1. The operating profit of City Union Bank was Rs. 27 crs (Rs. 26.10 crs) and the net profit Rs. 13.86 crs (Rs. 12.43 crs) during the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2006. Total income rose by 20 % to Rs. 111.69 crs from Rs. 92.93 crs. Interest income improved to Rs. 99.40 crs from Rs. 81.92 crs, a rise of 22%.
2. ING Vysya Bank has been pursuing a strategy of increasing its share of low-cost deposits and emphasising "CASA'' (current accounts and savings accounts). Its share of CASA in its total deposit mix improved from Rs. 3,281 crs (26%) in Dec 2005 to Rs. 4,340 crs in Dec 31, 2006. It has raised the interest on 365-day deposits to 8.5% and 91-120 day deposits to 7.5%.
3. Allahabad Bank will operationalise by February its first overseas branch being set up in Hong Kong.
4. PNB has reported a 16.04% increase in net profit for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2006 to Rs 429.87 crs as compared to net profit of Rs 370.44 crs in the same quarter the previous year. Total income for the period under review increased to Rs 3,271 crs, which is a 21.24% increase over the total income of Rs 2,698 crs in the previous quarter last year. The board of directors declared an interim dividend of 40%.
5. Lakshmi Vilas Bank has clocked a 61% increase in its net profit for the quarter ended Dec 2006. While the net profit has increased to Rs 3.09 crs (Rs 1.92 crs), its operating profit went up by 137% to Rs 19.03 crs (Rs 8.54 crs). Its total income grew by 37% to Rs 125.25 crs (Rs 91.66 crs). The interest on advances grew to Rs 78.86 crs (Rs 53.11 crs), up 49%. It has registered a 30.13% y-on-y growth in deposits to reach Rs 4,687.27 crs and its credit portfolio expanded 44% to Rs 3,411.20 crs.
6. PNB plans to make an equity offering next fiscal that could lead to offloading of 6.8% of the Government's stake, which currently stands at 57.8%. The bank had last tapped the capital market through a follow-on public offering in 2005. PNB also plans to mop up additional tier-II capital of at least Rs 500 crs by March this year to fund its overseas expansion as well as business growth in the country. It has already raised Rs 2,000 crs in the form of tier-II capital during the current fiscal.
7. In a stylised mock charge on "inflationary expectations", the RBI has marked up the cost of money it lends to banks against securities under repo by 25 bps to 7.50%. At the same time, it lifted growth projections for the current fiscal to 8.5-9% over its last estimate of 8%. All other key markers were left unchanged by the RBI as a springtime offer to the economy.
8.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) will take up the proposal for transferring of the RBI's share in SBI, Nabard and NHB from RBI to the Central Government. The RBI holds 59.73% stake in SBI, 72.50% stake in Nabard and 100% stake in NHB.
9. The net profit of Dhanalakshmi Bank has grown by close to 200% to Rs 3.11 crs (Rs 1.04 crs) for the third quarter of the current fiscal. The bank would be entering the capital market shortly to shore up its capital base. The bank has been in talks with six merchant bankers, exploring various avenues for raising its capital.
10. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has upgraded the ratings of six Indian banks and three corporates. S&P has raised the ratings of SBI, ICICI Bank Ltd, IDBI Ltd, BOI, IOB and UTI Bank Ltd to "BBB-/Stable/A-3" from "BB+/Positive/B". It has also upgraded the corporate credit ratings of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, NTPC Ltd and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd to `BBB-' from `BB+'.
11. RBI has increased the provisioning requirement to 2% from 1% for the banks' exposures in the standard assets in the real estate sector, outstanding credit card receivables, loans and advances qualifying as capital market exposure and personal loans, excluding residential housing loans. The continued high credit growth in the real estate sector, outstanding credit card receivables, loans and advances qualifying as capital market exposure and personal loans is a matter of concern, The provisional requirement in respect of residential housing loans will remain unchanged at 0.4% to loans upto Rs. 20 lakh and at 1%for loans in excess of Rs. 20 lakh. It has also been decided to increase the provisioning requirement for banks' exposure in the standard assets category to the non-deposit taking systemically important NBFCs to 2% from the existing level of 0.4%and to increase the risk weight for banks' exposure to such NBFCs to 125%from the existing level of 100%.
12. Andhra Bank has reported a net profit of Rs. 399.12 crs for the nine months ended Dec 31, 2006, against Rs. 346.91 crs in the corresponding period of the previous year, a growth of 15%. The operating profit was up 22.5% at Rs. 690.32 crs (Rs. 563.59 crs). The bank reported a net profit of Rs. 136.28 crs for the quarter ended Dec 2006, against Rs. 128.86 crs in the same period in the previous year.
13. A new wave of e-trading in partnerships with private broking houses is getting popular with banks in recent times. Not to be left behind in the race with their private sector peers, PSBs including SBI, BOB, PNB and OBC are changing with times by tying up with private brokerage houses to provide online trading for their clients cashing in on the booming stock markets.
14. The competition among banks to raise resources is turning fierce. Bank of India is doling out an additional 25 bps for floating rate deposit scheme above the applicable rate of maturities of three years and above, on the day the deposit is made. The rate will be reset every quarter.
