Cap of 3 free ATM transactionsmay apply in cities near metros

If you are staying in a city abutting one of the six metros then you may not get to enjoy the convenience of five free transactions a month at other bank ATMs in the city of your residence.Reason: banks are planning to consider cities lying on the outskirts of the six metros as part of the metros and rationalise the number of free transactions (from five to three per month) with effect from November 1.In August, the RBI had identified six metros — Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad — for the purpose of rationalisation...

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Axis Bank cuts base rate by 10 bps to 10.15%

Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, has cut its base rate to 10.15 per cent from 10.25 per cent per annum.The move comes against the backdrop of ample liquidity in the banking system and tepid credit growth.The new base rate is effective from October 15. Base rate is the minimum lending rate below which banks cannot lend.The bank said the cost of funds has eased due to more liquidity and this has helped to reduce interest rates.Following the reduction, the effective rate applicable to loans linked to this rate will be reduced...

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Jan Dhan accounts cross 6 crore mark

The number of bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have crossed the 6 crore mark, Financial Services Secretary GS Sandhu has said.The total savings deposits in these accounts stood at about Rs. 4,500 crore till date, Sandhu said at TIEcon Delhi 2014 event in the capital here on Friday.srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in Source : The Hind...

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Andhra Bank opens account for AP cyclone relief donations

The Andhra Pradesh Government has opened an exclusive account with Andhra Bank for collecting donations for providing relief to those affected by cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts.The account is CM Relief Funds (AP Cyclone Relief) bearing the number 110310100029039 in Andhra Bank’s AP Secretariat branch. The IFSC code is ANDB 000 1103. For foreign remittances the Swift code is ANDBINBB.``The donations will be accepted in all branches of Andhra Bank in the form of cash/ cheques without any charges,’’ G Ravi...

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Lakshmi Vilas Bank Q2 net profit up at Rs. 31.5 cr

Lakshmi Vilas Bank reported an over four-fold rise in net profit to Rs. 31.50 crore for the second quarter ended September 2014-15 on account of a decline in bad assets and lower provisioning.The private sector lender’s net profit was Rs. 5.85 crore during July-September of the last fiscal.The total earnings of the bank in Q2 2014-15 rose to Rs. 617.84 crore, up from Rs. 536.76 crore in the year-ago period, Lakshmi Vilas said in a filing to the BSE.Provisions and contingencies were trimmed to Rs. 50.89 crore in the second quarter 2014-15 over...

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IRDA forms working group on Companies Act

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has constituted a working group on harmonising its corporate governance guidelines and disclosures with the Companies Act 2013.R. K. Nair, Member (F&I), IRDA, has been appointed as Chairman of the group with 11 other members, including C. S. R. Sridharan, President, ICSI; V. Manickam, Secretary-General, Life Insurance Council; and Kurush J Daruwalla, representative of the General Insurance Council, among others.The terms of reference of the group include recommending changes to insurance...

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Axis Bank Q2 net profit up 18%

Axis Bank, country’s third largest lender, reported an 18 per cent increase in net profit during the three-month period ending September, 2014, at Rs. 1,611 crore.The net profit was at Rs. 1,362 crore in the same quarter a year ago.Net Interest Income (difference between interest earned and expended) rose 20 per cent to Rs. 3,525 crore during Q2FY15 from Rs. 2,937 crore during Q2FY14.Other income grew by 10 per cent at Rs. 1,948 crore as against Rs. 1,766 crore in the second quarter last year.As on September 30, 2014, total advances grew 20...

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Andhra Bank chief hits the streets to boost biz

In a novel move, a public sector bank chief went from shop to shop in a business area in a marketing campaign.CVR Rajendran, Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Bank, along with a team of officials, undertook the exercise, covering over 350 shops/business establishments in a commercial area in Hyderabad.“We have launched a shop-to-shop campaign to market credit and current account facilities among businesses. But as some staff were either shy or slow, I told them I would also join them, and we almost covered every shop, over two hours,”...

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Federal Bank gets IDRBT award

Kerala-based Federal Bank has won the IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence award for 2013-14 in four out of total five categories in the mid-sized lenders segment.Federal Bank was adjudged as the ‘best bank’ for use of Technology for Financial Inclusion, Social Media and Mobile Banking, Business Intelligence Initiatives and for Best IT Team.With this, Federal Bank has won the maximum number of awards this year, the bank said in a statement.The awards were presented to the winners at a function held in Hyderabad on October 1. Shyam Srinivasan,...

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Axis Bank cuts base rate by 10 bps to 10.15%

Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, revised its Base Rate to 10.15 per cent per annum from 10.25 per cent per annum with effect from October 15, 2014.The bank said the cost of funds has eased for the bank due to more liquidity with the bank which has helped reduce interest rates.Accordingly, the effective rate applicable to loans linked to the bank’s Base Rate will reduce by 10 basis points, the bank said in a statement.Sidharth Rath, President (Treasury, Business Banking & Capital Markets), Axis Bank said “The Bank has...

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Federal Bank Q2 net up at Rs. 240 cr

Old private sector lender Federal Bank has posted a 6 per cent increase in net profit in the July to September period at Rs. 240 crore helped by non-interest income.The net profit was at Rs. 226 crore in the year-ago period.The profit was limited due to higher provisions, which increased to Rs. 169 crore, up 50 per cent, from Rs. 113 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.The Kerala-based bank’s net interest income (NII) or the difference between interest earned and expended, grew 10.5 per cent to Rs. 606 crore from Rs. 548 crore in...

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Bill to split CMD’s post in banks likely in winter session

The Finance Ministry is likely to move a Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, for splitting the post of Chairman and Managing Director in banks.The move aims at ushering in better governance and greater transparency in the public sector banking system. A senior Finance Ministry official said the Cabinet is expected to consider the amendments soon, after which a Bill would be prepared. This is the second key development in the banking sector after the ‘work in progress’ for a new Monetary Policy...

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DCB Bank raises Rs. 250 cr through QIP

DCB Bank (formerly Development Credit Bank) raised about Rs. 250 crore of Tier I Capital through a recently concluded Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP).The Board of Directors of DCB Bank has approved the issue and allotment of 30,432,136 equity shares of face value Rs. 10 each to eligible qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) at the issue price of Rs. 82.15 per equity share, aggregating to approximately Rs. 250 crore.In a notice to BSE and NSE, the DCB Bank said consequent to the issue and allotment of the equity shares to the QIBs, its...

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Reserve Bank to keep open public counters for coins exchange

The Reserve Bank of India has clarified that it would not ‘in the foreseeable future’ close down its public counters which distribute coins/currency to the general public, including traders.The RBI Governor has extended an assurance to this effect to the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees, according to Samir Ghosh, Convenor. Policy reversalThis amounts to a reversal of contentious policy announced in 2012-13, Ghosh told BusinessLine. The United Forum had protested this, and had demanded that the counters be retained in public...

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SBI links free ATM usage to balance, branch visits

The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has reviewed its ATM usage charges, allowing more free transactions to those who avoid visiting its branches, and unlimited transactions for those with large balances.In its latest directive on ATM charges applicable from November 1, SBI said that it will limit the number of branch withdrawals to four a month for those maintaining balances of up to Rs 25,000.For customers maintaining an average monthly balance of Rs 25,000 and above, the bank will provide unlimited usage of its own ATM...

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Citi pulls out of consumer banking in 11 countries, profit jumps

Citigroup Inc said it was pulling out of consumer banking in 11 markets, including Japan and Egypt, as the US bank with the biggest international business looks to cut persistently high costs.The third-largest US bank, built with a series of acquisitions spanning back to the 1980s, has been trying to slim down since the financial crisis to be as profitable as rivals. It has shed hundreds of billions of dollars of bad assets.The latest exits were the result of studies the bank began in early 2012 to figure out which countries were not profitable...

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Guidelines on small finance banks in a few weeks: RBI Governor

The Reserve Bank of India will issue guidelines for small finance banks in a few weeks, according to its Governor Raghuram G Rajan.Speaking at the 10th IDRBT Technology Awards here on Wednesday, Rajan said these small finance banks could cater to small customers across the country.Referring to payment banks, he said they should tie-up with a regular commercial bank to offer entire range of services. Source : The Hind...

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Canara Bank keen to extend financial support to budding entrepreneurs

After completing a certification course in tailoring, Hema, 35 and mother of two, sought to cater to the needs of her neighbours. She could not establish a tailoring shop as this required some investment.“The small money that I made helped buy books for the children, vegetables and at times some stuff for the family,” she said.Sitting besides Hema was Manjula, who after completing a beautician course was working in a beauty parlour for close to a year.Both these women were among the 60-odd persons identified by Avinashilingam Jan Shikshan Sansthan...

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Bank unions call for strike on November 12 over wage hike

Bank employees have given a nationwide strike call on November 12 to press for immediate resolution of wage hike issue, the talks on which remain stalled.The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation comprising various employee bodies, has given the strike call.All-India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatchalam said they were forced to give a strike call as Indian Banks Association (IBA) has rejected demand for higher wages and are sticking to their earlier 11 per cent hike citing poor financials...

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IndusInd Bank to foray into asset reconstruction business

Private lender IndusInd Bank will foray into the asset reconstruction business by funding acquisition of bad assets by asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) and also participate in the reconstruction of these assets.“We are testing waters in the asset reconstruction business by working with an ARC…So, we will provide the funding and participate in reconstruction of the asset,” its Managing Director and CEO Romesh Sobti told BusinessLine. The Hinduja Group-promoted mid-sized bank has already hired people required to drive the business. “We should...

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SBT ‘open house’ tomorrow

State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has decided to conduct an ‘open house’ with customers on 15{+t}{+h} of every month. It will be conducted between 3 and 5 pm at the head office, administrative offices and branches.The head office will host the ‘open house’ of the month at the Staff Learning Centre Auditorium on Wednesday. Based on suggestions received at the event, the bank will take measures to improve customer service. For details, call 0471-2359324/2192028. Source : The Hind...

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IndusInd Bank net profit jumps 30% to Rs. 430 cr

IndusInd Bank has reported a 30 per cent rise in net profit at Rs. 430 crore on the back of robust non-interest income and loan growth.The net profit stood at Rs. 330 crore in the second quarter last fiscal.Net interest income or the difference between interest earned and expended increased 19 per cent to Rs. 833 crore from Rs. 700 crore in the same quarter last year.Non-interest income jumped 34 per cent to Rs. 558 crore from Rs. 417 crore. Source : The Hind...

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Kotak Bank launches Facebook-based instant money transfer

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) has launched KayPay, a bank agnostic payment product for Facebook users to send money to each other in an instant.Millions of bank account holders can now transfer money to each other at any hour of the day or night, without needing net banking, or knowing various bank account related details of the payee, the private sector bank said in a statement.KayPay will enable over 25 crore Indian bank account holders to transfer funds to each other instantly by just choosing recipients from their Facebook friends list.The...

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Union Bank opens 18.4 lakh SB accounts under Jan Dhan Yojana

Union Bank of India has so far opened 18.40 lakh basic savings bank deposit accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), according to Chairman & Managing Director Arun Tiwari.The PMJDY, which kicked off on August 15, is a national mission for financial inclusion to ensure that the weaker sections have access to financial services — banking/ savings & deposit accounts, remittance, credit, insurance, pension in an affordable manner.“On an average we have mobilised deposits amounting to about Rs. 950 in each of these accounts...

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Moody's withdraws LIC's rating for business reasons

Moody's Investors Service has withdrawn the Baa3 insurance financial strength rating of Life Insurance Corporation.The rating has been withdrawn for Moody's own business reasons, the international rating agency said in a statement.Headquartered in Mumbai, LIC --which is wholly owned by Indian Government--is the largest life insurer in India.srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in Source : The Hind...

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RuPay cards boost e-commerce, says SBI

RuPay e-Commerce has roped in big online merchants such as IRCTC, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Flipkart and Snapdeal to facilitate online payments.RuPay cards’ acceptance has grown to over 15,000 online merchants with having a customer base of 30 million RuPay cards that are acceptable at all ATMs and 9.8 lakh PoS (point of sale) and over 15000 online merchants in the country, said RuPay in a statement.With this arrangement, RuPay card holders can book train tickets on irctc.co.in, make online payments for LIC premium, shop on Flipkart.com,...

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Andhra Bank okays Rs. 50 cr spot loans in property show

Andhra Bank has sanctioned Rs. 50 crore spot loans to over 250 prospective home and vehicle buyers in its mega property show which concluded here on Sunday.``In addition, we have got business leads for over Rs. 200 crore during the two-day event,’’ G Ravi Kumar, General Manager, Andhra Bank, Hyderabad zone told Business Line here.The number of visitors as well as business exceeded expectations of bank officials. The bank expected about 5,000 visitors while 10,000 visited the expo. Similarly, it was expecting to get a total business of Rs. 100...

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Bank officers to ‘work-to-rule’ over pay hike row

The All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) has decided to stick to office hours and not attend office on Sundays/ holidays and extended office hours with effect from Monday.The AIBOC Executive Committee has also authorised the leadership to decide about a strike for minimum of two days along with other constituents of UFBU (United Forum of Bank Unions) in the first week of November to press their demand for early settlement of wage revision.Sharing details of AIBOC's Executive Committee discussions at Delhi, District President of AIBOC,...

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