SBI strike off with 'satisfactory' settlement
New Delhi: The seven-day strike by SBI employees has been called off, after day-long negotiations on Sunday between the management and the unions in the presence of top finance ministry officials, resulted in an accord on the pension issue.

As per the understanding, all employees earning a basic pay of Rs21,040 would get pension at 50 per cent of that amount, while those earning above that level would get 40 per cent for the incremental amount above Rs 21,040 "subject to a minimum of 50 per cent of Rs21,040.

Announcing the settlement, finance minister P. Chidambaram said, "The financial implications are within the financial capacity of SBI." Chidambaram also said that the revised package is not expected to result in similar competitive demand from other public sector banks.

SBI unions have assured that the staff would resume work on Monday.
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TMB and Franklin Templeton in pact for MF schemes
Madurai: The Tamilnad Mercantile Bank and the Franklin Templeton Asset Management (I) P Ltd, (FTMP) have entered into a memorandum of understanding for distribution of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund schemes.

On offer from FTMP is the `Templeton India Equity Income Fund', which has opened for subscription on March 22. This is an open-ended diversified equity fund that provides a combination of regular income and long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in stocks that have a current or potentially attractive dividend yield.

The minimum initial investment is Rs5,000 and subsequent minimum investment under a folio is Rs1,000 and in multiplies of Re 1, thereafter, with no upper limit. During the NFO period, investors can purchase unit at Rs10 with applicable entry load. TDS will not be deducted from the dividends distributed by the mutual fund.

The fund closes subscription on April 20 and re-opens on May 19 for further purchase of units, a TMB press release said.
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ICICI Pru ties up with pension funds for new annuity card
Kolkata: The ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co is tying up with superannuation funds to promote its new annuity card. The company says that it has already entered into arrangements with Indian Hotels, Oracle, Tata Chemicals and Exxon Mobil in this regard.

ICICI Pru claims to command 30 per cent of the retirement space among private-sector insurers.

The company already has an ongoing relationship with as many as 200 clients for which it manages gratuity and superannuation operations. The company says that the experience should render the company a "natural choice" for various corporate groups.

Last week, ICICI Pru announced two more tie-ups — with Williamson Magor and Apeejay Surrendra.
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TMB hikes NRE, FCNR rates
Madurai: The Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has hiked the interest rates on NRE term deposits by 10 basis points. The rate of interest on NRE term deposits for one year to three years is 6 per cent with effect from April 1.

The bank has also hiked the interest rates on its Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits. The bank has hiked interest rate up to 20 basis points for US dollar and 10 basis points for Australian dollar on various maturity periods, according to a TMB press release.
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BoI hikes rates on large deposits
Mumbai: The Bank of India has increased interest rates on deposits of Rs15 lakh to Rs1 crore, across different time periods, with effect from April 10.

The revised rates on domestic rupee term deposits will be applicable only on fresh deposits and on renewal of maturing deposits, said a press release from the bank. The revised interest rate on deposits of Rs15 lakh for a period of 46-90 days is 5.25 per cent (4.5 per cent), for 91-179 days the rate is 5.75 per cent (5.25 per cent), for 180-364 days it is 6 per cent (5.5 per cent), for one year to less than two years it is 6.5 per cent (6 per cent), for two to less than three years it is 6.5 per cent (6.25 per cent), for three to less than five years it is 7 per cent (6.5 per cent) and for five years and above, 7 per cent (6.50 per cent).
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