RBI plans to request Tirupati, Shirdi shrines to sell their gold pile to rescue Re fall

With all efforts to arrest the rupee's slide coming to a naught, policymakers now plan to knock on the doors of temples — from Tirupati to Shirdi — seeking a boon to feed Indians' fetish for gold without importing it.The Reserve Bank of India, which has been making gold imports more difficult through a series of restrictions, is discussing with banks on how to convince temple trusts to deposit their hoard of idle jewellery that could be converted into bullion, said two bankers familiar with the matter.They refused to be identified because of...

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IRDA has complete autonomy to supervise insurers: Vijayan

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has dismissed an observation made in a World Bank-International Monetary Fund study that the regulator was not adequately independent.“IRDA would like to assert that there is complete autonomy with regard to supervision and regulation of insurance sector in general and insurance companies and intermediaries in particular,” IRDA chief T.S. Vijayan said in a statement.The enforcement powers are being strengthened in the proposed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, he added.He expressed satisfaction...

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Syndicate Bank workmen employee director

Syndicate Bank has appointed Sankaran Bhaskar Iyer as workmen employee director on the board of directors for three years from the date of his taking over charge of the post on or after August 31.Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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With Federal Bank’s e-passbook, see transaction details on smartphones

Federal Bank has launched an electronic passbook that allows customers to view their transaction details on the smart phone.Said to be the first by a bank, FedBook is an electronic edition of the conventional bank passbook. The app is for free and is available on the android platform.“The Windows and IOS versions will be available in October,” A. Surendran, head of retail and international operations of Federal Bank, told a news conference here on Friday.“FedBook will make banking handier for our customers,” he said. “It’s a value addition...

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Kotak Mahindra Bank to hire 2,000 this fiscal

Kotak Mahindra Bank would hire about 1,500-2,000 people this fiscal.“This is in keeping with the bank’s branch expansion proposal. We intend to add 100 new branches to our network to take the tally to 550 by the end of this fiscal. We will hire 12-15 candidates a branch,” said Virat Diwanji, Executive Vice-President and Head – Branch Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank.“We recruit freshers off-campus and also experienced ones from the industry,” he added.To a query on attrition, he conceded that it was quite high at 20-25 per cent at the entry level...

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New CGM for Karnataka Bank

Karnataka Bank Ltd has promoted its General Manager, M. S. Mahabaleshwara Bhat, as its Chief General Manager.According to a press release here on Thursday, Bhat, a post-graduate in agricultural sciences, has over 29 years of banking experience both at the operational and administrative levels.It said Bhat has experience in administration of agriculture and rural credit, retail, MSME and corporate finance, forex business, corporate planning and development and business process reengineering.Bhat, who did his masters in Agricultural Sciences...

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IRDA may allow health policies to run for 5 years

To improve the health portfolio of insurance companies as well as to ease the process of renewal of these policies, insurance regulator IRDA is considering a proposal to allow five-year policies.Under the present health insurance regulations, general insurance companies can offer renewals only up to three years. Most policies, however, are for a year. General and standalone health insurance companies have been asking IRDA for permission to offer longer-term products.This is especially because these policies are small-ticket items, with premiums...

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IOB seeks Rs 2,100 cr capital infusion from Centre

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has sought capital support of Rs 2,100 crore from the government for enhancing its capital base.“We have requested government to infuse Rs 2,100 crore so that our Tier-I capital reaches 8 per cent,” IOB Chairman and Managing Director M Narendra told PTI.Tier-I capital or the equity capital of the bank stood at 7.80 per cent at the end of March 2013.As of March 2013, the total capital funds of the bank stood at Rs 18,366 crore due to allotment of preferential shares to the government of India.The bank got Rs 1,000...

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Kotak Bank plans more branches

Kotak Mahindra Bank, which has six branches in Kerala, will open more branches in the State in the near future, says its Executive Vice-President Virat Diwanji.He told a news conference, where the bank’s new product – Kotak Junior aimed at teenagers – was launched, that NRIs made up a huge chunk of its customer base in Kerala.“About 40 to 45 per cent of our business here involves NRIs,” he said. More branches would mean better service to them too, he said. He said Kotak Junior would foster the savings habit of children below 18 years.Child...

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Federal Bank seeks FIPB nod to raise shareholding limit

After Axis Bank, Kerala-based old private lender Federal Bank has approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to increase its foreign shareholding limit to 65 per cent.The bank had crossed its limit of 49 per cent foreign shareholding and received a notice from the Reserve Bank of India.“This is with reference to the press release issued by RBI on August 20, 2013 notifying that the foreign shareholding through FII/ NRI/ PIO/ FDI/ ADR/ GDRs in Federal Bank has crossed the overall limit of 49 per cent of its paid-up capital and that...

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Canara Bank sees 17-18% growth in loan

Canara Bank is confident of seeing better credit off-take than the national average during the current fiscal.R.K. Dubey, CMD of Canara Bank, told Business Line that the bank may see 17-18 per cent growth in its total loan book this fiscal against the current national average of 16 per cent. In the previous fiscal, the bank's credit growth was at 16.4 per cent while the industry average was at 14.9 per cent.Agriculture, MSME sector and retail loan portfolio of the bank is likely to increase significantly, at around 35 per cent, he said. Dubey...

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Syndicate Bank branch shifted

Syndicate Bank’s Marine House branch in Kolkata has shifted to a new spacious premise in the same building on Monday. According to a press release, the new premise of the branch was inaugurated by Ravi Chatterjee, Executive Director, and M. P. Nagpal, Regional Manager. On the occasion, Chatterjee highlighted the bank’s performance in the eastern region and talked about the customer friendly retail deposits and loan schemes launched by the bank. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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Post-offices in makeover mode to woo youth

“This almost looks like a plush branch of a private bank.” This is how Yellapragada Rajasekhar, a 24-year-old techie with TCS, reacted on entering a new-generation post-office inaugurated recently here.This is not an isolated case any longer.After banks, age-old post-offices are now racing to attract the younger generation with a modern ambience.Across the country, many offices that have not even been whitewashed for decades are now being refurbished.“We have renovated 2,515 post-offices as on date, spending Rs 314 crore. The objective behind...

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SBI, PNB among five PSU banks charging customers for SMS alerts

Five public sector banks, including SBI and PNB, charge customers for SMS alerts even though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hasn't issued any guidelines in this regard."As per information received from public sector banks, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, State Bank of Patiala and Vijaya Bank are currently charging their customers for SMS alerts," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.In March 2011, the RBI had issued guidelines for banks to send online alerts to customers for all...

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United Bank of India to open 1,000 ATMs in FY'14

State-owned United Bank of India said it plans to open 1,000 ATMs and about 250 branches in the current fiscal to increase its delivery channel."We intend to open 1,000 ATMs and 270 branches during the financial year," United Bank of India Chairperson and Managing Director Archana Bhargava told PTI.The bank has CASA (current account and savings account) ratio of 40 per cent, she said, adding it is one of the highest among the banking sector.With regard to total business, she said, the bank has set a target of Rs 2 lakh crore by the end of the...

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Your bank charges you for SMS alerts

Did you know that your bank is debiting money from your account for providing SMS alerts? If you didn't, it's time you checked the last bank statement or the passbook.Banks, led by State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, are charging Rs 60 annually to send text messages about cash withdrawals and other facilities. Others such as Canara Bank are charging more than Rs 100, while HDFC Bank said they were levying a Rs 60 fee only for "special alerts" such as bounced cheques, salary credits or the balance going below a specified level. Besides,...

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