Rupee ends weak - bonds ease
Mumbai: The rupee ended weak after moving in a narrow band as dollar demand and supplies matched, while bond prices eased after the fall in inflation for the week ended March 26. The rupee closed at Rs43.76 against its previous close of Rs43.73 to the dollar.

G-Secs: The widely traded 11-year closed at Rs99.65 against its previous close of Rs99.73. Bond prices eased after the fall in inflation for the week ended March 26, which was below market expectations. The benchmark 10-year bond yield fell below the 6.95% mark, but rose close to 6.98% in later trades.

Call rates: The call rates opened lower on Friday at 4.60-4.80 per cent against its previous day's close.
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Govt. to safeguard public sector character of banks post mergers
Mumbai: The Government has said that even after the merger of two state-owned banks, the public sector character of the merged entity would not be diluted.

"The Government will retain the public sector character of the banks in the context of consolidation or merger between two State-owned banks," the Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, said after inaugurating SIDBI's new development centre here. The Government would like to give more autonomy to banks but they must also improve efficiency, he said.

"Though few weeks back, the Government had announced series of measures to give more powers to banks, the Government would like to extend larger degree of autonomy," he said.

Chidambaram added that there would not be any retrenchment of employees during consolidation but the employees would be suitably redeployed in the merged entity.

"We will not allow any closure of bank branches in the event of consolidation. On the contrary, more branches would be opened," he said. However, branches of the merged entity in the same vicinity might be closed, he said.

Competition, consolidation and convergence would be the key drivers of the banking sector, he added.
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United Western Bank to come out with bonus-cum-rights issue
Mumbai: In a statement to the National Stock Exchange, the United Western Bank has said that its Board has approved a plan for a bonus-cum-rights issue in the current fiscal year to raise Rs255 crore.

The bank has said that the issue could be followed by a preferential allotment to a strategic partner. The bank's current fiscal year ends March 31, 2006.

The bank also said that it plans to raise Rs125 crore in the next fiscal year by issuing depository receipts.
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