IBA finalises mechanism to sort out inter-bank disputes
Mumbai: A banking industry-wise arbitration mechanism for settlement of inter-bank disputes is on the anvil. The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), which was working on the finer aspects of the settlement mechanism for the last one year, finalised its guidelines recently. The IBA has also formed a panel of arbitrators comprising of retired bankers having experience and knowledge on legal proceedings. IBA is now planning to take up a few cases of inter-bank disputes through this arbitration process. 'The idea is to see how it works. Then we go full-fledged," IBA chief executive officer HN Sinor said.In the first stage, small cases involving anything between Rs 10 lakh and Rs one crore will be undertaken, Sinor said. Earlier, the IBA had send letters to all its member banks asking them to identify arbitrators. The letter also mentioned that the arbitrators should have worked as not less than scale five officers. The sub-group, which was formed under IBA’s banking operation committee a year back, has finalised the draft guidelines recently. The guidelines are based on the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (1996). This is a part of IBA’s endeavour to introduce arbitration mechanism for its members for all bilateral or multilateral disputes. The group has formalised the mechanism to settle disputes between member banks and all India financial institutions. The four-member group comprises officials from the State Bank of India, Bank of India, Dena Bank and IBA. As per the mechanism, all disputes will be settled out of court by the arbitrator and thereby help to reduce the settlement time. The judgement of the arbitrator will be as good as a decree of the civil court. The arbitrator can also pass interim orders.
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Escotel, HDFC Bank launch co-branded global debit card
Kochi: Cellular service provider Escotel has tied up with HDFC Bank for a co-branded debit card in Kerala, aiming at the festive Onam season market. During the launch of the HDFC Bank Escotel international debit card here on Wednesday, HDFC Bank retail banking country head Neeraj Swaroop said such a venture was the first of its kind in the country and both Escotel and HDFC Bank would offer benefits to the customers. There will be a free credit of Rs 100 worth of talktime on registration of the debit card and talktime credit of Rs 50 on first usage of the card. There was an offer of a loyalty point for every Rs 100 spent through the card and redemption of loyalty points against Escotel talktime of Re 1 for every point. There will be special discounts at several stores and the processing fee of 1 per cent will be waived on HDFC Bank personal loans. Besides, on two-wheeler loans, the processing fee of two per cent will be waived. Escotel will waive off the Rs 532 mobile activation fee for new post-paid customers as also the Rs 1,200 annual national roaming rental of Rs 1,200. Prepaid customers will have a free talktime worth Rs 50 on the first five recharges. Swaroop said that HDFC would extend its base in the state through this tie-up, especially in the wake of the ensuing Onam season when there will be shopping binge in the state. HDFC Bank has a 65,000 debit card holders in the state and a customer strength of 90,000. It would put up another 27 more ATMs in the state soon, he added.Escotel which has been leader in the state hoped to better its performance and continue to lead with its tradition of innovation, said Escotel Kerala chief operating officer B Ramakrishna. About extension of this facility to other circles, he said it all depended on the future plans of the two companies.
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SBI opens 49th overseas branch in Chittagong
Dhaka: Continuing its expansion abroad, State Bank of India on Wednesday opened its 49th overseas branch in the southern Bangladeshi town of Chittagong. Housed on the ground floor of the Chittagong stock exchange building, the new branch is SBI’s second in Bangladesh. The Dhaka branch had opened in 1975. Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Mani Lal Tripathy, hoped the new branch would further strengthen existing infrastructure for promoting business interaction between India and Bangladesh. He said geographical proximity provided a competitive edge to Indian exporters in trading with Bangladesh but also offered an advantage to importers and consumers of Bangladesh as import bills were smaller. Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury, president of Chittagong chamber of commerce and industry who inaugurated the branch, said it would facilitate trade and international business and enhance cooperation between Bangladesh and the north-eastern states of India. He also hoped that SBI would offer low-cost banking and new products to encourage new businessmen and entrepreneurs. Tripathy said Bangladeshi exporters should not look only at the north eastern states but take full advantage of India’s billion-strong market. SBI chairman AK Purwar said the bank had a branch in Chittagong before the 1965 Indo-Pak war
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Union Bank to float Rs 250-cr bond issue
Mumbai: The Union Bank will soon float a Tier II bond issue of Rs 250 crore in a bid to shore up its capital adequacy. Merchant Banking sources told that it would have 10 year tenor and the Union Bank is looking at the coupon rate of around 6.10 per cent. The Union Bank is considering taking only one or two large investors to fulfil the entire requirement and the deal is near closure. Recently Syndicate Bank had raised money from the market at the coupon rate of 6.10 per cent. Crisil has rated these bonds ‘AA’ plus based on the strong fundamentals of the bank. It must be mentioned here that the Union Bank’s Rs 290 crore IPO at Rs 16 per share floated in September 2002 had oversubscribed a record eight times. Currently, the share price is around Rs 38 to Rs 39.
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ABN Amro sees 50 pc growth in consumer banking assets
New Delhi: ABN Amro Bank is expected to achieve a 50 per cent growth in its consumer banking assets this year. The overall consumer banking portfolio last fiscal stood at over Rs 2,000 crore. The bank is looking at growth by launching innovative products. It launched CreditLine, a new personal line of credit for customers in Delhi on Wednesday. This offers the customer a revolving overdraft facility with a defined cash credit limit and the freedom to repay the loan according to his affordability and convenience. The scheme also offers slab-based interest rates, wherein the rate of interest decreases as the customer borrows higher amounts. The bank also offers the customer an option of linking his personal loan account with his savings account under CreditLine Saver Account. The customer is free to set a threshold limit on his savings account. Whenever the amount in the savings account is above the limit, the excess amount automatically gets adjusted against the borrowings in the CreditLine account. Nitin Chopra, Head of Consumer Banking India, ABN Amro Bank, said the new plan had been created to finance households at the time of need. "The bank has been able to grow its business basically due to innovative products," he added. Besides consumer loans, the bank has already announced plans to get into the housing loans business shortly.
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