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

Call for more ATMs as bank queues top frustration chart

In a ‘Queue Frustration’ survey by NCR-ACNielsen in five metros Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, queues in banks have been identified as the most frustrating among the set of all queues. Queues in the ticketing counter centres rank only second whilst bill payment queues rank third, followed by shopping malls and airport queues respectively. Delhi ranks the highest in the number of people stuck in bank queues. Across the other metros, around 37% of the respondents in Mumbai, 34% in Bangalore, 29% in Kolkata and 25% in Chennai face similar queue problems in the banks. A large number of them, around 68% indicated opening up of ATMs as a viable solution to this problem. In specific metros like Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai, more than 70% of the respondents opted for increasing the number of ATMs whilst in Mumbai, only around 45% of them opted for an increase in the number of ATMs.

ICICI Bank issue subscribed 2.74 times on Day 1

ICICI Bank's follow-on public offer of about 9.88 crore shares was subscribed 2.74 times on the first day of the issue, according to data from the NSE Web site. Bids were received across the price band of Rs 885-950 for the issue, which closes on June 22.

RBI launches multi-lingual site

The Reserve Bank of India launched a multi-lingual site-carrying information in 13 languages. The site includes recent instructions of the RBI on customer service, frequently asked questions, lending rates of banks, banking ombudsman scheme, Right to Information Act and links to commercial banks' Websites. the site can be accessed at www.rbi.org.in/ commonperson or from the quick link 'for the commonperson' on the home page of the main RBI site.

Get online, not in line, to pay tax

Paying taxes has never been simpler with the authorities introducing online payment. The procedure for payment of taxes online is simple. To start with, you need to log on to NSDLTIN website (www.tin-nsdl.com) and click on the ‘e-Tax-online payment’ option. You will then be directed to a list of banks that provide the e-tax payment facility. Depending upon the bank you hold an account with, you need to click on the option and choose the tax challan applicable in your case. On opting for the challan type applicable, particulars such as the permanent account number (PAN) or tax deduction account number (TAN) as may be applicable, name and address of the taxpayer, relevant assessment year, type of payment and name of the bank will be displayed. Once the process is complete and the bank processes the online transaction, you will be issued an acknowledgment indicating the challan identification number (CIN). After a week of making the payment, the status of the payment may be verified at the NSDLTIN website under section ‘Challan Status Inquiry’.

Software tool for reverse mortgage products

Cashing in on the banking community's enthusiasm for reverse mortgage products, Nucleus Software plans to launch a reverse mortgage solution for banks and financial organisations in the next three months. The reverse mortgage solution is being offered as an upgrade of Nucleus' `FinnOne' range of lending solutions and hence does not require additional efforts on the part of banks and financial institutions to integrate it with existing systems

IDBI opens centralized treasury

Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) inaugurated a centralized treasury, which will act as a single point reference on interest and exchange rates for all its 434 branches. The treasury will deal the bank's investment portfolio, government securities, corporate bonds, money market, forex and will also provide proactive cash and interest rate risk management services. The IDBI Chairman and Managing Director, Mr V.P. Shetty, said. With the fixed income, equities, money market, foreign exchange and derivatives desks under a single roof, the information flow and decision-making will be seamless.

ICICI issue price band at Rs 885-950

ICICI Bank has fixed a price band of Rs 885-950 per share for its follow-on public issue of shares. At the lower end of the band, the issue price would be at a 2.5 per cent discount to the stock's closing price on Friday (Rs 908) on the BSE; at the higher end, it would be at a premium of 4.6 per cent to the last traded price. The book-building issue starts on June 19 and closes on June 22. Retail bidders, including existing retail shareholders, will be allotted shares at a discount of Rs 50 per share to the issue price. The bank plans to raise Rs 10,062 crore (including a green shoe option of Rs 1,312.5 crore) from the domestic stock market. ICICI Bank will raise an equivalent amount through an issue of American Depository Shares.

After core banking, PSU banks open call centres for better customer reach

A number of public sector banks are in the middle of setting up call centres this fiscal. This follows the implementation of core banking solution, which provides a centralised database and allows banks to deploy this new channel for customer service. The country’s largest bank, State Bank of India, which already has a call centre, is planning to expand its capacity in a big way. Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Corporation Bank and Bank of India are in the final stages of setting up their captive BPOs, senior officials from these banks. So far, banks like SBI, Corporation Bank and Bank of India had outsourced call centres, which largely handle product and ATM-related queries. “In the next three months, we plan to introduce a few more products on the call centre platform,” according to a senior SBI official. Corporation Bank, the first public sector bank to bring all branches on the core banking platform, has a call centre, which services its credit and debit card clients. “The blueprint is ready for our own customer-management call centre, which we will launch soon,” said a high-ranking Corporation Bank official

ING Vysya new offering for high-income group staff

ING Vysya Bank launched a new product targeting the high-income group employees called `Orange Salary Account'. Mr Vaughn Nigel Richtor, Managing Director, ING Vysya Bank, said, "The product is ideally suited to customers who are not inclined to visit the bank's branches for operating their account but prefer to operate it from their home or office." The key features of the Orange Salary Account are customers can maintain a zero balance account, get an international debit card and also free unlimited ATM transaction at ING Vysya Bank and over 20,000 other bank ATMs. The account holder also gets free issue and usage of personalised multi-city cheques and also personnel assistance service at select centres. The bank is targeting employees working in software and ITes sector, MNCs and top-end corporates in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi

Direct forex trading: YES Bank joins the band

More corporate entities can now conduct forex transactions directly instead of instructing their banks to do so. This follows YES Bank announcing the launch of direct foreign exchange trading service for corporate clients. Union Bank and, more recently, Standard Chartered Bank had earlier announced such a facility for their clients. All the three banks have signed up with Reuters for Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RTFX) - an electronic trading platform. "The customers will also be able to chat with the bank dealer," said Mr Ajay Mahajan, Group President, Financial Markets, Institutions and Investment Management, YES Bank. The bank has 500-550 corporate customers. There is no additional cost to the customers for using the system

SBI stake transfer Ordinance

The Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of an Ordinance to enable the transfer of Reserve Bank of India's entire shareholding in the State Bank of India to the Central Government. Informed sources said that the Ordinance route is being adopted to bring necessary amendments to the State Bank of India Act, 1955 as the Government is keen to complete the transaction before June 30.

ING Vysya's new savings scheme

ING Vysya Bank has launched a scheme known as `Freedom Savings Account.' The features of the account are a zero quarterly balance requirement and a zero penal charge for non-maintenance of minimum quarterly balance. The account holders would also be eligible for an international debit card. The account features would not be restricted to just salary earners, but would be available to all general customers of the bank. The account comes with an annual fee of Rs 1,000.

City Union Banks New Deposit Scheme

Its called CUB 500. The deposit is for 500 days. The interest payable is 10.75% p.a. for senior citizens its 11.00% p.a.. The minimum deposit to be kept is Rs.10,000/- and the Maximum is Rs.2,00,00,000/-. The deposit is effective from June 11,2007.

Dena Bank is Recruiting

Dena Bank is recruiting Clerks and Offiers for its various offices across India. For more details and application forms kindly visit www.denabank.com

Lending target: RBI raises loan limit for poor

Reserve Bank on Wednesday raised the limit of loan under the Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000 and for housing loan from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per beneficiary. This assistance under the scheme is provided by the banks to low income groups at a concessional rate of interest 4 per cent. The target for lending under DRI scheme will continue to be one per cent of the previous year's total advances, RBI said in a notification. The decision follows the announcement made by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech to raise the ceiling on DRI scheme.

Money transfer: A cash lifeline for the rural poor

After two days of driving almost 700 km on rough rural roads, a team of managers from money transfer company Western Union belatedly arrived at the town of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. Before Western Union opened a branch in the area, the villagers "had huge difficulties in receiving money", said Mr. Kapur,. There are 65,000 bank branches in India, but these are concentrated in urban areas, and about 80 per cent of India's 1.1 bn citizens lack access to financial services. India, however, is the world's largest recipient of remittances, according to the World Bank. Inward remittances from Indians working overseas surged from $2.1 bn in 1990-91 to $26.8 bn in 2006-07. Remittances can play a large role in driving income to impoverished areas and reducing poverty. Western Union is aggressively expanding in India to capture a share of this booming business by adding locations, offering faster and cheaper services than local banks and launching innovative marketing campaigns.

Pay your Advance Tax

15 th June is last day to pay your Advance Tax

Opening Savings Bank accounts (SB)

Different banks requirements are different for opening a SB account. But broadly we can state the requirements as below; 1) Duly filled account opening form. 2) Passport size photograph of person opening account. 3) Identity Proof ( Election Card, PAN Card, Passport or any card bearing Photograph of the person) 4) Address Proof ( Election Card, Passport, Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill or any bill containing address of the person) 5) Introduction by an existing account holder. 6) Initial Deposit. • What does account opening form contains ? It usually contains Name of person, Name of father/husband, Address, Date of Birth, PAN number details/F60 details, Education, Profession, Income, Movable and Immovable assets, Family details, Nomination details and many more. • Photo, Identity Proof, Address Proof are required to confirm the identity/ residence of the person. • Proper Introduction is obligation on the part of bank. • Initial deposit varies from bank to bank. Some banks open Zero balance accounts. Public sector banks require less initial deposits compared to their Private sector counterparts. • Many banks offer add on facilities with your SB account like ATM Card, Internet Banking, Tele Banking, Personalised cheque book, Multicity cheque book, Insurance at nominal rates/free insurance etc. Why does Banks are keen to garner more Savings Bank accounts? The banks are keen to have more and more SB accounts because: 1. Their customer base expands, which in turn provides them opportunity to cross sell their products. 2. These are low cost deposits. So the cost of deposits of the bank comes down with aggressive addition of SB accounts. 3. These are stable deposits unlike the bulk deposits where there is always threat that the depositor can close or transfer deposits.

ICICI Bank Follow On Public issue

ICICI Bank will raise Rs.8750 crore in domestic stock market through follow-on public issue. This is out of Rs.20125 crore which the bank plans to raise in domestic market and foreign market ( American Depository receipt or ADR). The bank has decided to reserve 5% in the present public offer for existing shareholders. The retail bidders will get 5% discount to offer price and also the payment is staggered one i.e., bidder need not pay full amount with application. The funds raised will be used for future growth needs of the bank.

Bank Stock News

Bank of Rajasthan said its shareholders have approved a bonus issue, wherein 2.69 crore shares of Rs 10 each will be allotted in a ratio of 1:4. Pursuant to the recommendation of the board of directors, shareholders have accorded their approval to the bonus issue at the extra ordinary general meeting (EGM) on Monday.

haiTechnorati Profile

New Deposit

Bank of Baroda has increased its interest rate to 9.5 % on Fixed Deposits. This is a unique scheme which offers higher interest rates to customer for a short period of one year. The major attraction is that the scheme provides for investing for any amount as low as Rs.1000 and there is no lock-in period. The scheme takes effect from 18.05.07.Senior Citizens will get an additional 0.5% on fixed deposits under the scheme i.e.10 % p.a. Dena Bank launched a new Deposit scheme " Dena Diamond Deposit Scheme" to mark its 70th Foundation Day on 26th May 2007. The new scheme offers the depositors an opportunity to earn higher interest rate of 9.60 percent for deposits of maturity period of 700 days. The senior citizens will get 10.10 percent interest in this scheme. The minimum amount of deposit is Rs.10,000/-.The scheme also has a special feature of part withdrawal in multiples of Rs.5000/-.

News

State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched a new loan scheme for pensioners from military and related services. The scheme titled `Jai Jawan pension loan', will cover pensioners who retired at an early age from armed forces, paramilitary forces, coast guards, Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF, BSF, ITBP, etc. The scheme provides for loan of up to Rs 2 lakh or 48 times the monthly pension, whichever is lower Utkal university, Bhubaneshwar, is tying up with the country's largest private sector bank ICICI to impart training to students in banking, insurance and finance related aspects. The two entities will shortly sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce a one-year diploma course on banking, insurance and finance. The course would be sponsored by ICICI. With ICICI planning to expand its operations in Bhubaneswar to a large extent the need for expert hands might have prompted the bank to sponsor such a course. Initially the course would admit around 25-30 students. Students passing out from the course would be recruited by the ICICI bank. The financial market will soon see the country’s biggest junk loan deal. State-owned Indian Bank has decided to sell all its bad loans at one shot. The Chennai-headquaterted bank has put on block its entire distress loan portfolio amounting to Rs 1,500 crore. Indian Bank chairman and managing director KC Chakrabarty said, “We have received bids on the auction of Rs 1,500-crore bad loans. The bank will shut the asset recovery cell which would free around 250 people. These officials would then be deployed for marketing other products.” Sources said that the bank had received five bids, including three from asset reconstruction companies. These are ICICI-promoted Arcil, UTI-promoted Asrec and the privately-held Pegasus Assets Reconstruction. Till now, the single-biggest bad loan transaction was from ICICI, when the country’s second-largest bank sold over Rs 1,400 crore to British bank Standard Chartered. Bidders said Indian Bank has indicated that it would prefer not to receive the entire income upfront from the bad loans selloff. Instead, the bank would like to receive the income over a couple of years In a rising interest scenario, these banks which engaged in a neck-to-neck battle for gaining more deposits finally landed up managing close to 29% of the software services giant’s monies tied up as bank deposits. Infosys redeemed its holding of Rs 684 crore in liquid funds in FY07, while deposit accounts rose to Rs 4,827 crore in the same year as against Rs 2,735 crore in FY06 - showing a 76.48% year-on-year rise. Infosys expanded the relationship with banks like Bank of India (Rs 504 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 503 crore), Punjab National Bank (Rs 179 crore), SBI (Rs 151 crore) and Bank of Maharashtra (Rs 51 crore), which gained as a result. In FY06, Infosys had placed funds with two PSU banks - Corporation and Canara Bank. While in the case of Corporation Bank, the quantum of deposits rose to Rs 302 crore in FY07 from Rs 126 crore in FY06, there was a marginal dip in the case of Canara Bank to Rs 503 crore in FY07 against Rs 504 crore in FY06.

Sunday Special

National Electronic Funds Transfer System (NEFT) This is a nationwide funds transfer system to facilitate transfer of funds from any bank branch to any other bank branch. But not all the bank branches are its members. As on January 31, 2007, 18500 branches of 53 banks are participating. The system uses the concept of centralized accounting system. Each participating bank has to designate one branch at Mumbai to handle NEFT transaction. All the transactions originated by that bank has to be routed through and all the transactions to be responded by that bank has to be routed through that designated branch. The funds are available to the beneficiary on the same day or the next day depending on the time of settlement Process Flow: • The Remitter fills in the NEFT application form giving the particulars of the beneficiary (Bank Branch, Beneficiary’s name, Account type and Account number) and authorizes the branch to remit the specified amount to the beneficiary by raising a debit to the remitter’s account. • The remitting branch prepares a Structured Financial Messaging Solution (SFMS) message and sends it to its service centre of NEFT. • The service centre forwards the same to the local RBI (National Clearing Cell, Mumbai) to be included for the next available settlement. • The RBI at the clearing centre sorts the transactions bank-wise and prepares accounting entries of the net debit or credit for passing onto the banks participating in the system. Thereafter, bank-wise remittance messages are transmitted to the banks. • The receiving banks process the remittance message received from RBI and affect the credit to the beneficiaries account. As of now, NEFT is settled in six batches at 0930,1030,1200,1300,1500 and 1600 hours on weekdays and 0930,1030 and 1200 on Saturdays. At present there is no Value Limit for individual transactions and RBI has waived the processing charges till March 31, 2008. Levy of service charges by banks is left to the discretion of the respective banks. Another important aspect NEFT uses is IFSC codes ( Indian Financial System Code) which is an alpha numeric code designed to uniquely identify the bank-branches in India. This is 11 digit codes with first 4 characters representing the banks code, the next character reserved as control character (presently 0 appears in the fifth position) and the remaining 6 characters to identify the branch. The IFSC codes will normally printed on Cheque Book or Pass Book or the customer can call his bank branch and get the same. Sending remittances abroad using NEFT is not possible but one can send/receive funds from/to NRI accounts subject to applicability of provisions of FEMA. In case of non-credit or delayed credit you can contact your branch or if the issue is not resolved satisfactorily, the Customer Service Department of RBI may be contacted on cgmcsd@rbi.org.in or write to The Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Customer Service Department, 1st Floor, Amar Building, Fort, Mumbai-400001 For any other queries you can visit RBI web site www.rbi.org.in

Reslut

IndusInd Bank has reported a net profit of Rs 21.4 crore in the fourth quarter of 2006-07, against a loss of Rs 62.4 crore in the previous year on lower provisioning. The Managing Director, Mr Bhaskar Ghose, said all the key ratios of the bank were looking better. Net interest margin for the quarter fell to 1.63 per cent, against 1.82 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Mr Ghose said that the bank had shifted its focus from wholesale banking to a balanced combination of corporate loans, vehicle finance, and other retail advances. Vehicular finance contributes a significant chunk of the bank's portfolio at 55 per cent. In 2006-07, deposits grew by 18 per cent to Rs 17,645 crore from Rs 15,006 crore. Advances were up 19 per cent to Rs 11,084 crore against Rs 9311 crore in the previous year. Cost of deposits moved up to 6.73 per cent (5.87 per cent) while the yield on advances was slightly higher at 9.76 per cent (9.44 per cent). Net Non-Performing Assets ratio increased to 2.47 per cent (2.09 per cent).

Awards

Private sector Federal Bank has been adjudged the 'most efficient bank' in the large banks category by the 'Business Today-KPMG survey', 2006-07. The survey, which covered 78 scheduled commercial banks in the country, has analysed the growth, size and strength of the financial institutions under the category. The bank recorded an all time high net-profit of Rs 292.73 crore for March 2007. The total business stood at over Rs 36,480 crore and the return on assets recorded 1.3 per cent. The non-performing assets of the bank recorded 0.44 per cent, one of the lowest among the banks in India.

News

Bank of Baroda intends to open ten overseas branches this year, the Chairman and Managing Director, Dr A.K. Khandelwal, told. These will be at Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), Accra (Ghana), Bahrain, second branch in Johannesburg (South Africa), ninth in UK, second in Tanzania, second in Botswania, eighth in Kenya, Canada and one representative office in Australia. In addition, a joint venture company, along with Punjab National Bank and Andhra Bank would be set up in Malaysia, he said. Overseas branches contributed 20 per cent to the bank's total business of Rs 2.09 lakh crore last year. A third of its profit of Rs 1,026 crore came from overseas operations.

Bank Stock News

Private sector lender City Union Bank is planning to raise over Rs125 crore by allotting equity stakes to a clutch of domestic and foreign investors, including Larsen & Toubro, LIC, and the Netherlands-based Nederlandse Financierings. Around 15 lakh shares are proposed to be allotted to state-run LIC and 3 lakh shares to L&T on a preferential basis at Rs169.15 per share raising Rs30.44 crore

Result

Centurion Bank of Punjab recorded a 7.6 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 28.01 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2007 against Rs 26.04 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year due to a strong growth in advances. The bank experienced a 72-per cent growth in advances to Rs 11,221 crore, and 58 per cent rise in deposits to Rs 14,863 crore during the quarter. The net interest margin stood at 4.38 per cent (5.07 per cent) in the quarter due to rising interest rates. During 2006-07, the net profit was up by 38 per cent to Rs 121.38 crore against Rs 87.8 crore in the previous year. Catholic Syrian Bank has posted a 210-per cent increase in the net profit to Rs 19.07 crore for 2006-07, compared with Rs 6.14 crore the previous year. The board of directors has recommended a dividend of 15 per cent. Net NPAs were reduced to 1.98 per cent (2.78 per cent). The bank also recorded capital adequacy ratio of 9.58 per cent against the RBI-stipulated norm of nine per cent. Total deposits grew to Rs 4,748.60 crore (Rs 4,288.85 crore), while advances rose to Rs 3,012.64 crore (Rs 2,694.87 crore).

News

Punjab National Bank has received the licence for opening a full-fledged branch in Hong Kong, said the Chairman and Managing Director, Mr S.C. Gupta. "We will be opening our Hong Kong branch before July 31," he added. PNB had recently operationalised its London subsidiary. The country's third largest public sector bank by business also plans to open an offshore banking unit in Singapore this fiscal. PNB has placed a bid with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Devclopment Authority (PFRDA) for managing the pension fund accruals of the Central Government employees under the New Pension System (NPS) RBI nod for delivering cash at doorstep - Now, you do not even have to drive to your nearest ATM to withdraw cash. Instead, you can call up your bank branch or make an online request and have the cash delivered right at your doorstep. Taking the doorstep banking service one step forward, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to deliver cash at the doorstep of individual customers. The RBI decision follows the suggestions made by the Indian Banks' Association to extend this facility to individual customers. Earlier this facility was restricted to corporate customers Union Bank in overseas pitch - After opening representative office in Shanghai recently, the Mumbai-based Union Bank of India will set up three more overseas offices at Beijing and Guangdong in China and the UAE. It will also set up branches in Hong Kong and Doha within a few months. In addition, the bank is also looking forward to set up its branch in Singapore. The bank has received Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval for opening branches in Hong Kong and Doha and also for its representative offices at Beijing, Guangdong and UAE, whereas RBI approval for the Singapore branch is still awaited. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has entered into an agreement with the Abu Dhabi-based UAE Exchange Centre LLC to offer money transfer and speed remittance services. Under this tie-up, non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the Gulf region can remit funds to India by sending rupee drafts drawn on the UAE Exchange Centre to any of the 182 branches of the bank. The speed remittance arrangement will provide web-enabled money transfer services to NRIs. The UAE Exchange Centre handled 4.51 million remittance transactions amounting to around Rs 16,000 crore during 2006-07. Foreign cos can open escrow accounts -- Reserve Bank allowed foreign companies to open escrow or special accounts in authorised banks for buying shares in Indian firms - a move that gives them more flexibility in acquiring domestic companies. In a notification, RBI said authorised banks may open escrow or special accounts on behalf of non-residents for the purpose of open offers, delisting offers and exit offers subject to Sebi regulations. The notification follows the central bank's announcement in the annual credit policy for 2007-08. As per the notification, these banks will not require prior approval of the Reserve Bank to open such accounts. Such accounts could be operated by persons appointed by the firms.

Bank Stock News

The board of directors of Punjab National Bank has declared a final dividend of 60 per cent, taking the overall dividend for 2006-07 to 100 per cent against 90 per cent in 2005-06 The board of directors of Karur Vysya Bank have proposed a dividend of 100 per cent for the fourth year in succession.

Result

Karur Vysya Bank has recorded an 18 per cent increase in net profit at Rs.160 crore for 2006-07 against Rs.135.35 crore in the previous year. The board of directors also proposed a dividend of 100 per cent for the fourth year in succession. The bank is targeting to reach deposits of Rs.12,000 crore and advances of Rs.9,020 crore by 2007-08. Currently KVB has deposits of Rs.9,340.29 crore while advances stood at Rs.7,040.48 crore A higher provisioning for standard assets and retirement benefits of employees besides depreciation in certain government securities portfolio has impacted Punjab National Bank's (PNB) fourth-quarter bottomline performance in fiscal 2006-07. However, net profit for the financial year 2006-07 increased 7 per cent to Rs 1,540 crore against Rs 1,439 crore in the previous year. The board of directors has declared a final dividend of 60 per cent, taking the overall dividend for 2006-07 to 100 per cent against 90 per cent in 2005-06. As a measure of prudence, PNB has also adopted the ICAI's revised AS-15 on retirement benefits, leading to additional provisioning of about Rs 200 crore. He added that interest rates are likely to soften in the next two-three months as demand for credit would be much lower in this period, which is usually referred to as slack season. Meanwhile, Mr Gupta said that PNB would raise tier-II capital of Rs 500 crore before June 30.

Bank Stock News

Central Bank of India has filed the draft red herring prospectus with SEBI for its proposed public issue. The bank is offering through the issue 80,000,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each through the book building route. This includes 4,000,000 shares reserved for the eligible employees. Central Bank said that it needed funds to augment its capital base to meet the future capital requirements arising out of the implementation of the Basel II standards and the growth in its assets, essentially its loan and investment portfolio, due to the growth of the country's economy and for other general corporate purposes

News

Union Bank of India has launched biometric cards to facilitate `door step banking' in rural areas. The bank has tied up with Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO) and Cashpor Micro Credit to launch a pilot project in Chahania Block in Chandauli district, Uttar Pradesh. So far, 1,000 smart cards have been issued in four villages and the aim is to issue 5,000 such cards initially. FINO will provide technical support, which will enable the bank to leverage on technology to serve its customers. Union Bank of India also has financial stake in FINO. A biometric card is embedded with an electronic chip and is the same size as a credit or debit card. It uses the customer's fingerprint as a bio-password card and also serves as an e-passbook to store data of all transactions. Financial services provider Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO) has announced its partnership with Indian Bank to offer smart card solutions to its rural customers. FINO will be providing the public sector bank 'no frill accounts' (zero balance saving accounts) for carrying out transactions on FINO Smart-Cards and POT Devices.

Statistics

Bank Rate 6% wef 29.04.2003 Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) 6.5% wef 28.04.2007 Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 25% wef 22.10.1997

New Product

Karnataka Bank Ltd has introduced a new term deposit scheme - KBL-400 - with a higher interest rate offer, with effect from May 21. The new deposit scheme for 400 days carries 10 per cent interest. Senior citizens will get 10.50 per cent for their deposit of 400 days. The new scheme will remain valid for a limited period. The bank has also raised interest rate for deposits under `KBL Tax Planner' (meant for income-tax exemption) to 9.50 per cent (8.25 per cent) to general public and 10.25 per cent (9 per cent) to senior citizens

Result

City Union Bank has reported a net profit of Rs 71.81 crore for 2006-07, earning Rs 29.92 a share. Net profit was also 27.38 per cent higher than the Rs 56.37 crore achieved in the previous year. The board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 4 per share (40 per cent). The bank achieved total business of Rs 8,029 crore for the year, comprising Rs 4,699 crore of deposits and Rs 3,329 crore of advances. For the current year, the bank targets a total business of Rs 11,000 crore. Net NPAs stood at 1.09 per cent against 1.95 per cent a year ago. Capital adequacy ratio stood at 12.58 per cent. Return on average assets was 1.57 per cent and return on equity was 19.64 per cent. Federal Bank’s net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 increased by 95 per cent to Rs 99.25 crore from Rs 50.73 a year earlier, while its profit for the year ended March 31 increased to Rs 292.73 crore from Rs 225.21 crore last year. Its net interest income was up 32.36 per cent to 227.96 crore in the fourth quarter from Rs 172.22 crore a year earlier, while other income rose 51.10 per cent to Rs 105.36 crore during the quarter from Rs 69.73 crore. The capital adequacy of the bank as on March 31, 2007 stood at 13.43 per cent. The bank is also in the process of reviving its subsidiary Fedbank Financial Services which will act as the direct selling agent of the bank.

Bank Stock News

Syndicate Bank has proposed a follow-on public issue of 8 crore equity shares in the current financial year for meeting its capitalisation requirements. The bank said in a stock exchange notification that the issue would be subject to approvals from the Government and the Reserve Bank of India. The pricing of the issue has not been decided, though it is likely to be at a discount to the market price In less than a month since the last bulk deal, over 7.5 lakh shares of Canara Bank changed hands. The deal happened in two tranches on the BSE with the first one of 4.04 lakh shares being bought at an average price of Rs 260 per share, totalling Rs 10.51 crore. The second lot was 3.5 lakh shares at Rs 267.5 per share totalling Rs 9.36 crore. “The buying must relate to the rising Nifty in the light of it having touched all-time highs. With inflation fears expected to abate over the next two to three weeks, many of the PSU banking counters would stand to benefit,” said Gaurang Shah of Geojit Financial Services. Despite the possibility of Dena-Canara Bank merger, some brokerages like Emkay Research have taken a contrarian call on the stock.

News

Oriental Bank of Commerce said would start mobile banking facility for its customers in the next 2-3 months. It will be launched in another 2-3 months. The bank has already invited expression of interest from vendors. Besides, the bank is also in the process of extending its mobile top-up facility under which customer will get their mobile recharged by using ATMs. The bank has tied up with mobile service providers such as Airtel, Hutch, Reliance, MTNL, BSNL, Tata Indicom, etc. for this facility. The bank has applied for opening up a representative office in Dubai. ICICI Bank has stepped up its support to realty market in Mysore by launching a 48-hour home loan-processing scheme. The fast track scheme was introduced last week. Announcing its launch at the ‘My Realty-2007’, bank’s emerging market mortgage finance group national head Satish Kulkarni said, “If we do not do it (process within 48 hours), we will refund the processing fee.” He also said the bank would focus on Mysore in all its future property development cross-location events conducted regularly at leading centres across the country. The events are part of the bank’s retail property services in India Andhra Bank launched two mobile biometric ATMs and will soon expand them to other places. "Andhra Bank is the first bank in the country to launch mobile biometric ATMs. We will soon expand this to other places," Mr K. Ramakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director, said at the inaugural function of the ATMs. The mobile ATMs would be moving in Hyderabad and Secunderabad on a particular route map with pre-announced timings from 6 am to 6 pm and would cover un-banked and under-banked areas. They would identify customers based on their finger print. However, the use of personal identification number is also accepted by the machines. For biometric access, customers have to register their fingerprints with the branch in which they maintain accounts.

Recommendations

HDFC Bank Report : First Global (May 17,2007) Rating : Outperform CMP : Rs.1072 First Global had moderated its rating on this stock a few quarters ago due to concern on branch expansion and sustainable growth, especially in the context of the stock’s valuations. The stock has just been a market performer since then. First Global thinks that the worst of the interest rate cycle is behind us. In any case, HDFC Bank is not too leveraged to the rate cycle, given its low duration investment portfolio. HDFC Bank currently trades at a forward P/E multiple of 22 of its FY08 earnings. The stock continues to be valued higher compared to the average P/E multiple of 19.9 at which Indian private sector banks are trading on their FY08 earnings. The stock trades at a forward P/B multiple of 4.4 its estimated FY08 book value, against 3.6 for private sector banks. However, considering the bank’s high asset quality, above-average return on equity and strong management. First Global expects the premium valuations to sustain. Hence, First Global is upgrading its rating on the stock to ‘moderate outperform’. State Bank of India Report : CLSA (May 14,2007) Rating : Buy CMP : Rs.1326 SBI’s Q4 FY07 reported earning grew 75% YoY to Rs.1,490 crore, but this included certain one-time adjustments like write-back of Rs.950 crore excess amortization on investment, Rs.170 crore interest on CRR balance, Rs.260 crore interest paid to the income tax department and early booking of dividend income. Adjusting for these (and one-time income booked in Q4 FY06), net income has grown 26% YoY led by 24% YoY topline growth and improvement in operating efficiency. Despite a moderation in retail credit growth, SBI’s loan growth was stable at 29% YoY, driven by corporate and agricultural credit demand. SBI (consolidated and adjusted for life insurance subsidiary), trades at 1.0x FY09E adjusted book. CLSA believes the stock, with its strong earnings growth trajectory (estimated to grow 18% p.a. for the next two years) and rising return on equity (estimated at 17% in FY09) could re-rate to 1.2x one-year forward. Its insurance subsidiary is valued at Rs.130 per share.

Bank Stock News

HDFC Bank Report : First Global (May 17,2007) Rating : Outperform CMP : Rs.1072First Global had moderated its rating on this stock a few quarters ago due to concern on branch expansion and sustainable growth, especially in the context of the stock’s valuations. The stock has just been a market performer since then. First Global thinks that the worst of the interest rate cycle is behind us. In any case, HDFC Bank is not too leveraged to the rate cycle, given its low duration investment portfolio. HDFC Bank currently trades at a forward P/E multiple of 22 of its FY08 earnings. The stock continues to be valued higher compared to the average P/E multiple of 19.9 at which Indian private sector banks are trading on their FY08 earnings. The stock trades at a forward P/B multiple of 4.4 its estimated FY08 book value, against 3.6 for private sector banks. However, considering the bank’s high asset quality, above-average return on equity and strong management. First Global expects the premium valuations to sustain. Hence, First Global is upgrading its rating on the stock to ‘moderate outperform’. State Bank of India Report : CLSA (May 14,2007) Rating : Buy CMP : Rs.1326SBI’s Q4 FY07 reported earning grew 75% YoY to Rs.1,490 crore, but this included certain one-time adjustments like write-back of Rs.950 crore excess amortization on investment, Rs.170 crore interest on CRR balance, Rs.260 crore interest paid to the income tax department and early booking of dividend income. Adjusting for these (and one-time income booked in Q4 FY06), net income has grown 26% YoY led by 24% YoY topline growth and improvement in operating efficiency. Despite a moderation in retail credit growth, SBI’s loan growth was stable at 29% YoY, driven by corporate and agricultural credit demand. SBI (consolidated and adjusted for life insurance subsidiary), trades at 1.0x FY09E adjusted book. CLSA believes the stock, with its strong earnings growth trajectory (estimated to grow 18% p.a. for the next two years) and rising return on equity (estimated at 17% in FY09) could re-rate to 1.2x one-year forward. Its insurance subsidiary is valued at Rs.130 per share.

Interest War

Corporation Bank is giving 9.75% pa for 500 days deposit. Canara Bank is giving 9.50% pa for 1 year deposit. Oriental Bank of Commerce is giving 9.75% pa for 400 days deposit. IDBI Bank is giving 9.50% pa for 500 days deposit. Senior Citizens will get 0.50% more for the above period. *some conditions apply. Contact your nearest branch for further details or visit their web site.

News

Bank of Baroda and Dun & Bradstreet have, on 16.05.2007, executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), under which D&B will assign ratings to the Bank’s SSI customers under SCIC-D&B Performance & Credit rating at a subsidized fee. Central Bank of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Franklin Templeton Investments (India) for distributing laters products. Union Bank of India on 18.05.2007 has opened a representative office in Shanghai, Peoples’ Republic of China. Punjab National Bank and CRISIL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which CRISIL will assign ratings to the borrowers of Punjab National Bank. Corporation Bank is launching its International Credit Card today. For further details on the card kindly contact toll free number 1800 226606

Recruitment

Vijaya Bank is recruiting 93 clerical vacancies all over India. The last date for submission of application is 26.05.2007 Kindly visit Vijaya Bank site for more details and application form.

Stock Market News

Karnataka Bank Ltd has announced a dividend of 35% for 2006-07. Goldman Sachs Investment has sold 5.83 lakh shares of Federal Bank at Rs.264.04 per share on 15.05.2007. State Bank of India has gained 15% to Rs.1327 for the week ended 18.05.2007 ICICI Bank has gained 12% to Rs.951 for the week ended 18.05.2007 HDFC Bank has gained 8% to Rs.1070 for the week ended 18.05.2007 HDFC Bank has announced plans to raise a total of Rs.4,200 crore through a combination of preferential allotment to its promoter group-HDFC- or through a domestic public offering or an offering in international market

Karnataka Bank Ltd.

The net profit of the bank stood at Rs.177.03 crore for the full year ended 2006-07 as against Rs.176.03 crore for 2005-06. The total deposits of the bank stood at Rs.14,037 crore and advances stood at Rs.9,552 crore. The net NPA of the bank stood at 1.22 percent and Capital adequacy stood at 11.03 per cent. The bank has proposed a dividend of 35% .

The BOGOF effect

B.Venkatesh (Business Line dated 20.05.2007) Consider this. You walk into a mall and find two stores that sell clothes. You can buy a shirt in the first store at Rs.750 and get one free. The other store sells the same shirt at 50 percent discount to the marked price of Rs.750. Which store would you prefer? If you are a typical consumer, you would prefer to go to the first store, which gives you a free shirt. Why ? The human mind is attracted to anything that is free. “Buy one get one free” (BOGOF) is a marketing strategy to persuade people to buy things. The alternative would be a price a product at 50 percent discount. When a product sells at a discount, it is natural for us to suspect that it is defective. We, therefore, do not prefer to buy such product, unless we want to go bargain hunting. It was this behaviour at work that my friend and I saw at a mall recently, where one store was attracting the crowd because it had adopted the BOGOF strategy. We display similar behaviour in the stock market. A one-for-one bonus share or stock dividend means you get one share free for every share held. There is great demand for stocks of companies that offer bonus shares. Do bonus shares enchance your investment value ? Not quite. The stock price represents the market’s perception of the company’s fundamental value. When the company issues bonus shares, it gives additional ownership from existing value. It is similar to you having two small slices of pizza instead of one large slice of the same pizza. Yet, people like to buy stocks that provide free shares-because of the BOGOF effect.

RBI extends forex holding period

Indians can now wait up to six months before exchanging foreign exchange received from non-residents or lying unused from an overseas trip. Until now, individuals were required to get foreign currency within as early as seven days for some payments. This step by RBI is viewed as step towards fuller capital account convertibility.

We are back:

Due to computer breakdown, no internet connection we were not in a position to update our blog for almost 3 months. Now things have been sorted out and blog will be updated regularly. sorry for the inconveniance.

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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.

Vote bank Politics at its best

The government has asked the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to consider earmarking a slice of total loan disbursement for members of minority communities. In a letter dated January 9, the banking division under the ministry of finance has told IBA to examine the proposal to set aside 15% of priority sector lending in all actegories for minority communities.

IndusInd Bank ties with Aviva Life Insurance

The IndusInd Bank has entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Aviva Life Insurance to offer laters products to its customers. Products of Aviva Life Insurance like Life Long, SaveGuard Junior, Easy Life Plus and Pension Plus would be available to the customers of IndusInd Bank.

Result : South Indian Bank Ltd.

The banks net profit grew 20% to Rs.24.84 crore for the quarter ended Dec 2006 as against Rs.20.65 crore for the same period last year. The capital adequacy stood at 11.76%. Gross NPA at 4.29% and Net NPA at 1.49%.

Result : State Bank of Travancore

The banks net profit grew 13.65% to Rs.185.82 crore for the nine monts ended December 2006 as against Rs.163.50 crore for same period last year. The total business reached Rs.53,636 crore, Deposits reached Rs.29,868 crore and Advances to Rs.23,451 crore at the end of Dec 2006.

Result : State Bank of Hyderabad

The bank has achieved a 59.2% growth in net profit for the quarter ended December 2006 at Rs.98.87 crore as against a profit of Rs.62.11 crore for same period last year. The total business grew at 25.37% to Rs.66,593 crore. The net NPA as percentage to net advances reduced to 0.16%.

Centurion Bank eyeing more buys

After acquiring Lord Krishna Bank and Bank of Punjab Ltd, the Centurion bank is eyeing more buys to expand its reach and increase its capital.

Draft RBI norms on Priority lending

As per the draft the banks can lend more under educational loans. The banks can now grant upto Rs.10 lakh to individuals for studies in India and upto Rs.20 lakh for studies abroad. The earlier limits were Rs.7.5 lakh and Rs.15 lakh respectively. Banks are required , under the current guidelines of the RBI, to direct 40% of their loans to " priority sector". Priority sector includes loans given to agriculture, small scale enterprises, micro credit, housing loans ( less than Rs.15 lakhs), besides weaker sections of society among other categories. There are sub-targets fixed under each of these categories. For instance, banks are expected to direct at least 18% of their loans to agriculture (under overall limit of 40%). In case of foreign banks, in view of their lack of rural branches, they are expected to lend only 32% of their loans to priority sector. In their case, they have been given a sub-target of 10% for export credit.

Award for Bank of Baroda

Bank of Baroda has received the special award for " Excellence in Marketing and Brand Communication " by Association of Business Communicators of India.

Change in FII holding

South Indian Bank Sep 06 at 7.8% , Dec 06 at 35.0% Federal Bank Sep 06 at 4.1% , Dec 06 at 37.3% IndusInd Bank Sep 06 at 3.5% , Dec 06 at 17.4% (source ET, 13.01.07)

Result : UTI Bank

The Bank reported 40.2% growth in Net Profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2006 at Rs.184.6 crore as against Rs.131.7 crore for the same period last year. Other income was up 61.3% to Rs.279.7 crore from Rs.173.4 crore. The Net Interst Magin was at 3%. The cost of funds have gone up to 5.5% from 4.9%. The Net NPA fell to 0.68% from 0.95%. The capital adequacy ratio stood at 11.83%. The deposits grew 50% from Rs.34025 crore to Rs.50920 crore of which demand deposit constitute 37%. Advances grew 66% from Rs.19531 crore to Rs.32337 crore.

Result : HDFC Bank

The Bank reported 32% growth in Net Profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2006 at Rs.295.6 crore as against Rs.224.4 crore for same period last year. Other income was up 26% at Rs.373.3 crore as against Rs.296.1 crore.

Bank of England raises interest rate by 25 basis points

The Bank of England (BoE) unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, its third increase since August as policy makers said the inflation may rise further. The nine member Monetary Policy Committee increased the repurchase rate to a five year high of 5.25% on Thursday.

DCB offers retirment scheme for staff

Development Credit Bank (DCB) has announced an early retirement scheme (ERS) for junior employees. This scheme is applicable to those falling in the categories of senior assistant officers, assistant officers, assistants and the subordinate staff. The be eligible for this scheme, employees either need to be of 40 years of age or should have completed 10 years of service. Out of 2000 employees, around 285 staff currently qualify for this scheme.

RBI gets freedom to fix SLR

In what will give greater operational flexibility to the central bank in the conduct of the monetary policy, the Cabinet on thursday gave its approval to pormulgate an ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act 1949. This is expected to release more funds for the industry whose appetite for credit has strained the availability of loanable resources. The central bank will now have complete freedom in fixing the floor and ceiling levels of the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR). At present there is a 25% floor and a 40% ceiling stipulated in the act itself. What is SLR? Statutory Liquidity Ratio which is commanly called SLR is a mandate for banks that says they must keep a stipulated proportion of their total demand and time liabilities, meaning deposits, in the form of liquid assets like cash, gold and approved securities, mostly government securities. Investment in these securities amounts to mandated lending to the government, leaving that much less of the banks' deposits for lending to the commercial sector. At present this is 25%. Implication: Lowering the SLR means banks have more money to lend where they get better yield than SLR securities. Bond Market will weaken as Banks take less Government papers.

Careers in Yes Bank

For a career in Retail Banking & Wealth Management in YES Bank kindly visit www.yesbank.in/careers.htm

Corporation Banks' " Shop, Swipe & Save" offer

Corporation Bank Debit card customers can get 1% cashback on all purchases made by them using the card at merchant establishments (minimum transaction value should be Rs.1000). The reward period starts on 15.01.2007 and will be 100 days long. A customer can get maximum of Rs.1000 during the period.

ICICI Bank's Swipe your card and drive a car

As part of its retail banking initiative. ICICI Bank has introduced a new service of sanctioning car loans in about an hour for its savings bank account customers. " Loans on the Spot" allows a customer to swipe his debit card at the electronic data capture terminals, stationed at dealers' outlets, to check the pre-approved loan offered by the bank. the pre-approval loan offer is made to a customer based on his profile at the bank, taking into account the quarterly average balance and other parameters. The terminal will generate a unique number and a pre-approved slip, which the dealer can use to obtain a sanction from ICICI Bank. In the first phase, ther service will be availabel at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur.

Syndicate Bank revises PLR

Syndicate Bank has hiked PLR by 25 basis points to 11.75% wef 03.01.2007

Corporation Bank won ' Niryat Bandhu' award

Corporation Bank has been awarded the prestigious 'Niryat Bandhu'-"Excellence Award" instituted by the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).

ICICI banks - Trade Roaming Current Account

A perfect solution to cater to both your international and domestic banking needs. ICICI Bank's Trade Roaming Current Account is a unique amalgamation of domestic banking features of the Roaming Current Account and Global Trade Services, to offer a composite banking solution to exporters and importers. Trade Roaming Current Account is a zero balance account where the client can avail of all the domestic services offered, along with special rates on EXIM services. No commitment of quarterly average balance, Free Inward Remittance, no charges on FIRC or BRC issuance are among its special features. You can also avail of preferred rates on select trade services depending on the trade volume commitment. The least you need to do is to choose the variant suitable for your business, keeping in mind the trade volume. Trade RCA offers efficient and faster inward and outward remittance. It offers all the facilities of domestic banking requirements such as anywhere banking, international business banking debit card, internet banking, phone banking and mobile banking. To open a Trade Roaming Current Account SMS TRCA to 676766, write to corporatecare@icicibank.com for contact nearest ICICI bank branch.

Recruitment - Union Bank of India

Union Bank of India has invited applications for following posts: 1. Deputy General Manager (Economist) Scale-VI Post-1 (General) 2. Assistant General Manager (Corporate Sales Forex) Scale-V Post-1 (General) 3. Manager (Coporate Communications) Scale-II Post-1 (OBC category) 4. Manager (Forex) Scale-II Post-20 (11 for SC, 9 for OBC) for details and application forms kindly visit www.unionbankofindia.com

Barclays Bank to begin operations

Barclays Bank would commence its retail and commercial banking business in the country from this year and expressed its commitment to bring in at least $100 million into this business in 2007. The bank is having licence for 3 branches in India of which one branch in Mumbai is already operational. The other two branches will be in Chennai and Bangalore.

Vijaya Bank hikes PLR by 25 bps

Vijaya Bank has increased its prime lending rate by 25 basis points (0.25%). The hike is effective from 01.01.2007.

Corporation Bank SME excellence award winners

Winners of Corporation Bank's National SME excellence awards >Kamath's Ourtimes Ice Creams Pvt Ltd, Mumbai category: Food & Agro based processing >Pooja Garments, NOIDA category: Textiles & Apparels > G I Ato Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore category: Auto Components >Natural Remedies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore category: Drugs & Pharmaceuticals >Astral Polytechnik, Ahmedabad category: Other Small & Medium Enterprises >Epicurean Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., Chennai category: Regional SME Excellence Award

Federal Bank's - Federal Easy Gold

Federal Bank has introduced a gold loan product called Federal Easy Gold. which allows any purpose personal overdraft against the pledge of gold ornaments and coins. The customers are allowed a limit of Rs.5 lakh for a period of 36 months.

South Indian Bank - rate hike

South Indian Bank has hiked domestic fixed deposit interest rates. The fixed deposit for 150 days are eligible for 7.5% pa as compared to earlier rate of 6% pa. The interest rates for 300 days deposit will be 8% against the present rate of 6.5%.

YES Bank's 7-11 banking

YES Bank has launched a 7-11 banking service. It has introduced this service only in one branch in Mumbai. The branch would be open from 7 am to 11 pm for six days (Monday to Saturday) a week.

Karnataka Bank raises Deposit rates

The Karnataka Bank Ltd has announced increase in interest rate for domestic term deposit of 181 days to 364 days wef 1st January 2007. The new rates are 7% for deposits below Rs.15 lakh, 7.25% for deposit above 15 lakh and below Rs.50 lakh, 7.50% for deposit above Rs.50 lakh and below Rs.5 crore.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank's "Time Double"

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has introduced a new deposit scheme called ' Time Double' in which double the amount invested will be paid back after a specific term. The amount will be doubled after 8 years and 3 days for the general public and 7 years 9 months and 14 days for senior citizens. The general public will get a rate of interest of 8.75% pa and senior citizens 9% pa. The deposit will be accepted with a minimum amont of Rs.1000 and in multiple of Rs.1000.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank - Rights Offer - Invest

Hindu Business Line (07-01-2007) Shareholders can consider subscribing to the Lakshmi Vilas Bank's rights offer, which is at a considerable discount to the prevailing market price. The offer is priced at Rs 50 per share against the current market price of Rs 82 and the post-rights book value is about Rs 83. The price, thus, appears attractive offering considerable scope for appreciation. LVB is a small-size old private sector bank with a strong presence in South India; 70 per cent of its branches are in Tamil Nadu. It has a deposit base of about Rs 4,850 crore and advances of about Rs 3,500 crore. The bank's performance, which lagged the industry between 2003 and 2005, now appears to be improving. For the first six months of FY-07, it grew its deposits 32 per cent, while credit growth was 49 per cent. Capital constraints during the corresponding previous period had resulted in a subdued performance. Reducing bad loans The bank has initiated several measures in the recent past to achieve volume-led growth, operational efficiency and improve risk management efforts. By streamlining operations at the branch level and sharpening focus on asset management, it has been able to reduce its bad loans significantly; the level of net non-performing assets (NPAs) has fallen from 4.6 per cent in September 2005 to 1.5 per cent now. A combination of faster recoveries, upgrades and securitisation, has worked to its advantage. Actual cash recoveries towards NPAs in FY-06 were Rs 142 crore — well above the targeted Rs 75 crore. If the bank manages to sustain the pace of recoveries and prevent creation of bad loans, it may over the next few quarters wipe out the Rs 53 crore in bad loans. Profitability picture High cost of funds and greater dependence on treasury gains have been principal factors affecting the bank's profitability in the past. The cost of funds has been largely on account of higher proportion of term deposits. Term deposits accounted for 74 per cent of LVB's total deposits over the last five years. That the proportion has remained around the same level is of concern as it is likely to push up funding costs further. LVB's focus on retail banking may, however, offer some comfort. This coupled with initiatives aimed at financial inclusion are expected to help it improve its share of low-cost deposits, which now stand at 23 per cent. Lower contribution from treasury operations and rising share of non-fund based income are likely to have a positive rub-off on the bank's earnings. Though the growth in fee income has been lower than that of some of its peers, it offers huge potential. Its recent tie-ups with insurance companies and mutual funds for distribution of financial products is expected to boost fee income and, thereby, improve profitability. Asset-liability structure LVB has all its liabilities under fixed rate, while about 41 per cent of its advances are contracted at floating interest rates. As interest rates are likely to show an upward bias in the near/medium-term, the asset-liability structure of the bank ensures protection on the downside. Though the bank's incremental cost of funds may be higher, corresponding higher yields on advances along with fixed outgo on existing liabilities are likely to protect its margins. As the bank has over 70 per cent of its investments in SLR under the held-to-maturity category, its bond book appears to be largely insulated against market risks. LVB is likely to be an attractive candidate in the ongoing consolidation in the banking industry. Its strong regional presence, wider reach in semi-urban and rural areas and a relatively clean balance-sheet that is likely to grow, may place a premium on its valuations, in the event of a takeover.

SBI offers higher rates for deposit of Rs.15 lakh to Rs.1 crore

State Bank of India will offer higher interest rates on deposits of certain size and maturity for the next three months. The bank has increased rate on domestic term deposits of Rs 15 lakh and above but less than Rs 1 crore having maturity of one year and above to 8.25 per cent, effective January 8. The revised offer will be only up to March 31. At present the rates for this mid-size deposits range from 7.75 per cent to 8.25 per cent across various maturities. The move is expected to help the bank to shore up its deposits in the current fiscal. A senior SBI official said the bank does not want to be aggressive in the bulk deposit segment, that are above Rs 1 crore, but is looking for "more stable and less demanding deposits". Similarly, in case of deposits below Rs 15 lakh the cost of mobilisation is higher, which is why the bank is offering higher interest rate for this particular segment of deposits, he said. Also, as the liquidity in the banking system is expected to ease post-April, the bank is offering the higher rate only up to March 31, the official added. In December, SBI had raised rates on term deposits of various maturities, starting from deposits of seven days, by 25-75 basis points. The bank had also raised its prime-lending rate by 50 basis points to 11.5 per cent last month. According to industry experts, this is a good move by SBI as a business proposition. Increasing the share of deposits below Rs 15 lakh would become unwieldy, due to large number of deposits.

New Rs.2 coin in circulation soon

The Reserve Bank will shortly put into circulation a new Rs. 2 coin with modified features under the theme 'unity in diversity'. The central portion of the new coin bears the 'Lion Capitol' of Ashoka Pillar along side the numeral '2' to indicate the denomination. The new coin is devoid of India's map, instead a stylised symbol portraying the country's diverse yet unified fabric is inscribed on the reverse portion.

Union Banks - Union Double Plus

Union Bank of India has entered into an agreement with LIC to offer 'Union Double Plus', a group insurance scheme for the bank's fixed deposit customers. All fixed deposit account holders, including the bank staff, in the age group of 18-55 would be eligible to join the Union Double Plus Scheme. The insurance cover is limited to the difference between the maturity value of the deposit and the accumulated amount in the account, including interest at any policy anniversary subject to a maximum of Rs.5 lakh, the bank said. The fixed deposit account holder will be charged the single premium for the entire term of the deposit (ranging grom 93 months to 105 months) at the time of entry into the scheme.

China's ICBC to buy Bank Halim

China's top lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, has signed an agreement to buy a 90% stake in PT Bank Halim Indonesia, its first overseas acquition. ICBC raised US$19 billion in the world's largest IPO in October 06 and later lifted the amount to over US$21 billion by exercising an over allotment option.

Recruitment-Vijaya Bank

Vijaya Bank has declared vacancies of specialist officers: last date for application : 03.02.2007 kindly visit www.vijayabank.com for further details

Recruitment

Punjab National Bank HRD DIVISION, HEAD OFFICE 7, Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi-110066 Last date for Receipt of Applications : 05.02.2007 Last date for Receipt of Applications from far-flung areas : 17.02.2007 Date of Written Examination : 29.04.2007 PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK INVITES APPLICATIONS FROM INDIAN CITIZENS FOR FOLLOWING POST: 1. Name of Post : CLERK 2. Total No. of Vacancies for all the Nine States together: 227 STATEWISE BREAK-UP GIVEN BELOW State SC ST OBC General Total Out of which OC HI VI EXSM Bihar 30 -- 21 09 60 01 01 -- 06 Chhattisgarh -- -- 01 08 09 -- -- -- 01 HP 09 -- 04 04 17 01 -- -- 02 J&K -- 05 03 -- 08 -- -- -- -- MP -- 04 03 14 21 -- -- 01 02 Orissa -- 01 01 03 05 -- -- -- -- Rajasthan 04 06 10 25 45 -- 01 -- 05 UP 11 05 14 17 47 -- -- 01 05 Uttaranchal -- 01 05 09 15 -- -- -- 01 Total 54 22 62 89 227 02 02 02 22 NOTE : Abbreviations stand for: SC - Scheduled Caste, ST - Scheduled Tribe, OBC - Other Backward Classes, GEN-General Category, OC: Orthopaedically Challenged, HI - Hearing Impaired, VI – Visually Impaired, EXSM – Ex-Servicemen. NOTE: (A) Candidates belonging to reserved categories for which no vacancy has been announced are free to apply against vacancies announced for Unreserved/General category. (B) Applications received for posts which are not advertised at all or post not advertised in a particular State will not be entertained. (C) The recruitment would be on State-wise basis. Candidates can apply for vacancies in one State only and have to appear for the examination from a center of that particular State. As the reservation for VI/HI/OC and Ex-Servicemen candidates is on horizontal basis, the selected candidates will be placed in the appropriate category to which the candidate belongs. 3. Scale of Pay : Rs. 4,410/- – 13,210/- 4.Minimum Qualification : Pass with 60% marks in 10+2 examination or its equivalent OR a degree in any discipline from a recognized University. For SC/ST/ Ex-Servicemen/PC Category candidates Pass with 50% marks in 10+2 examination or its equivalent OR a degree in any discipline from a recognized University. 5. Age (As on 01.01.2007) : Minimum 18 years Maximum 28 years 2. Relaxation in upper Age Limit:- (i) Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Candidates by 5 years. (ii) Other Backward Classes candidates by 3 years (iii) Physically Challenged candidates by 10 years (iv) Ex-Servicemen by 3 yrs in addition to the actual period of service rendered in Defence services subject to a maximum age of 50 years. (v) All persons who are ordinarily been domiciled in Kashmir Division of J & K State during 01.01.80 to 31.12.89 by 5 years. (vi) Widows, Divorced women & women judicially separated from their husbands & who are not remarried by 9 years subject to maximum age limit of 35 years for General and 40 years for SC/ST candidates. (vii) Regular employees of the Union Carbide Factory, Bhopal retrenched from service (applicable to Madhya Pradesh state only) by 05 years. 3. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:- NATIONALITY/ CITIZENSHIP: A candidate must be either i) a Citizen of India or ii) a subject of Nepal or iii) subject of Bhutan or iv) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India or v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan,Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India. Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) & (v) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination/interview conducted by the Bank but on final selection, the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility Certificate has been issued to him by the Government of India. Definition of Ex-Serviceman (EXSM) : (i) Only those candidates shall be treated as Ex-Servicemen who fulfill the revised definition as laid down in Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Dept. of Personnel & Administrative Reforms Notification No.36034/5/85/Estt (SCT) dated 27.10.1986 as amended from time to time. (ii) Disabled Ex-Servicemen (DISXS): Ex-Servicemen who while serving in Armed Forces of the Union were disabled in operation against the enemy or in disturbed areas shall be treated as DISXS. (iii) Dependents of Ex-Servicemen killed in action (DXS): Servicemen killed in the following operations would be deemed to have been killed in action attributable to military service (a) war (b) war like operations or Border Skirmishes either with Pakistan on cease fire line or any other country, (c) fighting against armed hostiles in a counter insurgency environment, viz. Nagaland, Mizoram, etc. (d) serving with peace keeping mission abroad, (e) laying or clearance of mines including enemy mines as also mine sweeping operation between one month before and three months after conclusion of an operation, (f) frost bite during actual operations or during the period specified by the Government, (g) dealing with agitating para military forces personnel, (h) IPKF Personnel killed during the operations in Sri Lanka. Note: (1) Candidates still serving in Defence Services and desirous of applying under Ex-Servicemen category should submit a certificate from the competent authority that they would be released/retired on or before 01.08.2007 and (2) Ex-servicemen candidates who have already secured employment under the Central Govt. in Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ will be permitted the benefit of age relaxation as prescribed for Ex-Servicemen for securing another employment in a higher grade or cadre in Group ‘C’/’D’ under the Central Govt. However,such candidates will not be eligible for the benefit of reservation for Ex-Servicemen in Central Govt. jobs. D. Reservation for Physically Challenged Persons (PC) : Definition of Categories of disabilities is given hereunder:- 1. An Orthopaedically Challenged person is one suffering from Locomotor Disability or Cerebral Palsy. Persons would be eligible for reservation in services/ posts who suffer from not less than 40% of relevant disability and is certified by a Medical Board appointed by the Centre/ State Govt. Locomotor Disability :- “Locomotor Disability” means disability of the bones, joints or muscles leading to substantial restriction of the movement of the limbs or any form of cerebral palsy. Cerebral Palsy:- “Cerebral Palsy” means a group of non-progressive conditions of a person characterized by abnormal motor control posture resulting from brain insult or injuries occurring in the pre-natal, peri- natal or infant period of development. 2. Deaf & Hearing Impaired (HI): The Deaf are those persons in whom the sense of hearing is non-functional for ordinary purposes of life, i.e. total loss of hearing in both ears. They do not hear; understand sounds at all even with amplified speech. Hearing impairment means loss of sixty decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies. 3. Visually Impaired : The Visually Impaired persons are those with following disability : Blindness or low vision – “Blindness” refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following conditions: (i) Total absence of sight (ii) Visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses, (iii) Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse. “Person with low vision” means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive correction but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for the planning or execution of a task with appropriate assistive device. The visually impaired candidates and candidates whose writing speed is affected by cerebral palsy can use their own scribe at their cost during the written examination. In all such cases where a scribe is used, the following rules will apply : i) The candidate will have to arrange his/her own scribe at his/her own cost. ii) The academic qualification of the scribe should be one grade lower than the stipulated eligibility criteria iii) The scribe should be from any academic discipline. The scribe should possess 60% or lesser marks. iv) Both the candidate as well as the scribe will have to give a suitable undertaking, confirming that the scribe fulfils all the stipulated eligibility criteria for a scribe as mentioned above. Further, in case it later transpires that he/she did not fulfill any of the laid down eligibility criteria or suppressed material facts, the candidature of the applicant will stand cancelled, irrespective of the result of the written examination. v) Such candidates who use a scribe shall be eligible for extra time of 20 minutes for every hour of the examination. 4. SELECTION PROCEDURE (a) All eligible candidates should apply in the prescribed Application format given at the end of this advertisement to reach on or before the last date for receipt of applications. Applications received after the last date will not be considered. (b) Selection will be made on the basis of performance in the Written Test and Interview. Merely satisfying the eligibility norms does not entitle a candidate to be called for Test or Interview. (c) The Written Test will be Objective and Descriptive type. The questions in objective tests and Descriptive Paper will be printed in bilingual, i.e. English and Hindi except for the Test of English. The candidates will have the option to answer the Descriptive paper either in English or Hindi or Official Language of the State. There will be negative marks for the wrong answers in the Objective Tests. The Written Test for the candidates will be held on Sunday, the 29th April, 2007 at the following centers : Sr. No. Name of Centre State Name Centre Code No Name of Centre 1 01 Bihar 11 Patna 2 02 Chhattisgarh 12 Raipur 3 03 HP 13 Shimla 4 04 J&K 14 Jammu 5 05 MP 15 Bhopal 6 06 Orissa 16 Bhubaneswar 7 07 Rajasthan 17 Jaipur 8 08 UP 18 Lucknow 9 09 Uttaranchal 19 Dehradun - Bank, however, reserves the right to cancel any of the above mentioned Centres and/ or add some other Centres, depending upon the response of the candidates, administrative feasibility, etc. The Bank also reserves the right to allot the candidate to any of the Centres other than the one he/she has opted for - The Candidates will appear for the written examination at the allotted Centre from the State for which he/she has applied at their own expenses and risks and the Bank will not be responsible for any injury or losses etc. of any nature. (e) Pre-Examination Training It is proposed to impart free Pre-Examination Training to a limited number of candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Minority Communities /Ex-servicemen candidates on “First come first serve basis”. An eligible candidate who wishes to avail Pre-Examination Training should fill in the relevant column in the Application format. All expenses regarding traveling, boarding, lodging etc. will be borne by the candidate for attending the Pre-Examination Training programme at the concerned Pre- Examination Training Centre. 5. Application Fee and Postage Charges (Non-refundable) : (i) Candidate belonging to SC/ST/PC/ Ex-servicemen Categories, there is no application fees excepting postage charges of Rs.50/-. (ii) For all others categories, including OBC/Dependents of servicemen killed in action, the application fee is Rs. 100/- + postage charges Rs.50/- = Total Rs. 150/-. (iii) Application fee including postage should be paid by a single Demand Draft/ Bank Pay order issued by a Scheduled Commercial Bank to be drawn on “PNB RECRUITMENT A/C – CLERICAL PROJECT” payable at Mumbai (SC/ST/PC/EXSM candidates -Rs.50/- and for General Category /OBC category candidates - Rs.150/- only). (iv) Candidates must write his/her name and address on the reverse side of the Bank Draft/ Bank Pay order. Candidates may please note that payment of application fee by Cash /Cheques/Money Order/ Postal stamps etc. will not be accepted. 6. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS a) The Bank takes no responsibility for any delay in receipt or loss in postal transit of any application or communication. b) All candidates must submit self attested photocopies of the prescribed certificates in support of their educational qualification, experience, date of birth, caste/community certificate/certificate of Disability issued by the competent authority, as specified in Para 7. Candidates shall produce original caste/ relevant certificates at the time of interview,failing which his/her candidature will be cancelled. The applications are to be sent strictly as per the prescribed format given at the end of this advertisement and is properly and completely filled alongwith the application fee/postage. c) Before applying for the post of Clerk, the candidate should ensure that he/she fulfils the eligibility and other norms mentioned in this advertisement. The Bank would be free to reject any application, at any stage of the Recruitment Process, if the candidate is found ineligible for the post for which he/she has applied. The decision of the Bank regarding eligibility of the candidates, the stage at which scrutiny of eligibility is to be undertaken,qualifications and other eligibility norms, the documents to be produced for the purpose of conduct of interview/selection etc. and any other matter relating to recruitment will be final and binding on the candidate. No correspondence or personal enquiries shall be entertained by the Bank in this behalf. . If any of these shortcomings is/are detected even after appointment, his/her services are liable to be terminated d) An application not accompanied by Application Fee, relevant certificates as mentioned above or not in the prescribed Application format or not signed by the candidate or incomplete in any respect will not be entertained. e) Applications once made will not be allowed to be withdrawn and the application fee,postage once paid shall not be refunded nor shall it be held in reserve for any other examination. f) A recent, recognizable colour passport size photograph should be firmly pasted on the application and should be signed across by the candidate. Three copies of the same photograph should be retained for use at the time of written examination and interview. Candidates are advised not to change their appearance till the recruitment process is complete. Failure to produce the same photograph at the time of the written test/interview may lead to disqualification. g) Candidates who are in employment will be required to produce a "No Objection Certificate" from their employer at the time of interview, in the absence of which their candidature may not be considered. Advance copy of the application alongwith original Demand Draft may be sent to the addressee within the stipulated time. h) Any resulting dispute arising out of this advertisement shall be subject to the sole jurisdiction of the Courts situated at NCT of Delhi. i) No Traveling Allowance is payable to candidates who are called for the written test. However, only successful SC/ST/PC Candidates in the Written Test who are called for interview will be paid actual 2ND Class to and fro Rail/Bus fare by the shortest route on production of evidence of travel, i.e Railway Receipt/Ticket(s) for attending the interview. j) No candidate is permitted to use Calculators, Mobile Phones, Pagers or any other instruments in the Examination Hall. k) Canvassing in any form will be a disqualification. l) The above openings are only in rural and remote areas of State of Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, UP, and Uttaranchal. Candidates willing to work at remote/ rural areas of above States till their promotions to Officer cadre, need alone apply. m) As the applications are to be processed by a computerized system, it is essential that the application is strictly in accordance with the prescribed format and properly and completely filled and contains no correction/alternation/over writings. n) A candidate must fill the application form in CAPITAL LETTERS IN HIS/ HER OWN HANDWRITING IN ENGLISH ONLY. o) Any request for change of address will not be entertained. p) The Bank takes no responsibility to connect any Certificate/Remittance sent separately. q) In case any dispute arises on account of interpretation of version other than English,English version will prevail. 7. THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY FOR THE ISSUE OF THE CERTIFICATE TO SC/ST/OBC/PC IS AS UNDER : (a) For SC/ST/OBC : District Magistrate/Additional Dist. Magistrate/Collector/ Deputy Commissioner/Additional Dy. Commissioner/Dy. Collector/ First Class Stipendary Magistrate/Sub-Division Magistrate/Taluka Magistrate/ Executive Magistrate/Extra Assistant Commissioner/Chief Presidency Magistrate/ Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate/ Presidency Magistrate/Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tahsildar/Sub-Divisional Officer of the area where the candidate and/or his/her family normally resides. (b) For Physically Challenged : Authorized Certifying Authority will be a Medical Board duly constituted by the Central/State Govt. having at least 3 members consisting of Chief Medical Officer, Sub-Divisional Medical Officer in the District and an Orthopedic Surgeon, Ophthalmology Surgeon, ENT Surgeon as the case may be. 8. HOW TO APPLY:- APPLICATIONS COMPLETE IN ALL RESPECTS SHOULD BE SENT ONLY BY ORDINARY POST TO PNB CLERICAL RECRUITMENT PROJECT- 2007, POST BOX No.7458, JOGESHWARI (E), MUMBAI 400 060 9. LAST DATE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS THE APPLICATIONS SHOULD REACH THE ABOVE ADDRESS I.E. POST BOX NO.7458, JOGESHWARI (E), MUMBAI 400 060 ON OR BEFORE 05.02.2007. For the candidates staying abroad and for those posting applications from Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshdweep, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Ladakh Division of J & K State, Lahaul and Spiti district and Pangi Sub Division of Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh, the last date for receipt of applications will be 17.02.2007. An application received after the last date will not be entertained by the Bank. The Bank will not be responsible for loss of application in transit or for rejection of application because of non-receipt of application on or before the stipulated last date. 10. CALL LETTERS FOR THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION The date of the Written Examination for Clerical post has been tentatively fixed for 29.04.2007 (Sunday). However, the date of Examination shall be intimated in the Call Letter alongwith the Centre/Venue address. All eligible candidates will be issued Call letters at the correspondence address given by the candidate in their application form, which will be sent by post. An eligible candidate who does not receive the Call letter by 21.04.2007 should contact the Punjab National Bank at the following address indicating his/her name, address, details of Demand Draft etc. for issuance of duplicate Call letter. Duplicate call letters will be issued at the following addresses between 25.04.2007 and 28.04.2007. S.No Address with Telephone/Fax No. 1. Zonal Office: R Block Chankya Place, Patna – 800001 Tel.No. 0612 – 2221813, 2223512 Fax No. 0612 - 2235157 2. Zonal Office: Madina Manzil, Medical College Rd, Kachahari Chowk, Raipur – 492001 (Chattisgarh) Tel.No. 0771- 2229389, 2228231 Fax No. 0771 – 2224559 3. Zonal Office: Regent House, The Mall, Shimla – 171001 Tel.No. 0177- 2657548, 2657545 Fax No 0177 – 2658331, 2653585 4. Zonal Office: High Land Tower, Rail Head Complex, Jammu – 180012 Tel.No. 0191- 2471585, 2470333, 2471716 Fax No. 0191- 2475271 5. Zonal Office: PNB Building, Arera Hills, Bhopal – 462011 Tel.No. 0755 - 2762574 Fax No. 0755 - 2558028 6. Zonal Office: Plot No. 116, 1st Floor, Station Square, Bhubaneswar – 751001 Tel.No. 0674 - 2533541 Fax No. 0674 - 2534506 7. Zonal Office : PNB House, 2 Nehru Place, Tonk Road, Jaipur – 302015 Tel.No. 0141- 2743123, 2743042 Fax No. 0141- 2743123 8. Zonal Office: Nav Chetna Kender, 10 Ashok Marg, Lucknow – 226001 Tel.No. 0522- 2286833, 2286835 Fax No. 0522- 2286831, 2286834 9. Zonal Office : PNB House, Paltan Bazar, Clock Tower, Dehradun – 248001 Tel.No. 0135- 2716133, 0135- 2710250 Fax No. 0135- 2716110 The above advertisement can also be viewed and Application Format downloaded from the Bank’s Website:-www.pnbindia.com ASSTT. GENERAL MANAGER (HRD) PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

News

ICICI Bank opens 3 rep offices abroad ICICI bank on tuesday (5th December 2006) opened its representative offices in Thailand ( Bangkok), Indonesia ( Jakarta ) and Malaysia ( Kuala Lumpur), extending its reach to 17 countries. Lakshmi Vilas bank in pact with Western Union Money transfer The Karur based Lakshmi Vilas Bank has tied up with Western Union Financial Services for offering global money transfer facility to its customers. The services would initially be extended to 150 branches located in rural and Semi-urban areas. No Real-time fund transfer for small deals The banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India has instructed banks that they should not use the instant funds transfer system, known as the Real TIme Gross Settlement (RTGS), for an amount below Rs.1 lakh. The new rule would come into effect from January 1,2007. For small transactions, RBI has asked banks to offer National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) which provided T+0 and T+1 settlement system (depending on the time a customer gives instruction to the bank for tranferring the fund). The key difference between RTGS and NEFT is that while RTGS in on gross settlement basis, NEFT is on net settlement basis. Besides, RTGS facilitates online transfer, while NEFT involves four settlement cycles a day 9.30 am, 10.30 am, 12 pm and 4 pm. Thus if a customer has given instruction to its bank to transfer money through NEFT to another bank in the morning hours, money would be transferrd the same day, but if the instruction is given later during the day, money would be transferred next day. However, RTGS facility is available in over 25000 branches, while NEFT is availabel in 9800 branches. Besides, while all commercial banks have put in place the RTGS facility, only 43 banks have purchased the software required to facilitate NEFT based transaction. RBI has instructed banks that all branches which are RTGS enabled should also provide NEFT by December 2006. Sources said that RBI also had planned to discountinue EFT-Electronic funds Transfer. This is because EFT is availabel only in 15 locations where RBI has its clearing house. As of now, customers can access the RTGS facility only upto 3 pm and inter-bank transactions are possible upto 5 pm.

Bank Stock News

Bank of India to pay 20% interim Bank of India has declared a 20% interim dividend payable on December 20.