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Tarapore warns against SBI ownership transfer The former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chairman of the Committee on Fuller Capital Account Convertibility, Mr S.S. Tarapore, has cautioned against the impending transfer of ownership of State Bank of India from the RBI to the Government. Mr Tarapore felt that this transfer would aggravate the problem of capital strengthening of public sector banks, as the Government is already finding it difficult to infuse more capital in these banks. PNB launches health insurance product Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched PNB Arogya Shree to provide health insurance for its 35 million customers. The new offering is a product of Reliance General that has been tailor-made for PNB customers. Our large customer base has helped us in getting the premium amount lowered. It will have additional features and would be marketed through our branches," Mr K. Raghuraman, Executive Director, told. The scheme would initially be available on a pilot basis at 64 select core banking solution (CBS) branches in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow with effect from today. This pilot would run until December 31. From January 2007, the product would be available at about 450 CBS branches across the country. Union Bank launches new service Union Bank of India has launched Union Mitr, a financial education counselling service, available at 51 centres across the country. This service will offer information on products, services, and provide guidance on opening a bank account, information on managing savings, as well as on management of existing debt. The bank plans to use village knowledge centres, which are attached to rural branches, for this purpose. HSBC to charge for current accounts HSBC Holdings has become the first major British bank to say it will start charging for a current account, raising the prospect that other lenders will follow suit and end free current-account banking. HSBC's online banking arm First Direct is to charge £19 per month for customers who do not deposit £1,500 per month or maintain an average balance of £1,500. Sources at several banks told in April that free account current banking could end as banks sought recoup money lost as regulators clamped down on fees in other areas. HSBC and Barclays introduced free banking about 20 years ago and Britain remains one of only a handful of countries not to charge customers who remain in credit RBI clamps down on Sangli Bank The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed some restrictions on the ailing Sangli Bank, including expansion of advances, as the small-size private sector bank's capital adequacy has fallen to 1.84 per cent. The financial health of the bank, having presence in the sugar belt of south-western Maharashtra, turned precarious in 2005-06 as its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) nosedived to 1.64 per cent from 9.30 per cent in March 2005. The banking sector regulator has asked the bank management not to go in for large deposits and not to increase the lending exposure.There are restrictions on opening new branches as well. In 2005-06, Sangli Bank had posted a loss of Rs 29.27 crore for the second year in a row. Sangli Bank is among a few other private banks - Ratnakar Bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank and Citi Union Bank - which are way behind in meeting the banking regulator's norm of a minimum net worth of Rs 300 crore. No mobiles in Bihar banks Alarmed by rise in the incidents of bank robbery in Bihar, the state police has warned of penal action if its directive to switch off the mobile phones while entering banks in the state capital is not being strictly adhered to. A decision to ban the use of the mobile phones was taken at a meeting of senior police officials with representatives of various nationalised and private banks yesterday. Now closed-circuit cameras would be installed at the main entrance of the banks besides at the cash counters and the strong rooms.