The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, June 25, 2009

MONEY & BANKING

INTEREST RATES: SBI cuts lending rate by 50 bps
Mumbai, June 24 State Bank of India on Wednesday said it will cut its benchmark prime lending rate by 50 basis points to 11.75 per cent with effect from June ...

ACCOUNTING STANDARDS: Panel suggests phased transition to IFRS by insurers
Shift would require retrospective applications in many areas. Hyderabad, June 24 The roadmap for implementing the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by insurance companies in India should provide for phased transition from the ...

INVESTMENTS: Renewal premium collection from ULIPs doubles last fiscal
New Delhi, June 24 Renewal premium collection from unit-linked insurance policies (ULIPs) has almost doubled to Rs 46,239 crore for the fiscal ended March 2008-09, according to Mr S. B. Mathur, Secretary-General, Life Insurance Council. In ...

FOREX: Rupee loses early gains, ends flat
The rupee was flat on Wednesday after it lost most of its gains in day trade. The domestic currency opened stronger at 48.40 and weakened to close at 48.56, same as the previous day’s close. The rupee opened with gains on the back of the ...

GOVT BONDS: Bonds up as US Treasury yields ease
Bond prices moved up as the US Treasury yields eased. There is speculation that the US Federal Reservewill not just maintain a status quo on interest rates, but also indicate that a rate hike may be ruled out for some time now, said a bond ...

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS: Call rate stable
The inter-bank call rate closed at 3.25-3.30 per cent, same as the previous day’s close. Under the first liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), there were no bids in the one-day repo auction. In the reverse repo auction, the Reserve Bank ...

LIFE INSURANCE: ICICI Pru ClaimCare unveiled
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has decided to do away with the Third Party Administrator and settle health claims directly. For this purpose, it has launched ‘ICICI Pru ClaimCare’ and set up a network of 2,500 hospitals, ...

CREDIT MARKET: Banks mull special counselling for students
Banks in Thiruvananthapuram district are gearing up for special counselling of student-loan applicants in view of new guidelines from the Indian Banks’ Association ...

CREDIT MARKET: Banks told to give credit report to customers
Mumbai, June 24 Customers whose loan applications get rejected can now ask the bank concerned for a credit report. The report would typically include details of any previous loans taken by the customer, the outstanding amount on the ...

CREDIT MARKET: RBI tells banks to swap information to prevent frauds
Mumbai, June 24 Banks must have more co-ordination in case of ‘multiple banking arrangement’ to prevent frauds. All banks which lend to a borrower under this arrangement should take co-ordinated action based on a commonly ...

INTEREST RATES: Interest rate cuts may hit deposit mobilisation: K.R. Kamath
Kolkata, June 24 It may be difficult for banks to mobilise deposits in case interest rates drop further, according to Mr K. R. Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director, Allahabad ...

LIFE INSURANCE: LIC sees strong demand for ‘assured return’ products
New Delhi, June 24 Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) sees a strong demand for guaranteed products in the current environment of economic ...

LIFE INSURANCE: Life insurers seek special treatment under Section 80C
Mumbai, June 24 Life insurance companies are seeking creation of a separate category of savings under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, for tax exemption on investments in life insurance ...