Five banks get autonomy to declare dividends
Mumbai: Three of the 19 listed public sector banks (PSBs) and two of the 18 listed private sector banks
have qualified for autonomy in declaring dividends without seeking prior Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval.

The three eligible PSBs include Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank and Vijaya Bank, and the two private sector banks are HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

All others will have to seek RBI approval before they can declare dividends.

As per the RBI directive, banks will have the autonomy to declare dividends without prior approval from RBI only if they have a capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio (CRAR) of at least 11 per cent in the preceding two completed years and the accounting year for which they propose to declare dividend.

In addition, their net non-performing assets to net advances ratio should be less than three per cent.

Major PSBs such as the Bank of Baroda, Bank of India,Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, and big private sector banks such as ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, IndusInd Bank, ING Vysya Bank, and UTI Bank among others, do not qualify for exemptions.

Most of these big banks do meet that minimum 11 per cent CRAR criteria, their ratio of net NPAs to net advances is outside the 3 per cent limit, often by a thin margin.
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NBFCs barred from accepting NRI deposits
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from April 24 has disallowed non-banking-financial-companies (NBFCs) from accepting expatriates' deposits through fresh remittances from abroad.

According to RBI entities, other than banks, are not allowed to accept deposits made by expatriates from foreign currency and repatriable rupee accounts.

However they will be permitted to continue to hold the existing deposits and also renew such deposits held in the name of the NRIs (non-resident Indians) on repatriation or non-repatriation basis, the apex bank said.

Before this directive, a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, or a body corporate created under an Act of Parliament or State Legislature, and NBFCs was also permitted to collect deposits.

This move by the RBI is being seen as yet another step aimed at discouraging dollar inflows and to cap the rapid appreciation in the rupee, which has gained by about 3.5 per cent against the dollar in 2004.
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DSP Merrill Lynch to diversify into portfolio management
Kolkata: DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers, is planning to get into portfolio management for high net worth individuals, insurance companies, banks, corporate treasuries and overseas investors as it has obtained SEBI's permission to enter the area.

The company hopes that the major chunk of its business would come from this avenue in the next three to four years. According to the company institutional investors comprise more than 65 per cent of its sales at present.

The company is also planning to give a push to its retail business and intends to mobilise Rs 10,000 crore to help increase the reach of its products.
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Allahabad Bank to spend Rs 300 crore on IT projects
Kolkata: Allahabad Bank has targeted to achieve more than Rs 60,000 crore of business including deposits and advances over the next couple of years. The bank is also investing Rs 300 crore on IT to roll out core banking solutions and all inter-linkages between its ATMs and branches.

According to the bank during 2003-04, the total business of the bank is estimated to cross the Rs 48,000 crore mark, a growth of more than 22.5 percent over the previous year. The bank posted a 115 percent growth in its net profit for the quarter ended
December 31, 2003.
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