Sushil Muhnot is new CMD of BoM

Bank of Maharashtra has a new Chairman and Managing Director in Sushil Muhnot.Prior to this appointment, Muhnot was Chairman of Small Industries Development Bank of India since April 2012.Muhnot will assume charge as CMD of Bank of Maharashtra in Mumbai on Saturday. He will be taking charge at a challenging time for the bank, which recently saw huge increase in non-performing assets and sharp reduction in bottom-line. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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Canara Bank hikes deposit rates by 0.50%

Taking cue from other lenders, state-run Canara Bank hiked interest rates on fixed deposits by up to 0.50 per cent.Fixed deposits in the maturity bracket of 46 days to 60 days and 61 days to 90 days would now fetch interest rates of 7.50 per cent, up from 7 per cent earlier, effective today, Canara Bank said in a filing to the BSE.For deposits above one year to less than two years, the interest rates would now be 9.05 per cent, up from 8.75 per cent. For those of five years and above to less than 8 years would now be 9.05 per cent, up from...

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Dewan Housing gets $85-m IFC loan

Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) said that it has received $85-million loan from International Finance Corporation.IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has given this loan to DHFL to expand finance for affordable and energy-efficient housing in India.“Of the total loan, IFC will provide $70 million through external commercial borrowings and it has committed an additional $15 million to finance green mortgages under the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program,” DHFL said in a statement.Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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Exim Bank, SME Chamber tie-up for export promotion

Exim Bank and SME Chamber of India have signed Memorandum of Cooperation for promotion of exports.They will also focus on how to channelise export finance, identify export potential market, carry on research and survey on various products in demand in different countries and to provide training and education on market, export formalities as well as to resolve issues.Exim Bank Chairman and Managing Director TCA Ranganathan and Chamber President Chandrakant Salunkhe signed the memorandum on Thursday.Salunkhe pointed out that this partnership...

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UCO Bank sees near 4-fold rise in Q2 net

State-owned UCO Bank’s net profit in the second quarter jumped almost four-fold to Rs 400.20 crore from Rs 103.71 crore in corresponding year-ago period. Arun Kaul, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, said the growth trends in all parameters, including interest income and net interest margin, were likely to be maintained in the second half of this fiscal, too.Apart from credit growth, the bank saw reduction in costs as well as upward trend in recoveries in the second quarter ended September 30. “During the quarter, NPAs worth Rs 778...

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PNB hikes FD rates by 0.5%

State-run Punjab National Bank has hiked the interest rates on select maturities by up to 0.5 per cent with effect from November 11.Fixed deposits for less than Rs one crore between 271 days to less than one year would yield an interest rate of 8 per cent against 7.5 per cent earlier, PNB said in a filing to the BSE.Further, term deposits in the maturity bucket of 91 days to 179 days would attract an interest rate of 7 per cent against 6.75 per cent.In case of maturity period of one year and above up to 10 years, uniform interest rates of 9...

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Moody’s affirms 'stable' outlook on Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank

Global ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the ratings of three large private banks — ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank — but warned that they expect these banks to experience marginal weakness in their corporate exposures due to the ongoing slowdown in the economy.Though strong profitability and capital buffers will help the three banks sustain credit quality through the current business cycle, Moody’s added in its statement.The rating agency affirmed its ratings for the senior unsecured debt and local currency deposits of...

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Life insurers back on growth path after 3 years: IRDA

After three years of decline, life insurance business is back on the growth path, according to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).“After September 2013, all companies have shown positive growth. The feel-good factor has come back, driven by the new product regime,” Sudhin Roy Choudhury, Member (Life), told Business Line on the sidelines of the convocation at the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM) here on Thursday.The new product design norms for traditional products, which are being implemented, are more...

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Central Bank opens liaison office in Hong Kong

The third largest public sector lender by branches Central Bank of India  said it has opened a representative office in Hong Kong.The representative office will facilitate the bank to tap the huge business potential in the thriving island city by providing marketing and liaisoning, its chairman and managing director Rajeev Rishi said in a statement.He said the office will not engage in core banking but will use its local presence to explore business opportunities with the aim of establishing a long—term presence and penetrate the markets.Source:...

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Vijaya Bank mulling pref issue

Vijaya Bank’s board of directors will meet on November 11 to consider preferential issue and allotment of equity shares aggregating Rs 250 crore to the Government. The board is also to decide on an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders to obtain their permission. In a release to exchanges, the bank said it has received a letter from the Government conveying its approval to subscribe to additional equity capital of the bank.Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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YES Bank plans to raise $125 m from IFC

YES Bank will raise $125 million in debt funding from International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group, to lend more to micro and small and medium enterprises.The fund raising involves a 5-7-year senior loan of $60 million from IFC’s own account and a syndicated loan of $65 million.IFC’s loan will support the bank in providing access to finance to the SME portfolio, accessing long-term funding and diversifying its funding base franchise, improving its maturity mismatch position and growing...

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HDFC Bank to hike lending rate by 20 bps

HDFC Bank has become the first bank post policy to raise its lending rate by 20 basis points (bps) to 10 per cent, a move other banks are likely to follow soon.The base rate (minimum interest rate on loans) of the second largest private sector bank is now at 10 per cent with effect from November 2, 2013, the bank’s Web site said.The increase in base rate by banks will push up the equated monthly instalments (EMIs) of borrowers.The bank had last raised its base rate by 20 bps in August to 9.8 per cent. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage...

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HSBC investigated in currency probe, announces hike in Q3 profits

A worldwide probe into suspected rigging of foreign exchange trading has reached HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank revealed yesterday as it announced also a jump in quarterly profits.The London-based bank revealed that global regulators are investigating a number of firms, including HSBC, “relating to trading on the foreign exchange market”.HSBC added that it was “cooperating with the investigations which are at an early stage”.It comes as the British bank announced a 28 per cent increase in net profit to $3.2 billion (2.37 billion euros) during...

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Rs 1,170-cr Canara Bank loan for Kochi Metro

Kochi Metro Rail Ltd has approved a proposal to get a long-term loan of Rs 1,170 crore from Canara Bank.A decision in this regard was taken at the 15{+t}{+h} meeting of the Board of Directors held in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting was presided over by KMRL Chairman Sudhir Krishna.The bank loan is for a term of 20 years with a moratorium of seven years. The rate of interest will be 10.8 per cent floating. This is the first time a nationalised bank is funding a metro rail project for such a long tenure on sole banking basis.The Board also reviewed...

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Vigilance awareness week at Syndicate Bank

Syndicate Bank, Kolkata, observed a vigilance awareness week between October 28 and November 1. The Chief Guest, Muhammad Salim Khan, Superintendent of Police, CBI, was present during the concluding ceremony.During the ceremony, discussions took place on promoting good governance.Also emphasized was the role of information technology in preventing corruption. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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OBC not planning to raise capital this fiscal: CMD

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) is not looking to raise any equity capital this fiscal in addition to the Centre’s proposed Rs 150 crore capital infusion into the bank.Although the Centre has allowed banks to raise capital in addition to the promised capital infusion, OBC will not go in for any qualified institutional placement (QIP) this fiscal, S. L. Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director, OBC, said.Finance Ministry had allowed banks to raise additional capital through the QIP route.The board of directors of OBC will meet in the first week...

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Muthoot Finance looking to become a ‘financial supermarket’

Muthoot Finance Ltd, which hopes to secure a banking licence from the Reserve Bank soon, is going in for an image makeover — from a gold loan company to a ‘financial supermarket’.“We are moving forward from being just a gold finance company to a financial supermarket where all kinds of financial services provided by major banks could be offered,” says K. P. Padmakumar, Executive Director of the company.Padmakumar, a former chairman of Federal Bank, told Business Line that the financial services would include wealth management, insurance, foreign...

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Two MDs appointed in LIC

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has announced the appointment of two managing directors – V.K.Sharma and Usha Sangwan.Vijay Kumar Sharma has been Managing Director & CEO, LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LIC HFL), a premier housing finance provider in the country with loan portfolio exceeding Rs 83, 000 crore. His key areas of expertise have been Business Strategy, Business Development, Processes and Systems, Leadership Development, Branding and Product Development and Risk Mitigation and Compliance. He has held important positions as Zonal Manager...

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SBI opens branch at Kukatpally

State Bank of India has opened a new branch at Kukatpally Housing Board Colony here. With this, SBI now has 1,352 branches in Andhra Pradesh.“The branch is opened as part of a drive to open more branches in metro and urban areas. It will cater to the needs of all types of customers,’’ SBI said in a release.C.S. Sasikumar, Chief General Manager, SBI-Hyderabad circle, formally inaugurated the branch. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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Bank of Baroda: Stabilising loans portfolio lends comfort

Bank of Baroda threw a pleasant surprise in its September quarter results by managing to contain the deterioration in its asset quality.The smart rally in the stock after the earnings announcement reflects the relief of investors that the bank’s performance has now stabilised after three quarters of increasing non-performing assets and restructured loans.With most private banks having delivered steady asset quality, the spotlight is now on public sector banks. Increasing bad loans, slower loan growth and declining profitability has been an...

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Allahabad Bank seeks clarity on safe savings scheme

Allahabad Bank said on Thursday that it has sought a clarification from the RBI on whether it can collect public deposits on behalf of the West Bengal Government-promoted Safe Savings Scheme.The bank had on Wednesday issued a statement claiming that the West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, a financial services company promoted by the State Government, had included its name as one of the bankers for accepting under the Safe Savings Scheme without its consent.“Such schemes have to be in accordance with RBI’s guidelines....

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Vijaya Bank launches products for farmers, tiny units, youth

Vijaya Bank has launched three new products – for farmers, tiny units and for the mobile-savvy generation — to better serve their requirements.Vijaya Kisan Home Loan will cater to the housing needs of agriculturists.This loan scheme is targeted at farmers who have no income-tax returns to show as a proof of income, which all banks generally insist upon.H. S. Upendra Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director, said: “The loan can be repaid in quarterly/half-yearly or yearly instalments coinciding with the harvesting season when the farmer will have...

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Oriental Bank raises fixed deposit rates by up to 0.50%

State-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) raised fixed deposits rate on select maturities by up to 0.5 per cent.Term deposit with maturity 91-179 days would earn 0.25 per cent higher interest rate at 8.75 per cent, OBC said in a statement.With the revision, term deposit between 180 days to 1 year would earn 9 per cent against existing 8.50 per cent, it said.The new rates would be effective from November 4, it added.Also, State Bank of India (SBI) raised fixed deposit rate by 0.2 per cent on select maturity.Term deposit between 180-210 days...

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Muthoot Finance Q2 net declines 21%

Muthoot Finance on Thursday reported a 21 per cent decline in net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013 at Rs 211 crore (Rs 268 crore).Total income from operations for the quarter under review dipped marginally to Rs 1,296 crore (Rs 1,306 crore).The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of Rs 3 per share for 2013-14, the company said in a filing with the stock exchange, Mumbai.srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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BoI shares spurt as Q2 net profit more than doubles

Bank of India's net profit doubles to Rs 622 crore in the July to September quarter, 2013, driven by lower bad loans and improved margins and interest income.The public sector bank’s net profit was at Rs 302 crore in the year-ago period.Net interest income (difference between interest earned and expended) grew 15 per cent to Rs 2,527 crore from Rs 2,196 crore. Non-interest income rose 23 per cent to Rs 1,100 crore during the quarter from Rs 894 crore in the second quarter last year. Shares jump 20% The shares of Bank of India soared over...

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Union Bank Q2 net profit dives 62%

Union Bank of India’s second quarter net profit more than halved as it made higher provisions to hedge against the rising non-performing assets.In the July to September quarter, the bank made a net profit of Rs 208 crore against a net profit of Rs 555 crore, a year ago.The Mumbai-based bank’s provisions increased 92 per cent to Rs 937 crore (Rs 487 crore).Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and expended, increased 5.62 per cent to Rs 1,954 crore during the quarter.D. Sarkar, Chairman, Union Bank of India, said the bank...

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Bank of Baroda net dips 10% on bad-loan provisioning

More money set aside towards bad loans and higher operating expenses weighed on Bank of Baroda’s bottom line in the July-September 2013 quarter.The public sector bank reported a 10 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 1,168 crore in the reporting period against Rs 1,301 crore in the year ago period.Growth in net interest income (the difference between interest earned and expended) was almost flat at Rs 2,895 crore (Rs 2,862 crore in the year ago period).The bank set aside Rs 838 crore (Rs 725 crore) towards bad loans. Further, it set aside more...

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Muthoot Finance to float Rs 300-cr NCD issue next week

Muthoot Finance will next week tap the market with a Rs 300 crore non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue, its Managing Director George Alexander Muthoot has said.This NCD issue will be for Rs 150 crore with an option to retain over-subscription of Rs 150 crore. The coupon rate on this debt instrument is likely to be 12 percent, Muthoot told BusinessLine.For Muthoot Finance, this will be the sixth NCD issue. The company had come up with five listed NCD issues in recent years.The previous NCD issue—which happened in September 2013-- was for Rs...

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Allahabad Bank net profit climbs 18% to Rs 276 cr

Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank has reported a 17.77 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 276 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013.The bank's total business stood at Rs 3,14,262 crore, a growth of approximately 15 per cent, over Rs 2,74,116 crore it reported in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.According to Subhalakshmi Panse, CMD, Allahabad Bank, the Centre has decided to opt for a capital infusion of Rs 400 crore in the bank.The bank would also opt for Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) to the tune of Rs 330 crore. Depending...

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SBI board approves capital infusion

State Bank of India’s board on Wednesday approved infusion of capital funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore in the bank by way of preferential allotment of equity shares in favour of the Government of India.Union Bank of India’s board too approved raising equity capital not exceeding Rs 1,997 crore on preferential/Qualified Institutional Placement /rights basis subject to approval of the Government and RBI. Source: thehindubusinesslin...

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IRDA allows insurers more flexibility to invest

Insurance companies will now have more leeway to invest in sectors such as IT and pharma. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has increased the sector specific exposure limit for investments by insurers from 15 per cent to 20 per cent of their total investment.Hitherto, insurers, both life and non-life, were permitted to take an exposure in a specific sector up to 15 per cent of their investments (which includes debt and equity), with the exception of banking and financial services where the limit is 25 per cent and infrastructure...

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Syndicate Bank to pay interest on monthly basis

Syndicate Bank has decided to exercise the option of paying interest on a monthly basis from next month, a change from the existing system of quarterly basis.Reserve Bank of India, in its monetary policy on Tuesday, had decided to give banks the option to paying interest on savings deposits and term deposits at intervals shorter than the existing quarterly intervals, since all banks are on core banking platforms.Some banks are not keen on this option, as they feel that reducing the interval could hike interest costs. Modalities M. Anjaneya...

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