Dhanalakshmi Bank buys Devaki Hospital property
Chennai: Dhanalakshmi Bank on Monday took possession of a part of Devaki Hospital's premises under the Securitisation Act following the latter's failure to repay a loan. A notice put up at the hospital by the bank said Devaki owed it Rs 1.31 crore.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chennai, had passed an order under the Securitisation Act last week that allowed the bank to possess Devaki's property. Members of Devaki's management committee could not be reached for comment.
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IDBI slashes lending rate by 2.25 percentage points
Mumbai: The Industrial Development Bank of India has cut its benchmark-lending rate by 2.25 percentage points. The Minimum Term Lending Rate (MTLR) was slashed to 10.25 per cent from 12.50 per cent per annum, said the institution in a press note issued here.

All loan products will be offered in relation to MTLR depending on risk perception, tenure and purpose of the loan. Further, IDBI has done away with one rate, minimum short-term lending rate.
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DCB to focus on non-resident banking
Pune: In keeping with its motto of `old-style banking, new technology,' the Development Credit Bank (DCB) is now looking at increased focus on non-resident banking and opportunities for fee income. Sandeep Mookherjee, head, personal financial services, said as against the total non-resident Indian deposits, the non-resident banking segment constituted revenues of less than 10 per cent. He said DCB was targeting touching 25 per cent over the next one and half years.

He said the bank would also concentrate on income generation from financial products such as life insurance, general insurance, mutual funds and bonds. The bank had entered into an alliance with Birla Sun Life for insurance products, Allianz Bajaj for general insurance and with four mutual funds houses for distribution of their products. He said DCB also plans to increase its presence in the retail asset book to 40 per cent over a time frame of three years.
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United India may make Rs 300-crore underwriting profit
Bangalore: United India Insurance Company Ltd (UIIL) is expected to make underwriting profits of about Rs 300 crore, this financial year making it the first public sector insurer to achieve this turnaround. V Jagannathan, chairman and managing director of UIIL, said the overall profits are likely to be even higher, in view of appreciation in some of its equity portfolios and exits from these investments at the current high prices. These figures would be finalised only after the conclusion of the financial year, though the company had booked substantial returns on investments, he said.

This is the first time in almost two decades that any public sector insurance company has managed to achieve a surplus from core operations. Till last year, insurers' profits were driven by investment incomes, which had cross-subsidised losses in the underwriting business. Last year although the company declared a gross profit of Rs 214 crore, the bulk of it was driven by a realisation of Rs 488 crore in investment income - coupon flows, dividend receipts and income from treasury operations.
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MetLife has high hopes on India market
Coimbatore: MetLife India Insurance Co Pvt Ltd is bullish on the India market and group products in particular. Briefing newspersons after inaugurating its branch office here, the Managing Director of MetLife India, Venkatesh Mysore, said that product development was crucial and the company had established a niche in that space. "We look at products as solutions. Our products are more need driven and our people are trained to identify and resolve customers' needs."

MetLife India, according to Mysore, got the approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for unveiling group products recently. The company, he said, focused on non-traditional life products, apart from introducing traditional products on whole life. "We had, only in December 2003 unveiled a pension plan," he added.
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Bajaj to float AMC in pension entry push
Mumbai: The Rs 5,000-crore Bajaj Auto plans to set up an asset management company (AMC) as a first step towards entering the pension management industry. The company is also open to the option of acquiring an existing AMC though initially the idea is to use the AMC for advisory services for investment of all three entities-general insurance, life insurance and the pension business.

Bajaj already has insurance ventures with the German giant Allianz AG. Sam Ghosh, Allianz AG country manager and the CEO of Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Company told Business Standard that the Bajaj group intends to make fresh investments in existing ventures as well as take at least a 50 per cent stake in the AMC and pension ventures. This rules out reports of Bajaj divesting its stake in the life insurance venture - Allianz Bajaj Life Company - where it has 74 per cent stake.
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State non-life insurers to close down 400 offices
Mumbai: State non-life insurance companies intend to close down 400 of their 4,000 branches across the country to decrease overheads and utilise the services of insurance brokers. At a time when private insurance companies are increasing expanding their network directly or indirectly, state insurers have decided to withdraw from unprofitable markets by closing or merging branches.

The ongoing voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) has attracted about 5,000 applications, of which over two-third are officers and executives, with one-third applications from Class III employees. The four state insurers - The New India Assurance Company, National Insurance Company, Oriential Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company - admit that the VRS will have an impact on individual companies' operations.
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