1. RBI has pulled up commercial banks for neglecting various regulatory requirements. It has pointed out that most of the banks do not have comprehensive structures, policies and manuals to address compliance risks. This, however, has not received the required attention of banks, as a number of instances of non-compliance and lack of proper interpretation of regulatory guidelines are being reported in successive RBI inspection reports. In an effort to tone up banks’ compliance, the RBI has come out with draft guidelines. The compliance processes remain weak and compliance officer has not been an effective instrument.
2. Canara Bank, planning to sell stake in its fully owned mutual fund arm in December, is likely to finalise the Netherlands-based Robeco for the proposed joint venture.
3. RBI is understood to have stepped up its surveillance in the government securities market.
4. Much has been written about Grameen Bank ever since Mr Muhammad Yunus and his brainchild concept won this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Not many may know that `gramin banks' have been popular in Karnataka ever since 1976. Gramin banks enjoy a good share of rural banking in the State, measured by several indicators, according to statistics as of March 2005. Gramin's share of rural branches is 53 %. Nearly half of the total rural deposit accounts of nearly 90 lakh are with gramin banks. `Borrowing accounts' number about 22 lakh in rural category; in this, gramin has about 54% share. "Nearly 83 % of their borrowing accounts are in the advances group of less than Rs 25,000.
5. Robust business growth, impressive performance on fee based income and strong showing on core operations highlight the earnings scorecard of banks for the quarter ended September. Re-pricing of loans by about 50 bps in June and August following upward revision in the PLR appears to have improved yields on advances for many banks. While the quarter has proved to be a good one for the banking industry, private sector banks continued to surpass their counterparts in the public sector on several key parameters such as growth in net interest income (NII), fee income and net profits. PSBs, on an average have recorded a YoY growth of about 16% in earnings, while the figure for private sector banks is double at 32%. In terms of containing costs, PSBs have fared better than their counterparts in private sector.
6. The National Rural Health Mission, in collaboration with ICICI Bank, has introduced an e-banking solution for healthcare services in Kerala. It is the first State in the country to implement the bank's `Health I-Check Pay' software that will make fund movements faster and more simple. The software, an integral part of the National Rural Health Mission, will also make it possible to monitor utilisation of funds and provide better transparency in financial transactions in the working of the Health Ministry.
7. You can now go in for a chip - based card without fear of fraud. Unlike the normal plastic cards, the microchip-based card has security features that prevent misuse of cards. The chip is inserted into the sale-point terminals, which validate the card for usage. There is no swiping of the card. The latest to introduce this card in India is the UTI Bank. The bank plans to launch the chip - based card by February 2007.
2. Canara Bank, planning to sell stake in its fully owned mutual fund arm in December, is likely to finalise the Netherlands-based Robeco for the proposed joint venture.
3. RBI is understood to have stepped up its surveillance in the government securities market.
4. Much has been written about Grameen Bank ever since Mr Muhammad Yunus and his brainchild concept won this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Not many may know that `gramin banks' have been popular in Karnataka ever since 1976. Gramin banks enjoy a good share of rural banking in the State, measured by several indicators, according to statistics as of March 2005. Gramin's share of rural branches is 53 %. Nearly half of the total rural deposit accounts of nearly 90 lakh are with gramin banks. `Borrowing accounts' number about 22 lakh in rural category; in this, gramin has about 54% share. "Nearly 83 % of their borrowing accounts are in the advances group of less than Rs 25,000.
5. Robust business growth, impressive performance on fee based income and strong showing on core operations highlight the earnings scorecard of banks for the quarter ended September. Re-pricing of loans by about 50 bps in June and August following upward revision in the PLR appears to have improved yields on advances for many banks. While the quarter has proved to be a good one for the banking industry, private sector banks continued to surpass their counterparts in the public sector on several key parameters such as growth in net interest income (NII), fee income and net profits. PSBs, on an average have recorded a YoY growth of about 16% in earnings, while the figure for private sector banks is double at 32%. In terms of containing costs, PSBs have fared better than their counterparts in private sector.
6. The National Rural Health Mission, in collaboration with ICICI Bank, has introduced an e-banking solution for healthcare services in Kerala. It is the first State in the country to implement the bank's `Health I-Check Pay' software that will make fund movements faster and more simple. The software, an integral part of the National Rural Health Mission, will also make it possible to monitor utilisation of funds and provide better transparency in financial transactions in the working of the Health Ministry.
7. You can now go in for a chip - based card without fear of fraud. Unlike the normal plastic cards, the microchip-based card has security features that prevent misuse of cards. The chip is inserted into the sale-point terminals, which validate the card for usage. There is no swiping of the card. The latest to introduce this card in India is the UTI Bank. The bank plans to launch the chip - based card by February 2007.
