CDR route to tackle wilful defaults likely
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may allow the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) mode to take up cases of wilful defaulters on a selective basis based on the viability of an entity and size of lenders' exposure. The RBI may even allow change of management, if need be, in such cases. "RBI is considering the issue of expanding the scope of CDR mechanism to selective wilful defaulters by taking up their cases for consideration for restructuring or sale or joint venture under the scheme. This will be done in the larger interest of the economy and to avoid wastage arising out of capital invested and unutilised assets," sources were quoted as saying.

It was found that keeping wilful defaulters out of the purview of the CDR mechanism was doing more harm to the lenders than to the defaulting companies. In some cases where the lenders have a huge collective exposure, cases are stuck due to their non-eligibility of being brought under the scheme.
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SBI joins hands with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank
Mumbai: State Bank of India has tied up with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank for an ATM sharing arrangement, allowing SBI customers access to biggest ATM network in the country, with ATMs in excess of 4,500. With this, both ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank customers will also have access to SBI's vast ATM network, which is at 2,068 ATMs at present and poised to touch the 3,000-mark by the end of this fiscal year.

The tie-up, however, is not a three-way arrangement: SBI has independent tie-ups with both ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, while the two private sector banks do not have an ATM sharing arrangement with each other. Chanda Kochhar, executive director, ICICI Bank, said: "SBI and ICICI Bank shared a lot of synergies in terms of the locations where we want to be at. However, many of HDFC Bank's ATM locations overlap with ours, so a similar tie-up does not make much sense at this time. ICICI Bank is keeping its options open for similar tie-ups with other banks in the future."
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IDBI Capital raises Rs 125 crore via bonds
Mumbai: Primary dealer, IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd has completed issuance of subordinated bonds eligible for tier-III Capital for an amount of Rs 125 crore at a coupon rate of 6 per cent per annum payable annually for a maturity of 31 months. Subscribers to the issue included banks, financial institutions and mutual funds.
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J&K Bank H1 net up 35%
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) has recorded a 35.04 per cent rise in net profit for the half-year ended 30 September 2003 to Rs 198.50 crore against Rs 146.99 crore during the same period last year.

The operating profit of the bank has gone up by 26.51 per cent to Rs 332.81 crore against Rs 263.06 crore. The total income of the bank has risen by Rs 88 crore to Rs 920.85 crore during the six-month period.
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SBM slashes rates on term deposits, loans
Bangalore: The State Bank of Mysore, an affiliate of the SBI, has lowered its interest rates on domestic term deposits ranging from 25 basis points to 75 basis points for a tenor between 15 to 45 days and one year to two-year period loans.

The new rates have been effective from 1 October. The bank has also reduced the interest rate on personal loans and tractor loans along with the rate on loans given to small business.
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PNB cuts rates under flexible deposit scheme
New Delhi: Punjab National Bank (PNB) has revised interest rates under its Flexible Rate Deposit Scheme with effect from 1 October. The interest rate for deposits of three years to less than five years has been revised from 5.92 per cent to 5.16 per cent per annum. The rate for five years to less than seven years has been revised from 6.17 per cent to 5.41 per cent and the rate for seven years to less than 10 years has been revised from 6.42 per cent to 5.66 per cent.

The Flexible Rate Deposit scheme operates on a market determined interest rate linked to a Government security paper called the Benchmark rate. The rate is calculated on the basis of average yield to maturity for the last six months for 10 years' government paper. The objective of the scheme is to hedge against the interest rate volatility by offering deposits at flexible rates. The minimum deposit under the scheme is Rs 1 lakh and in multiples of Rs 10,000 thereafter.
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