6 january 2002

inflation slides back to 2.21%
new delhi: an over eight per cent fall in the price of vegetables and a near two per cent in edible oils, coupled with marginal fall in sugar and tea prices, pushed the inflation back to 2.21 per cent for the week ended 22 december, as compared to 8.57 per cent in the year ago period.

the week witnessed point-to-point price change based on wholesale price index (wpi) shedding a marginal 0.06 per cent from the previous week's level of 2.27 per cent, even as ragi, mutton, poultry chicken, sugarcane, woollen and hessian cloth, and mopeds became costlier.

5 january 2002

pnb, vijaya make fresh bid of insurance foray
mumbai: punjab national bank (pnb) and vijaya bank are scouting for a partner for their insurance venture with swiss insurer zurich.

the move comes after the new delhi-based hero group pulled out of the venture at the last minute. the group was supposed to hold 51% while zurich would have been holding 26%. the remaining stake was to be split between pnb (15%) and vijaya bank (8%).

while sbi is the only psu bank to get the central bank nod, vysya bank and jammu & kashmir bank are the private sector banks to get rbi okay for their insurance plans.

4 january 2002

citibank eyes centurion stake
mumbai: citibank is keen on picking up a 26.1 per cent stake in the centurion bank. the american banking major has already done its due diligence and the recommendations have also been forwarded to its head office.

the deal, if fructifies, will be valued between rs 12-14 per centurion bank share. the foreign stake in centurion currently stands at 37 per cent. thus, any foreign investor can pick up only 12 per cent given the sectoral cap in banking which stands at 40 per cent. further, a foreign bank having operations in the country can only pick up 20 per cent in a domestic bank.

3 january 2002

lic arm to buy glfl housing fin portfolio
mumbai: lic housing finance ltd is acquiring the outstanding home loan portfolio of glfl housing finance ltd worth approximately rs 60 crore along with the attendant liabilities.

glfl housing finance has a significant presence in gujarat. with this acquisition, lic housing finance would have a major presence in that sector.

lic housing finance's disbursements of individual loans amounted to rs 1,600 crore in 2000-2001; it has targeted disbursements of rs 2100 crore in individual housing loans for 2001-2002.

2 january 2002

ahmedabad urban co-op banks licence cancelled
ahmedabad: the reserve bank of india (rbi) has cancelled the licence of the ahmedabad urban co-operative bank ltd (aucb) because of its mismanagement and weak financial position.

aucb chief executive officer niketan shah has filed a first information report with the police against bank chairman surendra rajput, several bank directors and four managers alleging that they siphoned off more than rs 30 crore.

the police has registered a case of cheating, forgery, breach of trust, hatching criminal conspiracy, fraudulent activities against the chairman, directors and managers.

1 january 2002

india's gdp growth rate pegged at 5%
new delhi: the confederation of indian industry (cii) has projected a gdp growth rate of 5.0 per cent while pegging centre's fiscal deficit at a higher 5.1 per cent during 2001-02.

cii, in its corporate outlook for 2002, said that fiscal 2001-02 would see a real gdp growth of not more than 5.0 per cent while it was expected to improve to 5.5-6 per cent in the next fiscal.

"while this (5.0 per cent growth rate) still makes india one of the fastest growing countries of the world, it will be insufficient to create the demand stimulus needed for eliminating surplus capacities, raising corporate profits, generating higher tax revenues and giving a much needed impetus to fresh private investments," it said in a release.

31 december 2001

sbi to slash housing loan rates
mumbai: the state bank of india has decided to bring down interest rates on its housing loans to 11.5 per cent effective 1 january 2002.

this makes the loan among the cheapest available in the country.

the reduced rates will apply to all loans disbursed after 1 january. even those who have taken loans earlier on variable rates will benefit from the lower rates.

the bank is also considering extending the zero processing fee offer, which comes to an end in the first week of january.

market leader housing development finance corporation is also likely to review its existing home loan rates which are around 12 per cent.

go to finance diary index page