Bajaj Allianz Life ties-up with Dhanlaxmi Bank for distribution of products

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and Dhanlaxmi Bank have signed long-term agreement for a bancassurance partnership. As part of the agreement, the bank will continue to be a Corporate Agent for nine years and sell life insurance products of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

Dhanlaxmi Bank has been a partner of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance since 2009 and has done business worth nearly Rs. 400 crore. The relationship between Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and Dhanlaxmi Bank started off with customised insurance solutions for the bank's customers.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance is a joint venture between Allianz SE, the world's leading insurer, and Bajaj Finserv Limited.

Dhanlaxmi bank is present through 678 touch points across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal. All the life insurance products of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance will be made available for the customers of Dhanlaxmi Bank and they will have the option to choose from the bouquet of different insurance solutions provided by Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

"Dhanlaxmi Bank has been one of our valued partners for nearly six years now and we aim to continue the strong relationship going forward. This partnership will help us leverage the existing synergies of the bank partner and its wide reach across the regions they operate in," said Anuj Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

"The 88 year long tradition of Dhanlaxmi Bank, equipped with modern technological capabilities, embellished with quality products of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, is set to form a strong partnership extending smart choice of investments to the customers," said G. Sreeram, Managing Director & CEO, Dhanalaxmi Bank.



Source : Economic Times

Read more »

Bank officers threaten nation-wide strike

Bank officers have threatened to go on a nation-wide strike over non-recall of a terminated employee of Thrissur, Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank.

PV Mohanan, general secretary of the Dhanlaxmi Bank Officers Organisation (DBOO) and president of All-India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), Kerala, was terminated on June 11 ‘without citing any reason.’

CONCILIATION BIDS

The Kerala unit of AIBOC observed a lightning strike the very next day, which was followed by a 33-day-long hunger strike by 1,200 members of the DBOO, union sources said here.

The Kerala government and the central trade unions intervened in the matter and held conciliatory meetings in July.

The bank management and DBOO/AIBOC reached an understanding on July 15 in the presence of Ramesh Chennithala, state home minister, and leaders of central trade union leaders.

As per this, the bank had to freeze the termination order and to conduct meetings with the unions to settle the matter within two months.

PROMISE BELIED

The employee on whom termination order was served would go on leave during this period. The officers association was also advised not to go for agitation during the period.

But the bank management has failed to keep its end up in the settled terms of agreement even after the lapse of these two months.

The freeze on the termination order has not been effected till date nor has salary been paid to the employee.

The unions accused of the management of avoiding bilateral discussions for normalising the situation despite repeated attempts made by them.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

Read more »

P.G. Jayakumar lays down office as MD and CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank

P.G. Jayakumar has laid down office as Managing Director and CEO of the Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank on Monday. He took charge as MD & CEO three years ago.

G. Sreeram, who was Chief General Manager, Canara Bank, Mumbai Circle, is succeeding him.

Jayakumar rose from the cadre to the highest office and served the bank for more than 37 years in various capacities including Branch Head, Zonal Head, and General Manager in charge of HR, Administration, Credit, Risk Management, and Treasury.

He assumed charge as MD & CEO at a crucial juncture after the exit of Amitabh Chaturvedi.

The bank, during Jayakumar’s period, raised capital funds of Rs521crore. This helped it comply with the regulatory capital adequacy requirements. The bank underwent total reorganisation as a customer-focused branch-centric model and a series of customer-friendly products and technology services were introduced, a press release said.

He has worked towards developing a microfinance model to uplift the poor by working closely with the major NGOs and churches, particularly in Kerala.

The bank has recorded positive growth in all key areas. In the first three quarters of financial year 2014-15, it posted a net profit of Rs25.14 crore on cumulative basis.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank posts Rs. 17.10 cr profit in Q3

Old private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank reported a net profit of Rs. 17.10 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2014 despite a rise in bad loans.

The bank had a net loss of Rs. 119.37 crore in the same quarter FY14.

The bank's asset quality worsened as a percentage of total advances with gross NPAs worsening to 7.37 per cent from 7.05 per cent in the same quarter a year ago.

However, the net NPAs came down marginally to 4.52 per cent from 4.64 per cent at the end of December 2013, Dhanlaxmi Bank said in a filing to the BSE.

Gross NPA in absolute terms, increased to Rs. 575 crore as compared to Rs. 546 crore at the end of December 2013.

The total income rose to Rs. 345 crore during the October-December period from Rs. 328 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

During the first three quarters of 2014-15, Dhanlaxmi Bank net profit rose at Rs. 25 crore, compared to loss of Rs. 118 crore in the year-ago period.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank push to recover bad loans showing results: MD

Dhanlaxmi Bank, named in the Rajya Sabha as having the highest NPA (non-performing assets) ratio among private sector banks (at 7.27 per cent), has taken strong measures to tackle the problem.

These include identifying wilful defaulters, enforcing the SARFAESI Act (which allows banks to auction properties of loan defaulters), one-time settlements, sale of assets to Asset Reconstruction Companies and filing cases with the Police and Services Fraud and Investigation Department of India.

Seeking help

PG Jayakumar, Managing Director and CEO, told BusinessLine over phone from Chennai that the bank also plans to seek help from Indian embassies overseas where the money is stashed away  and is approaching the central banks of those countries for recovery of the money. In the next couple of years, he said the [loan] advance book would get better as accretion to NPAs get arrested, lending is done carefully with strong underwriting standards and credit monitoring is stepped up.

According to Jayakumar, Delhi Police recently helped the bank recover Rs33 crore from fraudsters.

He expected the gross NPA ratio to come down to 4-5 per cent and net NPA ratio to 2.5 per cent in the next few years. This would be further reduced by enhanced credit sanctions in the retail and SME (small and medium enterprises) segments.

The gross NPA of the bank now stands at Rs550 crore and the net NPA at ₹360 crore, he added.

Reasons for default

Speaking on the reasons that led to the surge in loan defaults, Jayakumar said the management from 2009 to 2012 oversaw loan advances growing to Rs10,200 crore from Rs3,200 crore. The huge increase, particularly in 2011-12, was made ignoring basic protocols in credit approval. As a result, NPAs went up to Rs1,214 crore.

Rationalisation

In 2012, the present CEO took charge and NPA recovery of Rs652 crore took effect. The high NPA ratio is also a reflection of the reduction in advances, a conscious decision taken to rationalise the advances book and free it from low-yielding corporate advances, huge retail advances, loans for construction equipment and commercial vehicles, among others, he said.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

Read more »

Harihar Mishra appointed as additional director of Dhanlaxmi Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Harihar Mishra, General Manager, RBI, Bengaluru, as Additional Director of Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd.

In a notice to the BSE, the South-based old generation private sector bank said Mishra comes in the place of Raja Selvaraj, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Chennai.

Mishra's appointment is for a period of two years with effect from December 9, 2014 to December 8, 2016 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank independent director quits

Dhanlaxmi Bank in a release to the stock exchange said K Srikanth Reddy, Non-Executive Independent Director, had resigned from the board of directors of the bank with effect from November 15.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank Jan-Mar quarter net at Rs 28.66 cr

Private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank posted net profit of Rs 28.66 crore for the last quarter ended March 31 of 2012-13.

The South-India based bank had reported a net loss of Rs 86.51 crore over the same quarter (January-March) in the previous fiscal.

Total income of the bank during the fourth quarter of 2012-13 was marginally higher at Rs 369.25 crore, from Rs 365.42 crore a year ago, it said in a filing to the BSE.

For the full year 2012-13, the bank posted net profit of Rs 2.62 crore. The lender had made a loss of Rs 115.63 crore in 2011-12 fiscal year.

Total income in the FY13 fell to Rs 1,422.30 crore from Rs 1,537.30 crore in FY12.

Bank’s net non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans rose to 3.36 per cent in the fourth quarter 2012-13, from 0.66 per cent a year earlier.

Gross NPAs increased to 4.82 per cent during the quarter under review, from 1.18 per cent a year ago.

In absolute terms, net NPAs stood at Rs 261.02 crore during January-March from Rs 58 crore a year ago. Gross NPAs during this period were at Rs 380.27 crore versus Rs 104.27 crore.

Shares of the bank today closed at Rs 46.45 apiece on the BSE, up 0.11 per cent from the previous close.

Source: thehindubusinessline

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank to raise Rs 51 cr via pref. issue

Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd has proposed to mobilise Rs 51 crore by issuing 85 lakh equity shares with an issue price of Rs 60 per share with a face value of Rs 10 each.

The bank plans to raise funds to augment its long-term capital.

The shares will be issued would be on a preferential allotment basis, subject to the approval of RBI, SEBI and other authorities concerned, bank sources said.


Source: thehindubusinessline

Read more »

Dhanalaxmi CEO PG Jayakumar under fire for not disclosing RBI rap

PG Jayakumar, the MD and CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank, has incurred the wrath of some of his board members for failing disclose the Reserve Bank of India's strictures against the bank's promoters, and for defending their alleged breach of regulations with the central bank.

In a letter dated May 14, the RBI had expressed concern that the bank's promoters, including Raja Rao, Shital Raghu Kataria and other companies may be holding more than 5% of the bank but under different names. It asked for comments from the bank so that the issue can be examined.

"Jayakumar was pulled up by the board of directors in a meeting held in early August for not informing them about the communication from Reserve Bank of India. It was the auditors who presented the letter to the board. Despite this he has replied to the letter without informing the board again,'' said a senior bank official in the know of the development.

Mr Jayakumar is also believed to have given a clean chit to the shareholders saying that there is no connection, the person added. The board members are also believed to be unhappy with the auditors who complained of non-transparency and later quit. I am not going to comment on this. It is an administrative matter and matters discussed in the board cannot be discussed in public,'' Mr Jayakumar told ET.

I am very much in the grind and will continue to be in the grind. This (resigning) thought has not crossed my mind,'' Jayakumar said. Shailesh Haribhakti, well-known chartered accountant and board member, declined to comment on the matter. GN Bajpai, former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India, and chairman of Dhanlaxmi Bank, did not respond to calls. The bank will hold its annual general meeting on September 28 and appoint new auditors.

The central bank inspectors have also asked the bank for details on the shareholding and ownership pattern. The private sector bank has been under the regulatory glare ever since the exit of a chief executive over board room disputes some time last year.



Source: EconomicTimes

Read more »

Quarterly numbers: Dhanlaxmi Bank under scanner

What's brewing at Dhanlaxmi Bank? The auditors of the old private sector lender have resigned earlier this month following certain differences with the management while the banking regulator suspects that some of the shareholders of DLB are acting in concert.

The auditors Walker Chandiok & Co - the local audit arm of the management and audit consultancy Grant Thornton - have put a question mark on some of the bank's performance numbers for the quarter ended June 2012.

Dhanlaxmi CEO & managing director PG Jayakumar said that there was no "truth in the statement" and added that the bank had not received any communication from RBI on shareholding issues.

But, it is believed that the auditors were not comfortable with the sudden spurt reported by the bank in its yield on advance for the June quarter. The bank's yield on advances - which simply put, is the ratio between total interest income on advances and average advance outstanding for the period - rose to 13.27% from 11.35% in the previous quarter. A two percentage point rise in yield on advances in a single quarter is very unusual for a bank unless there is a big surge in unsecured loans where interest charges are higher.

The bank's net interest margin-the difference between interest income and interest expenses upon interest earning assets-has increased from 1.53% to 2.50%. Such an improvement in margins is also rare in a quarter simply because it is difficult for a bank to replace high-cost liabilities with cheaper deposits within such a short span.

The bank recently announced its unaudited quarterly numbers which are released after a limited review by the auditors.

When contacted, Khusroo Panthaky, partner at Walker Chandiok & Co, declined to comment. The auditors, it's learnt, will continue with the DLB till the bank's annual general meeting.Sources said that towards end May, RBI had pointed out that two individual shareholders along with a few funds were acting in concert. In this case, the individual concerned have been former business partners. In case of DLB, one of the shareholders in question has certain influence on the board.


Source: EconomicTimes

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank posts Rs 12-cr net loss

Dhanlaxmi Bank reported a net loss of Rs 11.81 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

However, the bank had posted a profit of Rs 3.4 crore in the same quarter last year.

Total income during the quarter stood at Rs 365.08 crore, down from Rs 370.50 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in a filing to the BSE.

Shares of the bank were trading at Rs 52.25 apiece on the BSE, up 0.67 per cent from their previous close.

Read more »

Poor response forces Dhanlaxmi Bank to extend last date for Rs 200 cr bond issue

Thrissur, Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank has extended the last date for subscribing to its Rs 200-crore tier-II bond offering to June 1 from May 21 as the bank is struggling to find investors. The bond issue, which has coupon of 11.9% for 71 months and 11.95% for 84 months, opened on April 27.

"We had launched the bond on April 27. However, we started the marketing only on May 1. Based on the subscription, we have the liberty to extend the subscription date," said PG Jayakumar, managing director and chief executive officer, Dhanlaxmi Bank. AK Capital is the lead arranger to the issue.

The old-generation private lender had expressed plans to raise Rs 400 crore by issuing subordinate debt and equity capital in fiscal 2012-13.

The bank will raise tier-II capital of Rs 200 crore in the first quarter and equity capital of Rs 200 crore in the second quarter. The bank's capital adequacy ratio stood at 9.88% as on December.

"The bank has received subscription from some public sector banks," said a source in the know of the development.

The bank's profitability has been under strain over the past few quarters on rising expenses. PG Jayakumar took over the rein of the bank in February, when Amitabh Chaturvedi quit following differences with the management.

To cut cost, the new CEO has cut salaries by 40% and rationalised manpower, and cut corporate business unit size. The bank is also shifting focus to high-yielding businesses such as gold loans in a bid to boost its financials and cut cost.

The bank's employee strength has fallen to about 4,200 from 4,600 in February.

Source: EconomicTimes

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank to grow gold loan business

Banks are likely to gain from the restrictions imposed on gold loan companies by the Reserve Bank of India.

In fact, old generation private sector bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank is looking to increase its gold loan portfolio from 8 per cent of total loans to 20-25 per cent in the current financial year, said Mr P. G. Jayakumar, Chief Executive Officer.

The bank's gold loan portfolio is expected to increase from Rs 750 crore as at March-end 2012 to Rs 2,500 crore by March-end 2013.

Speaking to newspersons in Mumbai on Monday, Mr Jayakumar said gold lending is a very attractive and secure business and many banks are aggressively pursuing it. The RBI is perhaps more comfortable with banks doing this business than NBFCs because banks follow the required Know Your Customer norms before giving loans.

For banks, too, it is a safe product since it is a secured loan, he added.

In 2012-13, the bank is looking to increase its retail loan book and within that the share of gold loans.

Last month, the RBI directed gold loan NBFCs not to exceed the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 60 per cent for loans granted against the collateral of gold jewellery. Further, such NBFCs must maintain a minimum Tier-l capital of 12 per cent by April 1, 2014.

The RBI also said that NBFCs should not lend against bullion or gold coins.

A recent report by credit rating agency Crisil said that RBI's guidelines for the gold loan companies will significantly moderate the sector's growth and profitability over the next year.

Business growth is likely to fall from 80 per cent per annum to 20-25 per cent per annum.

The LTV cap is likely to result in significantly lower growth rates, as the borrowers will have to bring in additional jewellery to get a loan of the same amount.

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank hopes to return to profit zone post revamp exercise

Dhanlaxmi Bank expects to be back in the black next year by resorting to cost-cutting, rebalancing loan book, and consolidating operations.

As part of the cost-cutting exercise, the old-generation private sector bank has initiated steps to cut excess flab, reduce salaries and give up extra space in major metros and cities to save on lease rentals.

The bank had reported a net loss of Rs 36.87 crore in the October-December 2011 period, against a net profit of Rs 7.26 crore in the corresponding year-ago period.

Former CEO Mr Amitabh Chaturvedi had quit the bank in February in the backdrop of the loss incurred by the bank and exceptionally high operating costs.

On rationalisation of staff, Mr P.G. Jayakumar, MD & CEO-in-charge, Dhanlaxmi Bank, said an evaluation exercise is on to estimate the staff required to run the 280 branches.

Since February, the bank's employee strength has come down from 4,600 to 4,200. Those hired in the last three years on contract basis and at high salaries have had to take a 40 per cent pay cut. About 1,500 employees of the bank are on the Indian Banks' Association prescribed pay structure.

Rebalancing loan portfolio

According to Mr Jayakumar, the bank will not renew low-yielding unsecured corporate advances.

Dhanlaxmi Bank will channelise the funds so released to borrowers in the small and medium enterprises segment. Further, it will step up thrust on gold loans. Both these categories of loans will fetch higher yields.

Of the total loans of Rs 9,550 crore as on December-end 2011, retail loans accounted for 54 per cent of the loan book; corporate loans 29 per cent; SME 15 per cent; and agriculture 2 per cent.

The bank will increase its low-cost current and savings bank deposit base from 20 per cent of the total deposits to 22 per cent in FY13.

To divest stake in broking firm

The 15 per cent stake that the bank picked up in broking firm Destimoney will be divested. This move comes as the Reserve Bank of India has objected to the classification of this investment in the held-to-maturity category. Without this classification, the bank would have to make provisioning in case there is a mark-to-market loss.

Capital plans

Dhanlaxmi Bank plans to raise Rs 200 crore by issuing subordinated debt in the next couple of months. Further, it will raise Rs 200 crore by issuing preference shares to strategic investors by September-end.

Currently, the bank's capital adequacy ratio is low at 9.88 per cent. Of this, Tier-I capital is at 8 per cent.

“Once we mobilise the funds, our capital adequacy ratio will go up to 12 per cent,” said Mr Jayakumar.

Back to basics

The bank has dismantled the vertical structure created by the previous management, whereby the official handling liabilities did not know what was happening on the assets side, said Mr Jayakumar.

Dhanlaxmi Bank has reverted to the traditional branch banking model where the branch manager is responsible for the assets as well as the liabilities side of the balance sheet.

kram@thehindu.co.in , priyan@thehindu.co.in

Read more »

Federal Bank to open 100 branches

Kerala based Federal Bank on Tuesday announced that it would open 100 new branches and hire 2,000 people.

All the 100 branches will be opened at one go on Saturday to take the total network size to 935, executive director of the bank, a Mr Abraham Chacko, told reporters here adding that majority of the branches will be opened outside Kerala.

The bank plans to raise the number of branches upto 1,000 by mid—2012, he said, adding that it will also hire 2,000 professionals next fiscal in view of the expansion and to fill the vacancies created by retirement.

Mr Chacko, however, stated that the expansion programme has been long planned and it would not put any stress on its cost to income ratio.

The bank will maintain the cost to income ratio, which stands at over 38 now, under 40 even after the current phase of expansion, he said, when asked about the troubles surrounding Dhanlaxmi Bank.

Just like Federal Bank, Dhanlaxmi is also an old age lender having its roots in Kerala. The latter posted a loss for the third quarter and also had its rating downgraded.

Ratings agency Fitch, which downgraded Dhanlaxmi Bank, had pointed out revenue pressures from a rapid expansion of network as one of the reasons for the downgrade in rating.

The recent spate of troubles at Dhanlaxmi Bank has also seen as its top management, including the chief executive and managing director, Mr Amitabh Chaturvedi, resign.

Mr Chacko said Federal Bank’s strategy largely focuses on growing organically and acquiring a large bank is not under the radar.

Mr Chacko also said that the bank will slow down its expansion after it reaches the mark of 1,000 branches.

The bank, today, also announced that it wants to open three branches internationally, including one at Dubai which will act as an offshore banking unit fulfilling the overseas fund raising needs of corporate clients.

Within the domestic business, Mr Chacko said funding small and medium businesses having a turnover of upto Rs 1,000 crore is a focus area for the bank.

A senior bank official said the bank would maintain its current NPA ratio level due to higher recoveries even though it has seen stress on assets in various sectors like aviation.

Its exposure of Rs 300 crore to national carrier Air India got restructured recently while the non servicing of debt by Vijay Mallya—promoted Kingfisher Airlines, to which it has an exposure of Rs 82 crore, has turned sub standard as of February, Mr Chacko said.

Read more »

Fitch downgrades Dhanlaxmi Bank

Rating agency Fitch on Tuesday said it has downgraded the ratings of Dhanlaxmi Bank due to the risks to the operating performance of the Kerala-based private lender and the vulnerability of its capital ratios.

"Fitch Ratings has downgraded Dhanlaxmi Bank and its Rs 17-crore subordinated debt to long-term 'BBB-(ind)' from 'BBB(ind)' and simultaneously put them on Rating Watch Negative (RWN)," the agency said in a release here.

The downgrade comes at a time when the private lender posted a net loss of Rs 36.87 for the third quarter ended December 31.

The rating agency believes there could be potential further losses emerging from the structural weaknesses of an elevated cost base and revenue pressures due to rapid expansion. "Such losses could adversely impact the bank's capitalisation and financial flexibility."

Fitch said the bank has a challenging task of addressing some structural issues.

It noted that the bank's net interest margin is pressurised on the back of large reliance on high-cost wholesale deposits, while non-interest income has also been on a downward trajectory.

"The bank may have to shrink its loan book to conserve capital, which could further compress revenues," the agency said, adding that the asset quality has been stable so far.

"The agency, therefore, remains cautious in view of the moderating economic growth, a still relatively high interest rate environment and low seasoning of a large part of its (the bank) loan portfolio," the release added.

Source: EconomicTimes

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi MD and CEO Amitabh quits

In a surprise move, the managing director and chief executive of Thissur-based private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank, Amitabh Chaturvedi, who has been credited for turning around the bank since he took over in 2008, has put in his papers, according to a bank official.

"It is true that our MD Amitabh Chaturvedi has resigned today. The board meeting is underway now to consider his resignation," the bank spokesperson said.

She also scotched rumours that he was removed by the board. "There is no substance to this. He has resigned on his own and a formal announcement will be made after the board meeting."

The resignation comes following major unrest from a section of the bank's officers' union in the past few months which had alleged about financial irregularities at the bank.

The section of the union having allegiance to the All-India Bank Officers Confederation had recently accused the bank of 'window-dressing' its books and showing inflated profits. The bank had dismissed the allegations as baseless.

The regulator RBI had also not found anything wrong with the books of the bank.

The RBI had even allowed Chaturvedi a two-year extension before the union alleged irregularities.

Chaturvedi, who earlier worked with ICICI Bank and Reliance Capital, took charge of the nearly a century-old bank in 2008.

The bank, which is yet to announce its results for the December quarter, had reported a net profit of Rs 4.35 crore from Rs 1.62 crore in the September quarter, an increase of a whopping rose 168 percent.

Source: Financial Express

Read more »

Dhanlaxmi Bank forays into silver retailing biz

Private lender Dhanlaxmi Bank has entered the silver retailing business with the launch of its ‘Dhan’ silver bars.

The silver bars will be available in tamper-proof laminated pack in weights of 50 and 100 grams at branches across the country, the Kerala-based bank said in a release issued here today.

“The launch of Dhan silver bars has been prompted by the success of the bank’s gold retailing business. With this launch, we foresee further traction and aim to become one of the leading players in the bullion business in the next couple of years,” Dhanlaxmi Bank Head - Insurance, Gold & Silver, Mr Deepak Singh, said.

The launch of silver retailing marks the second phase of the bank’s foray in silver bullion business. In July 2011, the bank rolled out its wholesale initiative with the launch of 30-kg silver bars and silver grains.

“We see a lot of potential in metals as an asset class. With higher disposable income and high inflation, investment in metals such as silver and gold will allow investors to hedge and diversify their savings and investment portfolio,” Mr Singh added.

India is the largest importer of silver in the world.

According to Bombay Bullion Association estimates, imports of silver into India will exceed 4,000 tonnes in 2011. In 2010, India consumed about 2,800 tonnes of silver.

Read more »

Punjab National Bank raises NRE deposit rates to 9.25 per cent

MUMBAI: The second largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank today increased the interest rates on NRE term deposits ranging one to five year period to 9.25 percent. The rates will be effective from January 1, the bank said in a filing to the BSE.

Last week, many other banks HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Federal Bank, Allahabad Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank among others had steeply increased the interest rates on select maturities of NRE deposits.

HDFC Bank increased the interest rates on NRE deposits of Rs one crore and above with a maturity of one to two year to nine percent against 3.82 percent earlier. It has, however, left the NRO deposit rates unchanged.

The state-run Allahabad Bank has also raised its NRE deposits up to 7.5 percent. The Kolkata-based bank will now offer 7.5 percent for one to two years tenor (against 3.82 percent earlier), 7 percent on deposits of two to three years (from 3.51 percent), and 6.75 percent for those above three years (from 3.64 percent).

Also, the Kochi-based Federal Bank and Laxmivilas Bank have also increased its interest rates on NRE deposits for various slabs in order to attract non-resident deposits. Another private sector lender IndusInd Bank also increased pricing 9.25 percent among the state-run banks Dena Bank offers the highest pricing at 9.6 percent. Similarly, Yes Bank came out with a 15 month-and-15 days to 16-month NRE deposit offer, promising depositors 9.60 percent interest.

Source: EconomicTimes

Read more »