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Rupee ends lower - securities rise
Mumbai: The rupee on Wednesday finished the session at 43.77/78, a tad lower than Tuesday's close at 43.76/77.

Forward markets: The 12-month premium closed at 1 per cent (1.09 per cent) and the 6-month premium ended at 0.92/93 (1.09per cent).

G-Secs: The 8.07 12-year 2017 paper closed at Rs108.05/10 (7.04 per cent YTM), against Tuesday's close of Rs107.60/65 (7.10 per cent TYM). The 7.55 5-year 2010 paper closed at Rs103.45/47 (6.72 per cent YTM), against Tuesday's close of Rs103.10/12 (6.80 per cent YTM).

Call rates: The inter bank rates were unchanged from Tuesday's levels of 4.95-5.05 per cent.

CBLO market: 196 trades, aggregating Rs7,023.60 crore in the rate range of 4.75 to 5.05 were realised.
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RBI: T-bills auctions 'fully subscribed'
Mumbai: The auctions of the 91-day and 182-day Treasury Bills were fully subscribed, according to a release from the Reserve Bank of India.

The notified amount for the 91-day T-bills was Rs2,000 crore. The RBI received 39 competitive bids, amounting to Rs2,498.50 crore. Of this, the RBI accepted 30 bids. The cut off-price was Rs98.72. The partial allotment percentage was 99.78 per cent from 21 bids. The weighted average price was Rs98.72.

The RBI also received and accepted one non-competitive bid for an amount of Rs363 crore. The partial allotment percentage was 100 per cent and devolvement on the RBI was nil.

In case of the 182-day T-bills, the notified amount was Rs1,500 crore. The RBI received 47 competitive bids, amounting to Rs4,493 crore. Of this, it accepted 26 bids. The cut-off price was Rs97.40. The partial allotment percentage was 29.20 per cent from 19 bids. The weighted average price was Rs97.41.

The RBI also received and accepted one non-competitive bid for an amount of Rs170 crore. The partial allotment percentage was 100 per cent and devolvement on the RBI was nil.
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Dhanalakshmi Bank and the Oman & UAE Exchange centre tie up
Kochi: Dhanalakshmi Bank has signed up with the Oman & UAE Exchange Centre, Sultanate of Oman, for a rupee drawing arrangement. As of June 1, to start with, the exchange firm will be able to draw rupee drafts on 100 designated branches of the bank.

Oman & UAE Exchange Centre is a company registered and incorporated in the Sultanate of Oman and engaged in buying and selling of foreign currencies and travellers' cheques, issue of drafts, handling of remittances in local and foreign currencies. It is part of the Abu Dhabi-based multi-billion UAE Exchange Centre Group.

The exchange company has 13 branches in the Sultanate of Oman.
With this, the number of drawing arrangements of the bank has now gone up to seven. With more arrangements in the pipeline, the bank expects a significant surge in its NRI portfolio during the current fiscal.
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Banking Cash Transaction tax takes effect
New Delhi: The Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT), an anti-tax evasion measure introduced in this year's Budget, has become operational from Wednesday.

The Finance Ministry has now notified the BCTT rules 2005 that specifies the format of the returns and particulars that banks would have to periodically submit to the revenue department.

Cash withdrawals from savings accounts do not attract the 0.01 per cent tax.

For individuals and Hindu Undivided Families, BCTT is applicable for withdrawal of Rs25,000 and above on a single day from current and other non-savings accounts in the banks.

For businesses, the 0.01 per cent tax will be applicable for any withdrawal beyond Rs1 lakh on a single day.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has made it clear that if the total withdrawal exceeds Rs25,000 by individuals or Rs1 lakh by businesses on a single day even through multi-transactions, the tax would be applicable.
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Banking and Insurance results: SBT, Kotak Life, Exim Bank
SBT net up at Rs247.13 crore, to pay 75 pc dividend
Thiruvananthapuram: The State Bank of Travancore (SBT) is targeting total business of Rs50,000 crore in the current year.

Officials said that the bank had recorded total business of Rs40,069 crore last year and they expect the figure to go up by Rs10,000 crore in 2005-06.

While the operating profit for the bank has increased by Rs101.22 crore from the previous year to touch Rs802.05 crore in 2004-05, the net profit, however, has risen marginally from Rs244.60 crore to Rs247.13 crore due to higher provisions.

The bank has declared a dividend of 75 per cent, which is at the same level as last year.

The earnings per share stood at Rs494.26 against Rs489.20 in the previous year, while the book value per share went up from Rs1,851 to Rs2,260.

The capital adequacy ratio was at 11.05 per cent as at the end of March 2005. The gross NPA was brought down from 5.69 per cent in the previous year to 4.28 per cent in 2004-05. The net NPA stood at 1.81 per cent as at the end of March 2005.

The credit-deposit ratio increased from 60.34 per cent to 62.88 per cent. The total forex turnover for merchant transactions was Rs15,916 crore against Rs14,145 crore.

Kotak Life insurance raises bonus
Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance has declared a bonus for its participatory contracts to the tune of 6.75 per cent for the year ended March 2005. This is an increase over the previous year's figure of 6.5 per cent.

Kotak Life Insurance is currently present in 31 cities with 7,600 life advisors.

Exim Bank pays Rs65.44-crore dividend to Govt
New Delhi: Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has announced that it has paid a dividend of Rs65.44 crore to the Government for the financial year ended March 31,2005.

An Exim Bank release said that it had made a post-tax profit of Rs258 crore for the financial year 2004-05.
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