ICICI Bank gets RBI nod for 425 branches

http://thebankpage.blogspot.com/icici-rbinodIndia’s second largest bank ICICI Bank has received permission from the Reserve Bank of India’s to open 425 new branches and over 2,500 ATMs. The bank currently has a network of 950 branches and extension counters and about 3,600 ATMs. This is the first time that the central bank has allotted such a large number of branches to any private sector bank in India. This is over and above the 100 branches that ICICI Bank received after the embargo on several banks that followed the IPO scam. The majority of the new branches will be in semi-urban and rural regions.

City Union Bank allots 68 lakh shares on pref basis

Having got the Reserve Bank’s approval and the shareholders’ nod for raising capital through issue of 68 lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium on preferential basis, the Kumbakonam-headquartered City Union Bank today went ahead with the allotment. The bank has allotted 3 lakh shares to L&T and 15 lakh shares to LIC at Rs 169.15/share, while fixing the rate at Rs 190 each for the 15 lakh shares allotted to FMO, Netherlands, 12.5 lakh shares each to Ares Investments LLC and Argonaut Ventures and 10 lakh shares to Yatish Trading Company. The allotment in exchange for cash has aggregated to Rs 125.45 crore. It would enhance its capital from Rs 25.2 crore to Rs 32 crore. The total holding by FIIs/NRIs, post this preferential issue, would be a little over 19 per cent against the 24-per cent norm.

Get mini-statements, change PIN at ATMs

The ATM cardholders of the six banks forming part of the MITR (ATM sharing arrangement) network can now benefit from new value-added services introduced today. Such customers, numbering about 80 lakh, can now obtain ‘mini statements’ of their accounts in any of the ATMs of the members banks of ‘MITR’. The MITR network came into existence on October 8, 2003. The customers with debit card/ATM cards would also be able to change their ‘Personal Identification Number’ (PIN) in any of the ATMs under the network. Currently, the MITR network has 3154 networked ATMs. The six banks forming part of the MITR network are Punjab National Bank (PNB), Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), Indian Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, IndusInd Bank and UCO Bank. The PNB’s Executive Director, Mr J.M. Garg, said that the bank was adding 50,000 ATM cards every week. “We want to increase it to 1 lakh cards every week”, he said.

UCO Bank plans follow-on public issue

UCO Bank plans to come up with a follow-on public offering (FPO) of shares during the last quarter of the current fiscal or first quarter of 2008-09, its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr S.K.Goel, has said. “We hope to raise Rs 200-Rs 250 crore in the FPO. The capital raising is, however, contingent on the Finance Ministry approving a capital restructuring proposal submitted by us and pending before the Government,” Mr Goel said. He said that UCO Bank has sought Government approval to convert Rs 300 crore of equity capital into preference share capital. UCO Bank’s paid-up capital as on end-June 2007 stood at Rs 799.36 crore. If the FPO goes through, the Government’s stake in the bank would come down from 74.98 per cent to 55-56 per cent, he added

Festive offer: Axis, Dena Bank drop home loan rates

Axis Bank and Dena Bank have reduced interest rates on home loans in the run-up to the festival season. Dena Bank is offering a 50 basis-point reduction in interest rates for all tenors and slabs as part of its ‘Festival Bonanza’. The reduced rates would be applicable on fresh housing loans in both the fixed and floating interest categories sanctioned from October 10 till December 31, said. The new interest rates range from 9.25 per cent to 10.5 per cent in the floating rate category and 9.75 per cent to 11 per cent in the fixed rate category depending on loan amount and tenor. Axis Bank has reduced its floating rates by 50 basis points. The new floating rate will now stand at 10.5 per cent.