IndusInd Bank hikes rates on savings a/c by 2% to 6%

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has hiked interest rates on savings accounts by up to 200 basis points, offering clients a return of as much as 6% on their deposits.

Savings bank accounts with a balance of over Rs 1 lakh will earn interest of 6%, while others will be paid 5.5% interest, the bank said in a release.

The interest on savings bank accounts was earlier fixed at 4% before the RBI freed the rates.

IndusInd Bank has also raised its lending rates by 25 basis points. The new rates will be effective from tomorrow.

The decision to raise interest rates comes within a week of the Reserve Bank hiking key policy rates and freeing the interest rates on savings bank accounts.

Earlier, Kotak Bank and YES Bank raised interest rates on savings deposits in their banks up to 6%. The lenders have also revised their lending rates upward by 25 basis points.

IndusInd Bank has a network of 350 branches. It also has representative offices in London and Dubai.

Source: Business Standard

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Andhra Bank launches online facility

Customers of Andhra Bank now have one more facility of electronic banking. Henceforth, they can open their term deposit accounts online through the Internet banking platform.

After opening the deposit account, the customer can collect the deposit receipt bond from the branch at his/her convenience.

The facility adds to the growing list of online features already provided through Internet banking such as enquiry of balance, account statement printing/downloading, request of cheque book, fund transfers, e-rail ticketing, online tax payment, e-shoppe etc.

The customer-friendly facility was launched today by the bank's Executive Director, Mr A.A. Taj.

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Vijaya Bank conducts home loan mela in Mangalore

The regional office of Vijaya Bank in Mangalore conducted a home loan mela on October 29 and 30.

Quoting Mr Sudhakar Shetty M., Deputy General Manager of the bank, a bank release said here that through the housing loan mela, bank gave spot sanction based on income and offered a 50 per cent concession in processing charges.

Mr B. Ibrahim, Director of the bank and former Member of Parliament, inaugurated the mela, the release added.

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Jump in provisioning dents Oriental Bank Q2 net profit

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has reported a 58 per cent decline in net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 at Rs 167.74 crore (Rs 397.65 crore).

The second quarter bottomline performance was weighed down by 114 per cent jump in provisioning, especially towards bad debts.

For the quarter under review, provisioning (other than taxes) stood at Rs 485.34 crore (Rs 226.31 crore).

“The bank has moved to system-driven NPA provisioning. The second quarter performance was impacted by this. You will see a different picture in the December quarter,” Mr Nagesh Pydah, Chairman and Managing Director of OBC, said here on Monday.

Total income of the bank for the second quarter ended September. 30, 2011 increased by 27 percent to Rs 4,078.78 crore (Rs 3206.04 crore).

For the six months ended September 30, 2011, OBC reported a net profit of Rs 522.44 crore, reflecting a 31 percent decline over net profit of Rs 760.96 crore recorded in same period last year.

Total income increased by 28 percent to Rs 7998.84 crore(Rs 6251.58 crore).

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Sundaram BNP Paribas Q2 net nearly doubles to Rs 21.08 cr

Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance has nearly doubled its net profit during the second quarter ending September 30, 2011, against that of its net profit in the corresponding quarter previously

The net profit for the quarter was Rs 21.08 crore (Rs 11.61 crore) on disbursements of Rs 452 crore (Rs 294 crore).

Supported by the performance, the company is confident of achieving its disbursement target of Rs 1,800 crore for the year, said Mr Srinivas Acharya, Managing Director, Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance.

The company is expanding presence while strengthening position in traditional markets in the South. Some of the new markets it expects to be present ‘very shortly' are Bhopal and Bhubaneshwar. Others on the list are Aurangabad and Kolhapur. The housing finance company has 68 offices now. By the year end the number will be 75.

Nearly 40 per cent of its business is from Tamil Nadu; 23 per cent from Andhra Pradesh; 15 per cent from Kerala and 12 from Karnataka. The company is targeting the Tier-II and III cities in its expansion plans as business is being driven by strong employment generation in these areas. Its focus will be on the South with entry into select markets elsewhere.

As a provider of home loans, the company has seen that the hike in interest rates ‘per se' does not dampen the markets, said Mr Acharya, the Managing Director. End-users keen on buying their first home are making the investments.

The quality of loans continues to grow with NPA figures shrinking to a net of 0.27 per cent (0.42 per cent); and gross to 0.57 per cent (0.71 per cent). Its weighted average cost of funds is 9.46 per cent with home loan rates starting from 10.75 per cent.

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