HDFC net increases 25% to Rs 183 crore in Q3
Mumbai: Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has registered a 24.65 per cent growth in its net profit at Rs 182.81 crore for the third quarter of the current fiscal, compared to Rs 146.65 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. HDFC's total income stood for the period at Rs 747.22 crore (Rs 734.94 crore).

The net profit for the first nine months stood at Rs 553.81 crore (Rs 451.10 crore), registering a 23 per cent rise. Housing loan approvals in the nine months grew by 30 per cent to touch Rs 10,390.01 crore from Rs 8,004.82 crore in April-December 2002. HDFC general manager Conrad D'Souza said the housing finance company was expected its housing loan portfolio to grow at a similar rate.
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SIDBI announces VRS
Mumbai: The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is offering a voluntary retirement scheme. The first VRS of SIDBI will open on January 19 and is expected to give a golden handshake to 100 employees. The rather `unexpected' VRS in SIDBI coincides with the one approved in Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), which is awaiting implementation.

Said V K Chopra, CMD, SIDBI: "We expect that about 10 per cent of our work force will take the package i.e., about 100 people. Although SIDBI is only 13 years old, it was hived out of IDBI, which was in turn carved out of RBI, so we will count the full service served both at SIDBI and at IDBI when offering the VRS. About half of our total staff of about 1,000 people came from either IDBI or RBI."
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IDBI issues Flexibonds 20
Mumbai: Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) is to tap the retail market through a public issue of IDBI Flexibonds 20 for Rs 400 crore with a greenshoe option to retain an additional Rs 400 crore.

IDBI Flexibonds-20 rated `AA+ (rating watch with developing implications)' by CRISIL will be open for subscription between January 19 and February 12, said a press release from IDBI.
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Canara Bank to eye ECB market again
Bangalore: Canara Bank has made a second foray into the foreign currency market to take advantage of the low cost of funds and cheap forward premiums. A newspaper report said the bank floated a mandate for raising $50 million along with the option of retaining another $25 million of the oversubscribed amount.

The borrowing would have tenure of one year as in the last case. Canara Bank last forayed into the ECB market in October when it had raised $50 million. It is so far the only public sector bank to tap the foreign currency market for the second time in a row this financial year.
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Rural banks move RBI for 'regular' status
Mumbai: The National Federation of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks has written to the Reserve Bank of India asking for a conversion of ARDBs into full-fledged banks. The conversion is expected to help ARDBs who are now totally dependent on Nabard funding for giving loans to become self-reliant in resources by mobilising deposits like other banks, said a press release.

K. Sivadasan Nair, chairman of the federation, has urged RBI to finalise the norms for conversion of state co-operative agriculture and rural development banks into full-fledged banks, the release said. The federation has also decided to fix a 9 per cent interest for farm loans up to Rs 50,000 and 10 per cent from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, and 11 per cent for above Rs 2 lakh issued by member-banks. The federation has requested Nabard to reduce interest on outstanding refinance to ARDBs for extending the benefit of the present low interest to farmers who availed themselves of loans in the past at high interest rates.
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