Rupee down to 45.17 per dollar
Mumbai: The spot rupee hit an intra-day high of 44.96 per dollar and then slipped to a low of 45.17 per dollar on buying by PSU banks finally closing at 45.09 per dollar as against yesterday's close of 45.06 per dollar.

Bond prices rallied after the RBI cancelled a planned auction of securities worth Rs 5,000 crore.
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Citibank follows other banks in hiking home loan rates
Mumbai: Citibank India is hiking interest rates on certain loan categories, including home loans, citing rise in cost of funds and new risk weight norms.

Citigroup India chief executive Sanjay Nayar said the bank was relooking at lending rates, including prime rate, but was not in a hurry to raise them immediately.

A number of private and PSU banks have recently raised interest rates on home loans by 0.50-0.75 per cent while HDFC was planning a 0.50 per cent hike in housing advances.

Nayar said that the rate hike would not be steep since Citibank did not reduce rates drastically in the past when there was a major decline in rates in the system.
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HDFC Bank to raise $300 m to increase capital base
Kolkata: HDFC Bank is planning to raise upto $300 million through issue of equity securities in the form of American Depository Shares. The bank said the proceeds of the issue would be utilised to augment the capital base to meet future requirements arising out of growth in asset portfolio and also to enhance its ability to provide loans and other financial products to its customers.

A portion of the issue will also be used to fund infrastructure growth through expansion of branch network and other distribution channels, officials said.

HDFC's Capital Adequacy Ratio was 10.9 per cent as on September 30, 2004, of which Tier I CAR was 7.8 per cent, and additional capital was required to support future growth and expansion of business.
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RBI to issue new Rs. 20 bank notes
Thiruvananthapuram: RBI is issuing bank notes of Rs20 denomination with the letter `R' inset in the numbering panel, according to an official spokesman.

These notes will be issued in the Mahatma Gandhi series and will bear the signature of the RBI Governor, Dr Y. V. Reddy. The design of these notes will be similar to that of the Rs20 bank notes issued earlier in the Mahatma Gandhi series.
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LIC launches two new policies
Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched two new policies Jeevan Anurag and Jeevan Nidhi.

According to a press release Jeevan Anurag is a money-back plan that takes care of the need for higher education of the policyholder's son or daughter. The premium can be paid in a single lump sum or in instalments. The payments start flowing back at the rate of 20 per cent of the sum assured during the last three years before maturity, the balance 40 per cent being payable on maturity along with bonuses if any.

Jeevan Nidhi is a pension product with endowment funding. The policy provides for life cover during the waiting period, along with guaranteed additions of Rs 50 per thousand for each of the first 5 years and bonuses if any, thereafter.

On survival of the policyholder beyond the term of the policy, the amount accumulated is used to generate a pension for the policyholder. Pension-called an annuity- will depend on the interest rates prevailing at that time.
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IDBI Bank close to tie- up with four NBFCs
Chennai: IDBI Bank is close to announcing tie-ups with a few NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) for generating retail loans. The NBFCs would generate commercial vehicle and two-wheeler loans for IDBI Bank as both are new areas of business for the bank. The bank would not enter the passenger car financing business.

IDBI Bank has been mostly active on the home-loan front and of its Rs4,500-crore retail loan assets, over Rs4,000 crore are home loans. The bank sees its home loans growing to Rs5,000 crore by the end of this year.

Now, the bank believes it is ready for getting into the slightly riskier business of non-home retail loans - vehicle, consumer and personal loans and it's proposed tie-up with the NBFCs is in this regard.

The bank intends to offload about Rs500 crore of its home loans, by securitising them in the future. The bank prices its home loans between 7.25 per cent and 7.75 per cent. Investors (banks, insurance companies, mutual funds) are willing to buy the mortgage-backed securities at prices between 6 per cent and 6.25 per cent.
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