1. India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves have crossed $200 billion, from a near-zero position less than two decades ago. Though our current reserves are just about a sixth of what China holds.
2. TMB has revised upwards its prime lending rate from 12 %to 13 %pa with effect from April 9, resulting in a hike of 1% in all categories of advances uniformly across the board. The bank now offers home loans at 10%(for loans up to 60 month instalments) and car loans at 10.50% up to Rs 15 lakh. Two-wheeler loans are offered at 10.50%.
3. The growing economy, skyrocketing salaries and mushrooming professional courses have made Indian students a bankable lot. Banks report that around 80 per cent of education loans sanctioned for professional courses are within the country while the rest is for overseas education.SBI, one of the biggest players in education loans, has registered a 30% growth in its education loan portfolio in 2006-07 at Rs 3,220 crs, a jump of Rs 800 crs.
4. When the definitive history of money and banking in India is written, 2006-07 would easily rank among its most eventful years. For, the fiscal just ended has witnessed a credit and monetary expansion binge that is unprecedented in both absolute as well as relative magnitudes.During 2006-07, banks lent out an additional Rs 410,285 crs, which is an all-time record. Further, their outstanding fiscal-end credit as a proportion of deposits (C-D ratio) touched 74.13%, the highest since the 74.99% level of 1976-77. Significantly, the C-D ratio had, only in 1998-99, plunged to an all-time-low of 51.66%!
5. Just before every credit policy announcement, there is always some speculation about a possible increase in savings bank interest rates.Another policy is just a few days away and there is hope of slight relief in the offing for over 300 mn savings bank (SB) account holders in the country. Currently, they get 3.5% pa for their money. These rates are a vestige of the administered interest rate regime. It's stayed that way for a while now, even as every other form of money has earned more for lenders.Although the SB rates are at 3.5%, the actual yield is lower at about 2.8 %, given that banks pay interest on the lowest balance maintained by account holders between the 10th and last day of a month.
6. PNB plans to enter into more partnerships to offer online share trading facility to over 3.5 crore customers. It wants to enter into more such tie-ups and looking at atleast 5-6 more.The idea is to provide more choices to its customers. It does not want to restrict their choice to one or two online trading service providers.
7. In its bid to become a global face of Indian banking, Bank of Baroda plans to expand its international operations.It is opening 10 new overseas branches in the next three months at Johannesburg, UK, Ghana, Bahrain, Australia, Qatar, Tanzania, Botswana and Port of Spain.It will establish subsidiary firms in Ghana, Port of Spain and Botswana to undertake banking operations there, while it will have full-fledged branches or representative offices in Australia, Qatar and Johannesburg.
8. SBI has purchased a one-fifth equity ownership in start-up warehouse manager National Bulk Handling Corporation Ltd (NBHC), until now a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Technologies which makes software that help brokers, traders and exchanges in online trading of equity, debt and commodities.
2. TMB has revised upwards its prime lending rate from 12 %to 13 %pa with effect from April 9, resulting in a hike of 1% in all categories of advances uniformly across the board. The bank now offers home loans at 10%(for loans up to 60 month instalments) and car loans at 10.50% up to Rs 15 lakh. Two-wheeler loans are offered at 10.50%.
3. The growing economy, skyrocketing salaries and mushrooming professional courses have made Indian students a bankable lot. Banks report that around 80 per cent of education loans sanctioned for professional courses are within the country while the rest is for overseas education.SBI, one of the biggest players in education loans, has registered a 30% growth in its education loan portfolio in 2006-07 at Rs 3,220 crs, a jump of Rs 800 crs.
4. When the definitive history of money and banking in India is written, 2006-07 would easily rank among its most eventful years. For, the fiscal just ended has witnessed a credit and monetary expansion binge that is unprecedented in both absolute as well as relative magnitudes.During 2006-07, banks lent out an additional Rs 410,285 crs, which is an all-time record. Further, their outstanding fiscal-end credit as a proportion of deposits (C-D ratio) touched 74.13%, the highest since the 74.99% level of 1976-77. Significantly, the C-D ratio had, only in 1998-99, plunged to an all-time-low of 51.66%!
5. Just before every credit policy announcement, there is always some speculation about a possible increase in savings bank interest rates.Another policy is just a few days away and there is hope of slight relief in the offing for over 300 mn savings bank (SB) account holders in the country. Currently, they get 3.5% pa for their money. These rates are a vestige of the administered interest rate regime. It's stayed that way for a while now, even as every other form of money has earned more for lenders.Although the SB rates are at 3.5%, the actual yield is lower at about 2.8 %, given that banks pay interest on the lowest balance maintained by account holders between the 10th and last day of a month.
6. PNB plans to enter into more partnerships to offer online share trading facility to over 3.5 crore customers. It wants to enter into more such tie-ups and looking at atleast 5-6 more.The idea is to provide more choices to its customers. It does not want to restrict their choice to one or two online trading service providers.
7. In its bid to become a global face of Indian banking, Bank of Baroda plans to expand its international operations.It is opening 10 new overseas branches in the next three months at Johannesburg, UK, Ghana, Bahrain, Australia, Qatar, Tanzania, Botswana and Port of Spain.It will establish subsidiary firms in Ghana, Port of Spain and Botswana to undertake banking operations there, while it will have full-fledged branches or representative offices in Australia, Qatar and Johannesburg.
8. SBI has purchased a one-fifth equity ownership in start-up warehouse manager National Bulk Handling Corporation Ltd (NBHC), until now a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Technologies which makes software that help brokers, traders and exchanges in online trading of equity, debt and commodities.
