The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today asked lead banks, which plan and formulate credit plans at district levels, to focus on increasing banking access to the masses by aggressively using information technology.

RBI asks banks to tap IT to reach out to rural areas

Press Trust of India

Global banking major HSBC's India operations reported a massive 44 per cent decline in net profit at $374 million in 2009, due to growth in loan impairment charges and deterioration in credit quality.

HSBC India 2009 net declines 44% to $374 mn

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to increase its short-term interest rates by April as part of its strategy of exiting from the easy money regime, Deutsche Bank today said.

RBI may hike repo, reverse repo by April: Deutsche Bank

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) is trying to crack down on violations of norms regarding overall charges on unit-linked insurance products (Ulips).

Irda to plug loopholes in Ulip fee rules

Business Standard

Twelve candidates have been identified for the job of executive directors in state-run banks.

Govt identifies dozen bank EDs

Public sector UCO Bank might raise funds through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) instead of the proposed follow-on public offer (FPO) of 60 million equity shares.

UCO Bank may opt for QIP instead of follow-on offer

The All India IDBI Officers Association has filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court challenging the bank&rsquo;s decision to change service conditions and implement a variable pay structure. The petition, filed last month, is scheduled for hearing on Friday.

Officers go to court over IDBI move on variable pay, new service rules

A day after Prudential bought out AIG&rsquo;s Asia arm, AIA, top executives of both AIG and Tata AIG met the Insurance Regulatory &amp; Development Authority (Irda) to keep the latter abreast of developments.

Tatas to buy AIG's stake in life insurance unit

India Infrastructure Finance Co Ltd (IIFCL), a state-run entity that extends loans at preferential rates, may use $500 million (around Rs 2,302 crore) of the nation&rsquo;s foreign-exchange reserves next financial year to build roads, ports and power plants.

IIFCL may lend $500-mn reserves

American International Group Inc&rsquo;s plane-leasing business is pursuing the potential sale of aircraft for around $3.5 billion after the bailed-out insurer said it would support the unit.

AIG's plane unit ILFC pursues sale of $3.5 bn in aircraft

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling urged pay restraint and moderation from UK banks, and still they raised compensation.

Banks raise pay as UK efforts to cut bonuses fail

Deutsche Bank has forecast that the key domestic equity index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sensex, might touch the 22,000-mark by the end of this year. Projecting the index levels, Abhay Laijawala, head of Deutsche Bank&rsquo;s India equity strategy team, said, &ldquo;We have an overwhelmingly positive outlook and believe that consumption plays, such as auto, metal, paints, private sector banks, infrastructure and software sector will perform well during the year.

Deutsche Bank expects Sensex at 22,000 by year end

Advance tax, inflation, RBI moves weigh on market.

Bond yields inch towards 8%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc analysts are likely to be proven wrong on forecasting 3 percentage points of interest-rate increases in India this year, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission said.

Goldman likely wrong on rate call: Montek

The country's largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank, today said it expects credit offtake to pick up from the next fiscal.

Credit offtake to pick up from next fiscal: ICICI

The British banking major Standard Chartered today said the profit from its Indian operations grew to $1.06 billion (around Rs 4,876 crore) in 2009 as against $891 million (around Rs 4,094 crore) in the previous year.

StanChart India profit crosses $1-bn

UK-based financial services company Prudential Plc, which has a life insurance joint venture with ICICI, today said its relationship with the Indian financial services firm &quot;is as strong as ever&quot;.

Prudential says ties with ICICI strong

Some of the major life insurance companies have replied to the market regulator Sebi's show-cause notice issued to them on the Ulips issue while others are in the process of submitting their replies, officials from different companies have said.

Ulips row: Life insurers reply to Sebi notice

Credit rating agencies must disclose details of revenues, especially those that involve conflict of interest such as fees collected by such agencies&rsquo; subsidiaries, a government panel report said today.

Panel moots more disclosures by rating agencies

When the promotor family of retail chain Nilgiris dragged the private equity (PE) investor, Actis, to the Company Law Board (CLB), it was the culmination of a dispute that had been simmering for nearly two years. The differences related to many aspects of the business, starting with the pace of expansion to the kind of merchandise the stores should sell.

PE troubles in family biz

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned six tribal development programmes in West Bengal under Wadi projects. The Wadi projects are aimed at tribal welfare through job creation. The project in West Bengal is estimated to benefit nearly 2,800 tribal families in Bankura, Birbhum, Darjeeling and Coochbehar districts, according to a press release by Nabard.

Nabard sanctions 6 tribal development projects in West Bengal

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