Can Fin Homes' special offer
Bangalore: Can Fin Homes Ltd, the housing finance subsidiary of the public sector Canara Bank, has worked out a special offer package for housing loans. The offer, which lasts till this yearend, will offer an interest rate of 7.75 per cent for home loan seekers.

Potential borrowers, the release added, would not have to pay any processing fee, but only an administrative fee of 0.25 per cent for legal inspection and technical charges.
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Indian Bank net up at Rs 116 crore in H1
Chennai: Indian Bank has posted a higher net profit of Rs 116.91 crore for the first half of the current year compared to Rs 72.65 crore in the same period last year. Recoveries were up at Rs 132 crore against Rs 100 crore. Indeed, the bank recovered a sum of Rs 30 crore in October. CMD Ranjana Kumar said the operating profit increased to Rs 256.21 crore from Rs 191.65 crore.
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RBI foresees 7% growth
Mumbai: Led by recovery in agricultural production, the economy is poised to record strong growth during 2003-04, according to the RBI report. The RBI has observed that GDP growth during the first quarter (April-June 2003) accelerated to 5.7 per cent. Driven by an improved performance in the manufacturing sector, industrial growth continues to be strong. The increase in the Index of Industrial Production accelerated to 5.6 per cent during 2003-04 (April-August) from 5.2 per cent in the corresponding period, the previous year.

According to the central bank, the overall GDP during 2003-04 is expected to be around 6.5-7 per cent with an upward bias, based on indications of sustained growth in the production of basic goods, capital goods and consumer goods. The RBI's report observed that the surge in capital flows continued during 2003-04 (up to October) reinforced by the revival of FII investment. As a result, foreign exchange reserves climbed to $92.6 billion by end-October 2003.
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CRR: RBI keeps options open
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has hinted that it is keeping its options open regarding the level of Cash Reserve Ratio maintained by banks and might even raise the level if necessary. "While the CRR reduction over the last few years has been consistent with the objective of reducing it to the statutory minimum level of 3.0 per cent, the RBI could continue to use the instrument in either directions, for liquidity management, taking into account the liquidity conditions, inflation trends and other macroeconomic developments," the Central bank said in its report on the Trend and Progress of Indian Banking, 2002-03.

The apex bank has highlighted that reserve requirements were increased temporarily in 1997 to combat pressures arising from contagion from the East Asian financial crisis. However, as part of the medium-term objective of reducing CRR to its statutory minimum and also to step up lendable resources of the banks to support real activity. CRR was reduced by as much as 400 basis points over the last three years with a reduction of 25 basis points since June 2003.
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World Bank to build own office space in Chennai
Chennai: The World Bank hopes to complete construction of its own office premises in Chennai by September 2004. After this, the bank's back office, now functioning from a rented space in the city, will shift to the new office, according to a press release issued by the Tamil Nadu government.

The state government has allotted 3.55 acres of land near the Tidel Park for the bank to construct its office. Fayezul H Choudhury, vice-president and controller, World Bank, Washington DC, has informed Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa about the bank's plans to construct its own office space.
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