SBH to tap capital market
Kolkata: The State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) plans to tap the market with an initial public offering in September or October. The bank expects the State Bank of India Subsidiary Bank Act, 1959, to be amended in this session of Parliament, paving the way for the IPO.

The proposal to amend the act has been cleared by the standing committee on finance and the cabinet. The bank expects the act to be amended in this session of Parliament and will then chalk out the details of dilution, issue size, and premium.

The amendment will enable entities to own more than 200 shares of the bank, which is the existing ceiling. SBH is held entirely by its parent, State Bank of India. SBH is technically Basel II compliant and is set to meet the SBI deadline of September 2007.

The bank recorded a 25.71 per cent growth in business at Rs71,000 crore in 2006-07. It is targeting a business of Rs1 lakh crore by the end of 2007-08. SBH aims to increase its client base from 75 lakh to 90 lakh this fiscal.
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Corpn Bank to expand overseas under OIC alliance
Mangalore: The OIC (Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Bank, Corporation Bank) alliance partners are looking at using the OIC brand for their overseas expansion plans. Corporation Bank for one has got clearances from the RBI for opening a RO in Hong Kong.

The bank has operationalised 20 retail asset hubs for speedy disposal of retail credit proposals. Of this, 11 are independent branches.

The bank opened 66 branches during 2006-07. At the end of March 31, the total number of branches was 901 and ATMs were 929. All its branches have been brought under core banking solution, making it the first public sector bank to do so.
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Second home may be more expensive at PSU banks too
New Delhi: Public sector banks are considering the option of making the second home loan slightly more expensive. The difference in interest rates could be in the range of 25-50 basis points.

PSU banks, which command almost 50 per cent of the home loan market, have so far offered a single rate of interest across the portfolio depending on the tenor and amount of the loan. However, a differential pricing formula has already been adopted by banks such as ICICI Bank. Not only this, one may soon be required to furnish proof if you are availing a home loan for the first time.
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ICICI Bank on $5b fund hunt for expansion
Mumbai: ICICI Bank is looking to mobilize $5 billion worth of capital and is anticipating a $500 billion investment by corporates and expectations that Mumbai will emerge as an international financial centre. One of the measures to raise funds include a large follow-on IPO, which would result in an equity dilution of close to 20 per cent. The increased capital would provide ICICI Bank with enough headroom to grow its balance sheet by another Rs 2,00,000 crore.

KV Kamath managing director of ICICI Bank said, "What is making India attractive to foreign investors is the financial underpinnings of the economy, which includes a $500 billion investment pipeline and the positive impact that these investment would have in other areas."

He pointed out that it was imperative that Mumbai became an international finance centre given the flow of capital into the country.

The chief of ICICI Bank pointed out that that the banking sector should typically grow three times the economy. If economy grows 8 per cent the banking sector should grow 24 per cent. He said, "Within this growth there will be outliers at both ends. Some will lead and some will lag behind. Our endeavour will be to lead," said Kamath.
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State Bank of India claims to be at top
Mumbai: State Bank of India (SBI) claims to be at the top in the industry with regards to funding overseas acquisitions.

The bank said it's financing of outbound acquisitions in FY 07 stood at around USD 1.3 billion which is at least USD 100 million more than its nearest competitor. Till four months back, ICICI Bank was the leader in this segment.

SBI's exposures to mid-sized corporates was around Rs87,000 crore, toward large corporates, Rs35,000 crore and towards SMEs around Rs20,000 crore in FY 07 bank officials said.
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