SBI to open 500 customer service points in West Bengal

State Bank of India will open 500 customer service points in West Bengal to bridge the last mile gap between itself and customers at the state's hinterland.SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya announced it Friday in Kolkata, barely within two days of Reserve Bank of India's in-principle approval to grant license to 11 entities to set up payments banks, which aims to bring more people within the institutional finance network.Many believe that payments banks would compete with universal banks in some aspects, especially in terms of mobilising...

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Employee union opposes entry of payment banks

A leading bank employee union today opposed setting up of payment banks and said their entry will hurt the interest of public sector lenders.RBI has granted in-principle approval to 11 entities to set up Payment Banks, who will be able to collect deposits (initially up to Rs 1 lakh per individual), provide Internet banking, facilitate money transfers and sell insurance and mutual funds. They can issue ATM/debit cards, but not credit cards."This is nothing but a direct attempt to boost private sector banking and minimise the role of...

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Bank of Maharashtra, Siddhi Vinayak Logistics under CBI lens

The Central Bureau of Investigation has started search operation against Bank of Maharashtra and a private firm Siddhi Vinayak Logistics in an alleged fraud matter involving an amount of around Rs. 800 crore.Late on Thursday evening, a senior CBI official informed that the agency is conducting searches on two entities. "Searches are being conducted at 7 offices and 3 residences. 4 of the places are in Surat, 3 in Pune, 2 in Mumbai and one place is in Silvassa. The amount involved is Rs. 800 crore. This amount was defrauded in the 'Chalak se...

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IRDA proposes cap on insurance cos' expenses

The Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) T S Vijayan on Friday announced that in view of rising expenses incurred by all insurance companies, a cap could be placed on their expenditure.He made the announcement in view of the mounting expenses and its implications for the policy holders.Vijayan said that the type of expenses to be curtailed would be left to the discretion of the companies. IRDA will not dictate to the companies that its marketing, operational or actuarial expenses need to be cut down, he said. Source...

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Vijaya Bank’s new non-exec chairman

Gopalakrishnan Narayanan has joined Vijaya Bank as part-time non-official director and non-executive Chairman. Narayanan, who served last as the Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank and superannuated in 2009, has vast experience spanning over 38 years in the Indian banking sector, Vijaya Bank said in a statement. Narayanan also served as Managing Director of Centrum Capital and Managing Director of Securities Trading Corporation of India previously. Source : Thehindubusinesslin...

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Govt launches education loan portals

The government has launched ‘Vidya Lakshmi’, a web-based portal for students seeking educational loans.“The portal provides a single window for students to access information and make applications for loans provided by banks as well as government scholarships,” a statement from the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. So far, 13 banks have registered 22 educational loan schemes on the portal and five banks — SBI, IDBI Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India — have integrated their systems with the portal for providing loan processing...

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SBI chief pitches for re-introduction of 'teaser' home loans

State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya on Thursday made a strong pitch for re-introduction of the so-called ‘teaser’ home loans so that demand, especially in urban India, kicks in and the economy can be set on the recovery path.In 2008, when the economy started faltering in the wake of the global financial crisis, India’s largest bank had introduced home loans whereby the interest rate in the first two years was low (at 8 per cent) and the rate from the third year onwards would be at the prevailing market rates.Teaser home loansRivals...

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Payments bank segment: ICICI Bank to adopt wait and watch approach

ICICI Bank, country's largest private bank, will watch the progress before venturing into the payments bank segment. The bank already has a tie-up with payments bank licence winners Fino Paytech and Vodafone m-pesa."We'll watch the progress in both and will continue to move forward, we've with Fino and Vodafone."The entry of new players will only enhance the financial eco-system and make the existing banks more tech-savvy," said Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, on the sidelines of an SBI event.Echoing the RBI Governor's views, Kochhar...

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RBI to announce small finance bank licences next month

After granting approval to 11 entities for payments banks on Wednesday, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said that the central bank will announce small finance bank licences next month.Rajan said such banks could be a path of migration to universal banks.In February this year, about 72 entities and individuals had applied for small finance banks.Those which have applied for small finance banks include housing finance firm DHFL, IIFL Holdings, Lulu Forex, SKS Microfinance, UAE Exchange and Ujjivan Financial.Small finance banks can provide basic...

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All major bank unions to join September 2 strike

All the leading unions across the banking sector will join in the pan-India bank strike on September 2, said CH Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All-India Bank Employees’ Association.The strike is to protest against the ‘anti-labour and anti-people policies’ of the Centre and in support of the call given by the Central trade unions.“There are open attempts to amend the various labour laws in favour of the employers and to the detriment of the workers,” he said in a statement. “The neo-liberal economic policies are aggravating the problems...

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