The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Rupee firms up; securities mixed
MUMBAI: The rupee ended on Tuesday at 45.55/56 in its value against the dollar. Though there were good supplies there was also matched corporate demand for the dollar and intervention by the central bank, said currency merchants. On ... More

RBI raises ceiling on miscellaneous forex remittances
TO make foreign exchange more easily available to residents without documentation, the Reserve Bank of India has on Tuesday revised the ceiling for miscellaneous foreign exchange remittances from $500 to $5,000 with immediate effect. In a ... More

Volumes drop in CCIL forex trading platform
THE Clearing Corporation of India Ltd's free foreign exchange trading platform, FX-CLEAR, four months after its launch is seeing dwindling volumes. It now clears an average of $5-6 million worth of foreign exchange transactions per day. ... More

STOCKS

J&K Bank continues to have low P/E ratio
THE Jammu & Kashmir Bank stock, despite re-rating in the last few months, continues to have poor P/E ratio of 4.27. According to analysts, two factors are still considered as negative for the bank stock. The fact that the bank is owned by ... More

HOUSING FINANCE

HUDCO retail loan disbursements fall
THE Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has seen a sharp decline in its retail home loans portfolio, with disbursements touching just Rs 133 crore till date in the current financial year as compared to Rs 973 crore in 2002-03. The ... More

CONSUMER FINANCE

Big players exit PC finance biz
CRASHING prices of desktops as well as notebooks and the increasing breadth of the grey market have forced several financiers to exit the business of funding new computers. Players such as GE Countrywide, Citicorp, and ICICI Bank have stopped ... More

RBI & OTHER CENTRAL BANKS

RBI ponders liquidity management
THE much-awaited Report of the Working Group on Instruments of Sterilisation and Report of the Internal Group on Liquidity Adjustment Facility were released a few weeks back. Both reports make excellent reading and provide insights into the ... More

No shortage of liquidity, says Rakesh Mohan
THERE are signs of credit demand emerging in the economy indicating that the economy is witnessing growth, according to Dr Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India. "There is no shortage of liquidity as evidenced by the amount of ... More

PRIVATE BANKS

Kotak Mahindra Bank plans 18 branches this fiscal
KOTAK Mahindra Bank has strategically positioned itself as a `wealth manager' and a `financial advisor' for high networth individuals and families estimated at about 7 million across the country. The bank plans to set up 18 branches by the end ... More

J&K Bank seeks nod for 10% strategic equity partner
J&K Bank has sought permission of the Jammu & Kashmir Government, the 53 per cent owner of the bank, to bring in a 10 per cent new equity partner. Mr M.Y. Khan, Chairman of the bank, told reporters here on Tuesday that the new equity partner was ... More

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS

IOB declares 12 pc interim
INDIAN Overseas Bank has declared an interim dividend of Rs 1.20 per share (12 per cent). All shareholders whose names appear in the Register as on January 23, 2004 will be eligible for the dividend. The interim dividend declared would result ... More

INTEREST RATES

SBI package for BSNL staff
THE State Bank of India has announced a special package to BSNL employees by allowing concessional interest rates for different types of loans to be availed by the BSNL staff. There is a drastic reduction in interest rate in respect of the ... More

PEOPLE

Scope for third party BPO in currency handling: Vepa Kamesam
AFTER two and a half years in office, Mr Vepa Kamesam, retired as Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, today. His contributions are particularly noteworthy in two areas: liberalisation of foreign exchange regulations and implementation of ... More

Nageshwara Rao heads IDBI Bank
MR G.V. Nageshwara Rao has been appointed as the MD & CEO of IDBI Bank for a three-year term, replacing the acting CEO & Country Head, Mr Ajay Bimbhet. The board of IDBI Bank met today to approve his appointment. Mr Rao in a brief interaction ... More