Rupee breaks through 45 marker
Mumbai: The rupee breached the 45-mark on Wednesday to close at 44.97/99 in its value against the dollar.
Forward Markets: The six-month forward closed over 4.50 paise into premium at 0.23 per cent (0.06 per cent) and the 12-month forward closed over 9.50 paise into premium at 0.25 per cent (0.14 per cent).
G-Secs: The 8.07 per cent 2017 paper closed higher at Rs 121.45. The 7.37 per cent 2014 paper closed at Rs 115.80/85. The 7.49 per cent 2017 paper fell to Rs 115.95.
Call Rates were in the range of 4.40-4.50 per cent.
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RBI approval necessary for NBFC-bank mergers
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has said that its approval should be obtained before initiating steps to merge a NBFC with a bank. In a circular addressed to all scheduled commercial banks, the RBI has said, "With regard to amalgamation/merger of a non-banking finance company (NBFC) with a bank, it has been decided that in order to ensure that the post-merger bank continues to be in compliance with the legal provisions contained in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and other relevant statutes and also the regulatory prescriptions of RBI, banks should obtain prior approval of Reserve Bank of India before initiating steps for amalgamation/merger of a NBFC with the bank.''
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IRDA pulls the plug on bonus practices
Hyderabad: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has warned life insurance companies against the practice of declaring bonus to policyholders except out of an actuarial surplus following valuation. The insurance regulator has said that it has observed that life insurance companies were taking recourse to shareholders' funds in different ways to enable declaration of bonus to participating policyholders.

In a circular to the life insurance companies, the regulator said the surplus should not be increased by contributions out of any reserve fund or otherwise unless they were brought in through the revenue account on or before the date of the valuation. According to the IRDA circular, the insurer should make good the accumulated deficit in the policyholders' account and transfer adequate assets to cover the cost of bonus prior to declaration of bonus to the participating policyholders. Further, IRDA has asked the insurers to appropriately increase the paid-up equity capital following the transfer of assets and investments.
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IOB's net based remittance scheme
Chennai: The Indian Overseas Bank has launched an Internet based remittance scheme between India and the US. The scheme allows the recipient in India to get a demand draft within four working days. The demand draft can be presented at any bank the recipient has an account with. This product has been launched with the software and maintenance support of Times Online Money Ltd, a company that belongs to the Times of India group.

Indian Overseas Bank's Internet-based remittance product, e-Cash Home, will charge $3 for remittances up to $200, six dollars for remittances between $200 and $500 and nine dollars for remittances beyond $500 and up to the monthly limit of $5,000.
Last year, $143 billion got sent across borders and the inward remittances into India was $18 billion.
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