HSBC Securities has set an year-end Sensex target of 19,300, citing slowing momentum of earnings cuts, easing monetary policy and favourable valuations.

HSBC Securities sees Sensex at 19,300 by year-end

Business Standard

Annual shareholder meetings were stormy at Credit Suisse and Barclays on Friday, with many attendees complaining bosses are getting too big a slice of bank income at their expense. But pay plans of both banks got enough votes to pass, the banks said. &ldquo;You should be ashamed of yourselves for taking so much money away from us,&rdquo; said Rudolf Weber, to applause from other shareholders at the Credit Suisse meeting. &ldquo;We are the owners of this bank, and you are our employees.

Credit Suisse, Barclays feel investor ire

Reuters 

Pune, Apr 28 (PTI) The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) extended record support of Rs 6,023.18 crore for agriculture and rural development in Maharashtra during 2011-12, up 71% from Rs 3,532.49 in the previous year.

NABARD posts record performance in Maha in 2011-12

Press Trust of India

SWAWS Credit Corporation has become the second microfinance institution whose loan recast proposal has been admitted in the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell this calendar year.

SWAWS second microfinance firm to go into CDR in '12

&quot;The remaining three years will see the bank witnessing accelerated growth with the objectives to achieve a balance sheet size of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, deposit base of Rs 1.25 lakh crore and advances of Rs 1 lakh crore,&quot; Yes Bank Managing Director &amp; CEO Rana Kapoor said.

Yes Bank eyes Rs 1.5 lakh cr balance sheet by 2015

Canara Bank has become the latest to slash interest rates on loans, reducing its base rate by 25 basis points to 10.5%. The new rate comes into effect from Tuesday.

Canara Bank slashes lending rates by 25 bps

State-owned lender Canara Bank has cut base rate and BPLR by 0.25 percentage points each to 10.50% and 14.75% respectively, which will take effect from tomorrow.

Canara Bank cuts base rate 0.25%

The rupee fell to near a one-week low on Monday hit by heavy demand for dollars from oil importers and tracking a euro that was under pressure.

Rupee falls on oil demand, weaker euro

HSBC, Europe's biggest lender, is significantly scaling down its private banking operations in West Asia, two sources told Reuters, and HSBC said its top private banker in the region had been reassigned to London.

HSBC scaling down operations in West Asia

Indian banks have asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to announce proper guidelines on the classification of restructured assets, particularly for cases in which repayments are regular, under the revised schedule.

Bankers for guidelines on restructured assets

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke said keeping monetary stimulus is warranted even as the unemployment rate falls and rising oil prices may cause inflation to rise temporarily. &quot;With the unemployment rate elevated and the inflation outlook subdued, the committee judges that sustaining a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy is consistent with promoting both objectives&quot; of the Fed for stable prices and maximum employment, Bernanke said on Wednesday in prepared testimony to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington.

'Monetary stance meets Fed goals'

Spanish financial sector player Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has called off plans to acquire a 51 per cent stake in BOB Cards, the card subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, citing a change in its business strategy.

BBVA calls off JV with Bank of Baroda

Year-end targets, coupled with the withdrawal pressure before advance tax payments, have led to banks accessing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) to borrow funds at 9.5 per cent.

Banks tap extra borrowing facility of RBI 

In a closely watched display of its firepower, the European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday issued to euro zone banks another massive round of the cheap, three-year loans that have helped avert a banking crisis but have not yet revived lending to business and households.

European banks flock to second round of cheap loans

Amid tight liquidity conditions, the scramble to raise resources has made State Bank of India (SBI) raise short-term deposit rates by 175-200 basis points above card rates. From March 1, for deposits with a maturity of up to 180 days, the bank would offer nine per cent interest per year for fresh deposits between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 1 crore. A senior SBI official said the revision in rates at at the short end was to attract resources.

SBI raises short-term deposit rates

Gold loan company Muthoot Finance said on Wednesday its Rs 500-crore bond issue, the third this financial year, will hit the markets on Friday. &quot;We have got Sebi permission for a Rs 250 crore NCD (non-convertible debenture) issue which has a green-shoe option,&quot; Muthoot Finance Managing Director George Alexander Muthoot said.

Muthoot Finance's Rs 500-cr bond issue

The Central Bank of India&rsquo;s outlook was cut to negative from stable by Moody&rsquo;s Investors Service citing rising bad loans and low capital ratio. Soured loans at the state-run lender rose to 3.7 per cent, a two-year high, of its total loan portfolio, Moody&rsquo;s said on Wednesday.

Moody's cuts Central Bank of India rating

The finance ministry is considering tweaking the norms banks follow while lending to the agricultural sector. The move is aimed at easing the mounting pressure from non-performing assets (NPAs).

Govt plans to tweak farm lending norms to ease NPA pressure

Standard Chartered Bank, the largest foreign lender in the country with a network of 94 branches, on Wednesday said its pre-tax profit from India business declined 33 per cent to $804 million in 2011, compared with $1.2 billion a year earlier. Lower income, higher expenses, and an increase in provisions led to the fall in earnings.

StanChart India pre-tax profit falls 33% in 2011

In its attempt to hasten financial inclusion across the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow non-banking entities to set up automated teller machines (ATMs). The central bank has issued a draft circular on this issue.

Industry awaits clarity on white-label ATMs

ElectraCard Services (ECS), an electronic payments solution provider, has developed a new switch platform 'electra switch- iTx series' for ATM and point of sale (POS) network for financial institutions. iTx series is designed to support EMV, multiple institutions, time zones and language enabling users to consolidate existing platforms into single platform catering all needs of banking sector.

ECS develops 'electraswitch' for payments

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