With interest rates softening, banks are slowly re-pricing the cost of short-term credit extended to the corporate sector.
"This is for the first time that a manufacturer will charge for an application form. However, it will be refunded if an application is rejected," said a senior bank executive. Bookings are expected to start by the last week of March. The forms will be collected through various channels. "All the forms and the collected money will be transferred to SBI, where they will be processed, and loans will be given through various banks within 90 days," said a source.
Leading economists on Friday called for more fiscal measures to sustain the Indian growth story.
Banks are now asking developers to lower prices to clear their piled-up inventory. In fact, clearing of inventories is a key pre-condition for loan restructuring when the realtors approach lenders, executives at various banks said. Public sector banks, in particular, are asking the builders to justify the offer price of projects as there are apprehensions that real estate companies are holding on to stocks after the payment of instalments is rescheduled.
The general elections could take a toll on the bottom lines of a host of Indian companies that have accessed overseas debt.
Company balance sheets could soon acquire a new look, with the government asking ICAI to suggest ways to strengthen reporting norms following Satyam Computer Services scandal 7. ICAI sources said the mandate from the government was to ensure that company managements did not use notes to accounts as a cover-up for misdemeanours. The special group will submit its recommendations over the next few weeks.
With the restructuring process in full swing, public sector banks have stepped-up monitoring to keep non-performing assets (NPAs) at desired levels.
Indian reinsurer General Insurance Corporation has hardened its stance while negotiating reinsurance arrangements for the next financial year. During the first round of talks with non-life insurers, GIC said that it would pay at least 5 per cent lower commission on business that is reinsured with it. Further, it has sought a share in underwriting profits, which could be as high as 50 per cent, sources involved with the negotiations said.
Weighed down by mounting outstandings and non-performing assets (NPAs), credit card companies are taking strong measures that include slashing new card issuances and credit limits for existing customers.
In the coming days, other lenders are expected to initiate similar steps to recover their dues from the company, which is facing the prospects of a change of management. IFCI executives said that the company revoked the guarantee earlier this month to recover its dues amounting to Rs 95 crore from Maytas Infra.
The government was keen that HFCs did not use the special window at a low rate and offered loans at very high rates. On 5 December, the Reserve Bank of India announced a refinance window for the HFCs, under which Rs 4,000 crore was made available to them from NHB at a concessional rate of 8 per cent.
In a few months, private sector lender IndusInd Bank may have a new identity. The move was in line with the repositioning exercise initiated by the new management team led by Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Romesh Sobti.
Shares of ITC, Axis Bank and Larsen & Toubro are likely to stay with the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India, which was to be wound up in June.Legal opinion received by the government suggests that SUUTI can exist as long as all investors in one of the schemes floated by the erstwhile Unit Trust of India have not redeemed their investment, sources close to the development said. The value of the shares of the three blue chips was estimated at over Rs 15,000 cr.
What's worrying for the public sector banks is the rise in delinquency in the housing portfolio, which does not include real estate. But a bank chief said that with low exposure to the real estate sector, the state-run banks have fewer worries. The other area of concern is credit cards but the operations of public sector banks in this segment are small compared with the likes of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Citibank, the largest players in the business.
Public sector banks are increasingly looking at promoter funding as a business opportunity when others are shying away from it.
Less than half-a-dozen people have evinced interest in buying the eight apartments owned by the late Harshad Mehta and his family, partly due to a last-minute case filed by the stockbroker's mother, Rasila S Mehta.
Ahead of acting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's meeting with public sector bank chiefs on Monday, the government has asked state-owned lenders to submit data on home loans sanctioned by them since December 15.
In a possible precursor to further rate cuts, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's meeting with public sector bank chiefs on Monday will review their benchmark prime lending rates and interest rates on loans for automobiles, homes, small and medium enterprises and non-banking finance companies.
The government has extended the repayment date six months under the farm loan waiver scheme, a move that is expected to help banks set aside less money for non-performing loans, but has raised expectations of another loan waiver ahead of general elections.
The move is aimed at helping them reduce the interest rate on loans for purchase of commercial vehicles and free up additional capital to meet the higher capital adequacy ratio requirement. Non-banking finance companies have to maintain a capital adequacy ratio of 12 per cent, which is to go up to 15 per cent from April, 2010.
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