Result : ING Vysya bank Ltd.

ING Vysya bank reported a 195% increase in net profit for the third quarter of this financial year which stood at Rs.14.33 crore against Rs.4.86 crore for same period last year. While the gross NPA stood at 3.34%, net NPA stood at 1.27%.

ICICI Bank credit card for children

ICICI Bank has tied up with Kidzee, Zee Network's Education Group, to launch a co-branded credit card that offers special discounts appealing to children. Kidzee with a chain of over 500 pre-schools will offer the card to the parents of its current students. The card will be under the name of parent and will have similar features as a normal ICICI bank credit card. The card is a life time free card with no annual or joining fee. It will offer 10% discounts on annual fee at Kidzee. It also offers discounts at Gini& Jony outlets, Asian Sky Shop products and Apollo Clinic Health Check-up plans.

Result : Dena Bank

Dena Banks' net profit dropped by arond 15% to Rs.70.53 crore in the quarter ended December 31,2006 , against Rs.83.18 crore in the corresponding year-ago period due to higher provisions for non-performing assets. The net NPA of the bank stood at 2.47% down from 3.37%. The total deposits stood at Rs.25,529 crore (18.19% growth). Gross advances stood at Rs.17,206 crore (27.87% growth).

Result : Canara Bank

Canara Bank has shown a modest growth of 1.88% in net profit for the quarter ended December 2006 at Rs.363.02 crore compared to Rs.356.29 crore for the same period last year. The bank's total income showed robust growth at 27.8%. The higher provisioning for depreciation in investment portfolio is the main culprit for less growth in net profit. The net NPA of the bank stood at 0.96%. Capital Adequacy ratio stood at 12.69%. The total business of the bank stood at Rs.2,22,504 crore. Deposits stood at Rs.1,31,781 crore and Advances stood at Rs.90,723 crore.

Result : State Bank of Mysore

State Bank of Mysore has posted a net profit of Rs.54.94 crore for the quarter ended December 2006, posting a 38.77% growth over the same period last year. The net NPA of the bank stood at 0.37%. The Capital Adequacy Ratio of the bank stood at 12.09%.

Result : State Bank of Hyderabad

State Bank of Hyderabad has posted a net profit of Rs.305.96 crore for the quarter ended December 2006, posting a 50% growth over the same period last year. Total business crossed Rs.64,593 crore showing a growth of 25.37%. The net NPA of the bank stood at 0.16%.

Bancassurance to get liberal

IRDA ( Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) is thinking of allowing a bank to sell insurance products of more than one insurance company. At present a bank can tie up with one life insurance and one general insurance company and sell its products to the customers of the bank to earn income. But now banks are requesting for more tie ups with different insurance companies so that the customers of the bank can get better deal.

ICICI bank takes Rs.150 crore hit on farm house loan

ET dtd 19.01.2007 The Country's second largest bank, ICICI bank, has taken a hit on loans given against warehouse receipts - a security which acts as evidence that a specific commodity is kept in a warehouse. Constituting a slice of the bank's farm lending portfolio, this is one of the new businesses that private sector banks like ICICI have been doing in the past couple of years. According to sources, the fraud, which was unearthed in the quarter ended December, is said to be between Rs.100 crore and Rs.150 crore. Unlike loans against demat shares where the presence of depositories acts as a comfort to the bank, in case of warehouse receipt financing, banks hire collateral managers who check the quality and quantity of the stock against which loan is disbursed. The fraud happened since some of the collateral managers colluded with the warehouses to issue receipts which showed inflated or non-existent stocks. This is beleived to have happened in four states- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The total portfolio of warehouse receipt finacing of the bank is at around Rs.1,600 crore which is around 13% of total agri portfolio of Rs.12,313 crore. Total advances of the bank as on September 30,2006 were Rs.1,55,403 crore. Public sector banks like State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank have been traditional players in this market, along with some old, southern private sector banks. In the last few years, new private sector banks have also been offering the product. Traditionallly, commodities are stored in state and central warehouses. However, in recent years, a string of private warehouses has also come up. In case of private warehouses, banks appoint collateral managers. These mangers have expertise in bulk commodities. These managers certify the goods, monitor the movement of goods, mark interest in the books of warehouses - the lien of the bank, among others. In some cases, private warehouse players also act as collateral managers. Bank keep cost-cutting in mind when they hire mangers. Banks also appoint management and collection agents to help identify borrowers for warehouse financing. In some cases, these agents also store the receipts on behalf of the bank. This, according to bankers, is one of the major loop-holes in the system. Sources said that in Maharashtra, one of the state warehouses was involved in the fraud, while in other states, the management and collection agent were involved. In some cases, the bank found that the quantity mentioned in the receipts was not matching with what was in the warehouse. ICICI Bank officials discovered the fraud in the course of a routine audit. The Reserve Bank of India has already been appraised of the matter. The bank has been able to recover a part of the money. The bank has access to guarantees, land and also cash as collateral from these agents. It has also taken over the control of the commodities in the warehouses. The interest rate in financing of warehouse receipts is between 8.5% and 13%. Other than farmers, traders and companies use this financing route. In case of loans to farmers, the financing is treated as priority sector lending. Margins by banks for this financing range anywhere between 25% and 60% depending on how volatile the commodity is. Also, the financing tenure for the product range from 90 days to one year, depending on the product.

IDBI hikes deposit rates

IDBI bank has hiked interest rate on Suvidha fixed deposit by 25-75 basis points across all maturities. The hike will come into effect from January 17. For deposits upto Rs.15 lakkh, a deposit having a tenor of 1-3 years , the rate has been hiked to 8% ( prev 7.25 to 7.5%). Deposit with tenor ranging from 3-10 years, will now fetch an interst rate of 8.25% ( prev 8%). For deposits of Rs.15 lakh to Rs.100 lakh, will fetch interest of 8.75% (prev 8.50%) Senior citizens will be paid an additional 1% interest on deposits upto Rs.15 lakh.