Jan Dhan Yojana: new bank accounts opened exceeds 5.5 cr mark

The number of Jan Dhan accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have crossed the 5.5 crore mark.As of October 7, the number of accounts opened under PMJDY — the flagship financial inclusion programme of the Modi-led Government — stood at 5.52 crore accounts.A deposit of Rs 4,268 crore have been mobilised under PMJDY so far, an official release said.Meanwhile, the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Puducherry and the three districts of Gujarat — Porbandar, Mehsana and Gandhi Nagar have reported that at least one bank account...

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Federal Bank ties up with IIFL to offer enhanced broking services

Kerala-based old private sector lender Federal Bank has announced a partnership with India Infoline, a part of IIFL Group, to offer enhanced broking services.Federal Bank customers in India and abroad will be offered IIFL’s enhanced broking services, the bank said in a statement.Ashutosh Khajuria, President, Treasury and Head, Network II, Federal Bank, said, “India Infoline has one of the finest broking services across the industry and we are happy that Federal Bank customers will benefit from the relationship. We aim to connect our customers...

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Suggestions invited for utilisation of unclaimed deposits in small savings schemes

The National Savings Institute has invited suggestions and ideas on proper utilisation of deposits lying unclaimed in various Small Savings Schemes in Post Offices and banks for welfare and protection of financial interest of senior citizens.Interested persons/organisations can submit their suggestions/ideas to the Joint Director National Savings Institute, Government of India, Ministry of Finance, ‘A’ Block, 4th Floor, CGO Complex, Seminary Hills, Nagpur–440006 or email (nsi@nsiindia.gov.in​) latest by November 15, 2014.The National Savings...

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SBI to build database to fix wilful defaulters

To build watertight cases against wilful defaulters, State Bank of India is planning to create a database of such defaulters, highlighting the grey areas that they are taking advantage of.Emphasising that his bank has been declaring borrowers as wilful defaulters for quite some time, PK Malhotra, Deputy Managing Director, said, “But there are many cases where we are not able to establish wilful default for want of evidence…“There are certain grey areas. So, we will have a proper database within the bank where these grey areas will also be highlighted.”A...

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IndusInd Bank gets rating upgrade

CARE Ratings has revised the rating assigned to IndusInd Bank’s Rs 450-crore lower tier-II bonds to ‘AA+’ from ‘AA’.“The rating revision factors in IndusInd Bank’s consistently good performance in terms of profitability, asset quality and capitalisation levels.The rating further factors in an experienced management and improving current account, savings account proportion over the years,” the rating agency said in a statement. Source : The Hind...

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RBI cancels licence of Ajmer Urban Co-operative bank on insolvency

The Reserve Bank has cancelled licence of Rajasthan's Ajmer Urban Co-operative Bank as the bank ceased to be solvent."The Reserve Bank has from the close of business as on September 19, 2014, cancelled the licence of the Ajmer Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd. Ajmer (Rajasthan) as it had ceased to be solvent, all efforts to revive it had failed and the depositors were being inconvenienced by continued uncertainty," RBI said in a notification.The registrar of Co-operative Societies, Rajasthan has also been asked to issue an order for winding up the...

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We have political will to undertake financial sector reform: RBI Governor

Underscoring the need for financial sector reforms, Reserve Bank of India Governor has stressed that the “time to deliver begins now” and there is political will to undertake reforms and improve India’s economic growth.“Financial reform is not difficult — we have the political will to improve,” the Indian Consulate here tweeted the RBI governor as saying during an event yesterday.“Time to deliver begins now. We need to focus on deliverables,” another tweet quoting Rajan said.The head of India’s central bank addressed a select gathering of prominent...

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IDFC Alternatives raises Rs. 5,500 cr for second infra fund

​​IDFC Alternatives, the private equity arm of infrastructure finance company IDFC Ltd, has raised $902.4 million (Rs 5,500 crore) for its second fund that would invest in the country’s infrastructure assets.This includes a commitment of $90 million from its parent IDFC and remaining $810 million from limited partners. In addition, investors in the fund – India Infrastructure Fund II (IIF II) – have also pledged significant additional capital towards co-investment opportunities, the company said in a statement.“We are very pleased with the...

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Andhra Bank’s mega property show in Hyderabad on Oct 11-12

As part of its Retail `Utsav’, Andhra Bank will be organising a mega property show at Shilpakala Vedika here during October 11-12.Over 30 builders and all major four-wheeler dealers would be participating in the two-day event. ``We have waived the processing charges and will also offer spot-approval for eligible customers,’’ G Ravi Kumar, General Manager, Hyderabad zone of Andhra Bank told newspersons at a press conference here on Thursday.A special focus would also be there on loans for small and medium enterprises. The bank is expecting a...

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Bandhan Bank appoints FIS Intl to develop core banking tool

The upcoming Bandhan Bank has appointed FIS International, one of the largest banking and payments technology solutions provider globally, to develop its core banking software solutions.According to a release issued by FIS, the global major will help Bandhan by providing and managing a fully integrated banking and payments platform through a totally outsourced delivery model.This will include the core banking, channel solutions, treasury, trade finance, and an entire suite of payments services that includes debit card management and interback...

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Need to look beyond banks to fund infra projects: R Gandhi

RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi on Wednesday said there is a need to look for sources other than bank finance for funding infrastructure projects in the country.“The exposure of banks to infrastructure and real estate sector cannot increase much beyond the current levels,” the RBI Deputy Governor said while addressing a session on Real Estate and Infrastructure Financing at the FICCI-CAPAM 2014.As a prudential measure, banks are not allowed to lend more than a fourth of their total loans to the infrastructure and the real estate sector.“The exposure...

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Restructuring at RBI will be completed by month-end

The Reserve Bank of India’s organisational restructuring exercise, which has got under way and is expected to be completed by this month end, will see the number of departments at the central office increase from 29 to 36. Five clustersTo have a consistent reporting line and broad functional homogeneity, the RBI’s central office departments are being organised into five clusters — regulation and banking services; supervision and risk management; monetary stability; financial markets and infrastructure; and operations and human resources.Supervision...

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Muthoot Finance launches housing loan down payment scheme

Muthoot Finance has launched a product ‘Home Down Payment Loan’ to finance margin money needed to avail of home loans.As per the norms, a home loan borrower has to pay 20 per cent margin money or his own contribution to avail of housing loan up to 80 per cent.Many people do not get a housing loan because they do not have margin money. So, Muthoot Finance has come out with such a product which takes care of the margin money issue of home loan seeker, Muthoot Group AGM marketing Avinav Chaubey said.With repayment period of five years, this product...

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Exim Bank extends $7.76 mn line of credit to Cuban Bank

Export-Import Bank of India has, at the behest of the Government of India, extended two additional Lines of Credit [LOCs] to Banco Exterior De Cuba, Cuba aggregating $7.76 million.While one LOC (for $2.71 million) is for financing the setting up of a bulk blending fertilizer plant, the other (for $5.05 million) is for financing the modernisation of an injectable products plant.With the signing of the above two LOC Agreements, Exim Bank, till date, has extended three Lines of Credit to Cuba, at the behest of the Government of India, taking the...

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Karnataka Bank, TVS Motor tie up

Karnataka Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with TVS Motor for extending channel finance facility to the authorised dealers of the company. The bank will provide channel finance on easy terms to eligible authorised dealers of the company, said a press release issued by the bank on Tuesday. Meera Aranha, General Manager of Karnataka Bank, and JS Srinivasan, Vice-President (Sales) of TVS Motor, signed the MoU in Bangalore recently.  Source : The Hind...

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SBI set to overhaul staff training strategy

If everything goes according to plan, 1.5 lakh officers of the State Bank of India may soon have to go back to classrooms at in-house institutes, and earn certificates to be considered for promotions, according to sources.The certificates earned may also come in handy for those looking for a change in job.To keep pace with the changing needs of the banking industry, SBI is planning to overhaul its staff training strategy. The aim is to link scholarship with experiential learning, so as to make its officers specialists in their areas of operation.Still...

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Jan Dhan Yojana: PM lauds bank staff for successful rollout

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has commended bank officers and staff for the excellent work put in by them in rolling out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) successfully.In an e-mail sent out to bank staff and officers, Modi said he was delighted by the unprecedented response PMJDY had received so far.Over 5 crore bank accounts have been opened within five weeks of launch against a target of 7.5 crore accounts in the first year, he said.“This is primarily due to your diligence and commitment. I had urged you to ensure that no one...

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Home loans grow 23% in first half of FY’14

The housing finance industry has witnessed a 23 per cent jump in the first half of 2014, according to a statement from MCHI-CREDAI Property Expo.The housing demand has also witnessed 23% growth year-on-year, it said.This has led banks and housing finance institutions to take various initiatives to actively target the end user. The banks and housing finance institutions had offers that would suit every pocket and most of them made their presence felt by offering the best deals to the discerning home buyer, the statement said.Usha Khamkar, GM,...

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FinMin may amend RBI Act for appointing 5th Deputy Governor, COO

The Finance Ministry is considering amendments to the RBI Act 1934 to enable the central bank appoint a fifth Deputy Governor and a Chief Operating Officer (COO).Finance Ministry sources confirmed to BusinessLine that both the sides had reached an informal agreement to appoint a COO and create the post of a fifth Deputy Governor in the RBI, but with a condition.“The condition is that COO would be from among the two Deputy Governors from the RBI’s quota, while the key criteria for appointment of fifth Deputy Governor would be a person with at...

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Yes Bank opts for SunTec suite

Yes Bank has selected the Xelerate product suite from SunTec Business Solutions for its revenue management and business assurance needs in the retail banking division.Based out of here, SunTec already has a list featuring marquee clients from the financial world from Visa Europe, HSBC, ING, Mashreq and Standard Bank to American Express.REVENUE STREAMSYES Bank will use SunTec’s technology to help launch new product packages to manage its revenue streams more effectively, a spokesman said here.The Bank believes that customer experience differentiation...

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