SBI signs $500 mn LoC with Korea Exim Bank

Public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) today said it has signed a line of credit (LoC) of $500 million with Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank).This line will be in addition to (LoC) of $200 million signed between the two institutions on January 16, 2014 to support Indian companies importing goods and services from Korea, SBI said in a release.The agreement was signed between SBI’s regional head (East Asia), C Venkat Nageswar and Korea Eximbank’s member of Board of Directors, Young Whan Sul, at Seoul.The entire process was...

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IRDA chief: Make insurance products suitable for online sales

The insurance industry should introduce products that are suitable to be sold online, according to T S Vijayan, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).He was speaking at a conference on digitisation and enhanced foreign direct investment, organised by Assocham here on Friday.“Customers should have the facility to compare various products online while buying insurance,” the regulator said.P Nandagopal, MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company, said it was easy to sell insurance online.However, only one per cent...

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SBI’s officer, clerical posts attracting engineering, MBA graduates

The State Bank of India has been attracting engineers and MBA graduates in droves in its recruitment for probationary officers and clerks, a top SBI official has revealed.The Mumbai-headquartered bank is in the process of recruiting about 1,800 probationary officers and 5,400 clerks, this year.The bank has been attracting applications from a wide range of candidates, as the job scenario elsewhere remains bleak and public sector banks are seen to be offering jobs with better pay at the entry level.The annual compensation on a cost-to-company...

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UCO Bank inks pact with CCAvenue for online shopping

Public sector lender, UCO Bank, has signed a net-banking agreement with “CCAvenue” – one of the largest payment gateway providers.The tie-up will entail UCO Bank customers to shop online across various websites that are powered by “CCAvenue.com”. Payments can be made directly through the bank’s debit card. Source : The Hindu ...

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SBI Ahmedabad donates computers for poor students

The Ahmedabad Circle of State Bank of India (SBI) distributed computer sets and peripherals to 150 needy schools in Gujarat. The move was aimed at making a visible impact on the educational infrastructure of the schools, which were in need but unable to procure due to lack of funds. The bank has spent about Rs. 46.63 lakh for the purpose and the move is expected to benefit about 59,198 students in these schools.“SBI gifted 150 new computers sets and peripherals to 150 needy schools across all districts in Gujarat. The Ahmedabad circle made...

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Visa to open new tech base in India; create 2,000 jobs globally

Visa Inc, the global card payments system provider, will open a new technology centre in India in 2015 and provide about 2,000 full time jobs globally.“Visa Inc...will open a new technology centre in India in 2015 and strengthen its technology resources by creating 2,000 full-time technologist positions around the world,” Visa said in a press release today.The positions will be a combination of new roles and existing contractor positions that are being converted to full-time positions.Visa said the initiatives will help it accelerate shift...

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Andhra Bank says has Rs. 4,346 cr exposure to firms affected by coal ruling

Indian state-run Andhra Bank has a loan exposure of Rs. 4,346 crore ($711.8 million) to companies that have been ordered by the Supreme Court to return coal blocks, its chairman said on Thursday.Andhra Bank's total exposure to steel and power companies is between Rs. 12,000 crore and Rs. 13,000 crore, C.V.R. Rajendran told Reuters.Andhra Bank shares were down 5.85 per cent by 2 p.m., extending Wednesday's 4 per cent fall after the Supreme Court verdict. Lenders have been hit by worries that the verdict scrapping coal allocations over two decades...

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Vijaya Bank unveils new e-products

Vijaya Bank has launched a slew of customer friendly e–products including V-Gyansagar, an Android mobile app through which the bank aims to impart financial information to the public to spread financial literacy. The products were launched executive director recently by Chairman and Managing Director V Kannan, Executive Directors KR Shenoy and BS Rama Rao. Source : The Hind...

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BNP Paribas chairman Prot to leave bank, board meets Friday

Baudouin Prot, Chairman of BNP Paribas since 2011, is to leave the French bank and the board is due to meet on Friday to choose a successor, two sources close to the situation said on Wednesday.One of the sources said Jean Lemierre, an adviser to the bank since 2008 who was a key negotiator with U.S. authorities over its $8.9 billion fine this year for sanctions busting, is a potential successor."It was a personal decision," said a second source of Prot's move, confirming recent press reports. "After more than 30 years with the bank, he wants...

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ICICI Bank launches account for kids above 10 years

ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector bank, has launched an account for minors above 10 years."The account, which will be opened in the name of the minor, will offer a personalised cheque book and a debit card with a picture his or her choice,” the bank said in a statement.Minors will be able to undertake various banking transactions, including issuing cheques, paying bills, recharge mobile phones, open fixed deposits and recurring deposits, among others.They will also have access to banking channels such as ATM, mobile and Internet...

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Make transfers at banks need based, says Reserve Bank of India panel

Reserve Bank's committee on capacity building has suggested that banks must avoid transfer for the sake of norms and make them need based as per leadership requirement."Job rotation in banks, especially PSBs, should not be done in a mechanical manner but through a well laid down criteria."Transfers should focus on critical requirement like leadership across the geography and posts that require high concentration of power..., need-based transfers may be undertaken," said the Committee on 'Capacity Building in Banks and Non Banks'.Banks must...

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Syndicate Bank CMD dismissed from service

Sudhir Kumar Jain, who was suspended from the post of Syndicate Bank CMD from August 2, after CBI registered a case against him for bribery, has been dismissed from service with immediate effect.In a communication to the stock exchanges today, the bank said that the Central Government in its letter dated September 22 has "terminated the term of office'' of Sudhir Kumar Jain as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the bank with immediate effect.He had been placed "under deemed suspension'' with effect from August 2, 2014 in the wake of his arrest...

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Gujarat covers 8 lakh households under Jan Dhan Yojana

After the announcement of ambitious financial inclusion programme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJY) by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, banks in Gujarat have so far opened about 14 lakh new accounts, covering nearly 8 lakh households in the State, a report claimed. After the State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Tuesday here, bankers informed that while 14 lakh accounts were opened so far under the PMJY, a strategy was chalked out to open 28 lakh more accounts by January 26 to achieve the target. “There has been...

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ICICI Bank unveils new product for NRIs

ICICI Bank today launched a new product to serve the Indian diaspora and cater to their non— financial needs.The top private lender said ‘NRI Advantage’ entitles customers to avail of exclusive discounts/special offers. It is targeted at NRI Premia, NRI Pro and NRI savings account holders.Commenting on the offering, ICICI Bank Executive Director Rajiv Sabharwal said, “the bank serves 1.5 million NRIs spanning 150 countries and processes over 5 million inbound transactions annually. With NRI Advantage we are confident that we will be providing...

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Exim Bank receives Rs. 650 cr capital infusion from Govt

Export and Import Bank of India received Rs. 650 crore capital and is due to receive further Rs. 650 crore this year as part of the worth capital infusion from the Government of India."Last year we got Rs. 700 crore from the government… (it) will give us Rs. 1,300 crore this year. Out of that, we have already received Rs. 650 crore of capital about ten days ago. Rest we will receive in the second half of this fiscal," Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman and Managing Director, Exim bank said on the sidelines of a round table to sign Memorandum of Intent...

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No second account needed for Jan Dhan benefits: Govt

The Finance Ministry on Monday said that micro-credit (overdraft) limit of Rs5,000, proposed under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), can also be extended to existing savings bank accounts.This facility will be available to all existing savings bank accounts on application and depending on the satisfactory conduct of the account, the Finance Ministry said in a statement here.It has also issued instructions to the effect that people who already hold bank accounts need not open a Jan Dhan account just to get insurance benefits under...

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Andhra Bank to open 450 new branches

Andhra Bank has firmed up plans to open 450 new branches across the country during this financial year, according to its Chairman and Managing Director, CVR Rajendran.He was speaking to newspersons after inaugurating the 2000th ATM of the bank in the Punjagutta area of the city along with a customer service kiosk. Customers can open accounts, link Aadhar numbers and do transactions from the facility.The Bank, now a lead bank for Andhra Pradesh has leveraged technology to expand its facilities. The pioneer in credit cards, it opened the first...

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Syndicate Bank plans 50 mid-corporate branches this fiscal

Syndicate Bank will open 50 mid-corporate branches during the current financial year, according to the bank’s Executive Director TK Srivastava.Inaugurating a mid-corporate branch in Mangalore on Monday, he said the branch will cater to credit requirements of Rs5 crore and above. Chartered accountants and credit officers will manage the operations of the branch.Stating that the bank has opened 17 such branches in the country, he said 35 branches would be opened by December. The target is to open a total of 50 such branches by the end of 2014-15.The...

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Jan Dhan Yojana: Union Bank engages Fino PayTech in Gujarat

Union Bank of India (UBI) has engaged Fino PayTech in more than 400 villages in Gujarat to identity and enrol unbanked population under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).Already, UBI has enrolled more than 9,000 rural customers under the scheme in 41 villages of Gujarat.With the latest numbers reporting four crore accounts opened under the PMJDY, there is growing concern over a single person opening multiple accounts. Following a directive from the RBI, banks have started to undertake massive exercises to identify and enrol the right...

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Punjab and Sind Bank to allot 9.46 crore shares on pref basis

The shareholders of Punjab and Sind Bank have approved a special resolution for allotting over 9.46 crore shares on a preferential basis to the Government of India at Rs59.14 a share. This was done at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held in the Capital on Friday, the bank said in a filing to the stock exchanges.The allotment would be done by converting Rs200 crore worth of perpetual non-cumulative preference shares, Rs200 crore worth of perpetual cumulative preference shares and Rs160 crore worth of innovative perpetual debt instruments...

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ICICI Bank launches 4 mobile banking apps

With an aggressive approach to mobile banking, ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector bank, today announced the launch of four new mobile banking applications that facilitate basic transactions over mobile phone.The ICICI Store app will enable customers to view all mobile apps of ICICI Group under one app, while another app allows customers to initiate a transaction before visiting a branch, connect with a service executive over video call and view their transactions over the last 30 days on their mobile phones, the bank said in a...

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State-run banks need $37 billion in fresh capital to meet Basel III norms: Moody's

Rating company Moody's has said that capital requirement for government owned Indian banks may rise to 8% to $37 billion as the economic recovery could raise the demand for loans. It would be difficult for banks to raise the needed capital if the economic reforms do not lead to lower government's holdings in banks.Assuming a moderate recovery in economic growth and a gradual decline in new non-performing loans (NPLs), Moody's has estimated that rated public-sector banks in India will need to raise Rs 1.5 - Rs2.2 trillion ($26 - $37 billion)...

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ICICI Bank says 5% of total transactions done via mobile phone

Amid reservations expressed by the Reserve Bank on slow pick-up of mobile banking, country's largest private lender ICICI Bank today said it is witnessing a huge growth in adoption and the stream now constitutes for up to 5 per cent of overall transactions."We are witnessing a three times growth on a year-on-year basis on mobile transactions. They account for 7-10 per cent of the total digital channel and are growing in multiples," bank's head of digital channels Abonty Banerje told reporters.She said the digital channel, including mobile and...

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Federal Bank launches new version of e-passbook

Federal Bank on Friday said it has launched a new version of its electronic passbook called ‘FedBook’.Customers can now monitor their loan accounts, keep track of their cheques and view their deposit accounts with ease, the old generation private sector bank said in a statement.The new version of FedBook, among others, provides the account holders with the current balance, interest rate, loan period, installment amount, due date of remittance, amount due of their various loan accounts on their cell phones.In the case of deposit accounts – Recurring...

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ING Vysya Bank makes changes in senior management

South-based old private sector lender ING Vysya Bank announced changes in its senior management across retail banking, IT, audit and operations.The bank appointed Ashok Rao B as Chief operating officer with effect from October 1, 2014, and Ambuj Chandna as Chief Distribution Officer in Retail Liabilities effective October 13, 2014, the bank said in a statement.In addition, Sonalee Panda will be Chief marketing officer and Anantha Raman to be Chief Auditor.Current Country head – Branch banking, Marketing and Private Client group, Brett Morgan...

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RBI cautions banks on misuse of Jan Dhan Yojana scheme

The Reserve Bank warned the banks to be more careful while opening accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana, saying that a single individual could open multiple accounts in the lure of Rs. 1 lakh insurance cover.“There are some caveats when the banks are implementing the financial inclusion scheme under the recently launched Jan Dhan programme,” RBI Executive Director P Vijay Bhaskar said at a CII seminar.He said people could open accounts in different banks using different identity documents like PAN card, Aadhar among others in the lure of getting...

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Now, SBI’s education loans come with credit cards

State Bank of India is offering credit cards along with education loans to students to stay connected with them and to keep bad loans down.India’s largest bank is expecting the usage of the credit card and payment of dues by students to build up credit history, giving it a clue on the borrower’s credit behaviour.SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said, “We were having a lot of non-performing assets (NPAs) in education loans. So, now we have created a credit card along with the education loans.”The credit card has a credit limit of Rs5,000...

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Jan Dhan scheme may not bring much ‘dhan’ to public sector banks

People who have moved to the Capital from villages across the country to earn their livelihood, as household help and drivers, do not have any documents to show residence proof or even an Aadhar card for identity purpose. This makes it tough for them to benefit from the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).And public sector banks are also facing challenges, albeit of a different kind. The banks are staring at a hole in their balance sheets as the scheme gathers steam.They hope that the Centre would soon start channelising the direct benefit...

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Vijaya Bank may delay fund-raising plan

Vijaya Bank may postpone plans to raise funds for its tier 1 and tier 2 capital requirements, “as the market condition is not really conducive at present”, said V Kannan, Chairman and Managing Director.The public sector bank is waiting for the opportune time to raise ₹600 crore through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) for its tier 1 capital requirement and to mop up ₹500 crore through bonds for its tier 2 capital.The bank was earlier planning to raise Rs600 crore in October, but it may wait for some more time for the market to be better,...

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AIBOC asks banks to recover NPAs from corporate houses

The All-India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) has urged the banking industry to adopt stronger measures to recover NPAs (non-performing assets) from corporate houses.Addressing the members of Corporation Bank Officers’ Organisation (CBOO) in Mangalore, Y Sudarshan, President of AIBOC, said some corporate houses were evading the recovery process through their influence in political circles.The recent setback in the performance of some banks was due to the huge corporate loans that have become NPAs. He stressed the need for support from...

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Andhra Bank launches 2000th ATM in Hyderabad

Andhra Bank has firmed up plans to open 450 new branches across the country during this financial year, according to its Chairman and Managing Director, CVR Rajendran.He was speaking to newspersons after inaugurating the 2000th ATM of the bank in the Punjagutta area of the city along with a customer service kiosk. Customers can open accounts, link Aadhar numbers and do transactions from the facility.The Bank, now a lead bank for Andhra Pradesh has leveraged technology to expand its facilities. The pioneer in credit cards, it opened the first...

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South Indian Bank appoints V G Mathew as new MD & CEO

Private lender South Indian Bank has appointed V G Mathew as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for three years.“...the Reserve Bank of India has conveyed their approval for appointment of V G Mathew as MD & CEO of the Bank for a period of three years,” the bank said in a filing to the BSE.Mathew’s appointment will come to effect from October 1, 2014.He was the Executive Vice President of the bank earlier.For the quarter ended June 30, the bank had posted net profit of Rs. 126.65 crore, up from Rs. 114.84 crore over the corresponding period a year ago. Source : The Hindu ...

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Bank unions extend a cautious welcome to Jan Dhan Yojana

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UBFU) has extended a cautious welcome to the Jan Dhan Yojana that aims to extend banking facilities to the unbanked people.Its views were conveyed to the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) during the latest round of bipartite talks for wage settlement. FRAUDULENT ACCOUNTS But the UBFU expressed the fear that ‘compromises’ on KYC norms might lead to opening of fraudulent accounts for which employees should not be held accountable.It also conveyed to the IBA that the pressure due to targets stipulated for opening of accounts were affecting delivery regular services to customers in significant manner.Due to the stipulation on timings for opening of accounts from...

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