Banks will not lend below the minimum or base interest rate from today as directed by RBI, but may continue to give cheaper credit to some preferred clients as per their discretion under existing agreements.

Banks to dole out discounted loans despite base rate regime

Press Trust of India

Vijaya Bank has set its minimum lending rate at 8.25 per cent.

Vijaya Bank base rate at 8.25%

A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report today made a strong case for coordination among the major central banks globally while formulating their stimulus exit strategies, which otherwise could pose major challenges to countries in the form of capital flows.

Central banks must co-ordinate on stimulus exit: RBI report

The development finance institution had registered a net profit of Rs 299 crore in the previous fiscal.

SIDBI profit up 21% to Rs 421 cr in FY10

The announcement of base rates by public sector banks has thrown up a few surprises.

Corp Bank, P&S Bank stand out

Business Standard

A calibrated exit from stimulus packages will be one of the key challenges for governments, including India&rsquo;s, as the world recovers from the 2008 financial crisis, according to a report by the Reserve Bank of India&rsquo;s (RBI&rsquo;s) economic analysis and policy department.

Calibrated exit from stimulus main challenge: RBI Report

Foreign lenders have opted to set their base rates at least 50-100 basis points (bps) lower than their domestic counterparts.

Foreign lenders set lower base rates

Though deregulation of petrol prices has cheered oil marketing companies (OMCs), the base rate regime that banks are shifting to is set to raise the cost of short-term borrowings. As a result, the companies are planning to take the commercial paper (CP) route to raise short-term funds.

Oil marketing firms to tap CPs for short-term money

Issuances of short-term money market instruments fell today because banks were not keen on raising funds at the start of the quarter, dealers said.

Short-term debt issue down

Banks&rsquo; annual performance and their lending to infrastructure will also be discussed widely in the meeting.

Pranab to meet chiefs of north-based banks

The base rate regime, which became operational yesterday, will spur competition among banks but is unlikely to impact their overall profitability, according to ratings agency Crisil.

New system unlikely to hit profitability of banks, says Crisil

Tata Capital, the private equity and financial services arm of the Tata group, is looking at over Rs 600 crore investments for its standalone healthcare fund. The Tata Healthcare Fund will look at taking minority stakes in fast-growing healthcare and pharma companies in India. This fund, which is starting to find its feet, is spearheaded by Visalakshi Chandramouli, who was with Merrill Lynch and Cipla Pharmaceuticals earlier.

Tata Cap healthcare fund eyes Rs 600 cr investments

The life insurance industry is likely to see a significant drop in new business premium collection following new regulations on unit-linked insurance plans, surrender charges and distribution channels.

New income of insurers to fall on changed norms

The country&rsquo;s second largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, plans to capitalise on its acquisition of Centurion Bank of Punjab and deepen its presence in rural India.

HDFC Bank set for rural push

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) will promote organic farming in Kerala through an integrated initiative involving banks, NGOs, farmers and the state agricultural university.

Nabard to promote organic farming in Kerala

Public sector lender Indian Bank today said it has raised Rs 500 crore through issue of bonds on a private placement basis as part of its plan to fund credit expansion.

Indian Bank raises Rs 500 cr via issue of bonds

Credit rating agency Crisil has upgraded to 'stable' from 'negative', debt instruments of ICICI Bank, reflecting an improvement in the lender's core earnings.

Outlook on ICICI Bank debt programme upgraded to 'stable'

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today raised key short-term policy rates by 25 basis points, in an unscheduled announcement, to tame doubled-digit inflation, but bankers said this wouldn't lead to any hike in interest rates for now.

RBI hikes repo, reverse repo rates by 25 bps

On the heels of the market leader State Bank of India (SBI) extending its concessional home-loan rates, the mortgage leader HDFC today announced its 8.25 per cent teaser rate home-loans till the end of August.

HDFC takes on SBI, extends teaser rates till Aug 31

Country's foreign exchange reserves continued their rise for the third consecutive week, backed by a healthy increase in the foreign currency assets, reaching $276.9 billion for the week ended June 25, up $1 billion, compared to the previous week.

Forex reserves up $1 bn to $277 bn

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a cap on annual salary increments of chief executive officers and whole-time directors of banks which are not state-run. It has also proposed to link salaries to the risk and responsibility of the officials.

RBI proposes to cap salary hikes of private bank brass

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