The clamour for rate cuts became louder after January&rsquo;s headline inflation stood at 6.5 per cent. However, what makes January&rsquo;s print more relevant is for the first time in 12 months, &lsquo;core&rsquo; inflation, or non-food manufactured inflation, has fallen below the seven per cent level. So far, the fall in inflation has been driven by lower food prices. But now, even core inflation seems to be easing.

Despite easing inflation, it is not yet time to bet on rate cuts

Business Standard

The European Central Bank said it will lend $3.7 billion for seven days to euro area banks to ease tensions in money markets.

ECB lends $3.7 bn to European banks

The Madras high court has not granted relief to a petitioner seeking the introduction of legislation in Tamil Nadu to curb microfinance activities by private players in the state.

Madras HC rejects petition to curb micro-lending in state

You can now apply for a personal loan during your lunch break, without stepping out of the office. If the paperwork is proper, you can also receive the money before you reach home at the end of the day.

HDFC Bank loan kiosks in offices soon

Stuart Davis, chief executive of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in India, is likely to move to Singapore in March, 2012. Sources said the move was a &quot;routine replacement&quot; as Davis will complete three years in India next month.

HSBC India CEO Davis to move to Singapore in March

Moody&rsquo;s warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

Moody's threatens to downgrade 17 big banks

Reuters 

A majority of external members of the Reserve Bank of India's advisory panel on monetary policy had suggested a cut in the repo rate at the January monetary policy review, minutes released by the central bank showed.

Majority external panel members wanted rate cut: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held its Central Board of Directors meeting at Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Governor D. Subbarao chaired the meeting, which was attended by the directors Anil Kakodkar, M.V.Rajeev Gowda, Y.H.Malegam, Dipankar Gupta, G. M. Rao, Ela Bhatt, Indira Rajaraman and Najeeb Jung. Deputy governors of the Central bank such as K.C.Chakrabarty, Subir Gokarn, Anand Sinha and Harun R. Khan were also present.

RBI board meets in Bhubaneswar

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank is set to pick up three-five per cent stake in private sector life insurer Aviva Life Insurance. According to sources privy to the development, as part of the deal, apart from offering shares, Aviva Life would also pay an advance commission, taking the total valuation of the deal to around Rs 1,000 crore.

IndusInd Bank to pick up 3-5% stake in Aviva Life 

Vikram Akula has served a legal notice to SKS Microfinance, the company he founded in 1997 and in which he served as executive chairman till November. The notice seeks a refund of the money paid towards exercising 906,734 stock options, people familiar with the development said, requesting anonymity. Akula is believed to have paid Rs 4 crore towards the exercise of these shares.

Vikram Akula slaps legal notice on SKS Microfin

As European lenders seek to deleverage their books to meet new capital adequacy norms amid the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, Indian banks are eyeing a business opportunity &mdash; acquiring quality assets at attractive prices.

Indian banks eye assets of European counterparts

Despite the rupee taking a U-turn and appreciating against the dollar, the lure of high-interest income seems to be attracting Indians staying abroad to park huge sums in India.

NRE deposits surge on high interest, weak rupee

Stuart Davis, chief executive of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in India, is likely to be shifted to Singapore in March. Sources said the move was a &ldquo;routine replacement&rdquo;, as Davis would complete three years in India next month.

HSBC's India CEO to move to Singapore in March

Four years after rotten mortgages helped trigger a global financial crisis, Sherry Hunt said her Citigroup Inc quality-control team was still finding flaws in new loans that included altered tax forms, straw buyers and borrowers who listed fictitious employers.

Citigroup whistle-blower says bank's brute force hid bad loans from US

The finance ministry has written to all public sector banks (PSBs) asking them to ensure profits are not overstated and to make appropriate provisions for bad loans.

FinMin asks PSBs not to overstate profit

Press Trust of India

China, the largest foreign lender to the US, reduced its holdings of Treasuries in December to the least since June 2010 amid efforts to assist Europe in addressing its debt crisis.

China reduces US treasuries' holdings

Bangalore-based public sector lender Vijaya Bank is likely to close this fiscal with net interest margin (NIM) of 2.85-3% despite the difficult economic environment, a top bank official said.

Vijaya Bank sees fiscal-end NIM at 3%

Rates on certificates of deposit (CDs) touched a one-year high as banks borrowed aggressively from the debt markets on Friday. Traders said CD issuances were close to Rs 5,000 crore against the usual daily quantum of around Rs 3,000 crore. CD rates for three months&rsquo; maturity were up about 25 basis points on Friday.

Short-term rates harden amid tight liquidity 

It seems Reserve Bank of India&rsquo;s (RBI) governor D Subbarao favours the minority when it comes to monetary policy actions. Last month, Subbarao heeded the lone voice in the technical advisory committee (TAC) on monetary policy, that sought a cut of 50 basis points in the cash reserve ratio. Other members of the panel had recommended that the rates be kept unchanged, while some sought a cut of 25 basis points.

On policy actions, RBI guv goes with the minority

The European Central Bank (ECB) is swapping its Greek bonds for new ones to ensure it isn&rsquo;t forced to take losses in a debt restructuring, three euro-area officials said.

ECB to swap Greek bonds for new debt

Citigroup Inc, the third-biggest US bank by assets, will let managers of its hedge funds own part of the business, ahead of rules that limit shareholders&rsquo; cash in the unit, said chief operating officer John Havens.

Citi managers to own part of hedge fund unit

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