The lender's comfortable liquidity position, combined with downward bias in interest rates and slow credit growth expectations in the first three months of this financial year, has allowed it to take this decision.
The deal is stuck because the Reserve Bank of India has declined to transfer the branch licences of RBS to HSBC.
The life insurance arm of the country's largest private-sector lender does it not to expand workforce, but to maintain its strength, as almost a similar number of staffers keeps leaving every month.
For instance, a pack of 20 Classic branded cigarettes (from ITC) now costs Rs 120.
In absolute terms, close to 9.2 million customers (almost equal to Mumbai's suburban population) have defaulted on loan repayment. Microfinance institutions currently have around 32 million clients in the country.
Arrangers think the improved risk appetite of investors could lead to more than $2 billion being raised by firms.
Before joining IndusInd Bank, he was the regional head of RBS' corporate solutions business in Asia Pacific region and was based in Singapore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has acquired the non-performing portfolio of Barclays Bank's credit card business in India. The deal, experts said, gives momentum to the sale of stressed loan market in the country which has been having a dry run following stringent regulatory norms introduced in 2007.
Though Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) would begin issuing tax-free bonds on the same date as Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC), it would offer a higher coupon rate. Both the infrastructure finance companies are slated to issue bonds from January 27.
The coupon rates are higher than those offered by IRFC.
Bankers and industry analysts say a number of public and private sector banks have expressed willingness to offer fresh loans to Indian companies to help them repay their overseas dues maturing in the near term.
Barclays Finance, the non-banking finance arm of Barclays Corporate in India, plans to close the majority of its branches here, as part of the lender's plan to scale down retail operations in the country.
The power sector lender is mulling the coupon it would be offered in a falling interest rate scenario.
Bank will charge floating rates of interest from January.
The depreciating Indian rupee (the currency touched a record low for the second day in a row and closed at 53.22/23 to the dollar on Tuesday) has brought the foreign fund-raising cost for India Inc on a par with the domestic borrowing cost.
Experts say the central bank will refrain from using the CRR as a liquidity tool, as a reduction in the rate will go against its current anti-inflationary stance.
In fact, the companies have already raised $8.9 billion even before this year-end as against $9 billion raised last year, says Dealogic.
According to sources familiar with the developments, the bank may sell more than Rs 3,000-crore (Rs 30-billion) worth of retail assets in India comprising mortgage loans, personal loans and loans to small businesses.
The deal, which will be signed this week, will see Standard Chartered Bank adding 170,000 cards to its existing portfolio of 1.1 million cards. The foreign lender will also become the fifth largest card issuer in the country after HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Citibank and State Bank of India.
While most bankers see advances growing 16-18 per cent this financial year, they expect credit expansion to slow to less than 16 per cent in 2012-13.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances