Keeping pace with the rapid economic growth and fighting the ills that have emerged as a result of exploitation by certain builders and real estate developers, the National Housing Bank (NHB) has come up with a unique solution: HOME LOAN COUNSELLORS! NHB, the apex body for promoting and regulating specialised housing finance companies (HFCs), has come up with a plan to introduce home loan counsellors to protect home loan borrowers from fraudsters and exploitation by...

UCO Bank is set to slash interest rates on products such as home and education loans. Referring to this, UCO Bank Chairman and Managing director S K Goyel said,"Home and education loans will be our focus areas for the current financial year and hence we do not mind giving a little interest rate concession to our customers. Though the matter will be discussed at the next board meeting, we are likely to slash lending rates...

In a move which is being seen as a way to lure depositors to meet their credit and other needs, the State Bank of India announced an increase in medium to long term fixed deposits rates by up to 0.50 per cent from June 1, 2008.

This is not the first time that the bank has increased its interest rates. Just last month, SBI had raised fixed deposit rates and the latest move is likely to...

In a move that would make it easier for banks to provide home loans to customers, the Reserve Bank of India took steps to relax the risk provisioning norm for housing loan up to Rs 30 lakh.

In accordance with the annual credit policy announcement made by the Reserve bank Governor Y V Reddy on April 29, the central bank issued the notification which would go a long way in helping the public in the purchase...

In order to gain more from advances, United Bank of India has decided to change its rate of interest on advances, which are presently below the prime lending rate (PLR), which is the interest rate that commercial banks charge their most credit-worthy customers. Generally a bank's best customers consist of large corporations.

Mr T.M. Bhasin, Executive Director of the bank, said: "Some of our advances are below PLR. Now we want to realign them in a...

ICICI Bank has come up with a new scheme to lessen the impact of inflation on its customers. ICICI Bank, "as a customer friendly gesture", has decided to reduce its Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) and increase the tenor of the home loan. The tenor is the amount of time left for the repayment of a loan or contract or the initial term length of a loan. By increasing the number of years of repayment of...

The Chennai police finally caught and arrested M. Srinivasan (43) of Thiruvalluvar Colony, Anna Nagar West in connection to the bank fraud cases registered against him.

His partners in crime had been arrested sometime ago but he had been absconding since a very long time. The police finally caught him last week.

According to the police, the accused forged documents to get loans from public sector banks. He had managed to get around 27 loans of approximately...

In its quarterly policy review, in January, the Central Bank of India did not make any changes in its key rates but said that in the recent times of falling interest rate the commercial banks could decrease their interest rates.

Last week, HDFC had reduced its Benchmark rate (prime lending rate) by 25 basis points to 10.25%. This week, Allahabad Bank reduced its lending rate by 50-100 basis...

The tax incentive on housing loans makes it a very viable and popular option amongst buyers for purchasing residential properties. Once the house has been decided on, then the next step is to look at the options available for financing the purchase.

A buyer would prefer to finance the maximum part of his purchase through a home loan, keeping in mind his ability to repay the loan amount on time. There are two ways...

A subsidiary of Punjab National Bank, PNB Housing Finance has announced an immediate reduction in its home loan interest rates by 50 basis points for its new borrowers.

The press release by PNB Housing Finance stated that the main reason behind this move is the recent trend in the industry of decreasing interest rates.

The company has earned a net profit of Rs 28.87 crore during April-December 2007, reporting a growth of 76%.

The total income of the...

New Delhi: The newly appointed CEO and President of GE Money India has said that the organization is actively looking for a strategic partner for its wholly-owned mortgage and personal loan business. A strong brand with good customer base, extensive network and vast array of products will be an ideal choice for the partnership and according to Mr. Singh, if such an entity is interested, GE Money is prepared to give up the controlling interest...

New Delhi: With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stating that the banking system in India has ample liquidity, and the net interest margins (NIMs) of Indian banks pegged at relatively higher levels as compared to their international counterparts, many experts believe that there is enough room for the banks to cut lending rates.

The quarterly review of the monetary policy announced yesterday saw no change in key benchmark rates from RBI. Though, bankers...

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India's (RBIs) Governor Dr. Y V Reddy has laid all the speculations to rest and kept the rates unchanged. All the three rates, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), repo rate and the bank rate have been maintained at the same level. But the RBI has hinted at the flexibility of changing the repo rate and reverse repo rate in near future.

The reverse repo rate has been maintained at 6...

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India's (RBIs) credit policy, which is expected to be announced on Tuesday according to industry experts may affect a reduction in interest rates on various loans, home loans in particular.

At least a 25 basis point reduction in rates are very much expected by RBI given the immense pressure by banking industry and the recent 75 basis point rate cut by the US Fed. The benefit of rate cut is...

New Delhi: The 75 basis point rate cut by the US Fed Reserve has left the Indian bankers demanding for a similar step by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many authorities have hinted at a rate cut by the RBI, and RBI’s declaration is being eagerly awaited by the entire banking and financial industry.

The third quarter review of the annual policy is expected on Tuesday. Though the inflation is constantly prevailing below...

New Delhi: The 75 basis point reduction in Fed rate yesterday has left the Indian bankers optimistic about a similar step being taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The monetary policy review is slated for the end of this month and, while earlier the bankers were skeptical about any such move, now the mood seems upbeat.

The US Federal Reserve, was first to announce the rate cut, followed by the Bank of Canada,...

Nagpur: Parmatma Co-operative Bank has been served notice by the Nagpur bench of The Bombay High Court for alleged cheating and harassment of around 66 farmers. The single-judge bench or Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari has directed the registrar to verify the charges of excess loan recovery from the farmers.

The farmers had claimed that they have been duped by the co-operative bank. They had taken secured loans for property repair and farming purpose from the said bank....

New Delhi: With the Reserve Bank of India's credit policy review meeting expected to happen on Tuesday, experts are already divided over the outcome of the meeting. While some agree that RBI might affect a cut in various rates, others disagree and say that a status quo will be maintained.

The high interest rates on various loans, especially home loans have reduced the credit off-take substantially and banks are offering discounted interest rates to attract...

Thrissur (Press Release): South Indian Bank has achieved an impressive growth in net profit for the third quarter of 2007-08. The net profit for the third quarter of the current financial year is Rs.40.72 crore as against Rs. 24.84 crore for the corresponding period in previous year registering a growth of 63.93%. The cumulative profit for the period ended 31st December 2007 is Rs. 106.78 crore as against Rs. 58.72...

Mangalore: Reserve Bank of India's (RBIs) monetary policy review, which is expected at the end of this month is eagerly awaited by many banks. Vijaya Bank a mid-sized public sector bank is also contemplating to revise its interest rates after the signals from RBI.

Keeping in mind the reduced credit off-take, mostly due to the prevailing high interest rates, Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram suggested various public sector banks to reduce their interest rates by...