1. An analysis of US dollar return data shows that Indian bourses have delivered the third highest gain of 71.23 per cent during last year.
2. Long distance transfers of peons and sweepers in the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has created unrest among the employees, who have challenged the transfer policy by threatening to go on an indefinite strike. The crisis erupted 13 months after the merger of erstwhile United Western Bank (UWB) with the IDBI. The union alleged that the bank is resorting to transfers in order to compel the former UWB employees to submit resignation.
3. Strategic alliance between Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Bank, and Corporation Bank is not progressing as was envisaged, and change of guard at the top level is responsible for this, officials familiar with the development said. Christened as OIC, the alliance that was launched in 2006 has made very little progress in the last one year and a half. The tie-up was touted as an alternative to mergers among Indian public sector banks. The alliance had planned several new initiatives such as forging a joint venture for credit card business, jointly opening subsidiary abroad, among others. All these plans have taken a backseat now. “All these banks are small ones, which are chairman driven and not system driven. Change in the top management of some of the partners has affected progress of the alliance,” the official said. The idea of having a common OIC logo for the alliance has also been scrapped.
4. United Bank of India (UBI) has committed an investment of Rs 250 crore on information technology for the next financial year. The investment will cover a massive roll out of core banking solutions (CBS), on line share trading facility, phone banking and cash management services among others.
5. Corporation Bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday that its total business had crossed Rs 83,000 crore in the ongoing financial year, growing at 22 per cent on year. The bank’s total deposit grew 24% to over 490 bln rupees and total credit grew 20 per cent to over Rs 34,000 crore.
6. Public sector Indian Bank is set to provide more thrust to meet financial requirements of the urban poor formed as Self Help Groups (SHGs) with the opening of three more ?Microsate' (a satellite.
7. The New Year is likely to bring in good news for borrowers as interest rates on home and consumer loans could decline from the second quarter onward, but high fuel and food prices might play spoilsport by putting pressure on inflation, bankers and economists feel. Experts feel that interest rates have peaked and with deposit rates on the decline, consumers could see softening of interest rates in 2008 as the prudent stance of the Reserve Bank of India for almost the whole of last year managed to keep inflation low without disrupting economic growth.
8. Banks want their investments in company shares and debentures, loans and guarantees given to corporates as part of normal business activities, to be excluded from transfer pricing norms.
9. Reliance Banking Fund, an open-ended scheme from Reliance Mutual, topped the returns chart in 2007 in the banking funds' category, posting nearly 77 per cent returns.
10. Property transactions in India will soon have an insurance cover to fall back in case something goes wrong in the deal. The country’s two large private sector insurers, ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General, are planning to launch title insurance covers this year. Title insurance is a cover that protects a potential owner of a property against loss from defects in title. The policy is a retrospective one, where the insured is protected against losses arising from the events that occurred prior to the date of issuing the policy. Globally, the policy is bought by investors, occupiers and financiers. At present, none of the property transactions, be it large acquisitions or a simple sale of a land or a flat, is covered through an insurance policy by an Indian insurer.
