The target that has been set relates only to individual loans and does not include lending to housing finance companies such as CanFin Homes and Housing Development Finance Corporation.

Canara Bank also has a presence in the housing finance sector through its subsidiary, CanFin Homes. The Bank feels devolvement in the case of individual housing finance loans is quite low, while the returns are high. It considers making housing finance one of its core areas of operation.
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Dena Bank starts networking
Ahmedabad: Dena Bank is planning to network its branches through VSAT and leased lines. In the Reserve Bank of India network project, 20 VSATs have already been installed. The bank has received permision to link 422 of its branches in major locations including the Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai.

This will enable the bank to launch products such as ‘any branch banking’ and other electronic products. Information flow is expected to be smoother and faster. Currently, 70 per cent of Dena Bank’s branches handle around 60 per cent of its business.
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Sikkim Bank promoter files petition
Calcutta: A promoter director of Sikkim bank, R S Chowdhury, has filed a petition with the Gangtok High Court, after the Reserve Bank of India issued a show cause notice to him, according to a report in The Economic Times.

The North-Eastern Financial Corporation, the company through which  Mr Chowdhury controls his stake in Sikkim Bank, has also filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court, opposing some actions taken by S N Kundu, managing director of Sikkim Bank, who is an RBI appointee. This petition alleges that Mr Kundu has taken some decisions without reporting them to the board.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India had proposed a merger between Sikkim Bank and Union Bank of India, which could now be jeopardised if the moratorium given to the Sikkim Bank is not extended beyond 3 September 1999.

Sikkim Bank does not hold a bank licence under section 22 of Banking Regulation Act.
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IDBI invokes default clause
Mumbai: As many as 12.1 million shares of Nocil, held by Mafatlal Industries Ltd., have been transferred to the Industrial Development Bank of India, as the financial institution invoked a default clause in its loan agreement with the company. This follows Nocil's inability to redeem the debentures placed with IDBI, according to the Business Standard

This increases IDBI’s take in Nocil to 8.4 per cent from around 1 per cent earlier.
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Biggest ever insider trading in Australia
Sydney: Simon Hannes, the 39-year-old former executive director of Macquarie Bank Ltd., was found guilty of using confidential information to amass A$ 2 million (around US $1.3 million) in profits.

Hannes now faces up to five years in jail and / or a fine of up to A$ 0.2 million for his offence. The jury was deliberating over this trial for over 60 hours over 11 days.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has thus sent clear signals to the financial markets, warning them that they are quite vigilant in matters such as insider trading.
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