IDFC buys Natixis’s stake in mutual fund unit for Rs 244 crore

Financial services major IDFC has decided to buy Natixis Global Asset Management’s 25 per cent stake in IDFC Mutual Fund for over Rs 244 crore. The shares will be purchased through IDFC Financial Holding Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IDFC.“The transaction is in line with the terms of the shareholders agreement that we signed with Natixis six years ago,” IDFC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vikram Limaye told PTI.IDFC Financial Holding Company holds 75 per cent stake of IDFC Asset Management Company (AMC) and IDFC AMC Trustee...

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IndusInd Bank confirms deal talks with MFI Bharat Financial

Mid-sized private lender IndusInd Bank today said it is in talks with multiple entities for business expansion, including the widely speculated merger of Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFI)."...the management has been exploring strategic alternatives, and engaging in discussions from time to time with various parties, including Bharat Financial, as and when required," the bank said in a late evening exchange filing.In the statement issued to bourses following media reports that IndusInd and BFI (formerly SKS Microfinance) are likely to announce...

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SBI launches 'Work from Home' facility for employees

Country's largest lender State Bank of India today launched a new facility to enable its employees to work from home.The Board of the bank has recently approved the 'Work from Home' policy to enable its employees to work while at home using mobile devices to address any urgent requirement they may have, that prevents their travelling to work.The lender will be using mobile computing technologies and shall have continuous control over all the enabled devices centrally to manage and secure the data and applications on the mobile devices, the...

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Banks are not Shylocks sucking money, customers need to pay for better service: HDFC's Aditya Puri

Banks are not Shylocks bent on sucking out money from customers, but those seeking higher levels of service must be open to paying for the convenience, said Aditya Puri, MD of HDFC Bank.India’s longest serving bank chief also said strong third-quarter GDP growth has proved demonising of demonetisation was wrong.Scrapping all banking charges ends up subsidising the wealthy carrying out high-end transactions and reduces banks’ ability to offer services to the poor, Puri said.“You don’t go to Oberoi Hotel and ask for Mahesh Lunch Home rates,”...

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SBI justifies penalty; says need money to bear Jan Dhan costs

Facing a backlash for levying penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance in accounts, SBI today justified its move saying the bank needs to impose some charges to balance the "burden" of managing a large number of no-frills Jan Dhan accounts.The bank also said it has not received any "formal communication" from the government for re-considering the penalty and it will take a call "if something comes". It also clarified the penalty would not apply to Jan Dhan accounts.Last week, the country's largest lender decided to re- introduce penalty...

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All you need to know about saving taxes using ELSS

The last month of the financial year sees investors rushing to save tax by investing in tax-saving instruments. You can save tax by investing upto Rs 1.5 lakh in equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS) under section 80C of the Income Tax Act.What are tax saving or ELSS schemes? How much can one invest in them?An equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS) is a mutual fund that gives the option to save tax. These funds invest in equities and investors can choose the dividend or growth options. You can invest any amount up to 1.5 lakh in an ELSS scheme to...

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