Syndicate Bank plans bancassurance subsidiarys
Bangalore: Syndicate Bank, which had earlier announced its plan to enter into general insurance products distribution, is planning to set up a subsidiary for the purpose. No details have been worked out as the bank is still in the process of evaluating the options, says a report. The bank hopes to launch the new business by March.

Michael Bastian, chairman and managing director, said the board had approved the plan to sell products of general insurers. It had recently forayed into distribution of life insurance products. He said a fully-owned subsidiary would be set up if the bank chose to distribute products of multiple insurance companies. Depending on the revenue potential in selling one company's product or products of different companies in different regions, a final decision would be taken.
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Union Bank slashes home loan rates
Thiruvananthapuram: Union Bank of India has announced new, reduced rates for housing loans to be effective from February 1. K R Pillai, assistant general manager, said the bank has retained the free insurance cover for the building and free accident insurance cover to the borrowers during the entire period of the loan.

The new rates are: 7.75 per cent for loans up to 5 years, 8.25 per cent for loans up to 5-10 years and 8.50 per cent for those above 10 years. Borrowers will have the option to avail fixed rates of interest, in which case the rates will be 8 per cent, 8.5 per cent and 8.75 per cent respectively, Pillai said.
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UCO Bank cuts export credit rates
Kolkata: UCO Bank has reduced interest rates on export credit, covering both pre-shipment and post-shipment finance, from eight per cent to 6.5 per cent per annum for a period up to 90 days and to 7.25 per cent per annum for a period varying from 90 to 180 days.

The revised rates, effective from February 1, will be in force till March 31, 2004, according to a bank release
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Allianz Bajaj starts operations in Mangalore
Mangalore: Mangalore Mayor K Diwakar has inaugurated the launch of the operations of Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Company in Mangalore. Allianz Bajaj chief executive officer Sam Ghosh said the insurance solutions of the company are designed to offer extensive coverage for people across all segments and age-income profiles.

The company, which has products such as "Rural RiskCare" and "Rural TermCare" for rural sector, will soon introduce some more products.
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IDBI Bank starts first dedicated loan centre in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: IDBI Bank opened its first dedicated loan centre at Basheerbagh Square on Wednesday. The bank said that its retail lending, led by home loans, stands at close to Rs 3,000 crore. On the home loan account alone, the bank disburses about Rs 200 crore a month on an average across the country, with Hyderabad contributing about Rs 20 crore.

Inaugurating the Hyderabad loan centre, G V Nageswara Rao, managing director, said: "This marks the renewal of the bank's commitment to serve home seekers in particular with better efficiency and minimal response time." The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad provide an excellent market for the bank and it was only natural that the bank decided to strengthen its foundation in this area, Rao said.
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ICICI Prudential cover for SIB customers
Kochi: South Indian Bank, in association with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, has launched a life insurance policy for its customers called SIB Suraksha. ICICI Prudential has offered a one-year renewable group term insurance scheme exclusively for the customers of the bank. For a normal healthy bank customer in the age group of 18-35, the premium for a policy of Rs 1 lakh is Rs 215. According to the insurance company, this is the lowest premium for such a cover in the life insurance market. Life insurance cover will also be available to all bank customers up to the age of 55 years by paying a higher premium.

"I am happy that Indian insurance companies have solemnly undertaken to insure all the citizens of the country up to the age of 55 years as part of their commitment to the society. This is also part of the various steps taken by the bank to offer value-added services to its customers," A Sethumadhavan, chairman of the bank, said.
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