The largest private lender, ICICI Bank takes a step to ease services for its customers. The bank has joined with Dish TV to launch its latest interactive banking service, ICICIATIVE.

The new service will enable subscribers to access information on the bank's products and services from their home. ICICIACTIVE will also provide Dish TV viewers information about various types of ICICI Bank accounts and deposits.

Information regarding ICICI's different products, EMI on loans, eligibility criteria, documentation,...

The credit cards segment of India has taken a hit by the ongoing global crisis and two-digit inflation. With the delinquency rate going high in the country, banks and card issuers have been hesitant on issuing credit cards. The annual growth rate of the industry is also expected to come down to 20-25% by the end of the current fiscal. Over the last few years this growth has been noted at 30-35%.

In order to...

US Banker magazine has enlisted HDFC's Joint Managing Director, Renu Sud Karnad and ICICI Venture Funds Managing Director and Chief Executive Renuka Ramnath in the list of top 25 non-bank women in finance.

Ms Karnad, the first woman joint managing director of HDFC has been ranked 10th while ICICI Ventures' CEO is at 14th spot.

Karnad is on the board of several Indian and multi-national companies. She is also the chairperson of HDFC Venture Capital and...

The country's largest lender, ICICI Bank came forward to assure depositor that their money was safe and there was no reason to panic. There were rumours that the US financial crisis had landed the bank in a tight spot.

However, ICICI Bank said rumours that were being repeatedly circulated about its financial strength were "baseless and malicious", saying it had a very strong capital position.

In a statement, Chief Executive K.V. Kamath said ICICI's banking and...

No matter how many times the banks union strike, the government has decided to move on with its plans on merging the state-run banks. However it insisted on following strict prudential norms.

The idea follows that a weaker entity should not emerged from the merger of a weaker bank and a stronger one.

Following the sub prime crisis in US, the finance ministry would be more attentive in calculating the cost and benefits of a merger...

The global financial turmoil has Indian banks worriedabout their overseas operations. Most of banks feel that if the conditions worsen their international branches will get affected.

The banks fear that foreign lenders may not turn over credit granted to their overseas offices as inter-bank exposure is going slow. They are worried because deposits in their international branches have reduced over the last fortnight.

The Indian banks have expressed their concerns to RBI in a recent meeting which...

Andhra Bank is planning to start a gold retailing business and has therefore approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to obtain necessary clearances for the venture.

Anil Girotra, Executive Director of the Andhra Bank said, "We are awaiting approval from the apex bank and once it is in place the bank will start selling gold coins through select branches. Simultaneously, we have initiated talks with a couple of international companies who can supply gold....

Citi India announces the launch of Citibank® Commercial Cards designed for Indian corporates. It is a comprehensive expense management tool with a unique, chip-embedded commercial card for enhanced security of corporate clients.

The product is supported by a powerful global expense data management function and offers world-class business payment services enabling Indian companies to strengthen their financial operations and control over expenses.

Citi Global Transaction Services India Head Ashish Bajaj said, "About 3,000 of the world's...

A technology solution firm, Financial Information Network and Operations Ltd (FINO) is soon going to launch micro deposit machines in the Indian market. The company aims to take banking to the doors of poor by launching this machine.

Manish Khera, CEO of FINO said, "Poor people find it difficult to go to banks and make a deposit."

"These machines solve that problem, as they will be available at locations where they live," added Khera.

Earlier the firm had...

It seems that India is likely to face a debt trap. The economic boom has seen salaries rise and lifestyles change with people spending a lot on luxuries. Unfortunately, the economic prosperity has also seen a huge rise in personal debts. In this era where one is conscious about his ‘societal status', default rate on credit is also becoming common. Credit card default, home loan default and consumer credit tightening are now frequently heard terms...

After a person lost a chance to buy a house, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum directed the State Bank of India to compensate for the deficiency in services. The largest lender, SBI is asked to pay an amount of Rs 20,000 as compensation.

The complainant, Sanjhi Ram form Chandigarh had deposited a Cheque of Rs 3,39,000 in the State Bank of India on November 29, 2007 and the amount was credited on December 5,...

Bank customers may soon use their cell phones to do most of their banking transactions, thus saving time and money.

In the final guidelines on mobile banking transactions, issued on Friday, RBI set limits for single and daily transactions through mobile phones and also laid down rules for tracking suspicious transactions through mobiles.

Mobile banking involves debiting or crediting funds into a customers account on the basis of instruction received through the mobile phones. A transaction...

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has big India plans following its global take over of ABN Amro for Sterling 54 billion, back in October 2007.

Royal Bank of Scotland Chief Executive John McCormick said, "We have been working towards opening a branch in India. With the buyout of ABN Amro, we suddenly become a very large international bank. We are keen to develop our business here."

He further said, "RBS has a presence in India since...

The merger of State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) with State Bank of India (SBI) has prompted the government for further mergers. The government is now preparing the grounds for merging the State Bank of Indore and State Bank of Patiala with the parent bank- State Bank of India. It is soon going start the procedure of the merger of these associate banks.

The government has long been looking at the possibility of either merging the SBI's...

On the occasion of their 74th foundation day, Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) announced several initiatives that would the ease the operations of its customers. The bank is planning to introduce customer-friendly schemes like drive-in banking facility, Internet banking, SMS and phone banking and schemes for senior citizens, non-resident Indians (NRIs) and children. A customer base of 12.5 million of the bank is likely to be benefited by this move.

Allen CA Pereira, Chairman and Managing...

The Reserve Bank of India plans to rationalize and bring in uniformity in the mode and amount of service charges for electronic payment products and outstation cheque collection through the Real Time Gross Settlement System and the National Electronic Fund Transfer mechanisms.

"The endeavour should be to migrate to electronic modes of payment - Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronics Fund Transfer (NEFT) and Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) - more so for large-value and...

Private sector lender, Bank of Rajasthan has signed a deal with credit rating firm ICRA Ltd for rating the bank's exposures under the standardized approach of RBI`s New Capital Adequacy Framework (Basel-II) in the corporate sector and state run units.

The ratings would enable the bank in assigning proper risk weights under Basel-II linked to various rating categories, which will be as per RBI`s guideline on New Capital Adequacy Framework and the bank's potential borrowers...

Financial services major J P Morgan is all set to launch its first pre-paid travel card in India.

The product will be rolled out by the new-age private sector lender YES Bank, with whom the company has entered into a one-year agreement.

Yes Bank's President and Global Head of International Banking, Arun Agrawal said, "The card would be launched with Visa-affiliation and will carry the features of a debit card."

The bank will use JP Morgan's expertise in...

Credit card holders finally have some respite. The Supreme Court on Monday declined a stay on national consumer forum directive, which instructs the banks on not exceeding their interest rates beyond 30 percent per annum for the default payments on credit cards.

HSBC, Standard Chartered, American Express and Citibank filed the appeals against the consumer order of the National Consumer Commission. On being pressed for a stay on the order by the banks, the Bench,...

Banks are looking forward to increase their incomes from every possible area. As the interest incomes are declining, banks have decided to raise the merchant fees on their point of sales (POS) machines in order to compensate for the losses.

A merchant fee is paid by any organization that uses a bank's POS machine for swapping the debit and credit cards. There are two types of fees that are charged by the banks. One is...