The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, November 01, 2008

MONEY & BANKING

INTEREST RATES: PNB cuts prime lending, deposit rates by 50 bps
Posts 31% rise in Q2 net, steps up NPA recovery efforts. New Delhi, Oct. 31 Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Friday announced a cut in its benchmark prime lending rate (PLR) by 50 basis points to 13.5 per ...

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: Cabinet okays hike in FDI in insurance to 49 pc
LIC amendment Bill also to be introduced. Our Bureau New Delhi/Hyderabad, Oct. 31 The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the introduction of the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2008 to increase the upper cap of foreign direct investment from ...

FOREX: Forex reserves fall $15.5 b
Mumbai, Oct. 31 The foreign exchange reserves shrunk by $15.47 billion - the largest fall in a week - to $258.415 billion for the week ended October 24, according to the latest figures released by the Reserve Bank of India. The reserves ...

FIXED DEPOSITS: Syndicate Bank trims bulk deposits
Net profit up 15 per cent; asset repricing helps. Bangalore, Oct. 31 Public sector Syndicate Bank reduced its bulk deposits by Rs 1,055 crore on year on year basis in a bid to bring down the cost of ...

FIXED DEPOSITS: United Bank hikes deposit rates
United Bank of India has increased interest rates on term deposits by 100 basis points effective November 1, according to a statement issued by the bank. The revised rates on a term deposit of two-to-less than three years stand at 10.5 per cent ...

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: UCO Bank Q2 net rises 36%
NPAs decline to 1.61%; net interest income up 16%. Kolkata, Oct. 31 Backed by a good recovery from written off accounts and an increase in net interest income, UCO Bank has posted 36 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 150 crore for the quarter ...

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: Reliance Cap standalone net slips 3%
Higher interest outgo affects profits; Co reports higher income. Mumbai, Oct. 31 Reliance Capital, on Friday reported a three per cent dip in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 as higher interest costs and ...

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: Interest income drives Andhra Bank net up
Hyderabad, Oct. 31 Andhra Bank’s net profit increased 6.8 per cent at Rs 161 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2008 compared with Rs 151.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous ...

NBFCS: NBFCs can raise short-term foreign currency loans
Mumbai, Oct. 31 Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) have been allowed to raise short-term foreign currency loans to help them meet their short-term ...

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: Low market volumes dent Kotak Bank net
Coimbatore, Oct 31 Kotak Mahindra Bank’s net has dropped 36 per cent to Rs 47.86 crore for the quarter ended September 2008 against Rs 75.38 crore during the corresponding quarter ...

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS: Cabinet nod for UCO Bank capital rejig
New Delhi, Oct. 31 The Union Cabinet has approved the capital-restructuring plan of UCO Bank by converting Rs 250 crore equity into preference shares. “The reduction in the pure equity capital will improve the earning per share and ...

FINANCIAL MARKETS: Economic gloom settles on the Patils
Balchandra Patil is 85 years old. Draupadi, his wife, is 83. Their 40-year-old son, Nachiket is a US citizen and works as a merchant banker in New York. The Patils stay alone in an apartment in Dahisar and are the best friends of my daughter ...

FOREX: Rupee gains 20 paise
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FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: Srei Infra Fin net declines
Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd reported a total operating income of Rs 243,92 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2008 against Rs 162.46 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. Net profit, however, declined to Rs 26.18 ...