Karur Vysya plans multi-city savings deposit scheme

The Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) a leading private sector bank in south India, will launch a new multi-city savings deposit scheme that will enable account holders operate accounts in any select city without incurring additional charges. The bank chairman PT Kuppuswamy said the scheme - sb freedom account, would be made operational before July 15 in 20 select cities in the first phase and subsequently extended to more cities. Waiver of bank charges for collection of local and outstation cheques, cheques and dividend warrants, issuance of demand drafts without commission rates, free funds transfer within KVB accounts were some of the key features of the scheme, he said. Kuppusamy said KVB planned to open 25 branches before the end of this fiscal.

Govt wants SBI to gain scale via merger of 4 subsidiaries

The government wants the State Bank of India to acquire its smaller associates to achieve scale and size. The government is working on a proposal, along with the SBI management, to merge four of its subsidiaries - the State Banks of Saurashtra, Mysore, Indore and Bikaner & Jaipur - with SBI to help increase its assets size by nearly Rs 1 lakh crore. However, leaving the bigger associates - such as the State Banks of Patiala, Travancore and Hyderabad - out of the merger will not serve the purpose of achieving size, insiders say. The seven associates put together have assets of over Rs 3.5 lakh crore. Associate banks such as the State Bank of Patiala, Travancore and Hyderabad, which have a strong legacy in their regions, will not be merged with the bank, sources in the government said. “It is possible that the smaller associate banks which do not have a strong regional presence will merge with the parent bank,” a source said.

KVB unveils triple `S' scheme

Karur Vysya Bank has unveiled the triple `S' - Spouse Senior Citizen Deposit Scheme. The scheme is applicable to term deposits opened in the joint names of husband and wife (where one is a senior citizen). In the event of the demise of either of the partners during the pendency of the deposit, the surviving spouse would be eligible to receive one per cent additional interest over the card rate of special interest offered to senior citizens from the date of the original deposit till maturity.

Canara Bank's new loan scheme

Canara Bank has launched a retail loan for financing tax return preparers selected by the Ministry of Finance. The loan scheme, called Canara Guide, was introduced to provide self-employment opportunities to unemployed or partially employed graduates all over the country. Under the scheme, up to Rs 60,000 would be sanctioned at interest of one per cent below the benchmark prime lending rates of the bank, with a repayment period of 60 months. A margin of 15 per cent would have to be brought in by the borrowers. The preparers would also be entitled to a six-month repayment holiday