1. A 25 per cent increase in net interest income and a doubling of ‘other income’ helped City Union Bank post a net profit of Rs 25.38 crore for the third quarter of the current year, 83 per cent higher than in the corresponding quarter last year.‘Other income’ was aided by commission income from selling Life Insurance Corporation’s products. In the nine months up to December, City Union Bank collected Rs 17 crore of first premium, compared with Rs 15 crore for the whole of last year. (Forty per cent of the first premium collected is the commission.)
2. Lakshmi Vilas Bank’s net profit increased by 23 per cent to Rs 3.82 crore for the quarter ended December 2007 against Rs 3.10 crore during the same period of the previous year. Its total income grew by 16.8 per cent to Rs 143.06 crore (Rs 122.5 crore) and other income by 35 per cent to Rs 41.32 crore (Rs 30.63 crore). Its total business during the first three quarters of the current fiscal rose to Rs 8,879 crore (Rs 8,098 crore).
3. YES Bank has reported 13.25 per cent rise in net profit for the third quarter ended December 2007 to Rs 54.24 crore as against Rs 47.89 crore reported in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income for the quarter was up 115.5 per cent at Rs 443.18 crore compared (Rs 205.69 crore) While total advances for the bank grew by 79.1 per cent to Rs 8,598 crore (Rs 4,800 crore), total deposits grew by 103.8 to Rs 11,129 crore (Rs 5,461 crore).
4. United Bank of India has posted a net profit of Rs 74.70 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2007 compared with Rs 69.76 crore in the same period of last year, posting around nine per cent growth. Cumulatively, i.e., in first nine months, the net profit at Rs 307.21 crore (Rs 231.84 crore in nine months last year) posted a growth of 32.5 per cent on year-on-year basis.
5. Dhanalakshmi Bank has posted a 77 per cent increase in its net profit for the quarter ended December 2007. Its net rose to Rs 5.53 crore in the just ended quarter compared to Rs 3.11 crore during the same period of the previous year. Its income from operations increased by 24 per cent to Rs 77.31 crore (Rs 62.31 crore) and other incomes shot up by Rs 4.12 crore to Rs 8.67 crore. Segment-wise revenue break up reveals that the treasury income swelled from Rs 21 lakh for the quarter ended December 2006 to Rs 3.79 crore during the same period of 2007.
6. Since its inception in September 2005, the SME Rating Agency of India Ltd (SMERA) has credit rated 1,400 small and medium sized companies. The demand for its services, as revealed by the trend in number of companies rated, is growing. In the first six months of 2005-06, SMERA rated 101 SMEs. In the next full year, it did 445 companies. In the current year upto January, the agency has rated another 850 companies. It expects to rate at least another 350 companies before the year is out.The trend indicates that SMEs are finding that getting a rating from the agency helps. Sometimes a rating helps in getting bank funds at a slightly lower rate of interest, but more often than that, it gives the lender a higher level of comfort. A rating has also helped some companies to boost their image and secure more business.
7. DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers on Thursday signed a distribution agreement with Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) to distribute its investment products especially mutual funds through the latter’s branch network.
8. Housing finance company HDFC said on Thursday that it has reduced its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) by 25 basis points, with effect from February 1. The reduction in rates will benefit all the existing borrowers. The HDFC’s current RPLR is 14 per cent, which would now come down to 13.75 per cent. For the new home loan customers, HDFC’s rate of interest under the Adjustable Rate Home Loan continues to be at 10.25 per cent.
9. Indian Bank has launched schemes to finance the small scale tea sector in the Nilgiris.
“Before March 31, it intends to improve its presence in the Nilgiri tea sector. Its package covers all players – growers, green leaf agents, women workers, factory owners, traders and auctioneers.”
“Before March 31, it intends to improve its presence in the Nilgiri tea sector. Its package covers all players – growers, green leaf agents, women workers, factory owners, traders and auctioneers.”
10. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has reported a net profit of Rs 308.14 crore for the third quarter of the year compared with Rs 246.78 crore in the corresponding period of last year, a growth of 25 per cent. The profits came essentially from core operations—income from treasury operations, which was lower in Q3 last year.For the first nine months of the current year, the bank made a net profit of Rs 896 crore against Rs 718 crore in the same period last year.
