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Rupee falls; bonds rise marginally
Mumbai: The rupee fell against the dollar on Tuesday closing at 45.8350/8450, down from Monday's close at 45.75/7550.

Forward: In the forward premia market, the six-month closed at 0.54 per cent (0.52-0.56) and the 12-month at 0.44 per cent (0.42-0.45).

G-Secs: The 7.49 per cent-12 year-2017 paper closed at Rs101.85 (7.25 per cent YTM), up from Monday's Rs101.65 (7.27 per cent YTM).

The 7.37 per cent - 9 year- 2014 paper ended at Rs102.53 (6.965 per cent YTM) slightly higher than Monday's Rs102.51 (6.96 per cent YTM).

Call rates: The call rate touched 5.75-85 per cent during the day but closed at 5.30 per cent (5.40-50).

Reverse Repo: In the one-day reverse repo, under the liquidity adjustment facility, the RBI received and accepted 14 bids amounting to Rs7,075 crore.

CBLO: There were 292 trades for Rs12,397.35 crore in the range of 5.10-6 per cent.
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RBI lays out fresh guidelines for credit cards issuers
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines to banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) on credit card operations, which touch upon issues such as credit limit, interest rate, wrong billing, sharing of credit information and fair practices, and code of conduct for the issuers.

The guidelines say each bank and NBFC must have a Fair Practices Code for credit card operations, which should be widely displayed on their Web sites before November 30.

As per the RBI Working Group on Regulatory Mechanism for Cards, banks and NBFCs issuing credit cards will now have to ensure that customers get at least 15 days to make payment before charging interest for delayed payment. In the case of a wrong bill, the card issuer will have to explain and provide the customer with documentary evidence within 60 days.

The issuers will have to give at least one-month notice before hiking any charge. Also, if a customer wishes to surrender his credit card on account of change in charges, the bank will not charge him extra for such closure.

Banks also have to maintain a Do Not Call Registry (DNCR) containing phone numbers of customers as well as non-customers who have informed the bank they do not wish to receive unsolicited marketing calls for credit card products.

In case a bank issues an unsolicited card without the consent of the recipient, the bank should reverse the charge and also pay a penalty amounting to twice the value of the charges reversed.

The monthly statement sent to customers must carry information such as the annualised percentage rates, annual fee and late payment charges and the method of calculation of rates.

RBI has also asked banks or NBFCs who outsource credit operations to ensure confidentiality of customers' records. Banks can also formulate their own code of conduct for direct sales agents or use the code formulated by the Indian Banks' Association and display these on their Web site.

In case the credit card is issued to persons without independent financial means such as students, the liability will be that of the principal cardholder.

Banks must also publicise their grievance redressal machinery and mention the name and contact number of the officer concerned. If the complaint is not addressed within 30 days, the customer can approach the Banking Ombudsman.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also allowed banks to issue credit cards to individuals who have no independent means of income.

In a revision of earlier stance after bankers, under the banner of Indian Banks' Association, lobbied against a ban on issuing credit cards to individuals such as students and housewives, who do not have independent means of income, the RBI issued fresh guidelines on the issue.

Following the announcement of the guidelines, banks have gone back to their drawing boards to chalk out new plans to tap this consumer segment.
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HSBC opens fifth Indian group service centre at Kolkata
Kolkata: HSBC, the financial services giant, has opened its fifth group service centre in India. The center located in Kolkata is spread over a sprawling 1,80,000 sq ft area can accommodate 3000 people.

'The decision to open the fifth Indian centre in Kolkata was taken after considering the infrastructural development and presence of quality human resource in the area, said company officials.

The company said initially 500 people would be employed in the centre and the number would go up to 3000 people subsequently.

Initially HSBS would be taking up the basic data entry and the back office job for US and UK and would subsequently be extend the operations to other countries.

HSBC has two group service centres in Hyderabad, one in Bangalore and one in Vishakhapatnam and employs 10,000 people. Internationally HSBC has group service centres in China, Malaysia, Philippines and Sri Lanka.
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Yes Bank to raise Rs.200 crore Tier II capital
New Delhi: Yes Bank will raise Rs200 crore in Tier II capital this fiscal including Rs100 crore from Asian Development Bank next month, said Yes Bank CEO, Rana Kapoor.

The rupee loan from ADB will have a tenor of up to nine years with a bullet repayment at maturity date. Bullet repayment allows repayment of the loan at one go.

The ADB loan will enable Yes Bank to lend more to focus sectors like food and agriculture and SMEs.

Kapoor said Yes Bank would raise another Rs100 crore maturing in seven years from institutions and other sources by the end of this fiscal. Yes Bank has a capital adequacy ratio of over 26 per cent. The bank has made a net profit of Rs25.50 crore in the first-half of this fiscal.
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DCB ties up with NFS for ATM sharing
Mumbai: The Development Commercial Bank (DCB) has tied up with RBI-promoted National Financial Switch for sharing of ATMs.

DCB customers will now have access to NFS-networked 5,000 ATMs. NFS, comprising a national switch to facilitate connectivity between bank switches and their ATMs, has a tie-up with 17 banks. NFS expects a few more banks to join it in the near future.

NFS was set up by the Institution for Development and Research in Banking Technology, established by the RBI.
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Banks hike NRE fixed deposit rates
Mumbai: With RBI raising the ceiling on NRE rupee deposits, other banks like IDBI, Union Bank of India and Yes Bank have increased interest rates on fixed deposits of non-resident Indians. The three banks raised the interest rates with effect from November 18.

IDBI Bank increased the interest rate by 27 basis points on NRE fixed deposits maturing in one or less than two years. For deposits of two years to less than three years and three years to less than five years, IDBI hiked the interest rates by 25 basis point s each to 5.60 per cent and 5.65 per cent, respectively, the bank said in a statement.

The Union Bank of India raised interest rates on such deposits by 25 basis points. The new rate for deposits maturing in less than 2 years stand at 5.47 per cent, while that for those maturing in two years to less than three years is 5.60 per cent. The bank now gives 5.65 per cent interest rate for deposits of three years and above, according to a statement released by the bank.

Yes Bank also hiked interest rates on these deposits by 25 basis points. Yes Bank now gives 5.47 per cent interest rate for NRE fixed deposits maturing in one year to less than two years and 5.65 per cent for two to less than three period deposits.

The NRE fixed deposit rates for more than three years to less than five years period would now draw up to 5.65 per cent interest rate, Yes Bank said in a statement.
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Bajaj Allianz looks at covering foreign medical expense
Kolkata: Bajaj Allianz General Insurance is considering introducing a policy that will cover expenses incurred on account of treatment by doctors in foreign hospitals and medical facilities.
Bajaj Allianz is said to be in talks with a foreign entity in the medical treatment domain for introducing the products. There has been a constant demand for such insurance covers from high net worth individuals who get themselves treated at foreign hospitals in case of critical illness.

The model will involve tying up with a hospitals and medical facilities abroad and cover specific critical illnesses initially.
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