RBI delays nod for 450 ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank branches
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has delayed giving approval of to applications for opening of new branches by banks penalised early this year for violation of customer identification norms in the IPO scam. This affects ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank the most. ICICI Bank has plans to open 300 new branches, while HDFC Bank has drawn up plans for 150.

Both the banks have identified premises where they plan to locate new branches, bought computers and other hardware to set up business and have even employed people for the proposed branches.

ICICI Bank has 614 branches and 2,200 ATMs, while HDFC Bank has 535 branches and 1,326 ATMs. In 2005-06, ICICI Bank opened 52 new branches and 290 ATMs and HDFC had added 68 branches and 179 ATMs to its network.

If RBI refuses to approve the opening of new branches, both these banks will find it difficult to grow business. Banking industry sources said the RBI would clear the plans only after the noise over the IPO scam died down.
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KMB equity arm spends Rs.30-cr in a buy-out
Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Bank's private equity arm has invested Rs 30 crore in buying out companies in the power and control engineering products and solutions space. This is its sixth investment out of its $160-million India Growth Fund.

The acquisition includes two high-end power control equipment manufacturing companies, Dynaspede Integrated Systems and Digitrac Power Controls; a power management and audit company, Esco Electronics; and two industrial automation software and robotics companies, Marcocomm Media and Content Management and Macrocomm Convergence India.
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Bank of India eyes Rs.2,500-cr biz in Kerala
Kochi: Bank of India is planning to ramp up its business level to Rs2,500 crore in Kerala from the present Rs1,700 crore. The bank plans to increase the total credit in the State to Rs1,300 crore with main focus on agriculture and other priority sectors. It has targeted deposit mobilisation of Rs1,200 crore from the State during the current fiscal. The idea is to achieve maximum business from the semi urban and rural areas where the bank has strong presence, he said.

Bank officials said Kerala Zone achieved impressive growth in all parameters exceeding the targets in 2005-06 fiscal. The total credit went up by 40.27 per cent; priority sector credit by 56.30 per cent; SSI credit by 18.43 per cent; agriculture credit by 46.88 per cent and educational loans by 73.48 per cent.

The credit-deposit ratio of the bank in the State is 97 per cent and the Kerala Zone is aiming a credit-deposit ratio of 100 per cent. The bank has plans for infrastructure financing and tourism-related projects in the State.
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StanChart to finance agri biz
Hyderabad: Standard Chartered, the largest international banker in India, plans to start agriculture and commodities financing during 2006.

Apart from this the bank also plans to consolidate its operations in traditional as well as in the growing retail banking sectors. The bank is finalising a business model for agriculture financing. Some of the options being explored are to work through intermediaries, build cold storages, warehousing and transportation, according to Mr Neeraj Swaroop, chief executive officer (CEO)- India, Standard Chartered.

Over the next 3-5 years, the bank intends to increase its exposure in the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment; middle market through consumer loans and wholesale with focus on areas like technology, services, energy, infrastructure and telecom.

For StanChart, which operates in 56 countries globally, Hong Kong contributed about 20 per cent of the revenues, while Korea was next, especially after the recent acquisition of Korea First Bank.

StanChart is on a consolidation mode in it commercial, wholesale, working capital, trade services, even while strengthening its activities in the derivatives and risk management business, especially cross border activity.
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LIC, SBI, Goldman Sachs increase stake in Reliance Petro
Mumbai: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Goldman Sachs and State Bank of India (SBI), which acquired equity stakes in Reliance Petroleum (RPL) through the pre-IPO placement, have hiked stakes in the Mukesh Ambani Group company by subscribing to the public offer.

RPL said the FII stake in the company after the IPO stood at 7.01 per cent.

Presently Goldman Sachs hiked its stake in RPL by 0.13 per cent (55 lakh shares) to 1.17 per cent by participating in the IPO, RPL said, in a notice to stock exchanges.

Among the Indian institutions, LIC subscribed to 35.75 lakh shares (0.08 per cent stake) through the IPO. Earlier, LIC had bought 1.5 per cent stake or 6.75 crore shares through the pre-IPO placements. Shares of RPL, which completed the IPO allotments late last week, will be listed on the stock markets on Thursday.

The other institutions that participated in the public issue included SBI (Equity), which was allotted an additional 0.05 per cent or about 22.49 lakh shares through the IPO.

US based fund Fidelity, which bought 1.67 per cent stake (7.5 crore shares) during the pre-IPO placement, however, did not participate in the IPO, sources said.
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