IndusInd Bank cuts interest rate on savings accounts to 4.5%

IndusInd Bank reduced its interest rates on savings accounts to 4.5 per cent from earlier 5.5 per cent per annum on daily balance of up to Rs 1 lakh.For balance of above Rs 1 lakh, the interest rates continue to be at 6 per cent.“The revised interest rates are applicable with effect from September 1, 2014 till further notice. The bank has the right to change the rate at its discretion,” IndusInd Bank said on its website.The interest will be calculated on daily basis, at the end of day ledger balance in the account and paid at every calendar quarter on 30th June, 30th September, 31st December and 31st March.After the interest rate on savings was deregulated by the Reserve Bank of India in 2011,...

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RBI may limit card issuance by banks due to dearth of PoS terminals

With the expansion of point of sales (PoS) machines not keeping pace with the number of cards in the market, the Reserve Bank of India may limit the issuance of cards by banks.RBI Deputy Governor HR Khan on Tuesday raised concerns, saying that there is “huge number of cards but where is the payments ecosystem to use them”? He said card acceptance infrastructure needs to be created.“Banks have to take some lead...We are looking at the possibility of opening White Label PoS machines like White Label ATMs and that any further issuance of cards will be linked to the setting up of the machines.“It is not a final view but just a thought,” said Khan, adding that this is required particularly in rural...

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Bank of Maharashtra to raise Rs 500-1,000 cr this fiscal

Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra plans to mop up Rs 500-1,000 crore by issuing Tier-I bonds this year, according to Chairman and Managing Director S Muhnot.“We will look at raising Basel III-compliant additional Tier-1 capital, instead of taking up further equity right now.“We may raise Rs 500-1,000 crore during this financial year,” Muhnot told newspersons here on the sidelines of a banking conclave organised by FICCI and the Indian Banks’ Association.Currently, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio stands at around 11.Muhnot said the bank sees its credit growth moderating to 12-15 per cent in FY15.Source : The Hind...

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SBI revises deposit rates by 0.25% in two buckets

Country's largest lender State Bank of India today cut its interest rate offering for medium-term deposits by 0.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent, citing slower-than -expected pick up in advances.However, it increased rates for shorter tenor deposits of 180-210 days by 0.25 per cent to 7.25 per cent per annum."In view of abundant liquidity coupled with slower-than- anticipated credit pick up, State Bank of India ( SBI) has decided to cut the deposit rates by 0.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent," the bank said in a statement.The downward revision of rates is for deposits between one and three years and is applicable from September 18, it said.The bank added that with the inflation trending down -- consumer...

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Allahabad Bank seeks Rs 900 crore capital from government

State-run Allahabad Bank said here today that it has sought a Rs900-crore capital infusion from the government during the current financial year."We have asked for Rs 900 crore from the government. Usually it comes after September," Allahabad Bank's Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Sethi told reporters on the sidelines of an annual banking event organised by FICCI and IBA here today.The government has budgeted only Rs 11,200 for capital infusion in public sector banks during this fiscal.Sethi further said the bank has board approval to raise Rs 320 crore from the government and a decision would be taken only if there is higher demand for credit."We have permission for a Rs 320 crore QIP,...

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Canara Bank bags award, Allahabad Bank gets second prize in Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield Scheme

Rajeev Kishore Dubey, CMD of Canara Bank, received the 1st Prize under the Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Puraskar Yojana from the President of India, Pranab Mukherji, at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan Auditorium in New Delhi, the bank said in a statement.Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank was awarded the second prize in “region ‘C’” banks for the year 2012-13 under the Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Shield Scheme of Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs.According to a release issued by Allahabad Bank, its Chairman and Managing Director, Rakesh Sethi, received the shield from the President, Pranab Mukherjee, at a function help in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on September 14.Union Home Minister Rajnath...

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J& K flood relief: Oriental Bank staff donates 1-day salary to PMNRF

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) staff numbering 20,157 have contributed their one-day salary to Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the ongoing relief work in Jammu & Kashmir, which has been devastated by floods.An amount of Rs 2.15 crore has been contributed to PMNRF on this count, a release issued by the bank said. Source : The Hind...

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Bank of Maharashtra plans to raise Rs 1,000 cr this year

State-run Bank of Maharashtra today said that it plans to raise around Rs 500-1,000 crore by issuing Basel III-compliant Tier-I bonds this year.“We will look at raising Basel III-compliant additional Tier-1 capital instead of taking up further equity right now. We may raise around Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore during this financial year,” bank Chairman and Managing Director S Muhnot told reporters here on the sidelines of an event organised jointly by FICCI and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).Currently, the city-based bank’s capital adequacy ratio is around 11.The bank sees its credit growth to moderate to around 12 per cent to 15 per cent this fiscal.“We are looking at around 12 per...

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RBI: Final norms for on-tap bank licences this fiscal

Final guidelines for on-tap universal banking licences will be issued in the current fiscal, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor R Gandhi said here today.“We are working towards issuing guidelines for full-service banks on tap. I cannot give you a timeline, but it will be in this financial year,” Gandhi told presspersons on the sidelines of an annual banking event organised by FICCI and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) here.The Reserve Bank had earlier issued draft guidelines for payment and small banks and is in the process of finalising the final norms.“Now the public comments (on small and payment banks) have been received and we are factoring them in. Soon we will come out with final guidelines...

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Axis Bank launches e-surveillance facility for ATMs

Private sector Axis Bank launched e-surveillance facility for its ATMs for better monitoring and detection of any unauthorised activity at the site on real time basis.Under the e-surveillance facility, the ATM premises will be monitored 24x7 from a centralised security operation centre and an immediate alert will be activated in case of detection of any unauthorised activity at the site, Axis Bank Head (Retail) Rajiv Anand said.In the event of any unauthorised activity at the ATM location, an immediate hooter alert will instantaneously propel a two way communication between the officials at the security operation center and the alleged intruders, through mike, speakers and CCTV system, he...

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Jan Dhan benefits for existing bank account holders too

The Finance Ministry has clarified that those who already have a bank account do not need to open a fresh account under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) to get the scheme’s benefits. The benefits include an insurance cover of Rs1 lakh and life insurance cover of Rs30,000. “Because of the incentives announced, many existing account holders have also opened new accounts under PMJDY.  The benefits announced under PMJDY can be extended to existing account holders … and a new account need not be opened for this,” a Finance Ministry...

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No free lunch; banks free to charge ATM users: RBI

The RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said there was “no free lunch” alluding to the usage of ATM services of other banks for free as it is a cost to home banks.“The ATM transaction is free to you but not free to the bank. It costs the bank Rs 75 to Rs 100 for those five transactions. The bank has to collect that amount from somewhere and it has to be from customers. But there are two distortions that it creates. First, not everybody is doing the same amount of transactions and (also) are we subsidising using of cash by freeing up ATMs?”...

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RBI may issue final norms on small, payments banks in 2-3 months

The Reserve Bank is likely to issue final guidelines on small and payments banks within two-three months, paving the way for corporates to enter these two segments.The final guidelines on small and payments banks are expected in the next two-three months, sources said.Draft guidelines for small and payments banks were issued by the RBI in July and comments were invited till August 28.It is examining the suggestions received and is in the process of finalising the norms for such banks, sources said.The final norms will allow micro finance institutions, telecom players, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and public sector companies eligible to apply for bank licences once RBI invites applications...

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HDFC Bank to send debit card PINs via SMS

As part of its ‘go-green’ initiative, HDFC Bank has started sending PIN, unique code number, for debit card holders through SMS instead of the practice of sending it by post.It is not just environment friendly but also convenient and saves time of both customers and the bank, HDFC Bank Senior Vice President and business head (Cards Payment Products) Parag Rao said.“With the launch of the Green PIN we offer our customers the flexibility to generate a new pin number at a time and location most convenient to them, while simultaneously giving them the opportunity to take a step to save our planet’s vital natural resources,” he said.Green PIN is One Time Password sent to the customer’s mobile number...

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J&K floods: IRDA asks life insurers to settle claims fast

In view of massive floods resulting in loss of lives and belongings in Jammu & Kashmir, the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) has asked life insurers to take immediate steps for the expeditious settlement of claims.Meanwhile, general insurers including SBI, ICICI and Tata AIG are gearing up to settle fast the deluge of claims from the flood-hit valley.“In order to extend every possible facilitation in quick and timely settlement of life insurance claims to the affected people of the State of Jammu & Kashmir...initiate immediate action to ensure that all initial claims are registered and eligible claims are settled expeditiously,” said an IRDA communique to CEOs of all...

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LIC Housing to cut funding cost

LIC Housing Finance Ltd is keen on reducing its funding cost by going in for NCDs (non-convertible debentures) rather than bank borrowings. “Last year, we brought down our bank borrowings from 29 per cent to 25 per cent, which is expected to improve our net interest margin from the present 2.18 per cent to 2.25 per cent next year,” said Sunita Sharma, Managing Director and CEO, LIC Housing Finance Ltd. She was here to inaugurate the 17th edition of annual property expo. Attributing the growth to increasing demand from the retail segment, she said the company would focus on Loan Against Property ( LAP) generating more business.Source : The Hind...

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SBI revamps tractor loan product

To overcome the problem of bad loans in the tractor segment, State Bank of India has introduced the equated monthly instalment (EMI) ‘mode of loan repayment for farmers’.Further, the bank is encouraging the lady of the farm household to become a co-borrower. Twin benefits By doing so, SBI, which faced huge non-performing assets in tractor loans in the recent past leading to it retreating from the segment altogether, is trying to kill two birds with one stone.For one thing, the monthly repayment schedule, which is usually associated with housing and auto loans, kicks in a month after the loan gets disbursed. For another, the co-borrower exerts pressure on the farmer-borrower to repay the...

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FIIs need RBI nod to buy YES Bank shares

YES Bank’s equity share purchase by foreign investors will be allowed only after obtaining the RBI approval as it had reached the trigger limit, the central bank notified on Friday.“The Reserve Bank of India has notified that the foreign shareholding through Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs)/Non Resident Indian (NRI)/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIO)/ Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/American Depository Receipt (ADR)/Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) in YES Bank Ltd has reached the trigger limit.FIIs held 45.04 per cent shares in YES Bank as of quarter ended June 2014, according to BSE data.Source : The Hind...

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