document.writeln("

Rupee volatile
Mumbai: The rupee opened at 45.30/31, touched a low of 45.41 but recovered to close at 45.16, almost unchanged from Tuesday's close of 45.16/17.

Forwards: The six-month premium touched a low of 0.37 per cent but closed at 0.54 per cent (0.43 per cent). The 12-month premium touched a low of 0.38 per cent, closing at 0.49 per cent (0.43 per cent).

Bonds: Bond prices fell as they tracked the forex and equity markets. The bond market also saw low volumes, as dealers were not taking positions ahead of the Credit Policy.

G-Secs: The 7.37 per cent 9 year-2014 paper ended at Rs101.95 (7.06 per cent YTM), lower than Tuesday's close of Rs102.05 (7.04 per cent YTM). The 10.25 per cent 16 year-2021 paper closed at Rs124.98 (7.51 per cent YTM), down from the earlier level of Rs125.08 (7.50 per cent YTM).

Call rates: Call rates opened at 5 per cent and closed at 5-5.10 per cent (5-5.05 per cent).

Reverse Repo: Liquidity improved slightly as the RBI received and accepted 28 bids amounting to Rs15,605 crore in the one-day reverse repo auction.

CBLO: In the CBLO market, there were 243 trades for Rs14,167.25 crore in the rate range of 4.98-5.07 per cent.
Back to News Review index page  

RBI: T-bill auctions fully subscribed
Mumbai: According to the RBI, the auctions of the 91-day Treasury bill and the 182-day Treasury bill on Wednesday were fully subscribed.

As for the 91-day T-bill the notified amount was Rs2,000 crore, of which Rs1,500 crore was under the Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS).

The RBI received 65 competitive bids, amounting to Rs3,678.39 crore. Of these, it accepted 43 bids. The cut-off price was Rs98.64 (5.53 per cent YTM). The partial allotment percentage amounted to 34.65 per cent from 20 bids. The weighted average price was Rs98.65.

In the case of the 182-day T-bill, the notified amount was Rs1,500, of which Rs1,000 crore was under MSS. The RBI received 51 bids amounting to Rs2,290.10 crore. Of these, it accepted 45 bids. The cut-off price was Rs97.20 (5.78 per cent YTM). The partial allotment percentage amounted to 11.91 per cent from three bids. The weighted average price was Rs97.22.

The RBI did not receive any non-competitive bid for both bills. The devolvement of RBI was nil on both bills.
Back to News Review index page  

Exim Bank to extend credit of Rs.800 crore for foreign acquisitions
Kolkata: The Export Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) plans to extend credit worth Rs800 crore this year to various Indian companies for foreign acquisitions.

EXIM Bank executive director Srinivas Sridhar said that during the first six months of the current fiscal, a total amount of Rs350 crores had already been disbursed among six major Indian companies for the purpose of acquisition of foreign companies abroad.

Last year, Crompton Greaves was the largest beneficiary of the scheme as it was allotted a total credit limit of US$35mn by the Bank while the company was clinching a deal worth about US$100mn.

The sectors that received major credits included auto components, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
Back to News Review index page  

HDFC Bank and MasterCard offer corporate credit card for SMEs
Mumbai: HDFC Bank is offering a corporate credit card for the small and medium enterprises (SME) segment in association with MasterCard. The card titled HDFC Bank PowerPlus Business Card, can be used to pay for business expenses and is linked to the cash credit account of the company.

The credit limit for the card is Rs25 lakh per company and each company will get five individual cards for their employees. Each individual card has a maximum limit of Rs5 lakh and minimum limit of Rs2 lakh.

The annual fee of the card is Rs25,000 and joining fee is Rs500. The interest rate on the card is 1.5 per cent per month. Other benefits include 50 per cent discount on 10,000 hotels worldwide, and insurance cover up to Rs1 lakh in the case of lost or stolen cards.

The bank's SME portfolio is now 15 per cent of the corporate portfolio. While the corporate portfolio is expected to grow 20-25 per cent year-on-year, the SME segment is likely to grow at 50 per cent.
Back to News Review index page  

Visa credit card reports 42 per cent rise in card issuance
Bangalore: VISA International has reported a 42-per cent rise in credit card issuance in India, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.

Till June, Visa issued a total of 30 million cards in India.

Of these, nine million were credit and 21 million debit cards. This gave it a market share of 70 per cent, he said.

Visa's retail sales volume or spending at point sale was US$3.8bn for the 12 months ended June this year, representing a 66-per cent year-on-year growth. Card sales volumes that included cash withdrawals at automatic teller machines was US$23.8bn or a growth of 76 per cent.
Back to News Review index page  

UBI signs MoC with EXIM Bank
Kolkata: The United Bank of India has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM) to give a leg up to its efforts to increase its forex business.

The bank expects the MoC to increase the foreign exchange business by improving the range and quality of services to existing and potential customers.

UBI has identified the Foreign Exchange business as an area of potential opportunity and is taking special initiatives to increase revenue from the area.

The tie-up would help in sharing expertise in settlement of payments and claims, providing advisory advices and cooperation in staff training, besides providing for collaboration between the two banks for exchange of information on trade, business, investment and legal expertise.

UBI has 178 branches countrywide to handle forex operations.
Back to News Review index page