HDFC Bank Q3 profit increases 32%
Mumbai: HDFC Bank has registered a 31.8-per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 130.36 crore for the third-quarter ended December 31, 2003, up from Rs 98.88 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Both the interest earned and income on investments of the bank was seen going up during the third quarter. While interest earned jumped by 31.4 per cent to Rs 658.30 crore (Rs 500.92 crore), income on investments also rose 18.4 per cent to Rs 330.89 (Rs 279.36 crore). However, other income decreased to Rs 121.09 crore (Rs 139.88 crore) due to lesser profits on the sale of investments, said a press release from the bank.

Net interest income (interest earned less interest expended) for the quarter increased by Rs 153.4 crore to Rs 354.3 crore, driven by average asset growth of 36.2 per cent and an improvement in core net interest margin which crossed 3.7 per cent. Total income increased to Rs 779.39 crore, up from Rs 640.80 crore, as total expenditure went up to Rs 513.10 crore from Rs 452.67 crore. Capital adequacy increased to 13 per cent, up from 10.74 per cent. Total deposits increased by 38.9 per cent to Rs 29,606 crore, up from Rs 21,317 crore as of December 31, 2002.
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J&K Bank plans interim dividend
Mumbai: Jammu & Kashmir Bank has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it intends to declare interim dividend.

The proposal to this effect is being submitted in the next board meeting.
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Dada-Dadi bonds announced for senior citizens
New Delhi: Aftere the Varistha Pension Bima Yojana, the Indian government has announced another old-age income avenue for senior citizens: the Dada-Dadi bonds, says a report. The new bonds will be open for subscription from April 1 only for persons above the age of 60 years. Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said they will carry an interest rate higher than the market rate.
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IFCI merger with PSU bank by 1 April
New Delhi: India's oldest development financial institution, IFCI, is likely to cease to exist after April 1. Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said announced 1 April as the target date for the institution's merger into a public sector bank. "IFCI is being restructured through transfer of its impaired assets to an asset reconstruction company and its merger into another large public sector bank." He added that as a run up the institution has implemented a voluntary retirement scheme to facilitate the restructuring.

Singh said that the Government would also attempt to finalise all steps to convert IDBI into a bank by the same target date of 1 April. "Steps to restructure IDBI by converting it into a bank are already in hand. However, in accordance with the mandate given by Parliament, the Ministry of Finance will preserve and strengthen IDBI's role as a development financial institution.
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SBI, ICICI Bank to foray into Bahrain
Dubai: The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) has granted an 'in-principle' licence to India's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI), and has also issued a licence to private sector ICICI Bank's overseas unit. Apart from these approvals, effected by Bahrain Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Ali Khalifa on the eve of his four-day visit to India from Sunday, BMA also extended a 'special concession' to $22 billion asset-sized ICICI Bank for offering non-resident Indian banking services in the island nation as well as in the international markets. Shaikh Khalifa is also the BMA chairman.

With an in-principle license from Bahrain administration, the $99-billion asset sized SBI will be able to offer NRI services and certain retail services like mutual funds and capital market service in that country and become the hub of SBI's operations in the middle east.
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