Two Indian Bank ATMs inaugurated at Chennai Airport

Public sector Indian Bank has inaugurated two ATM centres at the Chennai airport.

The 1431 and 1432 centres of the bank were inaugurated by Airport Director H S Suresh in the presence of Bank Chairman and Managing Director, T M Bhasin in the Kamaraj Domestic Terminal, a bank statement said.

Chennai-headquartered Indian Bank serves more than 22 million customers through their ATM network, Bhasin said, adding another ATM would soon be set up at the New International Airport Arrival Terminal.

Source: thehindubusinessline

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Yes Bank board declines to nominate Shagun Gogia as director

Private sector lender Yes Bank’s board has declined to nominate Shagun Gogia as a nominee director, a development that is set to prolong the bitter tussle between the promoter families.

Gogia is the daughter of bank co-founder Ashok Kapur, who was killed in the November 2008 terror attacks on the city.

She was nominated by her mother Madhu Kapur as the legal heir to her deceased husband’s 12 per cent stake in the bank.

The board’s decision was taken at its June 27 meeting, which was convened as per an order of the Bombay High Court.

“The board of directors has unanimously agreed that the recommendation of Shagun Gogia made by you should not be accepted,” the bank said in a letter addressed to Madhu.

When contacted, the bank’s spokesperson refused to comment saying “the matter is subjudice“.

The letter says the submissions made in support of Gogia’s candidature were extensively deliberated by the board “in accordance with the terms of Reserve Bank prescriptions” and after considering the composition of the past and current board of the bank.

“The Board also evaluated the submissions considering the past and current composition and profile of the Board of the Bank, and current composition of the Board’s peer bank (Kotak Mahindra Bank) and the three largest private banks,” the letter said.

Source: thehindubusinessline

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RBI cancels registration of two non-banking FIs

Reserve Bank of India restricted two non—banking financial institutions (NBFIs) from transacting business allegedly for not complying with the operating guidelines and procedures.

The certificate of registration (CoR) of the two NBFI’s —— Tulip Finlease Private Limited & Galaxy Consolidated Finance Limited —— were cancelled by RBI.

The CoR’s of the two companies were cancelled on May 9 and June 6, respectively, according to a public announcement by RBI.

In exercise of powers conferred on it under sub—section (6) of section 45—IA of the Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the CoR of these companies, as these companies have voluntarily cease to be NBFIs, according to the announcement.

Source: thehindubusinessline

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IRDA slaps Rs 20 lakh fine on Aviva Life, Rs 5 lakh on Indusind Bank

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has slapped a Rs 20-lakh penalty on Aviva Life Insurance Co India Ltd.

The fine was imposed for payment of higher commission than what was permitted by the regulations in force, the regulator said in an order issued on Friday.

The company had made higher commissions to its corporate agents, Indusind Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank and Anngram Stock Broking Ltd, the order said.

In a separate order, IRDA also imposed a Rs 5-lakh fine on Indusind Bank for violating norms by accepting higher commissions.

naga.gunturi@thehindu.co.in

Source: thehindubusinessline

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After private sector lenders, SBI, PNB too start charging for SMS alerts

With private sector banks beginning to charge customers for SMS alerts sent to their mobile phones, public sector State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank too have decided to get on to the bandwagon.

SBI, India’s largest lender, will recover Rs 15 (inclusive of service tax) per quarter as SMS alert charges from its customers with effect from the quarter ending June 2013.

Punjab National Bank, India’s third largest public sector bank, will also charge all new as well as existing customers Rs 15 per quarter for SMS alerts for transactions with effect from July 1.

PNB, however, said senior citizen accounts, staff accounts, retired staff accounts, student accounts and basic savings bank accounts for financial inclusion will be excluded from the SMS charges.

In the last one month or so, private sector banks such as ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have notified their clients that they will be charged for SMS alerts.

With telecom companies increasing the bulk SMS charges by about 10 times, banks have no choice but to pass on the increased costs to the customers, said a senior public sector bank official.

Earlier, the bulk SMS charge used to be around 2-3 paise per SMS. But the same has now been jacked up to 20-25 paise per SMS.

Option to exit

The official said that if a customer does not want to incur the expense on account of SMS, then he or she can ask the bank to discontinue the service.

However, given the rising incidents of frauds, it is unlikely customers will stop the SMS alert service as it enables them to track activity in their account.

If a fraudulent transaction goes through, then the SMS alert can prevent further damage as the customer can notify the bank immediately and prevent more transactions.

Through SMS alerts, customers can keep track of the credit and debit transactions in their account. Further, customers can get information on cheque books issued to them and return of cheques, if any.

With SBI and PNB taking the lead , other public sector banks too are expected to follow suit.

ramkumar.k@thehindu.co.in

beena.parmar@thehindu.co.in

Source: thehindubusinessline

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