The Hindu Business Line : Friday, December 19, 2008

MONEY & BANKING

DEBT MARKET: Bond prices see huge rally; rupee gains 70 paise
Mumbai, Dec. 18 Falling inflation numbers and a cut in rates by the US Federal Reserve brought cheer to the currency and the Government securities market with the prices of the 10-year benchmark security rising by Rs 2.40 and the ...

PEOPLE: ICICI Bank to decide on Kamath’s successor today
Mumbai, Dec. 18 The board of directors of ICICI Bank will be meeting on Friday to consider a successor to Mr K.V. Kamath, Managing Director ...

OUTLOOK: Pvt equity funds hope to achieve 30-35% on investments
Expectations coincided with high spread for ECBs. Bangalore, Dec. 18 With global liquidity remaining tight, private equity (PE) funds return expectations from investments have escalated to 30-35 per ...

HOUSING FINANCE: RBI cautions banks on realty exposure
Mumbai, Dec. 18 The Reserve Bank of India said it is imperative for banks to manage the balance sheet risks associated with real estate exposure, particularly in the current scenario of slowdown in the economy with its expected ramifications ...

INTERVIEW: Trading in currency futures gaining favour
‘Our strategy is to reach out rather than wait for investors’. Mumbai, Dec. 18 Currency futures trading in three exchanges – NSE, MCX-SX and BSE – have made hefty strides with the cumulative daily turnover shooting up ...

CREDIT MARKET: BGR ties up credit for TN project
BGR Energy Systems Ltd has tied up credit lines to meet its working capital requirements for the execution of the 600-MW Mettur Thermal Power Project in Tamil Nadu with five banks committing a total credit of Rs 2,105 crore. The company said that ...

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS: Call rates close marginally higher
The inter-bank call rates closed slightly higher at 6.50-6.60 per cent, as against the previous close of 6.40-6.50 per cent. In the one-day repo auction under the first liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), there were two bids for Rs 3,000 crore. ...

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS: State Bank of Mysore stock split
State Bank of Mysore has informed BSE that January 22, 2009 has been fixed as the record date for the purpose splitting of face value of shares from Rs 100 per share to Rs 10 per share. – ...

CO-OPERATIVES: Urban co-op bank mergers progressing
Mumbai, Dec. 18 Reserve Bank of India has received 107 proposals till November 7 this year for merger of 92 urban cooperative banks since the guidelines on merger of urban cooperative banks were issued in ...

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS: Allahabad Bank to expand operations in South
Kochi, Dec. 18 The public sector Allahabad Bank is on an expansion spree in South India in order to have a significant presence in all important business ...

PRIVATE BANKS: HDFC Bank ties up with Postal Dept
Kochi, Dec. 18 HDFC Bank has entered into an agreement with Department of Posts to offer loan against securities, National Savings Certificates and Kisan Vikas Patra in the ...

FINANCIAL MARKETS: State finances to suffer further strains: Crisil
Mumbai, Dec. 18 The revenue deficit and gross fiscal deficit of most State Governments are likely to start deteriorating from 2009, after showing improvement for four years, said a report released by rating ...

HOUSING FINANCE: Realty cos seek further cut in home loan rates
New Delhi, Dec. 18 Real estate companies on Wednesday asked the Government to cut interest rates on home loans further, extend incentives for home loans of up to Rs 30 lakh, and restructure debt of developers, to boost housing ...

HOUSING FINANCE: Indian Bank unveils home loan package
Chennai, Dec. 18 Indian Bank has announced a special home loan scheme carrying low rates of interest for home loans up to Rs 20 lakh effective from Thursday, according to a ...

INTEREST RATES: Andhra Bank cuts rates for MSMEs
Hyderabad, Dec. 18 In order to provide relief to the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, Andhra Bank has announced a reduction of interest rates to micro industries by 100 basis points and small and medium enterprises by 50 basis ...

FINANCIAL MARKETS: Beyond ‘quantitative easing’
That the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Federal Reserve’s arm which decides US interest rates, would cut again at its meeting this Tuesday was a foregone conclusion. What was unexpected was the reduction to zero in ...

INTEREST RATES: SBI cuts rates for MSMEs
State Bank of India has reduced the interest rates for working capital loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) between 50 and 100 basis points, with immediate effect. With this reduction, micro enterprises and small scale ...