Top-rated Indian companies have seen a 10-20 basis points (bps) rise in credit spreads following Greece&rsquo;s sovereign debt downgrade. They may turn away from the foreign debt market if conditions continue to deteriorate, say market players.

In India, rising spreads may spoil debt party

Business Standard

Essar Steel Holdings has cancelled its plan to raise about $750 million (Rs 3,360 crore) through dollar-denominated bonds, amid rising investor concern over Europe&rsquo;s debt crisis. The company plans to revive the issue after at least two quarters, according to a banker familiar with the development.

Essar Steel drops foreign bond issue

HSBC Bank is betting big on expansion of its small and medium enterprises (SME) business in India. The bank is bullish on having 100,000 accounts of small and medium players in the next two years.

HSBC to tap SME business in the country

The rise of the rupee against the dollar has turned out to be a damper for global funds operated by mutual funds here. Although these funds have got minimal investor interest, the escalating rupee has made things worse for them.

Rise of rupee adds to global funds' woes

After many attempts at trying to convince the RBI to elucidate the exchange rate policy for India, Mr. A V Rajwade, a noted and respected foreign exchange expert, decided to do it himself. As mentioned in the second of his series (Exchange Rate Policy &ndash; II) this was more of an attempt to describe what the exchange rate policy &ldquo;should be&rdquo; rather than what it actually was.

An exchange rate policy for India

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX), the country&rsquo;s largest commodity futures trading platform, was conferred on the FICCI Socio Economic Development Foundation (SEDF) CSR Award - 2009 for its flagship CSR project, Gramin Suvidha Kendra (GSK), a joint initiative with India Post.

MCX bags award for flagship CSR project

The US market regulator SEC is looking into the disclosures made by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway related to the group's $26 billion buyout of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp last year, says a media report.

'SEC examining disclosures made by Berkshire Hathaway'

Press Trust of India

Punjab National Bank (PNB) today said it can raise up to Rs 6,800 crore from bonds to fund growth plans.

Headroom to raise Rs 6,800 crore from bonds: PNB

Tayals hold talks with banks, including ICICI &amp; Axis Bank, on a possible buyout.

Bank of Rajasthan an expensive acquisition target, say Analysts

Global banking major Standard Chartered is looking at roping in anchor investors for its Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) issue likely to hit the market around May-end.

StanChart may rope in anchor investors for IDR

State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday reported a 31.1 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter ended March 2010. Net profit stood at Rs 1,135 crore during the quarter, compared with Rs 866 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

PNB net jumps 31%; final dividend at 120%

Government-owned Union Bank of India reported a 27.5 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ended March to Rs 594 crore, compared with Rs 466 crore recorded during the same period of the previous year.

Union Bank up 27.5% on rising interest income

The Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB), a regional rural bank (RRB) sponsored by the State Bank of India (SBI), is planning to disburse Rs 2,000 crore crop loans during the current financial year, as compared with Rs 900 crore last year, said its chairman T Hanumantha Rao.

Grameena Vikas Bank to disburse Rs 2,000 cr crop loans

India&rsquo;s inflation rate would slow down to between 5.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent by March 2011, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman O P Bhatt said here today. &ldquo;Technically, inflation should come down,&rdquo; said Bhatt, citing strong economic growths, backed by improving performances by all economic sectors.

Inflation to slow down to 5.5% by March 2011: Bhatt

The super-rich clients of wealth management firms are no more enchanted with just equity. They are looking at the fixed income asset class closely, especially structured credit products.

HNIs smell gains in structured credit

In an effort to step up credit to farmers, State Bank of India (SBI) has slashed interest rates on crop loans above Rs 3 lakh and up to Rs 25 lakh by over 175 basis points. At present, crop loans upto Rs 3 lakh are available to farmers at 7 per cent. They get additional 2 per cent concession for prompt repayment, SBI said in statement.

SBI cuts rates for farm loans

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected a proposal by some banks for having borrower-specific base rates. It has also not allowed them to charge a negative premium while calculating the effective interest rate.

RBI rejects banks' proposal for borrower-specific base rates

Issuances of certificates of deposit (CDs) continued to decline today as banks were not keen on raising funds due to the abundant liquidity in the system, dealers said.

Short-term debt issues slip again

Partha Dev Datta has joined as the new assistant general manager of the Bhubaneswar circle of Allahabad Bank. Datta, 52, joined as an officer of Allahabad Bank in 1986 and has worked in different capacities in the bank. Prior to joining the Bhubaneswar circle, Datta served as the regional head of Allahabad Bank's South 24 Parganas branch. He appreciated the rapid growth of the bank's Bhubaneswar circle and expressed confidence that the circle's total business would cross Rs 5000 crore by the end of the current financial year.

New AGM of Allahabad Bank

With rising volatility in currency markets in the wake of the debt crisis engulfing Europe, banks have begun to ask Indian exporters to fully hedge their earnings in euro, pound sterling and Swiss franc.

Fully hedge euro exposure, say bankers

Life cover to be bundled with pension plan from July.

Unit-linked pension plans may lose charm

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