STOCKS
High NPA bank stocks show buoyancy
SHARES of banks and financial institutions, especially those with high NPAs (non-performing assets), shot into the limelight on Thursday following the `historical judgment' by the Supreme Court in the Mardia Chemicals and ICICI Bank case. Banks ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE
Tougher norms to check breach of tariffs
THE Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) a statutory body for the insurance business, has come out with new, stricter norms for dealing with unhealthy practices. According to a communique from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority ... More

Insurers avoid TPI cover, charges consumer body
DESPITE the mandatory provision in the Motor Vehicles Act for having an unlimited third party insurance cover for vehicles plying on the roads, non-life insurance companies refuse to accept such a cover. When compelled, they resort to unfair and ... More

PRIVATE BANKS
Election of TMB directors challenged before CLB
THE legal tussle among the various groups of the Nadar community to take control of the Tuticorin-based Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd has assumed yet another new turn with a group challenging the election of 10 directors at the annual general ... More

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS
Canara Bank opens OBU at Noida
CANARA Bank today opened its first Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) in the special economic zone (SEZ), Noida. Speaking at the inauguration of the OBU, Chairman and Managing Director, Canara Bank, Mr R. V. Shastri, said that the unit would bring ... More

United Bank to adopt FMCG pitch for education loans
UNITED Bank of India plans to get its officers to do "door-to-door" marketing of its retail loan products, particularly education loans. The bank expects to have ended last year with an education loan portfolio of about Rs 30 crore but "we want ... More

FOREIGN BANKS
Citigroup fund for financial education
CITIGROUP and the Citigroup Foundation have announced a 10-year, $200 million commitment to financial education. The commitment will include the 100 countries that Citigroup operates in around the world, including India. This fund has been ... More

GOVT BONDS

NON-PERFORMING ASSETS
Bankers upbeat about better asset recovery
BANKERS have welcomed the Supreme Court judgement upholding the constitutional validity of the Securitation Act, even if it has provided some respite to defaulting borrowers by annulling Section 17(2) of the Act as unconstitutional. Earlier, ... More

Securitisation Act needs a lot more fine-tuning: India Inc
THE Supreme Court's decision on the Securitisation Act has received mixed response from corporate sector. While welcoming the Court's decision to strike down the provision in the Act, which made it mandatory for the companies to deposit 75 per ... More

CREDIT MARKET
Priority sector lending up 7 pc at Rs 22,466 crore in Karnataka
BANKS in Karnataka have extended the period for loans worth Rs 400 crore given for crops and through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) in view of the drought conditions prevailing in the State. Of the total amount, Rs 106 crore accounted for KCC ... More

`Micro-financing will boost rural savings'
THE increase in micro-financing capability through self-help groups (SHGs) will enhance the prospects of the rural poor, according to Prof D. Nagabrahmam, Director of T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal. According to Mangalore University ... More

Drought dries up lending options for banks in Kerala
PUBLIC sector banks in the State can at best defer recovery of crop loans outstanding and waive, in selective cases and subject to conditions, a portion of the interest payments. Explaining the bankers' case to Business Line, Mr S.C. ... More

SECURITISATION
SC upholds Securitisation Act — Banks win freedom to sell mortgaged assets
THE Supreme Court today upheld the constitutional validity of the Securitisation Act thereby allowing banks and financial institutions to sell assets of defaulting borrowers that have been attached under the Act. The court, however, quashed as ... More

Vindicates our stand on deposit issue: Mardia
THE man who dons the dubious tag of the Indian banking industry's leading defaulter, Mr Rasiklal S Mardia has always had a penchant to view things differently. Even as the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Securitisation and ... More

Dual benefit for creditors: Morparia
REACTING to the Supreme Court order upholding the Securitisation Act, the Deputy Managing Director of ICICI Bank, Ms Kalpana Morparia, said: ``Although I have not seen the judgment, this is a landmark judgment in favour of creditors. There is a ... More