Govt to subscribe to SBI rights issue:

Finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said the Union government has decided to subscribe to the State Bank of India’s rights issue in a non-cash transaction [SBI,Bank] Confirming reports, the FM said, “the decision is a non-cash transaction which would see the bank (SBI) setting up a redemption fund that would comprise dividends and additional taxes that SBI would pay.” SBI’s Rs 17,000-crore rights issue will be one of the largest public offerings by an issuer in India. The government would need to pump in Rs 10,000 crore as its contribution to the offering. It holds controlling interest in the country’s largest bank after the shares were transferred to it from the Reserve Bank of India. If things go as per plans, the rights issue will be launched in the second week of February and the process will be over by the second week of March ’08. “If something on similar lines has to be done for other PSU banks, then it would depend on how the banks pay the dividends and additional taxes,” Mr Chidambaram added

Withdraw money on Moving Train !!!!!!!!!

Yes, Punjab National Bank is planning to install ATM on Delhi-Agra Shatabdi. [PNB,ATM] There is a new year gift from the Indian Railways to its commuters. After months of will-it-won’t-it speculations, the department has now decided to go ahead with the proposal for automated teller machine (ATM) facility on moving trains. As a beginning, the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) will install an ATM on the Delhi-Agra Shatabdi Express, which is likely to be operational by February 15. PNB was awaiting final approval and communication from the railways after which the work of installation of the ATM would begin. The ATM should be installed and become operational by mid-February. After the project’s success, the railways plan to extend similar facility on other routes too. Meanwhile, the railways propose to rope in six nationalised banks, including Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Dena Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda, for setting up ATMs at various railway stations.

Karnataka Bank revises rates

Karnataka Bank Ltd has revised interest rates on term deposits with effect from January 1. The interest rate on term deposits of one year to less than two years would be 8/75 per cent (8.50 per cent) and of two years to less than three years would be 9 per cent (9.25 per cent). Interest rate on term deposits of three years to five years would be 9.25 per cent (9.50 per cent). Domestic term deposits of senior citizens with maturity period of one year and above would attract 0.75 per cent more compared to the deposits of the general public. [Karnataka BAnk, Interest]

There’s no one to blame if your ATM hands you a fake note!

What do you do if you find a counterfeit note while withdrawing money from an ATM? You may be shocked to learn this, but there is little you can do. Forget about losing money, you could even be booked for cheating or possessing a counterfeit note. This is what norms of several banks say. “There is absolutely no defined mechanism to fix the responsibility or to check the veracity of counterfeit note claims from the customers,” a top RBI official from Mumbai said. The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that ATMs are rapidly emerging as an alternative to bank branches and currently there are 31,000 ATMs across the country. These ATMs on average register 300 transactions a day. The number of counterfeit Rs 500 notes had gone up from 12,014 in 2005-06 to 25,636 in 2006-07. “We take our own precautions. But if something is suggested or designed, we will be happy to implement,” Mr B. Samba Murthy, CMD, Corporation Bank said.

Finmin no to interest subsidy hike on crop loans

The finance ministry has ruled out an increase in interest subsidy, which at its present level of 2 per cent will cost the exchequer more than Rs 2,000 crore this fiscal, given for short-term crop loans. The government has been giving a subvention of 2 per cent with a ceiling of Rs 3 lakh on the principal amount of crop loans with effect from the kharif season of 2006-07. The scheme has been extended to this fiscal as well. The interest subsidy is provided by the government to public sector banks, cooperative banks and regional rural banks on the involvement of their own funds and concessional refinance to RRBs and cooperative banks through NABARD

SBI to open third branch in US

SBI is readying to open its third full-fledged branch in the US by end-fiscal, to widen its network abroad. The bank is likely to get the approval from the US Federal Reserve Board early next year and is understood to have received the first clearance from the New York State Banking Department. SBI has already two full-fledged branches in the US (New York and Chicago) and a representative office in Washington. The bank has a subsidiary in California - SBI California, which has six banks in the US - Los Angeles, Artesia, San Jose, Fresno, Congoa Park and San Diego. The third branch is expected to come up in New York and it will focus mainly on corporate lending.

Canara Bank redesigns brand identity

In an effort to fight the growing competition and to attract new customers, Canara Bank on Saturday announced a new brand identity. [Canara Bank, Brand] The new logo, which depicts interlocking triangles - one rich blue and the other a bright yellow - was unveiled by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram at a function in Bangalore. Created by brand consultants Ray + Kesavan WPP, the logo symbolises the bond between the bank and its stakeholders, which includes its customers, employees, investors, institutions and the society at large, bank executives said. Canara Bank Chairman and Managing Director M B N Rao said it had become imperative to rebuild the brand in order to attract and retain customers, who now had a variety of alternatives. “We also have to take into account post-2009 scenario when foreign banks will have access to more organic and inorganic growth,” Rao said. He hoped that the new identity would particularly attract the younger generation