Karnataka Bank gets ISO certificate for IT systems

Karnataka Bank has secured the ‘ISO 27001:2005’ certificate for its three IT (information technology) units.

A press release from the bank said here on Monday that NQA (National Quality Assurance) — an assessment, verification and certification body accredited to the United Kingdom Accreditation Service — has awarded the ISO 27001:2005 certificate of registration to Karnataka Bank’s three IT units. Two of them are situated in Bangalore, and one in Mangalore.

The release said ISO27001:2005 specifies a well documented information security management system within the context of the organisation’s overall business risks. It outlines the best practice for ensuring business continuity, and minimises business damage by preventing and reducing the impact of security incidents. The certificate is valid for three years, the release said.

While internally ISO standards provide focus and discipline to the technology initiatives of the bank, externally ISO certification intends to bring confidence to clients, partners and regulators about the bank’s security seriousness.

“Our bank is the first among peer group banks to get this certification,” P. Jayarama Bhat, Managing Director, Karnataka Bank, was quoted as saying.

vinayak.aj@thehindu.co.in


Source: thehindubusinessline

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ICICI Bank to auction 11-kg pledged gold to recover loans

The country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank will auction this month gold jewellery weighing over 11 kg, pledged by more than 150 borrowers, who have defaulted on their payments.

The auction would be conducted by the bank’s branches in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand from April 18-22 for gold jewellery deposited by about over 150 customers as collateral for their loans, the bank said in a public notice last week.

While neither the exact value of the gold ornaments being auctioned nor the outstanding loans could be ascertained, an equivalent amount of gold would be worth over Rs 3 crore at current prices.

At present, gold prices have hit a one-year low at Rs 28,350 per 10 gm.

It is a usual practice to take gold loans by pledging jewellery with banks. But such ornaments can be auctioned by banks after giving sufficient notice to the borrower in case of payment defaults.

The notice further said: “In the event any surplus amount is realised from this auction, the same will be refunded to the borrower concerned, and if there is any deficit post the auction, the balance amount shall be recovered from the borrower through appropriate legal proceedings.”

The bank said the auction would take place at ICICI Bank branches in areas, including Allahabad, Meerut, Kanpur, Agra, Rudrapur, Varanasi, Dehradun, Bhagalpur and Patna.

ICICI Bank would auction gold jewellery weighing 8.5 kg on April 18, nearly 2kg on April 20 and around 940 gm on April 22.

Interested parties are required to submit a refundable security deposit of Rs 20,000 at ICICI Bank for participating in the auction process, the notice said.

In case the winning bidder refuses to accept the jewellery after the auction, then the security money would be forfeited, it added.

Last month, the bank had auctioned gold jewellery weighing nearly 25 kg worth over Rs 7 crore.


Source: thehindubusinessline

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Bank of America pays Mukesh Ambani Rs 1.3 cr as director pay

Indian billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani has been paid $240,000 (about Rs 1.3 crore) as director compensation for 2012 by global banking giant Bank of America - a position he would relinquish next month.

Ambani, who heads the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries group, was paid a higher compensation of $276,816 by the bank in the previous year, 2011.

Ambani joined Bank of America’s board as an independent director in March 2011, but would step down from this position at the company’s next Annual Meeting of shareholders on May 8.

The US-based banking major announced last month that Ambani would step down as a director and join its new, non-fiduciary global advisory council.

The bank has disclosed the compensation paid to Ambani and other details in a notice circulated to its shareholders ahead of their Annual Meeting on May 8.

The bank also said that Ambani and five other directors currently on its board would not seek re-election at the Annual Meeting and would be replaced by new members on its board. The shareholders have been asked to ratify the changes.

As per the shareholder notice, a copy of which has been filed with the US markets regulator SEC as well, Ambani’s compensation for 2012 included $80,000 as ‘fees earned or paid in cash’ and $160,000 as stock awards.

In comparison, Ambani got fees worth $92,282 in cash and $184,534 through stock awards in 2011 - taking his total compensation for that year to $276,816.

As on March 13, 2013, Ambani held a total of 31,265 shares of the bank, which have been given so far to him as part of his director compensation.

As RIL Chairman, Ambani’s remuneration is not known as yet for the last fiscal 2012-13 that ended last month. Prior to this, Ambani’s remuneration at RIL has remained unchanged at Rs 15 crore for four consecutive years till 2011-12.

The bank said that its board held 13 meetings in 2012, and each of its current directors attended at least 75 per cent of the aggregate meetings of board and the committees on which they served, except for Ambani.

Ambani is a member on the Credit Committee and the Compensation and Benefits Committee of its board.

In further disclosures about its dealings with businesses associated to Ambani and other independent directors, Bank of America said admitted to having provided “banking products or services, including markets, commercial credit, investment banking, managed investments, personal products and treasury services, in the ordinary course, to” Reliance Industries (RIL) and other such companies.

However, the fees received from each of these companies, including RIL, were within the prescribed thresholds applicable for independent directors and were less than 2 per cent of its consolidated gross annual revenues, the bank said.

It made a similar disclosure about business with Reliance Group, headed by Mukesh’s younger brother Anil Ambani.


Source: thehindubusinessline

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Dena Bank hopes to get Rs 600 cr capital infusion this fiscal

Public sector undertaking Dena Bank hopes for Rs 600-crore capital infusion by the Government this financial year.

The bank had originally sought Rs 1,260 crore from the Government, and “we expect at least 50 per cent of that this year,” said Ashwani Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank.

Talking to a group of journalists here today, he said Dena Bank plans to expand its network by adding around 150 branches and 560 ATMs (automatic teller machine) during the current financial year.

The bank has pan-India presence with 1,600 branches and 560 ATMs across cities.

On the bank's performance, Kumar said it has been growing at 23-24 per cent year on year, and the total business (deposits and advances) is likely to be in excess of Rs 1,50,000 crore for 2012-13. “Our target is to touch Rs 4,00,000 crore in the next five years.”

Pressure on net interest margin

Admitting that there will certainly be pressure on net interest margin this year, he said the bank has been witnessing growth in the retail segment, particularly real estate and automobile sectors, which will drive the business growth.

According to him, the infrastructure sector is a major challenge for the bank, to which it has around 20 per cent exposure. Pointing to the state electricity boards restructuring account, he said the bank has a restructured SEB account portfolio of Rs 2,200 crore. The Tamil Nadu SEB restructuring to the tune of Rs 390 crore will come into the bank’s books during the current financial year, taking the total portfolio to Rs 2,600 crore.

ravikumar.r@thehindu.co.in

Source: thehindubusinessline

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PNB Metlife launches product to protect borrowers

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Ltd (PNB MetLife) on Sunday announced the launch of its loan protection plan, Met Flexi Shield for PNB’s home and education loan customers.

This proposition provides protection against loan liability, in the event of unforeseen circumstances of the death of the borrower and offers full financial protection to the family.

“With the launch of this offering, we have added a customised life insurance product, which comes at competitive rates and offers best service to our customers at the branches”, said K.R. Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director of PNB.

The launch coincided with the auspicious day of Baisakhi, which happened to be the foundation day of the bank. Rajesh Relan, Managing Director and Country Manager, PNB MetLife, said this is the company’s first bundled proposition for PNB customers.

benchmark partnership

“With the launch of this compelling offering, we are taking another step in our journey to create a benchmark partnership and bring our products, technology and capabilities to PNB customers, to help achieve financial security ”.

srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in


Source: thehindubusinessline

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