1. Axis Bank’s net profit increased 88.6 per cent at Rs 330.14 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2008 compared with Rs 175 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal year. The total business grew by 44 per cent to Rs 1, 13,660 crore.
2. IFCI’s top management on Monday said that the idea of inducting a strategic investor in the company had not been abandoned. It was, however, made clear that any such process could begin only after the issue on ‘convertibile debentures’ was sorted out. The earlier process, initiated in October 2006, for inducting a strategic investor, cannot be revived from where it was left as both the market as well as the company’s condition had substantially changed ever , an official said.
3. Profits will be under pressure in the first quarter due to treasury losses on account of rising bond yields, said Mr M. V. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, Union Bank of India. “It will not be possible to register the kind of profit growth we had seen earlier. Marked-to-market losses will affect profits,” he said on the sidelines of a press conference to announce a joint venture for asset management, here on Monday.Given the current high interest scenario, banks’ margins will be under pressure, Mr Nair said. Union Bank may find it difficult to maintain the 25 per cent growth in profit for the 2008-09 fiscal, as targeted earlier, he added.
4. Several loan-seekers from banks are finding themselves in a tricky situation as they are being asked to go in for an insurance policy to enhance the ‘chances’ of loan approval. The policy is on the life of the borrower against accident and other risks.The sale of insurance by banks is seen more in the case of those banks that have an insurance arm of their own or that are marketing the products of an insurance provider, according to sources. While some see reason in taking an insurance cover, , others feel they are being ‘coerced’ into it by banks — this is against the norms set by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority .
5. The cooperative credit institutions, covering state cooperative banks, district central cooperative banks and primary agricultural credit societies, are upset at the decision of the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (Nabard) to charge nine per cent rate of interest on the liquidity support to these institutions. This is much higher than what senior Nabard officials had earlier promised to charge, say sources close to cooperative credit institutions.
6. Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL) has entered into a pan India arrangement with IDBI Bank to provide services for issue of stamp certificates and collection of money on its behalf as Authorised Collection Centre. According to a press release issued on Monday, IDBI Bank is the first bank to have an all India tie- up as an Authorised Collection Centre (ACC) for e-Stamping system with SHCIL. SHCIL has established e-Stamping system in Gujarat, Karnataka, National Capital Territory of Delhi and is also in the process of implementing e-Stamping system in Maharashtra where an agreement has already been executed with the State government.
7. Operational risk has always been an important component of risk faced by banks, but a widespread movement to isolate this began only a few years back with a plan by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to include specific capital allocation for operational risk in its updated Basel Capital Accord, commonly referred to as Basel II. As per Basel II, operational risk is the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events.
8. Mr Ananthakrishna, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank Ltd, will step into his ninth year in office on July 13. A bank release said here that he has broken the record of late Mr K. Soorynanarayana Adiga who was the bank’s full-time Chairman for eight years.
9. Andhra Bank is offering a special deposit scheme, AB Excel – II. As per the scheme, 9.75 per cent interest would be offered on deposits for 400 days. For senior citizens, an additional interest of 0.50 per cent would be given. The scheme is valid up to July 31.
10.Exchange-traded currency futures will become a reality in the Indian market in the next three-to-four weeks. “Work is in progress and we should be able to launch it by mid-August or latest by end of that month,” a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) official said. The SEBI Board had in June approved the policy as well as regulatory framework for establishment of exchange-traded currency futures. SEBI would take care of the operational part and the SEBI Chairman, Mr C.B. Bhave, has been authorised to decide on the exchanges that could trade this product, sources added. The stock exchanges have already been invited to apply for trading currency futures.
