Bank of Baroda Q3 profit declines 68% on higher provisions, one-time tax liability

Bank of Baroda has posted a sharp decline of 68 per cent in net profit at Rs. 334 crore, in the October-December quarter of FY15 due to hike in provisions for bad loans, higher expenses and decline in margins.The public sector lender had reported a net profit of Rs. 1,048 crore in the year-ago quarter.“Provisions and contingencies (excluding tax provisions) of the bank increased by a significant 65.7% (y-o-y) during Q3FY15 to Rs. 1,262 crore (Rs 762 crore in Q3FY14) due to lumpy provisions against some structural non-performing loans,” the...

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Stable loan growth, treasury gains drive ICICI Bank net profit up 14% to Rs. 2,889 cr

ICICI Bank, the country’s biggest private sector lender, booked a 14 per cent rise in net profit at Rs. 2,889 crore for the third quarter ended December 2014 on the back of stable loan growth and treasury gains. The net profit was at Rs. 2,532 crore in the year-ago quarter.However, the asset quality continued to remain under pressure with higher provisions and increase in bad loans during the period.“Growth was driven by strong retail growth and operating parameters…Given the subdued corporate and economic conditions, we continued to see additions...

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Andhra Bank Q3 net zooms to Rs. 202 cr

Andhra Bank’s net profit increased four-fold to Rs.202 crore in the third quarter ended December 2014 compared to Rs.46 crore in the year ago period.The decrease in cost of funds and increase in yield on advances pushed up profit. “Alternative liability sources other than deposits have been accessed at cheaper rates,’’ CVR Rajendran, Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Bank, told news persons at a press conference here on Friday.Net interest income increased to Rs.1,259 crore (Rs.868 crore) while total business grew 11.3 per cent to Rs.2.61...

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IDFC’s Q3 net down 16%

Soon-to-be-bank IDFC Ltd said that its third quarter net profit fell 16 per cent as finance costs and provisions rose sharply. The infrastructure finance company posted a net profit of Rs401 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2014 against Rs475 crore in the year-ago period.Source : Thehindubusinesslin...

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Higher treasury income boosts Vijaya Bank Q3 net

Revision of base rate and higher treasury income boosted Vijaya Bank’s profits to Rs.37.40 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal against Rs.11.39 crore in the same period last year.The bank’s total income increased 14.89 per cent to Rs.3,302.67 crore (Rs.2,874.60 crore). Kishore Kumar Sansi, Managing Director and CEO, told reporters that the bank’s treasury income touched Rs.158 crore (Rs.16 crore) and revision of base rate protected interest margins. The bank made Rs.328 crore provision for NPAs.Gross NPA stood at Rs.2,311 crore...

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Dewan Housing seeks small finance bank licence

Housing finance major Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) has filed an application seeking a licence for a `Small Finance Bank’ from the RBI.The foray into banking operations would enable DHFL `transform into a more robust and scalable business model’ that was aligned with its long-term growth aspirations.In a filing with the stock exchanges, DHFL said it had filed an application seeking a banking licence from the RBI for `Small Finance Bank (SFB)’. The HFC has been in existence for more than 30 years, focussing on the lower and middle-income...

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Home loan growth slows down

Aman, a 32-year old in suburban Mumbai, is not particularly excited about the interest rate cut by the RBI earlier this month.“I want to buy a house at a place which is less than an hour’s commute from my work place. However, there is nothing available in my budget. A cut in the interest rate will barely save a few thousand on my EMIs. I don’t think it is a good enough reason for me to buy a home,” said Aman, who earns a salary of Rs.10 lakh annually.This trend is the general sentiment in metros with real estate prices at high levels and no...

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RBI welcomes `differentiated banking’ partnerships

Welcoming the tie-up between country’s largest mobile telephony player Bharati Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank for a payments bank, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor H R Khan has said such partnerships are crucial for the success of differentiated banks.“If they have cost effective framework, use mobile and telco network, then they (small finance banks and payments banks) can be successful, otherwise the space is becoming rather overcrowded (with commercial banks),” Khan said, addressing an event organised by ETNow last evening.The deputy...

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Oriental Bank of Commerce net down 91% in Q3

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) on Thursday reported a 91 per cent decline in net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, at Rs. 19.56 crore (Rs 224.30 crore).The total income of the bank for the quarter under review increased by 7.98 per cent to Rs. 5,458.79 crore (Rs 5,063.98 crore).The third quarter financial performance was weighed down by a sharp increase in provisions at Rs. 885.14 crore, reflecting a 57.75 per cent increase over the provision level of Rs. 561.10 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.For the nine months period...

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HDFC Q3 profit up 12% on good demand in small towns

Housing Development Finance Corporation has posted a 12 per cent growth in its third quarter net profit aided by higher demand for home loans in the tier - II and tier - III towns.In the three month period ended December 31, 2014, the Mumbai-based HDFC posted a net profit of Rs. 1,425 crore against Rs. 1,277 crore a year earlier.Total income was up 14 per cent at Rs. 6,871 crore.As at December 31, 2014, the loan book stood at Rs. 2,19,951 crore as against Rs. 1,92,284 crore as at December 31, 2013, the company said in a statement.Most of HDFC’s...

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Stop asking for ‘no due certificate’: RBI to banks

To ensure hassle free credit to all borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to dispense with obtaining ‘no due certificate’ from the individual borrowers in rural and semi-urban areas for all types of loans.Instead, the central bank said banks should use an alternative framework of due diligence as part of their credit appraisal exercise.The alternative framework could, among others, consist of: credit history check through credit information companies; self declaration or an affidavit from the borrower; CERSAI (Central Registry...

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29 branch heads inducted into Corporation Bank Chairman’s Club

As many as 29 branch heads of Corporation Bank, who excelled in various areas of operation during 2012-13, have been inducted as members into the Chairman and Managing Director’s Club.SR Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director, inducted the branch heads at a ceremony in New Delhi on Tuesday.A press release by the bank said here the Chairman and Managing Director’s Club membership has been devised with selection parameters broadly premised on parameters such as average advances, clientele expansion, agriculture advances, retail advances, recovery,...

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DBS Bank launches Tab banking

Singaporean lender DBS Bank, which focuses on leding to SMEs, today launched Tab banking for its customers in the segment which will ease and fasten the account opening process.The new initiative named ‘AweSME Accounts’ will replicate the physical account opening form for SME accounts on the tablet.“The initiative comes with in-built checks and balances that reviews the past data and ensures that the most frequent reasons for rejection are avoided, thus giving customers a smoother on-boarding experience,” bank’s head of small and medium enterprise,...

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State Bank of Hyderabad Q3 net doubles to Rs334 crore

The State Bank of Hyderabad’s (SBH) net profit more than doubled to Rs.334 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2014, compared with Rs.119 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.This was driven by a 9.81 per cent growth in net interest income at Rs.1,086 crore (Rs.989 crore), strong growth in other income, and a decrease in provisions and contingencies.“Intensive non-performing assets (NPAs) recovery efforts taken by the bank yielded results and the gross NPA ratio declined from 5.77 per cent to 5.32 per cent,” the...

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Karnataka Bank third quarter profit flat at ₹107 crore

Karnataka Bank posted flat net profit growth of Rs.106.94 crore during the third quarter of 2014-15 against Rs.106.7 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, on higher provisioning and employee costs.Net interest income stood at Rs.302.05 crore (Rs.271.50 crore), and other income at Rs.162.83 crore (Rs.97.85 crore).There was higher provisioning for actuarial liabilities on pension and gratuity. Employee cost The employee cost of the bank stood at Rs.187.72 crore (Rs.117.58 crore), and provisions (other than tax) and contingencies...

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YES Bank signs MoU with OPIC and Wells Fargo to support MSMEs

Private sector lender YES Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) - a development financial institution of the United States - to increase lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India.Through this MoU, OPIC along with Wells Fargo Bank will be participating in a $ 220 million long tenor funding arrangement to YES Bank.Wells Fargo will act as sponsor and co-lender to the project.The proceeds will be used for on-lending to SME and MSME with a particular focus...

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DHFL Pramerica Life reports Q3 net profit at Rs. 23.68 cr

DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance reported its consolidated profit after tax for the quarter ending December at Rs. 23.68 crore.The company had posted a loss of Rs. 77.61 crore for the corresponding period last year, it said in a statement.The insurer garnered Rs. 162.88 crore in new business premium in the third quarter of the current fiscal.“We will continue to look for ways to add value to our customers’ lives by strengthening our distribution, improving our service capabilities and offering differentiated product solutions.“With our differentiated...

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RBI raises concerns over State Bank of Sikkim's functioning

The Reserve Bank of India has raised concerns over the State Bank of Sikkim, which does not come under any regulation or jurisdiction since the Banking Regulation Act 1949 and the Companies Act do not extend to it.In a letter to the central government, RBI has expressed serious reservations about the regulatory vacuum that the State Bank of Sikkim is allowed to function in, said a government official, who did not wish to be named."RBI has pointed out that since the bank does not come under any jurisdiction, financial and operational issues...

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Union Bank to open branch in Sydney

The Union Bank of India (UBI) will open its branch in Sydney by the end of this month, a top official has said."We are going to open a branch of the bank at Sydney on January 30. The bank also plans to open branches in Africa for further strengthening its global footprint," UBI Chairman and Managing Director Arun Tiwari told PTI.Presently, the bank has a representative office in Sydney.UBI recently opened a branch at Antwerp in Belgium. Apart from that, the bank has branches in Dubai, Hong Kong and London and representative offices in Beijing,...

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HDFC Bank launches 11 toll-free numbers to cater to 32 nations

HDFC Bank has launched 11 international toll-free numbers to cater to 32 countries for phone-banking assistance for its pre-loaded forex card users as part of customer convenience initiative.The private sector lender on an average issues 12,000 pre-loaded forex card every month. The card can be issued in 18 different currencies including Euro, Yen, Pound, Dollar, South African Rand and Oman Riyal."The toll-free numbers are intended to provide enhanced convenience and accessibility for customer travelling overseas with our pre-loaded forex card,"...

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IRDA mulls no fee for change in nomination

Observing policyholders’ right to effect changes in nomination, sectoral regulator IRDA is proposing to do away with the practice of charging fee for such alterations by life insurance companies.The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India in a draft on ‘Fee for Registering Cancellation or Change of Nomination by the Holder of a Policy of Life Insurance’, has invited comments from stakeholders by February 2, 2015.“On a comprehensive review...it may be observed that the holder of a policy of life insurance has a right for effecting...

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City Union Bank Q3 net profit up 15%

City Union Bank reported an over 15 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 102.70 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.The bank’s net profit stood at Rs 89.09 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, its MD & CEO N Kamakoti told reporters.A 25 per cent growth in operating profit and 44 per cent growth in total provisions besides restructuring of assets have spurred this growth.Total business grew 9 per cent to Rs 40,171 crore even as deposits increased by 10 per cent to Rs 23,203 crore as on December 31, 2014 from Rs 21,116...

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