The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, December 20, 2008

MONEY & BANKING

INTEREST RATES: HDFC, LIC Housing follow banks, cut lending rates
HDFC attributes it to improved operational efficiency and good quality portfolio. Mumbai, Dec. 19 Concerned about losing business to public sector banks, which cut interest rates on home loans earlier this week, leading housing finance companies ...

PEOPLE: Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank’s new chief
Mumbai, Dec. 19 Backed by strong fundamentals, ICICI Bank is in a position to capitalise opportunities quickly, even in these challenging times, said Ms Chanda Kochhar, who has been appointed as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI ...

FINANCIAL SERVICES: Exporters doing business with Iran feeling the heat
Mumbai, Dec. 19 Exporters doing business with Iran are in a spot, as global security concerns make it more difficult for them to receive payments for their ...

FOREX: NRI funds flow pushing rupee up against dollar
Fed rate cut causes shift to FCNR, NRE deposits. Bangalore, Dec. 19 Foreign currency deposit inflows into the domestic banking system have begun exerting upward pressure on the rupee-dollar ...

INVESTMENTS: Insurers moving to corporate, bank bonds
Bulk deposits no longer attractive. Bangalore, Dec. 19 With interest in bulk deposits declining, insurers have begun shifting attention to corporate and bank tier two ...

GOVT BONDS: Bond prices range-bound
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TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS: `Regulate work hours for officers'
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FOREX: Rupee weaker by 30 paise
The rupee depreciated by around 30 paise against the dollar on Friday, as the greenback strengthened in the overseas markets, said dealers. The domestic currency opened at 47.23/ 24 and strengthened to touch an intra-day high of 46.86/88. It ...

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS: Call rates tad lower
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PEOPLE: New ED for Central Bank
Mr Ramnath Pradeep has taken charge as the Executive Director of Central Bank of India. Prior to this, Mr Pradeep held the position of General Manager at Dena bank where he was in charge of risk management, cards management department ...

PENSION PLANS: IRDA expects 10% drop in policy rates of pension, annuity plans
Hyderabad, Dec. 19 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) expects a 10 per cent drop in the policy rates of ‘other than pure term’ products such as pension, annuity and health insurance over the next couple ...

CONSUMER FINANCE: Banks consider cutting auto loan rates by next week
New Delhi, Dec. 19 Banks are likely to take a decision on a cut of up to one per cent in auto loan rates up during next ...

REGIONAL RURAL BANKS: Significant rise in rural banks’ profits
Mangalore, Dec. 19 A huge jump in net profit, gradual decrease in NPAs and further reduction in the number of banks are the major factors that marked the progress of regional rural banks (RRBs) during ...

HUMAN RESOURCES: Allahabad Bank to hire 2,000 more
Mangalore, Dec. 19 The Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank is planning to recruit around 2,000 people. This is in addition to around 1,000 people already recruited during the current ...

EVENTS: No support for no-frills accounts, say bankers
Chennai, Dec. 19 Over 95 per cent of the no-frills account with banks are dormant because the banks do not take the effort to make customers operate these accounts, say ...