The Hindu Business Line : Friday, January 19, 2007

FOREX
Rupee weakens
The rupee fell against the dollar on Thursday, tracking the losses made by the yen. The currency opened at 44.17/19 and touched an intra-day low of 44.36. It closed the day at 44.31, against Wednesday's close at 44.19/20. Dealers ... More

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Canara Bank Q3 net hit by investment loss
Interest income up on higher credit offtake More

SBM net rises 20 pc in Q3
The State Bank of Mysore has reported a 20 per cent increase in net profits for the third quarter of the current financial year. The bank's net profit for Q3 this year was Rs 54.95 crore as against Rs 39.60 crore in the corresponding quarter of ... More

LIFE INSURANCE
Insurers' rural, social targets may be set higher
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) is considering an increase in the minimum rural and social obligations for insurers. According to an IRDA official, insurers are being consulted about an amendment to the ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE
Non-life insurers reject transporters' demand
No rollback in tariff hikes of third party covers More

PRIVATE BANKS
Kotak Mahindra expects to sell 300 kg of gold
Kotak Mahindra Bank began selling gold in September — by December it had sold 175 kg of the precious metal. Mr K.V.S. Manian, Group Head-Retail Liabilities and Branch Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank, is confident that the bank's gold sales ... More

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
European bank signs pact to offer expertise
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to "cooperate in tapping synergies in various spheres of activities," at the CII ... More

PFC public issue opens on Jan 31
The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has fixed a price band of Rs 73 to Rs 85 for its proposed initial public offering. The company is offering 11.73 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each to the public, through a 100 per cent book building process. ... More

INTEREST RATES
SBI extends special rate plan
State Bank of India has said that the special rate of interest at 8.25 per cent offered on deposits of Rs 15 lakh and above but less than Rs 1 crore for maturities of one year and above will now be applicable to all deposits ... More

GOVT BONDS
Bond prices down 20 paise
Concerns about inflation rising beyond 5.48 per cent pushed down bond prices by about 20 paise (yields moved up by three basis points). "The market anticipates that rising inflation could trigger a rate hike by the RBI in its ... More

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS
Call rates end marginally down
Call rates closed slightly lower at 7.9-8 per cent (8-8.2 per cent). In the first one-day reverse-repo auction under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility, the RBI received and accepted one bid for Rs 90 crore and in the repo ... More

CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS
HDFC Bank business card for SMEs
HDFC Bank has, in association with MasterCard International, launched `HDFC Bank Gold Business Card' for the self-employed and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Coimbatore. It will have a credit limit of Rs 10 lakh and ... More

PEOPLE
Former Bank of Madura Chairman passes away
Mr K.M. Thiagarajan, Chairman, Micro credit Foundation of India, and former Chairman, Bank of Madura, passed away today. He was 62. Mr Thiagarajan is survived by his wife, Deborah Thiagarajan. Mr Thiagarajan was born into the illustrious ... More

TRENDS
Banks on branch expansion spree
Just before the year 2000, if you had asked bankers about branch expansion they would have responded that bank branches were "baggage". They were, to put it simply, passé. "Clicks" and "eyeballs", or "Net banking" is the future, they said. Move ... More