New chiefs of 2 PSU banks take charge

Union Bank of India said Rajkiran Rai G has assumed charge as Managing Director & CEO.

Prior to his elevation as MD & CEO of Union Bank of India, Rai was Executive Director of Oriental Bank of Commerce. He started his career in 1986 as an Agricultural Finance Officer in Central Bank of India.

Rai has been appointed by the government to head Union Bank of India for a period of three years from the date of his taking over charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier, according to a finance ministry notification.

New chief assumes charge at Syndicate Bank

Syndicate Bank, in a statement, said Melwyn Rego has assumed charge as Managing Director & CEO.

Prior to joining Syndicate Bank, Rego was MD & CEO of Bank of India. He started his career with IDBI Bank Ltd in 1984 and rose to the position of Deputy Managing Director.

Rego will be at the helm of the bank till the remainder of the term up to August 13, 2018, according to a finance ministry notification.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank Q2 net up at Rs. 332.4 cr

Syndicate Bank has reported a 5.3 per cent growth in net profit for the September quarter on higher interest income and lower provisioning.

The Manipal headquartered public sector bank reported a net profit of Rs. 332.37 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 agasint Rs. 315.60 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Net interest income, the difference between the interest earned and expended, grew 12 per cent to Rs. 1,594.75 crore from Rs. 1,422.48 crore in the corresponding period last year. Operating profit for the quarter was up 28 per cent at Rs. 1,225.30 crore against Rs. 953.87 crore in the corresponding last quarter.

Gross non performing assets grew to Rs. 7,734 crore (3.72 per cent of total advances) for the September quarter against Rs. 6,048.98 crore (3.43 per cent) in corresponding quarter last year. Net NPAs were up at Rs. 4,854.50 crore (2.37 per cent of the advances) against Rs. 3,825.32 crore (2.20 per cent). Syndicate Bank's provision coverage ratio stood at 63.37 per cent as of September 2015.

Syndicate Bank scrip was trading 2 per cent lower at Rs. 95.25 on the BSE tracking the earnings announcement.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank bonds worth Rs. 1,000 cr fully subscribed

Public sector Syndicate Bank today said the issue of Rs. 1,000 crore tier-II Basel compliant non-convertible bonds has been fully subscribed.

“The bank has finalised the issue of unsecured redeemable non-convertible Basel III compliant tier-II bonds in the nature of debentures aggregating to Rs. 1,000 crore. The issue is fully subscribed,” it said in a BSE filing.

The issue, which opened on September 24 and closed on September 28, carries a coupon rate of 8.58 per cent per annum.

The maturity date of the bonds is as on September 28, 2025.

The debentures have been issued via private placement. However, the bank did not elaborate about the usage of the proceeds.

Shares of the bank closed at Rs. 83.30 on BSE, up 0.66 per cent from the previous close.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank to raise Rs2,000 crore from capital market

Syndicate Bank has planned to raise Rs.2,000 crore from the capital market.

However, the timing of the issue has not been specified by the bank.

In a communication to the stock exchanges, the public sector bank headquartered in Manipal in Karnataka said that its board today (May 19) approved raising of equity capital of Rs.2,000 crore including premium by way instruments like Qualified Institutional Placement (Domestic & Foreign Financial Institutions)/ rights issue /Follow on Public Offer (FPO) /or any other mode approved by the RBI / Government of India, "at an appropriate time".

The statement said that the board also cleared raising Basel III compliant additional tier I bonds up to Rs.1,800 crore and tier II bonds up to Rs.1,750 crore as per eligibility at an appropriate time.

Shares of Syndicate Bank closed at Rs.109.15, a gain of 20 paise, on the BSE today.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank to open 300-500 branches next fiscal

Syndicate Bank is planning to open 300-500 branches in the next financial year, according to TK Srivastava, Executive Director.

He told presspersons in Manipal on Tuesday that the bank had around 3,500 branches currently. Of these, 50-60 were opened during the fourth quarter of the current financial year. “Going forward, another 300-500 branches will be opened in the next fiscal,” he said.

The bank also has 37 mid-corporate branches. Another 13-14 such branches would be opened in the next two-three months, taking the total to 50, he said.

To a query on the bank’s recruitment plans, Srivastava said the bank planned to recruit around 5,000 people last year. However, it could get only 4,000 people. It planned to recruit another 5,000 people in various cadres. The proposed recruitment would take care of the branch expansion, in addition to those retiring from service, he said.

Jan Dhan Yojana

To a query on the bank's performance under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Srivastava said Syndicate Bank had opened 25 lakh accounts under the scheme, all of which were issued RuPay cards.

He said 60 per cent of the accounts opened were zero balance accounts. Every effort would be made to make them operational.

He hoped that at least 50 per cent of these zero-balance accounts would become operational in another three months.

The percentage of zero-balance accounts was around 95 per cent in the beginning. It had come down to 60 per cent now, he said.

The bank had opened 8 lakh accounts under PMJDY when it was launched on August 18 against the target of 4 lakh accounts, he said.

Ravi Shanker Pandey, Executive Director, was present on the occasion.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank raises Rs 400 crore by issuing bonds

Syndicate Bank today said it has raised Rs 400 crore by issuing bonds.

The bank has issued unsecured redeemable non-convertible Basel III compliant tier II bonds in the nature of debentures aggregating to Rs 400 crore, the public sector lender said in a filing to BSE.

"The issue is fully subscribed," it added. Syndicate Bank's net profit for the third quarter ended December 2014 had fallen by 20 per cent to Rs 304.99 crore.

Syndicate Bank scrip closed at Rs 104.90 apiece on BSE, down 1.69 per cent from previous close.

Source : Economic Times

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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 go up to 69.24 per cent from the current 67.39 per cent.

The Syndicate Bank scrip was trading 1.17 per cent lower at Rs. 118.65 in intra-day trade on the BSE on Monday.

The bank recently reported a 20 per cent drop in net profit for the December quarter on lower net interest income and higher tax expenses. Net profit for the December quarter stood at Rs. 304.99 crore as against Rs. 379.76 crore in the corresponding last quarter. The net interest income, the difference between the interest earned and expended for the December quarter, fell marginally to Rs. 1,317.68 crore against the corresponding last quarter's Rs. 1,358.53 crore.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank plans to raise Rs. 2,100 cr

Syndicate Bank is planning to raise Rs. 2,100 crore capital soon, according to its Executive Director, T K Srivastav.

Speaking to BusinessLine on the sidelines of a meeting with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) customers organised by the bank here on Tuesday, the official said that the proposed capital would be raised by way of tier I capital and bonds.

"`We are in the process of completing necessary approvals and the mobilisation of capital or part of it could happen before "the end of March this year,''’ he added.

On the likely impact of cut in statutory liquidity ratio from 22 per cent to 21.5 per cent by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday, he said it was a good indication for future.

For Syndicate Bank, however, the credit growth was 'good' at 17 per cent which was being driven largely by the retail and MSME segments.

A segmented approach with a special focus on a particular customer category each week is being followed for better focus. "We have been marketing special loans for doctors, textiles, transport operators, marble trading and women entrepreneurs, among others. Last month, we have disbursed Rs. 18,000 crore loans for women entrepreneurs,’’ Srivastav said.

On the asset quality front, Syndicate Bank does not see any immediate cause for alarm as it has gross and net non-performing assets of 3.42 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively at the end of second quarter of the current financial year.

"In the quarter ended December 2014, we will be almost in a similar situation,'' the official added. The board of directors of the bank will be meeting on February 10, 2015 to finalise the third quarter numbers.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank’s scheme for women

Syndicate Bank has launched a special advance scheme for empowering women entrepreneurs, according to Executive Director TK Srivastava. Women entrepreneurs, he said, can get loans of up to Rs5 crore at low interest rates under the Synd Mahila Sakthi scheme. The are no processing charges, and the bank has so far sanctioned 17,500 loans to women entrepreneurs.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank launches new scheme for women entrepreneurs

Syndicate Bank is targeting to reach out to over 20,000 women entrpreneurs across the country through a new scheme 'SyndMahilaShakti', an initiative for women empowerment.

The bank is observing 'SyndMahilaShakthi' week currently till December 20 across the country and aims to extend loans to over 20,000 women entrepreneurs to take up various self-employment activities under micro, small and medium enterprises, a press release said.

Since December 15, the bank has sanctioned loans worth Rs. 68 crore to about 5,415 women entrepreneurs till Wednesday, officials said.

Concessional interest rates

Under the scheme, the bank is extending finance up to Rs. 5 crore per woman beneficiaries at concessional interest rates.

The rate of interest for loans up to Rs. 10 lakh is at the base rate of 10.25 per cent, while for loans exceeding Rs. 10 lakh, a concession of 0.25 per cent is being provided on applicable interest rate.

The borrower has to contribute 15 per cent margin on the loan, while the processing and documentation charges are fully waived on these loans. No collateral security and no guarantee is insisted for loans up to Rs. 10 lakh.

Available facilities
The beneficiaries can avail themselves of credit card facility without any admission fee and they can also avail themselves of various facilities such as instant global debit cards/ATM cards, SMS banking, mobile banking, Internet banking, any branch banking, SyndSuraksha insurance policy and SyndArogya health insurance cover, the statement said.

All micro enterprises will get a rebate of 0.5 per cent in rate of interest for prompt repayment to be reimbursed at the time of closing the loan account. The loans can be repaid in a maximum period of 7 to 10 years, including repayment holiday.

The bank shall be covering all eligible borrowers under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises scheme.

Eligible borrowers can also be sponsored by district industries centre, NGOs, women and child development department and self help groups, among others. The beneficiaries will be given free skill development training across the country, it said.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Syndicate Bank opens mid-corporate branch in Vizag

Syndicate Bank is planning to open 300 more branches and 27 mid-corporate branches during the current financial year, according to Executive Director M. Anjaneya Prasad.

He was speaking to reporters here on Saturday evening after the inauguration of the Visakhapatnam regional office and also a mid-corporate branch at Daba Gardens earlier in the day. He said the region comprising Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram would grow very fast after the bifurcation of the State and the bank had therefore set up a regional office. The mid-corporate branch would sanction loans ranging from Rs. 5 crore to Rs. 100 crore.

Prasad said the bank had decided to open five new branches shortly in the region, having at present 47 branches. The region as on date has a total business of Rs. 1,690 crore. A mid-corporate branch would be opened shortly at Guntur.

He said the bank, which had set up a branch in London, was planning to set up branches in Hong Kong, Dubai, South Africa and China to increase its overseas business.

Loan rescheduling: He said the bank would reschedule loans in the districts hit by Hudhud cyclone. Every effort would be made to help the industrial units hit by the cyclone. The scale of finance would be increased and there would also be deferment of payments. As part of its corporate social responsibility, the bank would adopt Ippili village in Srikakulam district.

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in


Source : The Hindu

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Syndicate Bank to open two new regions in Telangana, AP

Syndicate Bank will be adding two regions to its network in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for better reach in the two States post the recent bifurcation.

``These two regions will be opened next year and we are targeting a total business of Rs. 45,000 crore for March 2015 from both States,’’ M Anjaneya Prasad, Executive Director, Syndicate Bank, told newspersons here.

As on September 30, 2014, total business in both States stood at Rs. 38,095 crore, of which deposits were Rs. 17,528 crore and advances Rs. 20,567 crore.

The number of new accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMDJY) in both States stood at Rs. 3.79 lakh at the end of September, he added.


Source : The Hindu

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Syndicate Bank Q2 net down 33% at Rs. 315 cr; to raise Rs. 1,100 cr through QIP

Syndicate Bank's net profit declined 33 pc at Rs. 316 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2014 compared to Rs. 470 cr in the corresponding quarter last year.

The decrease in net profit was mainly on account of higher provisioning at Rs. 537 crore.

"Actually, there was good growth of operating profit at 18 per cent. But movement of non performing assets resulted in higher rovisioning", M. Anjaneya Prasad, Executive Director, Syndicate Bank said here on Friday.

Though the Gross NPAs and Net NPAs had gone up to 3.43 per cent (2.88 per cent) and 2.20 per cent (1.66 per cent) espectively, they were lowest among the banks, he said.

The NPA increase was mainly from textiles, paper industry and hotel industry, among others.

The net interest margin decreased to 2.96 per cent (3.38 per cent).

The net interest income was almost flat at Rs. 1,422 cr (Rs 1,411 cr). The total business of the bank crossed Rs. 4 lakh cr.

QIP:

The bank had received approval to go for Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) to raise Rs. 1,100 crore capital besides Rs. 500 crore by tier II bonds. "This will be done by December this year, " the ED said.

The total headroom available for bank now is Rs. 3,250 cr. The Government stake in bank is 67.39 per cent.

The Capital Adequacy ratio (Basel III) stood at 10.42 per cent (11.58 per cent) last year.


Source : The Hindu

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Syndicate Bank CMD dismissed from service

Sudhir Kumar Jain, who was suspended from the post of Syndicate Bank CMD from August 2, after CBI registered a case against him for bribery, has been dismissed from service with immediate effect.

In a communication to the stock exchanges today, the bank said that the Central Government in its letter dated September 22 has "terminated the term of office'' of Sudhir Kumar Jain as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the bank with immediate effect.

He had been placed "under deemed suspension'' with effect from August 2, 2014 in the wake of his arrest by CBI for allegedly accepting bribe to hike the credit limit of some private companies bypassing rules.

The two companies named in the case were Prakash Industries and Bhushan Steel, some of whose senior executives, apart from others, have been charged.

Source : The Hindu

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Syndicate Bank plans 50 mid-corporate branches this fiscal

Syndicate Bank will open 50 mid-corporate branches during the current financial year, according to the bank’s Executive Director TK Srivastava.

Inaugurating a mid-corporate branch in Mangalore on Monday, he said the branch will cater to credit requirements of Rs5 crore and above. Chartered accountants and credit officers will manage the operations of the branch.

Stating that the bank has opened 17 such branches in the country, he said 35 branches would be opened by December. The target is to open a total of 50 such branches by the end of 2014-15.

The bank expects business of around Rs200-300 crore from each of these branches.

Terming MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) as the backbone of the country, he said advances by the bank to MSMEs have seen a growth of 30-35 per cent. Mid-corporate branches like this will further boost the growth of MSME advances, he said.

On the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan scheme, Srivastava said 3,300 branches have already opened 800,000 accounts under the scheme.

The bank has introduced the Aadhar-enabled e-KYC (know your customer) system in 50 of its branches. Around 700 branches will come under the e-KYC during this year.

The bank, which has 3,300 branches across the country, plans to open 3,500 branches by the end of the current financial year.

The bank recruited around 5,000 people in officers and clerical cadres last year. Srivastava said the bank is hopeful of reaching a business level of Rs4 lakh crore by the end of September 30. The bank’s business crossed Rs3.92 lakh crore in the first quarter of the current financial year, he added.


Source : The Hindu

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Court extends judicial custody of Syndicate Bank CMD Jain till Sept 24

A Delhi court today extended till September 24 the judicial custody of Syndicate Bank CMD Sudhir Kumar Jain, Bhushan Steel Ltd Vice-Chairman and MD, Neeraj Singal, and nine others who were arrested by the CBI in connection with a bribery case.

On expiry of their judicial custody, the accused were produced before special CBI judge Swarana Kanta Sharma, who extended it further till September 24 after the agency said that the probe into the case was going on.

Besides Jain and Singal, CBI had arrested CMD of Prakash Industries Ltd, Ved Prakash Agarwal, its director Vipul Agarwal, Arun Aggarwal, who is alleged to be the Chief Financial Officer of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd, and six others in the case.

Alleged middleman Purshottam Totlani, also an accused in the case, is still absconding.

They have been booked under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy under the IPC.

On August 2, CBI had arrested six accused in connection with the case and had claimed to have recovered Rs. 21 lakh in cash from Jain’s residence, besides gold worth Rs. 1.68 crore and documents of fixed deposits of up to Rs. 63 lakh.

The agency has filed two separate cases against Jain, accusing him of receiving a bribe of Rs. 50 lakh through conduits and abusing his official position to enhance the credit limits of some companies in violation of laid-down procedures.

Singal was arrested by CBI on August 7, hours after the court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

CBI had earlier filed an application in the court seeking directions to Jain, Singal, Ved Prakash Agarwal and co-accused Vineet Godha and Puneet Godha for recording their voice sample for its ongoing probe.

The agency, in its plea, had said the case was based on intercepted telephonic conversations and specimen voice samples of these accused was required for their probe.

The court would hear the remaining arguments on the CBI’s plea on September 19.


Source : The Hindu

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Syndicate Bank Chief Managing Director Sudhir Kumar Jain, others asked to respond on CBI's plea

A Delhi court today sought response of Syndicate Bank Chief Managing Director Sudhir Kumar Jain, CMD of Prakash Industries Ltd Ved Prakash Agarwal and another accused, arrested in a bribery case, on CBI's plea seeking to record their specimen voice for its ongoing investigation.

Special CBI judge Swarana Kanta Sharma directed Jain, Agarwal and co-accused Vineet Godha to reply on September 10, when the court will also hear the arguments on CBI's plea.

The court also said that investigating officer (IO) has not filed the status report, as directed by it, and asked the CBI to place it on record on the next date of hearing.

The court was told by the IO that CFSL report was still awaited and it was expected to be received in next three-four days after which they will file the status report before it.

"They (CBI) are directed to positively file the status report on the next date of hearing i.e. on September 10," the judge said.

CBI, in its application, said that the case was based on intercepted telephonic conversations and specimen voice sample of these three accused was required for its probe.

These accused, along with others, including Bhushan Steel Ltd Vice Chairman and Managing Director Neeraj Singal, are now in judicial custody till September 11.

They were arrested in connection with two separate graft cases in which CBI had booked them under the Prevention of Corruption Act and for the charge of criminal conspiracy under the IPC.

On August 2, CBI had arrested six accused in connection with the case and claimed to have recovered Rs 21 lakh in cash from Jain's residence besides gold worth Rs 1.68 crore and documents of fixed deposits of up to Rs 63 lakh.

The agency has filed two cases against Jain, accusing him of receiving a bribe of Rs 50 lakh through conduits and abusing his official position to enhance the credit limits of some companies in violation of laid-down procedures.


Source : Economic Times

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Jan Dhan Yojana: KVG Bank opens over 1 lakh accounts

Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVG Bank), a Syndicate Bank sponsored regional rural bank, has opened 1,10,268 accounts under under Pradhanmantri Jan Dhan Yojana within a week in north Karnataka.

Ashok Reddy Chairman, KVG Bank, while sharing district-wise information, said the bank has opened 21,854 accounts in Belgaum, 19,983 at Haveri, 18,733 at Bagalkot, 14,010 at Gadag and 13,002 in Dharwad district. The campaign is said continue up to January 26, 2015.



Source : The Hindu

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Syndicate Bank allots 2.26 cr shares to Govt

Syndicate Bank upon receipt of funds from the Government today has allotted 2.26 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium of Rs 78.36.

The bank recently received Rs 200 crore from the Centre.

The bank’s note to the exchanges said the allotment has been determined in accordance with Regulation 76 (1) of the SEBI (ICDR) Regulations aggregating to Rs 199,99,99,971.36 on preferential basis to Government of India.


Source: Thehindubusinessline

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On expansion mode, Syndicate Bank to recruit 5,000 next fiscal

Syndicate Bank plans to recruit around 5,000 new staff in 2014-15.

In an informal chat with Business Line, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the office of the Field General Manager of the bank at Manipal on Friday, S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director said some retirements are due in the coming year and the bank also plans to open more branches.

Considering this, the bank will recruit around 2,500 officers and an equal number of clerical staff. Of this, around 750 will be specialised officers.

The bank, which opened 145 branches during the current financial year, plans to open 250 branches by the end of the fiscal. “For 2014-15, we are planning another 200 branches. Our target is to reach 3,500 branches by end of next fiscal,” he said.

Syndicate Bank provides training to its employees in fields, such as credit, HR and forex.

The bank has started a special course for its employees and the training programme includes two weeks of classroom and two weeks of on-the-job training. The bank plans to provide etiquette training to its frontline staff, he said.

NPA MANAGEMENT

To a query on the management of non-performing assets, he said the bank’s NPA levels were below the industry average.

He said the bank is hopeful of showing a better performance on the NPA front during the December quarter vis-à-vis the September quarter.

The bank has formed a Stressed Tiny Assets Recovery (STAR) team in its branches to look at small NPA accounts of up to Rs 10 lakh.

Anjaneya Prasad, Executive Director, said the bank conducted three ‘brihat adalats’ in the last three quarters. Around 40,000 one-time settlement proposals were finalised in the adalats. With this, the bank recovered around Rs 100 crore in cash on the spot, he said.

The one-time settlement proposals would help recover around Rs 600 crore in due course. One more adalat is planned for February.

Prasad said the bank would start around 10 mid-corporate branches by the end of the financial year, exclusively catering to the needs of that segment.

Jain said the performance of the bank on the retail front is encouraging. Whatever the bank could do in six months, it did in the third quarter. “We are hoping to do better in the fourth quarter,” he said.

INTERIM DIVIDEND

Jain said the bank board has approved the payment of an interim dividend of Rs 2.50 per share for 2013-14. The extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on Friday approved the allotment of equity shares on preferential basis to the Union Government.

The shareholders unanimously passed a special resolution to issue 2,26,34,676 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 88.36 a share, aggregating to Rs 200 on preferential basis to the Government of India.

vinayak.aj@thehindu.co.in


Source: Thehindubusinessline

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