After the CRR cut it is the turn of Repo cut that will be used to inject more money into the system. Bankers feel that the Reserve Bank of India will now cut the Repo rate by 25 to 50 basis points to increase the liquidity.

S K Goel, Chairman and Managing Director of UCO Bank said, "There may be 50 basis point cut in repo rate in the mid-term policy review."

The central bank is...

India's Federal Bank CEO and Managing Director, M Venugopal feel that this is the right time to invest in India. He says that the non-residential Indians should invest in India as the exchange rate has risen following the global financial crisis.

"I will ask NRIs (non-resident Indians) to take advantage of the current situation of high exchange rates and interest rates," Venugopalan said in Qatar.

Indian banks are seen at a safer position during the current...

Private sector Bank, Axis Bank plans to expand its business in the state of Orissa. The bank has decided to open at least 8 more branches and increase the number to 29 from a present number of 21 branches.

The bank officials told that the new branches would be opened at locations like Bhawanipatna, Nuapada, Damonjodi, Paradip and Bhanjanagar.

The bank also plans to increase its ATM network in the state by adding 30 more ATMs...

The Indian auto industry that is facing a drawback may see an improvement in its situation as the country's PSU banks are planning to raise their auto finance portfolio in a ‘cautiously aggressive' manner in order to close the gap created by private banks. Almost all major private sector banks have either raised the interest rates or decreased their exposure in the area.

Although RBI has stepped in to ease liquidity in the economy,...

There's no mistaking that the global financial crisis has found its way to India's shores at a time when the country is in no shape to weather it. The Indian auto industry is also bearing the repercussions as the major auto financers in the country have either hiked the interest rates by 100 basis points (1%) or are planning to do so shortly. This has come despite the CRR cut by the RBI.

This is...

The Government of Tamil Nadu and the Reserve Bank of India have inked a memorandum of association with regard to Urban Co-operative banks (UCBs) in the state.

According to a press release F R Joseph, RBI Regional Director for Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, will be the Chairman of the task force. The co-chairman post will be held by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies.

To encourage development in the state, RBI would also be assigning the training and...

The largest lender, State Bank of India, is all set to undertake the general insurance sector. The bank is going to finalize its terms of joint venture with Insurance Australia Group (IAG) by the next few weeks.

SBI's Chairman O P Bhatt said, "It (general insurance joint venture) is at the final stages and we are seeking RBI approval."

Once a mutual agreement is reached, the new company is expected to start its operations in next three...

State Bank of India's Marathahalli branch lost Rs 19 lakhs due to server problem that was faced across the nation. A box containing a sum of Rs 19 lakhs went missing from the cashier's cabin and left the city police in distress.

The sudden disappearance of a box containing the money, which was meant to be loaded into the bank's ATM, crated havoc at the SBI's branch, near MEG hospital in Marathahalli. The box vanished form...

Rating agency Crisil has placed long term debt instruments of a host of Citibank arms on ‘ratings watch with negative implications.'

A statement from Crisil said, "The long-term ratings have been placed on watch following continued pressure on Citigroup Inc's performance from write-downs on its assets, the announcement of a merger agreement with Wachovia Corp, and the action taken by Standard & Poor's (S&P) on the counterparty ratings on Citigroup and its bank affiliates."

The Indian arms...

Gold is always considered to be attractive and with festive season around the corner, Indian banks have started promoting gold coin purchases at their branches. However, a loan to purchase gold is yet not a common thing in the country. Most banks loan portfolios have not been matched with loan options for gold purchases.

There are only a few like Indian Overseas Bank and Corporation Bank that offer loans to purchase gold and platinum jewellery....

State-run Dena Bank declared an interest rate of 10.25% on its domestic term deposit of 700 days. However senior citizens would get a 0.50% higher interest rate for the deposits of similar maturity.

The interest rates on NRE rupee term deposits with a tenure ranging between one year and less than two years have also been revised from 3.17% to 4.46%.

The bank has also raised its interest rates on FCNR (B)/RFC term deposits in dollar...

In a move to impart greater liquidity in the system, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday announced a 0.50% reduction in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) from 9% to 8.5%.

The reduction in the mandatory cash reserve requirements will come into effect from october11th and is expected to infuse Rs 20,000 crore in to the banking system.

Over the last few weeks the flow of credit by banks has nearly stopped and this ease in...

In the wake of tight liquidity conditions and stable inflation rate, lending rates in the country seem to have peaked.

State Bank of India Chairman O P Bhatt said: "Liquidity is tight and inflation is expected to hover around the current levels, if not come down. Considering these two factors, I think the lending rates set by the Reserve Bank of India have peaked."

However he said that the interest rate charged by the banks will...

Allahabad Bank has shelved its plans to raise funds through a rights issue and perpetual debt. The bank says it has sufficient means to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore through tier I and II capital.

In June, the bank's board had approved a Rs 149 crore rights issue proposal to seek permission of the finance ministry. However the government has not yet responded to the request.

K R Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director of Allahabad...

The current sub-prime crisis has created havoc in the world financial markets where few majors have either departed or lost their positions as top banks and financial institutions. At this time the Indian public sector banks and financial institutions are trying hard to make their appearance more prominent in the global market.

In fact India's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) with over Rs 7 lakh crore assets has been successful in improving its...

Country's second largest PSU bank, Punjab National Bank, declared a hike of 50 basis points in its non-resident deposits in foreign currencies including US dollar, Euro and British Pound.

PNB has also increased the interest rates for rupee deposits by 50 basis points

As the Indian rupee depreciated on September 30th, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the ceiling on interest rates on non-resident deposits by 50 basis points to encourage the inflow of...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is lending $150 million to help India revive the popularity of ‘khadi', a widely-revered handspun and hand-woven cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi. This move seems to be a fitting tribute to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, on his birth anniversary.

The khadi industry has been left behind due poor production and marketing and therefore revival of this industry is expected to boost employment opportunities in India, particularly in the rural...

Retail loan segment is where Tata Capital Ltd (TCL) is eying now. The company plans to start its two-wheeler financing and home financing operations later this fiscal.

TCL MD and CEO Praveen P Kadle said, "By this year end, we want to enter two-wheeler financing segment, though it involves a big risk. But opportunities are also there."

"The market is tough in retail finance. We want to build it very carefully. In the wake of crisis...

HDFC Bank on September 30th launched its financial inclusion programme-‘Project Jharkhand' in Ranchi under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India.

Under this project, HDFC has kick started the country's first Common Service Centre (CSC) with banking services in the state. The bank plans to install machines at Common Service Centres (CSC) in the villages where people would need to make use of smart cards only to withdraw or deposit cash in their bank account....

Private sector lender, Yes Bank has announced the launch of "Money Monitor", an online account aggregation service powered by Yodlee, which will enable its customers to evaluate their net worth on a regular basis. It is the first its kind in India and will ease customers in managing their money and their financial commitments.

This service does away with the need to remember far too many passwords. With Money Monitor, Yes Bank's internet banking customers...