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Rupee gains - securities weaken
Mumbai: The rupee gained on Friday due to good dollar inflows closing at 43.4850 against Thursday's close of 43.5150.

Forwards market: The 12-month premium closed at 1.35 per cent (1.3 per cent) and the six-month at 1.54 per cent (1.48 per cent).

G-Secs: The 7.37 9-year 2014 paper ended trade at Rs102.75/80 (6.94/95 per cent YTM) against Thursday's close of Rs103.20 (6.87 per cent YTM). The 7.38 per cent 10-year 2015 benchmark paper was dealt at Rs103 (6.97 per cent YTM) against the earlier close of Rs103.58 (6.88 per cent YTM).

Call rates: The inter bank rates were tight between 5.80 and 6 per cent.
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Forex reserves: Investments account for 41 per cent of gains
Mumbai: Foreign investments accounted for 41 per cent of the accretion to the country's forex reserves during the 2004-05, contributing $11.9 billion to the total foreign exchange reserves of $28.6 billion (36.9 per cent last year).

According to figures released by the RBI, external commercial borrowings accounted for 20.6 per cent. Significantly, NRI deposits have shown a net outflow of $1.1 billion in the year as against $3.6 billion last year.

The other components to the forex reserves include external commercial borrowings, which increased to $5.9 billion accounting for 20.6 per cent and external assistance, which increased to $1.9 billion, accounting for 6.6 per cent of the total reserves.

Short-term credit at $3.8 billion accounted for 13.3 per cent of the reserves, and banking capital at $4 billion accounted for 14 per cent of the reserves.

Other items under capital account, which mainly reflect the difference between customs data on imports/exports and banking channel data, rupee debt service and other transactions, accounted for 17.8 per cent, at $5.1 billion, the release added.

Valuation gain, reflecting the appreciation of pound and euro against the dollar, accounted for an increase of $2.4 billion in the total reserves, as against a valuation gain of $5.4 billion last year.
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HSBC and Tata-AIG tie up for life and personal plans
Chennai: HSBC Bank is set to foray into the personal and business insurance sector with the Tata-AIG Life and General Insurance companies. The bank has on offer a range of life and non-life insurance schemes in the personal insurance segment with schemes such as MahaLife Gold and Nirvana Pension Plan.

MahaLife Gold offers lifetime coverage on payment of premium for 15 years. Maximum age allowed is 55 years. The Nirvana Pension Plan is primarily intended to provide an annual income after retirement.

Its USP is that with increasing life expectancy, the typical individual will be in need of income for many decades after retirement. The insured can withdraw 25 per cent of the benefit amount in cash at the selected age of retirement. The balance amount is used to buy an annuity that will yield a monthly income either for a specified period or for the rest of the individual's life, according to choice.

Cover under this policy is available not only in the event of death but also permanent disability of the primary applicant. Other life and non-life personal insurance schemes include Assure EduCare, Assure Security and Growth Plans, Assure Lifeline Plans, Assure Golden Years Plan, medical insurance, home and motor vehicle insurance, personal accident cover and travel insurance.

Information on each of the above schemes is available at HSBC's Web site.
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ICICI Bank launches online PPF scheme
Mumbai: The ICICI Bank has launched an online Public Provident Fund (PPF) account, which the customers can access easily.

The bank has been authorised to collect funds for PPF at branches mandated by the Ministry of Finance. It can also receive subscriptions and act as a collecting and servicing agent for the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, 2004. There will be no charges levied for these services.

Customers opening PPF accounts through ICICI Bank can log on to their Internet banking accounts and transfer money from their savings accounts into the PPF account. They can request for loans, withdrawals etc online. Other features of the PPF scheme such as interest rate and tax benefits will be available online as per the prevailing rules and guidelines of the PPF scheme. PPF desks will also be designated at ICICI branches.

The collection of the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is being launched initially in Mumbai and Delhi, followed by a phased nationwide roll-out.
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PNB opens office in Dubai
New Delhi: The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has opened its first representative office in Dubai.

The bank's Chairman and Managing Director, S.C. Gupta, inaugurating the Dubai office, said PNB had established correspondent relationship with 500 international banks and set up a rupee-drawing arrangement with 17 exchange houses in West Asia and Singapore.
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SBI launches trade finance, other schemes
Kochi: The State Bank of India has launched a new trade finance scheme exclusively targeted at traders and people in the services sector.

The scheme will initially be introduced in Kerala and later in Vijayawada before it is rolled out into the rest of the country.
The new credit scheme has been designed to provide hassle-free loans to businessmen with credit requirements ranging from Rs25,000 to Rs5 crore.

A notable feature of the scheme is that for loans up to Rs 5 lakh, collateral security in the form of immovable property is not mandatory and the loan can be sought on the basis of guarantees alone, SBI officials said. In the case of larger loans also, collateral security requirements have been slashed to 50 per cent of the loan amount.

Another of the scheme, called Mortgage Loans for Trade and Services, is based on the value of the collateral security and can be availed with bare minimum formalities, a press release said.

Up to 75 per cent of the value of the security can be availed as loan and stock statements are to be submitted once a year. The scheme commands an interest rate of 10 per cent for working capital loans and 10.5 per cent for term loans with a maturity period of five years.
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