Heard about mobile banking? &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; pat comes the reply from Mumbai-based Supriya Pandit. She was issued a Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) by her bank, two months back. But the 30-year old graphic designer doesn&rsquo;t know how to use it.

How to go about mobile banking

Business Standard

Bond yields rose to a two- month high after inflation exceeded the central bank&rsquo;s forecast, fuelling speculation that the monetary authority will boost borrowing costs for a third time this year.

Speculation of rate rise pushes bond yields to two-month high

High Casa ratio and lowest risk in corporate loan book make it a good defensive play.

HDFC Bank: Consistency pays

The penal rate is reduced from the interest rate applicable for the tenure your fixed deposit (FD) has completed. For example, the interest payable on the premature withdrawal of term deposits is one per cent below the rate applicable for the period the deposit has remained with the bank, or one per cent below the contracted rate, whichever is lower. Please note that the penal rate may vary across different banks..

Banking: Prashant Joshi

The rupee fell for a second day after Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s cut the long-term credit outlook for the US, reducing demand for emerging-market assets.

Rupee drops a second day on US credit-rating outlook

A couple of weeks ago, Central Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) reduced the interest rates on their term deposits. Central Bank revised its peak deposit rate to 9.25 per cent for 555 days, as against the earlier 9.60 per cent. It also slashed the rate on deposits of Rs 1 crore and above by up to 455 basis points. OBC also lowered it by up to 100 basis points.

Fixed deposits: Get locked in

While IndusInd Bank posted better than anticipated results for the quarter ended March 31, beating analysts&rsquo; earnings estimates by around five per cent, longer-term concerns such as margin contraction will continue to weigh on the stock in the medium term.

Good results, but high valuations 

The bank hangs on to 2.8% NIMs, but Casa continues to languish at 10%.

YES Bank: Version 2 at work

The rupee touched a one-week high after foreign funds boosted holdings of the nation&rsquo;s shares to take advantage of the economic growth outlook in Asia&rsquo;s third-largest economy.

Rupee at one-week high on foreign fund inflows

Vishakha Mulye faced the toughest interviews of her career after she was appointed managing director and CEO. The interviewers were representatives of some of the top global investors who wanted to figure out whether they could trust her to grow their investments, write Shyamal Majumdar and Reghu Balakrishnan.

Lunch with BS: Vishakha Mulye

State Bank of India (SBI) will discontinue its teaser home loan schemes from the end of this month. The interest rates offered on its home loans will now be replaced by floating interest rate schemes, which are comparable with those offered by other commercial banks and housing finance companies.

SBI home loans are cheaper even without teaser rates

Eleven-year bonds dropped, pushing yields to a 10-week high, on speculation costlier oil may prompt fuel price increases and stoke inflation.

Bond yields at 10-week high

Inflation in India made quite a comeback in March. Unlike December, when the price spurt was led by high food prices, the surge this time is driven by rising core, or demand-side, inflation. Worryingly, this uptick in inflation looks like it would persist. Input cost pressures remain high, and this is hurting margins across various sectors. Reasonably firm demand means these costs are likely to be passed on to consumers, thus aggravating core inflation further.

Inflation is out of the bag

Don&rsquo;t ignore tax concerns and possible legal hassles before opting for these.

Joint accounts bring separate problems

Trailblazing careers apart, today&rsquo;s hottest investment bankers have a lot in common.

Investment banking's new rainmakers

Carry a judicious mix of cash, travellers&rsquo; cheques, debit/credit cards and prepaid cards.

How to pay when travelling abroad

Elevated headline prints, large upward revisions, and rising &lsquo;core&rsquo; inflation (non-food manufacturing inflation breached 7 per cent year-on-year in March to hit a 29-month high) would certainly force the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to continue tightening in 2011-12 with a front-loading bias.

No respite in sight for interest rates

Early in 2010, Piyush Gupta, the then newly-appointed chief executive officer of DBS Bank, brought together his management brass on a three-day offsite meeting to work out the future positioning of Singapore&rsquo;s largest bank.

DBS banks on Asian dynamics

ICICI Bank, India&rsquo;s largest private sector one, reported a good set of numbers on Thursday, amid marginal disappointments. Not surprisingly, its stock was up one percentage point, as against a near similar decline in the broader markets. Its results were also broadly in line with its nearest private peer, HDFC Bank in terms of loan book, asset quality and net interest margins (NIMs). Axis Bank, however, disappointed on the NIM front.

Healthy prospects for private banks

Bonds dropped, pushing yields close to a two-month high, on speculation the central bank will boost borrowing costs next week.

Bonds decline on speculation of rate increase

The finance minister has increased the service tax burden on life insurance policies. In ULIP, where service tax was earlier charged only on mortality and fund management charges, it will now be charged on a portion of the premium other than what is allocated for investment. In case of traditional endowment plans, the service tax rate has been increased from 1.03 per cent to 1.545 per cent.

Comment: Rajesh Sud

Financial Analysis: Find the Latest Financial News Analysis & Research Updates from all top sources for the Indian Finance industry on Business Standard.

Finance News Analysis, Financial Analysis and Research | Business Standard

Find the Latest Financial News Analysis & Research Updates from all top sources for the Indian Finance industry on Business Standard.

Page 380 - Finance News Analysis