Birla
Sun Life premium zooms 385 per cent to Rs 170 crore
Mumbai: Birla Sun Life Insurance Co Ltd (BSLI)
has reported a 385 per cent rise in annualised premium
at Rs 170 crore in 2002-03 powered by the unit-linked
plans even as the entity is to infuse further Rs 20 crore
capital in the current fiscal. We sold 65,000 individual
life policies (16,000 in FY-02) with an annualised premium
totalling Rs 126 crore, BSLI chief executive officer
Nani Javeri told newspersons here on Tuesday and added
that sales of single premium bond contributed to less
than one per cent of total sales. Nearly 95 per cent of
the companys annualised premium was achieved through
sale of unit-linked plans, he said. In FY-04, the company
plans to sell 1,80,000 policies with corresponding annualised
premium of Rs 450 crore. BSLI also plans to set up 11
branches in 11 cities in this period, he said.
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Home
loans up despite huge prepayments
Mumbai: The Credit Rating and Information Services
of India Ltd (Crisil) has said that the housing finance
sector comprising housing finance companies (HFC) and
banks has managed a real growth rate of 36 per cent in
terms of its outstanding portfolio between April and December
2002. This is despite the high prepayments faced
by HFCs during this period. While disbursements grew 54
per cent between April-December 2002, prepayments accounted
for a significant 12-14 per cent of outstanding loans
for HFCs, resulting in a portfolio growth of 36 per cent.
Were it not for these prepayments, the portfolio would
have grown 43 per cent. The prepayments have been driven
by borrowers switching loans from one HFC to another to
take advantage of the declining yield curve. This trend
has been precipitated largely by the aggressive marketing
efforts of lenders, Crisil said. Crisil has outstanding
ratings on 13 HFCs and 22 banks.
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IFCIs
first property seizure is Arihant Ind EOU at Baddi
New Delhi: IFCI Ltd has taken over the spinning
export oriented unit (EOU) of Arihant Industries Ltd in
Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, the first property seizure by
IFCI, officials said. The action was taken under the Securitisation
& Reconstruction of Financial Assets & Enforcement
of Security Interest Act (SRFA & ESIA), 2002. According
to IFCI, Arihant Industries promoted by K L Jain
had been sanctioned financial assistance by them
in the lead, along with other financial institutions (FI)
like the Industrial Development Bank of India, UTI, SBIMF,
CanBank Mutual Fund and was also extended interest-free
loan by the Punjab government. The company has four units
engaged in the production of worsted yarn at Secunderabad,
Bulandshahar, UP, texturised yarn and grey fabrics and
grey and dyed fabrics at Ludhiana (two units) and cotton
and polyester viscose yarn at Baddi.
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UTI
Bank 02-03nNet profit rises 43 per cent to Rs192.18
crore
Mumbai: UTI Bank on Tuesday announced a 43.27 per
cent growth in its net profit to Rs 192.18 crore for the
fiscal 2002-03 as against Rs 134.14 crore in the preceding
fiscal. The earning per share (diluted) for 2002-03 was
at Rs 9.97 as compared to Rs 9.31 in 2001-02. The board
has recommended 22 per cent dividend for the fiscal 2002-03.
During the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2003, the bank
recorded a 43.91 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs
60.53 crore, as compared to Rs 42.06 crore in the corresponding
period of the fiscal 2001-02.
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Sundaram
Home net doubles
Chennai: Sundaram Home Finance Ltd, a subsidiary
of Sundaram Finance Ltd, made a net profit of Rs 4.47
crore for the year ended March 31, 2003, compared to Rs
2.05 crore in the previous year. The company was able
to add 9,000 customers last year.
The company started operations in January 2000. Its cumulative
sanctions amount to Rs 650 crore, made to around 16,000
borrowers. Last year, the total sanctions were for Rs
356 crore (up 83 per cent) and disbursement Rs 237 crore
(up 53 per cent).
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SBI
Home Fin may cease to exist
Mumbai: SBI Home Finance is being wound up, with
the State Bank of India (SBI) deciding to take the hit
while writing off losses.
The housing company is not a subsidiary of SBI though
SBI and SBI Caps together hold 25 per cent stake, with
HDFC having 15 per cent to its name. LIC and other insurance
companies hold around 30 per cent, with the rest being
held by the public. Winding-up details are not yet out
even as top officials in SBI confirm the development.
Around this time last year, SBI Home Finance had stopped
lending operations with efforts focussed on recoveries.
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Aviva
Life may cover self-help groups
Chennai: Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) proposes to market
specially designed products of Aviva Life Insurance to
the members of self-help groups (SHGs) based in Andhra
Pradesh. LVB, the Karur-based scheduled commercial bank,
had earlier entered into an alliance with Aviva Life Insurance,
a joint venture between Dabur group and the UK-based CGU,
to market Aviva products as a corporate agent with the
clearance of the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority. The bank had taken up corporate agency arrangement
under the bancassurance model with Aviva Life with the
approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
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Indian
Bank readying for initial offer after July 04
New Delhi: Well out of the black, public sector
Indian Bank plans an initial public offer (IPO) after
July 2004, chairperson and managing director Ranjana Kumar
told newspersons here on Tuesday. Kumar had earlier made
a presentation to the banking division on the restructuring
and revival of the bank that was deep in the red till
1999-2000. For the last financial year, it has registered
a net profit of Rs 189 crore, up 468 per cent. In the
three years of restructuring (April 2000-March 2003),
the bank clocked a 73.70 per cent growth in deposits to
Rs 8,362 crore and 87.17 per cent in savings bank deposits
to Rs 2,641 crore. Non-food credit rose 363.95 crore to
Rs 2,728 crore while investment increased 82.55 per cent
to Rs 2,792 crore, she said.
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ICICI
Lombard may double cap base to fund expansion
New Delhi: ICICI Lombard General Insurance may
soon double its capital base to Rs 220 crore to fund its
expansion plans. It clocked a net profit of Rs 3.3 crore
net profit in the last fiscal, head of marketing
Kartik Jain said at the launch of an alliance with Galileo
India here on Tuesday. The company logged Rs 215 crore
premium income in 2002-03 mainly from commercial line
of business including fire, engineering, marine and group
medical schemes, Jain said. It is now turning to retail
business in a big way, starting with an individual health
insurance scheme. It is eyeing 5-7 per cent of the Rs
200-crore travel insurance market in the first year, or
about Rs 10-15 crore in the first year, he added.
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