Tides of  17.10.2015

1.  Bank of Baroda has conferred poet, lyricist and advertising guru Prasoon Joshi with Maharaja Sayajirao Bhasha Samman. The bank said in a statement that the award, in memory of Bank of Baroda’s founder Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad-III, was given to Joshi for his outstanding contribution in promoting Hindi.

2.  South Indian Bank today reported 22.38 % increase in net profit at Rs. 93.38 crs in the second quarter ended September 30, helped by lower provisions for bad loans. The bank had clocked a net profit of Rs. 76.30 crs during the same quarter in the previous fiscal. Total income of the private lender increased to Rs. 1,526.19 crs during the quarter under review, up 8.55% from Rs. 1,405.95 crs a year ago, the bank said in a BSE filing. The bank’s provisioning and contingencies were at Rs. 67.47 crs in the second quarter of 2015-16 against Rs. 95.71 crs in the year-ago period.

3.  China Reinsurance (Group) raised $2 billion after pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering at the top of expectations, sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters.The company priced the 5.77 billion new shares, equivalent to 13.7% of its enlarged share capital, at HK$2.70 each, after marketing the deal in an indicative range of HK$2.25 to HK$2.70, added the sources, who declined to be named because details of the IPO aren’t yet public.China Re’s IPO would be the largest in Hong Kong since property developer Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co Ltd raised $4 billion in December. It should be surpassed next week when distressed debt manager China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd prices its listing, worth up to $2.8 billion.

4.  The Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating top officials of a Chennai-based company and two firms of chartered accountants on allegations of cheating IDBI Bank to the tune of ₹274 crore. According to a CBI press release, available on its website, a case has been registered on complaint by IDBI Bank that between 2005 and 2013 these individuals have cheated it using forged documents and falsified accounts. Searches are being conducted at eight places, including seven in Chennai and one in Hyderabad, in the offices and residences of the accused which led to recovery of incriminating documents. Further investigation is in progress.

5.  Axis Bank has internally started looking into the forex scam unearthed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) involving a total of eight banks involving Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, DCB Bank and Dhanalaxmi Bank. In a statement, Axis bank said, “We have taken note of the recent media reports involving our Bank along with 8 other banks relating to a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).”

6.  India Post will soon be a force to reckon with. Until now India Post was seen as a slumbering giant. Not anymore. It has woken up. This time it will not give it up, as payments bank presents a historic opportunity for India Post. “It’s very exciting for us as the payments industry is going to be like skating on thin ice. We don’t know who will fall by the wayside, when there will be a bloodbath, and what kind of pricing/revenue models will emerge,” Mr.Ramanujam  said, adding that this will be a game of high volumes and wafer-thin margins. India Post is among the 11 successful applicants that recently got in-principle nod for a payments bank licence from the RBI. The new entity will be registered as a company and will be called ‘India Post Payments Bank’. It will have an initial capital of Rs.300 crs, much more than the minimum of Rs.100 crs stipulated by the RBI. “We will soon approach the Cabinet for approval,” Ramanujan told Business Line here.