HSBC India headcount up by 1,000 in 2014

At the centre of a probe into black money allegedly stashed by Indians in Swiss banks, global banking giant HSBC increased its headcount in India by 1,000 last year to 32,000 - the second highest after the UK.As per the bank’s latest annual report, it had a total worldwide workforce of 2,66,000 full-time and part-time employees at the end of 2014.This marked an increase from 2,63,000 at the end of 2013, but still below 2,70,000 at the end of 2012.India has been ranked second among its “main centres of employment” after the UK, where it employed...

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Happay, Ratnakar Bank launch debit card with expense mgmt system

Sony Jacob, the Finance and Accounts head at Bangalore-based micro-brewery Windmills Craftworks, is a happy employee ever since his company started using Happay Cards to manage the company’s employee expense.Jacob said the card, which is integrated with mobile and web dashboard, automatically records and verifies the data and hence can directly be imported into accounting. “Earlier we used to dedicate one person especially for petty cash settlement, checking for supporting documents. Now with Happay Cards, the process has become streamlined...

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Bank employees to get 15% increase in salary

Bank employees, mostly from the public sector, will get a 15 per cent wage hike and two additional holidays a month as part of an industry-wide wage settlement.This is part of the deal cobbled up by employees’ unions and bank managements, under the aegis of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), at a meeting on Monday. Following the agreement, the employees’ unions have called off the four-day strike, which was supposed to start on February 25.The proposed hike in salaries will amount to a collective outgo of ₹4,725 crore per year for the 45...

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Bank of Maharashtra to sell bad loans worth Rs400-500 cr to ARCs

By the end of March Bank of Maharashtra will offload non-performing loans worth Rs.400-500 crore to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), a top bank official has said.“We are exploring this possibility (sale to ARCs) now that the norms have been modified to ensure a balanced environment for ARCs and banks”, RK Gupta, Executive Director, told BusinessLine.The regulatory framework for securitisation companies had been recently modified to stipulate that ARCs will have to mandatorily invest and hold 15 per cent of the security receipt (SR) in...

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HSBC annual profits fall 17%; cuts return on equity target

HSBC Holdings Plc apologised and said it deeply regretted past conduct and compliance failures at its Swiss private bank as it reported a 17 per cent drop in annual profit on Monday.Europe's biggest bank said recent disclosures about past practices and behaviour at its Swiss private bank - where it has been accused of helping clients dodge taxes - reminded it of "how much there still is to do" at the bank."We deeply regret and apologise for the conduct and compliance failures highlighted which were in contravention of our own policies as well...

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SBI to open hi-tech digital branches in Hyderabad, Vizag

SBI has decided to open 2 hi-tech SBI Intouch branches, called digital stores, in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam during the next financial year, according to C.R Sasikumar, the Chief General Manager, Hyderabad.He was speaking to reporters here on Monday after opening a retail branch at Balayya Sastry Layout, the seventy-fifth, in the city. He said such digital branches had been opened in July 2014, in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad as part of SBI’s new initiatives to attract youngsters and tech-savvy people."As Hyderabad and...

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Syndicate Bank to issue 3.74 cr preference shares to Govt

Syndicate Bank has decided to issue 3.747 crore shares of Rs. 10 each on a preferential basis to the Government of India for capital infusion of about Rs. 460 crore.The bank has fixed a minimum issue price of Rs. 122.75 per share in line with SEBI regulations for the proposed issue of the preferential shares. Based on this price, the number of shares to be issued to the Government of India works out to 3,74,74,541, the bank said in a note to the stock exchanges.As a result, the Government of India's stake in the Manipal-headquartered bank will...

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