1. The country's largest lender, State Bank of India, on Saturday reduced deposit rates by 0.25 per cent on all tenures with effect from May 4.
2. The World Bank has approved $400 million additional financing loan to the Small Industries Development Bank of India, which is aimed at improving access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
3. Increasing consumer awareness on health, rising healthcare costs, drop in sales of new business for life insurance companies and the recent lifting of price controls in the non-life insurance industry have resulted in insurers focusing aggressively on health insurance to drive growth.
4. Banks and financial institutions may have to undertake an equity restructuring exercise for their downstream businesses following the reluctance of the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) to tinker with the foreign direct investment norms announced in February.
5. Based on the results of recently concluded "stress tests," US regulators told Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp they may need to raise more capital, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.
6. Rajiv Malhotra regrets being a Citibank cardholder. A Citibank card customer for a decade, Malhotra was checking out from his hotel during a recent visit to China when he found that his cards had been blocked with no intimation for no fault of his.The stranded business consultant had cancel his onward flight and hotel reservations, and found that his card was blocked because of a bounced cheque on outstanding dues which was traced to a scanning error at IDBI bank, from whose account held by Malhotra’s wife the cheque had been drawn.Malhotra had to cancel his onward flight tickets and onward hotel reservations. The cheque had been issued much before the due date.The customer moved the District Consumer Redressal Forum alleging harassment and was awarded over Rs 2 lakh as compensation on March 26 through order number DF (ND) 1091-1094
7. Oriental Bank of Commerce on Monday said it plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore during the current financial year from bonds to meet business growth."We have a headroom of Rs 4,361 crore, we would raise Rs 1,000 crore from Tier II bonds or perpetual bonds during the year," said OBC Chairman and Managing Director A K Misra.The fund would be raise to meet business growth and maintain Capital Adequacy Ratio over 12 per cent, he said.
8. Corporation Bank has proposed to issue upper tier II bonds for Rs 500 crore on private placement basis, the bank informed BSE. The annual coupon will be 8.25 per cent for first 10 years.
9. Concerns about rising bad loans have weighed on the stocks of most banks in recent months. The March numbers show that while new private banks have reported higher non-performing assets, PSU banks have actually seen a reduction in NPAs.
10. Section 80LA of the Income-Tax Act confers a 10-year tax holiday for banks located in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with the first five years begetting them tax immunity on 100 per cent of such profits and the next five years on 50 per cent of such profits.
