Nabard staff to join Sept 2 strike

All-India Nabard Employees’ Association, the recognised trade union of workmen employees of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, has decided to join the call for nationwide strike on September 2 given by 16 Central trade unions. VK Bhosale, General Secretary of the Association, served the strike notice to the Chairman of Nabard, a spokesman said. The unions are demanding, among others, , enforcement of labour laws, fixation of minimum wages at Rs.15,000, revised gratuity, and removal of ceiling for bonus and provident fund.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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RBI to transfer 25% more to Govt

The Reserve Bank of India will transfer 25 per cent more by way of surplus funds to the government for the year ended June 30, 2015. The central bank, in a statement, said its Central Board of Directors, at its meeting held on Thursday, approved the transfer of surplus funds amounting to Rs.65,896 crore to the Government of India. The surplus amounts were Rs.52,679 crore and Rs.33,010 crore for the years ended June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2013, respectively.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Axis Bank set to roll out contactless card payments

Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector bank, will soon facilitate contactless payment for its premium debit, credit and multi-currency forex card customers.

The bank plans to cater to about 1.70 lakh premium segment customers, accounting for about 1 per cent of its total customer base of 1.7 crore. “The industry has seen about Rs.12,000-13,000 crore worth debit card transactions that are below Rs.2,000. So, we are piloting with 100 merchants in a couple of cities to facilitate the tap-and-go payments,” said Jairam Sridharan, President of Consumer Lending at Axis Bank. At present, about 70 per cent of transactions through debit cards are below Rs.2,000 value across the banking industry.

"We need to create a culture of customers getting to know how to use the tap-and-go payment system. Changing this behaviour will take time. So, we are first trying to aim at the segment which will be quicker to adapt," Sridharan explained.

Globally, near-field communication (NFC)-based payments are popular in, among others, quick-service restaurants, department stores, and campuses.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Bank of Maharashtra Q1 net drops 50% to Rs 59 cr on higher provisioning

Bank of Maharashtra has reported a 49.55 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 59.44 crore for the quarter ended June 30, hurt by a sharp increase in bad loans and higher provisions.

The bank had reported a net profit of Rs 117.82 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The bank’s total income in the quarter under review stood at Rs 3,526.13 crore, up 7.30 per cent against Rs 3,286.12 crore in the same period a year ago.

Provisions and contingencies in the quarter more than doubled to Rs 483.91 crore as against Rs 236.25 crore in the same quarter in previous year.

Net non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank during the first quarter increased sharply to 5.04 per cent as against 2.94 per cent during the corresponding period a year ago.

Shares of Bank of Maharashtra were trading at Rs 35.10 apiece in the afternoon session, down 3.57 per cent from their previous close on the BSE.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Healthy fee income and a drop in bad loans helped the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, to post a 10 rise in net profit in the April-June quarter at Rs.3,692 crore.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, increased marginally by 4 per cent, while non-interest income (including income from trading profits and fees) rose 19 per cent to Rs.5,088 crore.

Fresh slippages from standard to bad loans during the quarter stood at Rs.7,318 crore, down from Rs.9,932 crore in Q1 FY15.

“The main slippages were in the retail and agriculture segments. The sequential increase in slippages was a seasonal impact. But year-on-year they have been coming down,” said Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson, SBI.

The bank’s asset quality improved with gross bad loans or non-performing assets (NPAs) declining to Rs.56,420 crore against Rs.60,434 crore a year ago. Gross NPAs as a percentage of total loans fell to 4.3 per cent (4.9 per cent a year ago).

“Slippage from restructured assets was only 8.6 per cent… Going forward, recoveries (of bad loans) will be better or at least equal to earlier times,” Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya added that credit growth is not happening since there is a lot of weakness in commodity prices, input and energy prices. “We will transmit rates only when credit growth picks up,” she said.

The SBI chief added that deposit rates will get re-priced over the next nine months.

She expects credit growth to be around 14 per cent and deposit growth at 14-15 per cent in FY16.

Consolidated results

On a consolidated basis, SBI posted a 6 per cent rise in net profit at Rs.4,714 crore in the first quarter (Rs.4,448 crore in the year-ago quarter).

On Tuesday, SBI shares ended at Rs.269.30 apiece, down 4.87 per cent on the BSE.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Jan Dhan Yojana: 215 claims settled so far, says NPCI

As many as 215 claims have so far been settled under the Rs. 1 lakh accidental insurance cover provided under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) launched last year, A.P. Hota, Managing Director & CEO, National Payments Corporation of India has said.

The accidental insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh was one among the special benefits attached to the scheme that was implemented on a mission mode by the Modi-led Government.

Till date, 17.29 crore bank accounts have been opened under PMJDY.

Hota said that in all about 500 claims have come for the accidental cover benefit, of which about 397 related to 2014-15 and about 97 this fiscal.

Of the 215 claims settled, 180 related to 2014-15 and the balance 35 for the current fiscal.

NPCI had paid the premium for this accidental insurance cover benefit. The premium paid by NPCI was about Rs. 0.47 per Rupay card issued under the Jan Dhan scheme.

LIFE INSURANCE

Meanwhile, Hota also said that till date 400 claims has been received for the life insurance cover benefit of Rs. 30,000 assured to each Jan Dhan holder.

Of the 400 claims, payment of Rs. 30,000 to nominees of the Jan Dhan beneficiaries has been made in respect of about 150 claims, he added.

srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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J&K Bank Q1 net rises 22% to Rs. 159 cr

Jammu & Kashmir bank today reported 22 per cent rise in net profit at Rs. 158.76 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2015, against Rs. 130.05 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

However, total income of the bank fell in the first quarter to Rs. 1,888.35 crore as against Rs. 1,899 crore a year ago, because of a higher tax outgo.

The tax expenses during April-June period of current fiscal rose to Rs. 86.68 crore from Rs. 70.70 crore a year ago, the bank said in a BSE filing.

Meanwhile, the asset quality of the bank slipped further as gross non—performing assets (NPAs) were at 6.63 per cent of gross advances as against 4.16 per cent a year earlier.

Net NPAs or bad loans too were higher at 2.95 per cent of net advances as against 2.18 per cent a year ago.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank scrips traded at Rs. 112 a share of BSE, up 2.10 per cent from previous close.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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ICICI Bank offers rural borrowers home loans at base rate

ICICI Bank has launched its ‘Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ at base rate of 9.7 per cent for borrowers from the rural areas.

“Applicants from rural areas, including women borrowers, can now avail of home loans at the ICICI Bank Base Rate (‘I-Base’), which is currently at 9.70 per cent. An eligible borrower can take up to Rs. 15 lakh,” ICICI Bank said in a statement.

Customers can avail of loans to purchase or construct or renovate a home in the rural areas. The loan would range from Rs. 5-15 lakh for a period of 3–20 years and the loan could be up to 90 per cent of the property value.

The offer would be available in 189 cities across the country.

Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said, “We believe that ‘ICICI Bank Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ will empower customers, including women borrowers, in the rural locations to realise the dream of owning a home at an affordable interest rate.”


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Federal Bank rolls out e-loans

Federal Bank on Monday launched Fed-E-Credit, its digital loan facility and issued the first online loan. Through this facility, customers can apply for loans against their fixed deposits using FedNet, the bank’s Internet banking facility. The loans taken under Fed-E-Credit can be closed online through FedNet. The first 1,000 customers taking E-Credit will get interest rate concessions, the bank said in a statement.


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Andhra Bank’s new deposit scheme

Andhra Bank has launched two new deposit-cum-insurance schemes as a social security measure on the eve of Raksha Bandhan. The two schemes, Suraksha Bima Deposit and Jeevan Suraksha Bima Deposit, are available to customers in the 18-70 and 18-50 age groups, respectively. The deposits can be subscribed by way of gift cheques.


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