branch for closure of his savings bank account.They, however, were not aware that his account was covered under a personal accident insurance policy for a cover of Rs 4 lakh from SBI General Insurance on premium of Rs 100 a year.The branch manager...

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Syndicate Bank profit jumps 91.42%

Syndicate Bank profits shot up 91.42 per cent to Rs 592.34 crore for the fourth quarter of 2012-13, compared with Rs 309.43 crore posted in the same period the previous year.The bank’s total income for Q4 is up 8.05 per cent to Rs 4,780.75 crore (Rs 4,424.33 crore). The EPS stood at Rs 9.84 in Q4, over Rs 5.39 for the last fiscal.M.G. Sanghvi, CMD, told reporters that the bank has pursued the strategy of reducing dependence on high-cost bulk deposits. “We have shed Rs 3,718 crore during the year 2012-13 (11.12 per cent) and brought down the...

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Oriental Bank net up 16% in FY 12-13

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) may go in for a rights issue this fiscal to raise capital to support business growth, its Chairman and Managing Director S.L.Bansal has said.“We are keen on a rights issue. But a final call will be taken around September or October,” Bansal told Business Line soon after a Board meeting here.OBC on Thursday reported a 16.33 per cent increase in net profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2013 at Rs 1,327.95 crore (Rs 1,141.56 crore).The Board of Directors has declared a dividend of 92 per cent (Rs 9.2 for...

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Andhra Bank’s Q4 net up 1.5% at Rs 345 crore

Andhra Bank’s net profit increased 1.5 per cent at Rs 345 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013 compared with Rs 340 crore in the same period last year.Total income grew 15 per cent at Rs 3,713 crore (Rs 3,229 crore). Deposits and advances grew at 17 per cent and 18.4 per cent respectively while net interest margin was in the range of 3.04 per cent.Profit came under pressure due to provisions for new non-performing assets, wage settlements and pension, its Chairman and Managing Director, B.A. Prabhakar told news-persons here on Thursday.The...

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Shedding bulk business pushes Canara Bank Q4 net down 12.5%

Canara Bank profits declined by 12.5 per cent to Rs 725.38 crore for the fourth quarter (Q4) 2012-13, compared with the previous year's fourth quarter.However, the bank’s total income for Q4 is up 4.81 per cent to Rs 9,471.57 crore (Rs 9,036.75). While the EPS (basic) was Rs 16.37 in Q4 financial year 2012-13, it was Rs 18.72 for the previous year’s period.R.K. Dubey, the bank’s CMD, said: “The lower business growth of the bank was due to a conscious decision taken to de-risk the balance sheet by shedding a substantial portion of bulk business,...

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IOB to focus on increasing CASA, NPA recovery

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) said it will focus on increasing the share of the low—cost deposit base along with recovery of bad assets to contain NPA in the current financial year.“Our major focus will be on enhancing current account, savings account (CASA) base with higher recovery from bad assets to contain NPA (non—performing asset) in the current financial year,” Chairman and Managing Director of the Bank M Narendra told reporters here.The public sector lender, which had witnessed 89 per cent drop in net profit in the fourth quarter to Rs...

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Deepak Parekh steps down as IDFC chairman

Deepak Parekh, non-Executive Chairman of infrastructure financing company IDFC, has stepped down from his post.The veteran banker was with the company since its inception in 1997.The decision was taken in order to “create more time for himself and to participate more on the national and the international level,'' according to sources close to Parekh.Speaking to Business Line, an official said since August 2011, Parekh has resigned from around eight boards.Notable amongst these were Lafarge, Castrol and Hindustan Unilever, where he had the longest...

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Let SEBI oversee chit funds till regulator is put in place: Sinha

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has sought powers to regulate chit funds and nidhi companies (mutual benefit societies) till a regulator for these outfits is put in place.At present, chit funds are regulated by State Governments , and nidhi companies by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.With the Saradha chit fund scam in West Bengal leaving thousands of depositors in the lurch, there is now a growing demand to create a strong regulatory mechanism. SEBI, therefore, feels there is a need for a single regulator for both chit funds and...

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Deutsche Bank posts solid Q1 profit, decides to raise capital reserves

Deutsche Bank’s co-CEO says the bank decided on a $5.2 billion capital increase so it could meet its goals for stronger financial reserves “in one fell swoop.”Anshu Jain said today the increase was “a tremendous opportunity and one we felt we had to take.”Investors appeared to agree: Shares in Germany’s largest bank soared 7.0 per cent in morning trading in Europe.Jain’s comments made in a conference call with investment analysts come a day after the company announced plans for the capital increase. The measures include 2.8 billion euros from...

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State Bank of Patiala net dips 16% in FY13

Public sector lender State Bank of Patiala (SBOP) reported 16 per cent dip in its net profit to Rs 666.76 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2013, on account of stressed assets and hike in employee cost.The bank had reported a rise in net profit at Rs 796.45 crore in the previous fiscal, it said in a statement.Bank’s gross and net NPA went up to 3.25 per cent and 1.62 per cent in 2012-13 compared to 2.94 per cent and 1.35 per cent in 2011-12, respectively, it added.“Our absolute NPA was Rs 1,194 crore and our efforts will be to bring the net...

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Provisioning for bad debt pushes IOB net down 88%

The net profit of Indian Overseas Bank plummeted by 88 per cent to Rs 59 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, against Rs 529 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.The decline was an outcome of provisioning for bad and doubtful debts and restructured accounts, said Chairman and Managing Director M. Narendra.Total income was Rs 5,898 crore — a 8.92 per cent increase over the same quarter last year.For the financial year ending March 31, 2013, net profit was down by nearly half, to Rs 568 crore from Rs 1,050 crore the previous year....

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McKinsey to revamp Corp Bank biz

Public sector Corporation Bank has roped in consulting major McKinsey to revamp its business process re-engineering and also to effect organisational transformation.“The re-engineering and organisational transformation titled ‘Sankalp’ aims to build digitally-enabled, customer centric operating model which will help the bank to embark on an accelerated growth path,” said Ajai Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank.Declining to reveal the project cost, Kumar said existing branches are to be re-modelled, streamlining the centralised...

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ING Vysya Bank’s Q4 profits up 33.7%

ING Vysya Bank’s net profit for fourth quarter (Q4) of FY 2012-13 increased by 33.7 per cent to Rs 170.3 crore compared to Rs 127.4 crore same period of the previous year.Bank’s total income for Q4 is up 20.9 per cent to Rs 624.1 crore.Other income increased to Rs 200.4 crores. Operating costs in the quarter increased by 14.9 per cent to Rs 339.8 crore. Staff cost for the quarter includes provision towards the 10th Bipartite settlement between the IBA and bank unions.Operating profit increased by 29.0 per cent to Rs. 284.3 crore and cost to...

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Corporation Bank rating branches based on performance

When you meet your Corporation Bank manager next time, ask him/her about the rating of the branch.Is it five-star or nil? The manager might say five-star, if the branch had done extremely well in the 17 parameters set by the bank. For the manager, the competition is no longer from outside. It is within the organisation.Ajai Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank, told Business Line that the bank has started rating its branches based on their performances. The best performers will be awarded, and corrective measures will be...

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Federal Bank net down 7% on higher provisions

Old private sector lender Federal Bank’s net profit fell seven per cent to Rs 222 crore on the back of higher provisions towards bad loans and lower interest income.The Kerala-based bank had reported a net profit of Rs 238 crore in the year-ago period. Marginal fall Net interest income (difference between interest earned and expended) during the quarter declined marginally by two per cent to Rs 480 crore compared with Rs 491 crore in the fourth quarter in FY12.However, other income increased 23 per cent to Rs 197 crore in the fourth quarter...

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