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Rupee firms up - securities decline
Mumbai: The rupee ended trade at 43.57/58, up from Friday's close of 43.67.

Forwards market: The 12-month premium closed at 1.10 per cent (1.12 per cent), while the 6-month premium ended at 1.10 per cent (1.13 per cent).

G-Secs: The 6.85-7 year-2012 paper closed lower at Rs100.15/17 (6.82 per cent YTM). The 7.37-9 year-2014 paper, which was auctioned closed at Rs103.05 (6.90 per cent YTM).

Call rates: The inter bank rates remained stable at 4.90-5 per cent.

CBLO market: 183 trades, aggregating Rs6,298.35 crore in the rate range of 4.75 to 5.05 were realised.
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SREI launches Rs1,000 crore India Global fund
Mumbai: SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd has announced the launching of a Rs1,000-crore India Global Competitive Fund (IGCF).

A company release said that the fund is a close-ended one with a 10-year tenure and a corpus of Rs1,000 crore, of which Rs220 crore has already been committed by various banks and institutions.

The fund will facilitate financing in a variety of flexible financial instruments such as equity, equity-linked instruments, mezzanine debt, and others.

SREI Venture Capital Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of SREI Infrastructure Finance, will manage the fund, with the minimum capital commitment for each contributor to the fund being Rs50 crore. The commitment period for contributors has been fixed at three years, beginning from the date of the final closing.

The company has expanded its operations to the UK, Germany, and Russia and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
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RBI: G-Sec auctions fully subscribed
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has said that the auction of the 7.37 per cent and 10.25 per cent Government stock were fully subscribed, as the cut-off prices for both papers were lower than expected.

For the 7.37 per cent 2014 paper, the notified amount was Rs6,000 crore. The underwriting notified amount was Rs6,000 crore.

The Reserve Bank of India received 306 competitive bids for Rs11,590.96 crore. Of the competitive bids, the RBI accepted 125 bids amounting to Rs5947.80 crore. The cut-off price was Rs103. The partial allotment percentage was 64.32 per cent. The weighted average price was Rs103.12.

The central bank also received and accepted 44 non-competitive bids for Rs52.19 crore. The partial allotment percentage was 100 per cent.

The amount of underwriting accepted from primary dealers was Rs5,540 crore. Devolvement on primary dealers was nil and devolvement on RBI was also nil.

For the 10.25 per cent 2021 paper, the notified amount was Rs4,000 crore. The underwriting notified amount was Rs4,000 crore.

The central bank received 148 competitive bids for Rs7,507.06 crore. It accepted 99 competitive bids amounting to Rs3,970.13 crore. The cut-off price price was Rs125.71. The partial allotment percentage was 28.27 per cent. The weighted average price was Rs126.76.

The RBI also received and accepted 24 non-competitive bids for Rs29.86 crore. The partial allotment percentage was 100 per cent.

The amount of underwriting accepted from primary dealers was Rs3,005 crore. Devolvement on primary dealers was nil and devolvement on the RBI was also nil.
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Bank of Baroda to offer extended banking hours
Mumbai: The Bank of Baroda has announced that it will offer extended banking hours in select branches.

The bank will be opening its first 24-hour branch in Mumbai this month and extending banking hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in over 100 branches all over the country.

The bank has also launched it's new logo — double "B" with a rising sun called " the Baroda Sun", and has announced the signing of Rahul Dravid as its brand ambassador. The bank said that the agreement with Dravid would be for three years.

The 24-hour branch, to be located at Bandra in the western suburb of Mumbai, will offer all types of banking service throughout day and night, said a bank official. The 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. branches will be introduced in phases from this month.

The 97-year-old bank has over 2,700 branches in 20 countries.
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Bank of Baroda to implement core banking solution in 125 branches
Kolkata: The Bank of Baroda (BoB) is set to bring 125 branches within the ambit of its core banking solution as part of a plan to operate on an improved technological platform.

The bank also proposes to subsequently cover at least 1,000 more branches, a plan that will enable it cater to more customers through several service channels.

The bank is currently engaged in rolling out its presence in overseas markets, through new offices and the conversion of representative offices into full-fledged outlets.

One such conversion will take place in Hong Kong, while a representative office will be set up in Bangladesh. BoB has operations in 20 countries through a network of more than 2,700 branches. A branch at the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone is also in the pipleline.
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Banking and Finance Results: Sundaram Finance

Sundaram Fin posts Rs.76-cr net profit
Chennai: Sundaram Finance has announced a net profit of Rs75.99 crore for the year ended March 31. The company had reported a net profit of Rs55.62 crore in 2003-04.

The numbers for the two years are, however, not comparable, since the merger of Lakshmi General Finance (LGF) with Sundaram Finance took effect last year.

The company's disbursements increased 12 per cent from Rs2,104 crore to Rs2,360 crore. The disbursements of the merged entity (including LGF) were Rs2,887 crore.

Officials said that the disbursements were broadly in the ratio of 60 per cent towards commercial vehicles (trucks) and 30 per cent towards car finance.

The company's net non-performing assets were down to 0.45 per cent on the increased asset base. The company's capital adequacy was at 14.82 per cent as against the regulatory requirement of 12 per cent.

The company intends to target a business growth of between 10-15 per cent in this fiscal.

The Board of Directors has recommended a final dividend of 15 per cent for 2004-05, taking the total dividend for the year to 75 per cent.
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