INSIGHT
Benchmark rate — fact or fiction?
There have been elaborate discussions on different interest rates, giving the impression that they were, in fact, the benchmark. For instance, the auction rate on government bonds, the repo rate, the `corridor', and the prime-lending rate of banks. Y et, the `official' benchmark has been the Bank Rate. But transparency demands that the official rate provides the link between the present and the future and does not allow exploitation of short-term trading opportunities. That would help derive a me aningful yield rate and better understanding of market expectations, says A. Vasudevan. More

FOREX
Bond prices rally; rupee tad firmer
MUMBAI: Bond prices rallied across maturities in the Government securities market on Wednesday with the 10-year benchmark yield touching its lowest this month at 5.95 per cent. Dealers said the market sentiment was buoyed by the release ... More

HOUSING FINANCE
Mortgage-backed securities — NHB provides more leeway
THE fledgling secondary market for residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) is set to get a boost with home loan refinancier National Housing Bank donning the garb of marketmaker for such securities. An NHB official today said that the bank ... More

LIC Housing raises $29.85 m via GDS
LIC Housing Finance Ltd has raised $29.85 million through its maiden issue of Global Depository Shares (GDSs). The price, which is at a 1.5 per cent premium to the average closing price of the company's shares one week prior to launch date, ... More

LIFE INSURANCE
`LIC nationalisation a far-sighted move'
IF the Life Insurance Corporation of India had not been nationalised, the spread of the concept would not have been anything like it is today, said Mr N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, on the 48th anniversary of its formation. At a ... More

LIC to go aggressive on unit-linked plans
REALISING that it has been the unit-linked insurance policies that are enabling the private sector insurance players to garner significant share of the expanding market, Life Insurance Corporation of India has initiated measures to go aggressive ... More

LIC South Zone tops in show
THE Life Insurance Corporation of India's southern zone (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry) today announced that it was the best performing area this financial year among the corporation's zones. At a press conference on Wednesday, Mr R.R. ... More

LIC Housing ropes in Radeus Advertising
GOING the LIC way, LIC Housing Finance has decided to have a roster of agencies to cater to its growing business. In spite of having Mudra as its advertising agency for the past two years, the housing finance company has recently roped in ... More

Ernakulam division tops in LIC premium collections
THE Ernakulam division of LIC has emerged first among the 100 divisions in the country in the first premium collections, by registering a 200 per cent growth in the first five months of the current fiscal. The division had collected Rs 92 ... More

RBI & OTHER CENTRAL BANKS

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS
Bank of Punjab ATMs under Diebold care
DIEBOLD Systems would provide Bank of Punjab with a variety of professional services for its multi-brand network of 180 automated teller machines (ATMs). Under an agreement, Diebold would provide electronic journal uploading and content ... More

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Exim Bank credit for PAT Bank
MUMBAI: Export-Import Bank of India has entered into an agreement with Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank) for a line of credit of $10 million. This line of credit from Exim Bank to PTA Bank would promote ... More

CREDIT MARKET
Festivals bring cheer to 'blade' companies
THE age of net and mobile banking might be here to stay, but the moneylenders and blade companies are yet to be vanquished. The liberalised lending norms, falling interest rates and improved access to credit have just squeezed these grey market ... More

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
IFCI acquisition: Will PNB pip IDBI?
THE race for IFCI Ltd has taken an interesting turn. As the finalisation of the due diligence report for IFCI enters its final lap, Punjab National Bank (PNB) is emerging as the favourite to acquire the troubled New Delhi-based term-lending ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS

CO-OPERATIVES
`Co-op banks must share data on blacklisted builders'
AN RBI constituted group on `housing finance frauds' has recommended that urban co-operative banks should share information on blacklisted builders and seek agreement for sale in dematerialised form to guard against fraud such as forged documents ... More