1. Kotak Mahindra Bank may get more than a 51 per cent stake in the Ahmedabad Commodity Exchange (ACX). ACX has chalked out a Rs 50 crore business plan which aims at offloading a 51 per cent stake to Kotak Mahindra Bank for Rs 321 a share.Members of the exchange will hold the remaining 49 per cent equity in the newly corporatised exchange.
2. GE Money India is looking for a strategic partner to drive scale just as it did with the State Bank of India (SBI) for its card business. It is trying to replicate its card model in its joint venture with Wizard Home Loans, a non-banking finance company from Australia. After credit cards and home loans, GE Money is now seeking a partner for its personal loans and mortgage portfolio, housed in a fully-owned subsidiary. The company has brought back veteran Iqbal Singh to lead its business in India.
3. Under its “Industry-Academia Partnership” programme, ICICI Bank is in discussions with three leading universities of the West Bengal to launch banking and insurance courses. while the proposal to start the course with Calcutta University had been more or less approved, the dialogue was on with Burdwan University, said K V Kamath, managing director and CEO, ICICI Bank on the sidelines of a seminar on entrepreneurship development in Kolkata on Friday.
The bank was also in discussions with Jadavpur University to roll-out similar courses.
The bank was also in discussions with Jadavpur University to roll-out similar courses.
4. ICICI Bank was looking at growing by 30 per cent on a year-on-year basis in its small and medium enterprises (SME) customers portfolio, with more focus on providing customised solutions for the SMEs. Talking at the sidelines of the Tieger08 organised by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive officer K V Kamath told Business Standard that it was adding 1000 SME customers every day to its already existing 1 million SME clients. The focus was on encouraging online transaction options for SME clients more than funding SME ventures. ICICI had many private equity players and venture capital funds in the market for that, he added. Kamath remarked that there will be more equity participation in small and medium enterprises.
5. IOB has set a revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore from its overseas expansion, slated to take place over the next year. IOB is currently logging revenues of Rs 5,000 crore from operations out of its 11 overseas branches. The bank will soon open a representative office in Dubai, besides branches in Vietnam and New Zealand. Transaction oriented products were to emerge as a key driver in the years to come.
6. Insurance has become the proverbial goose laying golden eggs for public sector banks which are foraying into the sector in a big way. This year, at least eight public sector banks are set to scrap their existing bancassurance tie-ups with insurers. They are: Bank of India, Union Bank, Karnataka Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Federal Bank. Other banks, which are planning to start their own insurance companies, are Punjab National Bank, Dena Bank and Bank of Baroda, according to industry sources. The banks are all set to explore the insurance sector after collecting new business premia of about Rs 75,000 crore (both in life and non-life segments) in the last nine months of the current financial year.
7. Crisil has placed its ratings on the debt programmes of GE Money Financial Services Ltd (GEMFSL) and GE Money Housing Finance (GEMHF) on ‘Rating Watch with Developing Implications’. This action follows US-based GE Capital Corporation’s stated intent to dilute 100 per cent stake in GEMFSL and GEMHF by inducting a partner. At present, Crisil has ratings of ‘AAA/Stable/P1+’ and ‘P1+’ on the debt programmes of GEMFSL and GEMHF, respectively.
These ratings centrally factor in the continued management, funding, and operational support that the two entities derive from GECC. The extent of divestment by GECC in GEMFSL and GEMHF is yet to be finalised.
These ratings centrally factor in the continued management, funding, and operational support that the two entities derive from GECC. The extent of divestment by GECC in GEMFSL and GEMHF is yet to be finalised.
8. City Union Bank posted 83.12 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 25.38 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007, compared with Rs 13.86 crore in the same period a year earlier. Total income during the third quarter rose 59.75 per cent to Rs 176.14 crore from Rs 110.26 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Interest income rose 55 per cent to Rs 154.84 crore from Rs 99.40 crore, while other income rose 96.13 per cent to Rs 21.30 crore from Rs 10.86 crore in the year-ago period. The bank’s operating profit rose 60.07 per cent to Rs 43.22 crore from Rs 27 crore posted in the third quarter of the previous financial year. Net interest income was up 24.57 per cent to Rs 49.34 crore from Rs 39.60 crore a year earlier. It is planning to open 50 new branches and 40 offsite ATMs this year. Currently, it operates 180 branches and 75 ATMs across the country.
9. Bank customers can buy movie, airline tickets using mobile phones. Standard Chartered Bank has tied up with PayMate, which has arrangements with 700 establishments across the country, for accepting payments via mobile phones. The UK bank’s customers can also book movie and airline tickets and transfer money through cell phones. PayMate is a mobile payment service in India, which enables online transaction of money via mobile phones to shop for gifts, buy movie and airline tickets, send flowers pay utility bills, subscribe to newspapers and magazines, among other things. PayMate also has a tie-up with 3,000 online merchants and 100 multiplexes across the country.
9. Bank customers can buy movie, airline tickets using mobile phones. Standard Chartered Bank has tied up with PayMate, which has arrangements with 700 establishments across the country, for accepting payments via mobile phones. The UK bank’s customers can also book movie and airline tickets and transfer money through cell phones. PayMate is a mobile payment service in India, which enables online transaction of money via mobile phones to shop for gifts, buy movie and airline tickets, send flowers pay utility bills, subscribe to newspapers and magazines, among other things. PayMate also has a tie-up with 3,000 online merchants and 100 multiplexes across the country.
10. Andhra Bank reported a 16.69 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 159.02 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, compared with Rs 136.27 crore in the corresponding period the previous year, on the back of a steep rise in profits from treasury operations. Total income grew 33 per cent to Rs 1,233.34 crore for the quarter under review compared with Rs 926.92 crore in the year-ago period. Treasury income grew 23.08 per cent, compared with 36.55 per cent registered by other banking operations during the same period. However, treasury operations registered over 400 per cent increase in gross profit while other banking operations reported a marginal dip. Other income, which also constitutes fee-based income, was up 29.33 per cent to Rs 147.65 crore during the three-month period, compared with Rs 114.16 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
