1. UCO Bank has made an interim dividend payment of Rs 59.93 crs to the Centre for the financial year 2006-07. UCO Bank's total business for 2006-07 touched Rs 1,12,400 crs, which represents a 21.47 % growth over the previous year. For 2006-07, It declared a 10% interim dividend, which has now been paid to shareholders including the Union Government. Currently, the bank's paid-up capital stands at Rs 799.36 crs.
2. Forex reserves have increased by over $2.7 bn for the week ended April 13 on the back of FII inflows and strengthening of non-dollar currencies against the greenback. The country's forex reserves grew by $2.772 bn to $203.092 bn. India's forex kitty had crossed $200 bn the previous week. It had increased by $1.141 bn to touch $200.320 bn for the week ended April 6.
3. IDBI Bank plans to raise over $1 bn through overseas debt for expanding its business. It has registered a growth of 6% in net profit at Rs 213 crs for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, against Rs 201 crs in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The rise in the Bank's net profit was mainly due to an increase in interest income. The bank's results cannot, however, be effectively compared to the year ago period owing to the merger of United Western Bank with IDBI Bank, effective October 3, 2006.
4. RBI has permitted commercial banks (excluding regional rural banks) and primary dealers to sell derivative products. According to the revised guidelines on derivatives by the RBI, banks and primary dealers should develop sufficient understanding and expertise about derivative products in terms of staff and systems to undertake derivative business as market makers. RBI has identified business entities with identified underlying risk exposure as users. RBI has allowed banks and primary dealers to trade in rupee interest rate derivatives, which includes Interest Rate Swap (IRS), Forward Rate Agreement (FRAs) and Interest Rate Futures, Foreign Currency derivatives and Foreign Currency Forward, which includes Currency Swap and Currency Option. The RBI defines derivative as an instrument, settled at a future date, whose value is derived from a change in interest rate, foreign exchange rate, credit rating or credit index, price of securities (also called "underlying"), or a combination of more than one of them.
5. PNB has opened a new branch at nearby Thrikkakara. it is the bank's 131st branch in Kerala. The branch comes under with core banking solution (CBS) system, providing anywhere anytime banking facility to customers. PNB recorded "tremendous growth" in business in the State last fiscal. The bank is planning more developmental activities.
6. ABN-Amro has expanded its retail banking operations by opening a branch at Salem in Tamil Nadu. It is the first branch established by an international bank in Salem. This would take its branch tally to 28 across 21 cities. The branch would offer doorstep banking, its suite of financial products and services and extended banking hours up to 7 p.m. It would also offer retail broking services under the aegis of ABN AMRO Asia Equities (India), wealth management solutions and insurance and mutual fund products.
7. IDBI Bank sold its entire stock of loans given to Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation to the Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (Arcil). It is not clear as to how much IDBI Bank got for Rs 294.24 crs of the loans. It is not clear as to whether IDBI would have got more than the `48% repayment' offer made by SPIC last year. IDBI's loans to SPIC were disbursed between 1992 and 2001. In March 1999, the bank lent Rs 124 crs to SPIC. In the same month two years later, it gave another loan of Rs 127 crs to the company. It is also learnt that ICICI Bank has also sold its SPIC loans, worth about Rs 170 crs to Arcil.
8. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has increased interest rates for its domestic term deposits with effect from April 17, across all time buckets, up to the maximum of 175 bps . After the revision, the bank offers the maximum interest rate at 10.75% to senior citizens and 10.50% to other general public for its newly introduced `55 months deposit'. The bank offers special rate of interest for deposits `above Rs 25 lakh' as against the earlier `Rs 55 lakh and above' and the maximum interest rate offered is 10.50% in `55 months' period of deposits.
9. The National Housing Bank, the apex body for promoting and regulating HFCs, has directed its constituents to create a trustee to monitor public deposits. HFCs, in any case, necessarily need to maintain 12.5% of their deposits in approved securities and FDs of scheduled banks. Out of this stipulation, a minimum 6% is being maintained under the head of approved securities. As per the latest instructions, the trustee will now maintain the minimum statutory requirement, and HFCs will have no access to it.
10. Banks have requested the RBI to allow them to prepay high-cost deposits, to avoid liquidity and interest rate risks. At present, banks do not have the freedom to prepay deposits that carry higher interest rates, even though depositors have the option of withdrawing their deposits. Bankers made this demand at a meeting with RBI Governor Y V Reddy, ahead of the 2007-8 monetary policy announcement on April 24. The delegation included the heads of ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda,UTI Bank, and Citigroup.
11. Commercial banks have urged the RBI to raise the cap on individual home loans for the purpose of classification under priority sector lending in the backdrop of the overall rise in property prices. The banks want the central bank to raise the ceiling to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 15 lakh for classification under priority sector. This demand comes in the light of the overall rise in property prices. The bankers have also asked the central bank to reduce the risk weight on staff housing loans to 35% from the existing 75%, to align it with Basel II norms.
