Somesh Jha &Amp; Abhijit Lele

Stories by Somesh Jha &Amp; Abhijit Lele

Some banks may go slow on teaser home loans

Some banks may go slow on teaser home loans

Rediff.com   4 Nov 2010

Banks are starting to fall in line with the Reserve Bank of India's position on so-called teaser home loans. Even as the country's largest lender State Bank of India stood its ground, several other banks have said they could go slow on teaser loans -- home loans bearing an introductory lower interest rate for a stipulated period of time.

MFI governance issues under lenders' lens

MFI governance issues under lenders' lens

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2010

Stung by the controversy over the sudden sacking of the Managing Director at India's largest microfinance institution, SKS Microfinance, lenders have decided to raise corporate governance issues at board meetings of other MFIs.

Banks find BPLR loans profitable

Banks find BPLR loans profitable

Rediff.com   12 Oct 2010

Mapping of spreads means effective rates in the base rate system are lower.

SBI may raise rates to grab bonus money

SBI may raise rates to grab bonus money

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2010

In an effort to grab a share of the hefty Diwali bonus to employees in government and corporate sector, country's largest lender State Bank of India may raise the interest rate on term deposit rates in next few days.

What SBI's crorepati branch does

What SBI's crorepati branch does

Rediff.com   21 Sep 2010

Customers can meet in the Sapphire conference room, put away their valuables in the Topaz locker room and freshen up in the Opal dressing room.

Bank of India brings in Mckinsey for revamp,growth

Bank of India brings in Mckinsey for revamp,growth

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2010

A senior bank official said the preliminary report would come in three months.

RIL's Infotel kick-starts fund-raising exercise

RIL's Infotel kick-starts fund-raising exercise

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2010

The firm is looking to raise as much as Rs 1,000 crore through short-term commercial paper.

SBI on cost-cutting drive

SBI on cost-cutting drive

Rediff.com   21 May 2010

The scaling down of the branch expansion plan is part of SBI's overall game plan to check costs.

Kingfisher to restructure debt

Kingfisher to restructure debt

Rediff.com   17 May 2010

SBI Capital Market to recast debt plan.

IB seeks bank exposure details on IPL

IB seeks bank exposure details on IPL

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2010

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) story getting murkier, investigative agencies have cast their net wide to include banks. The idea is to dig out information about their financial exposure to the 10 IPL franchisees.

Corporate loan recast norms made tougher

Corporate loan recast norms made tougher

Rediff.com   3 Apr 2010

With the economic turnaround now on a firm wicket, the Reserve Bank of India has made restructuring of debt by companies tougher.

 Public sector banks may need more core capital

Public sector banks may need more core capital

Rediff.com   2 Apr 2010

A number of public sector banks will have to stock up on core capital, if the Reserve Bank of India decides to ask banks to leave out hybrid instruments while computing Tier-I capital adequacy, as indicated by RBI last week.

Paying on savings a/cs to put pressure on banks

Paying on savings a/cs to put pressure on banks

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2010

Savings bank account holders are a happier lot. The reason: They will earn more on their deposits from April. However, this isn't good news for banks, as their margins will come under pressure

Rise of rupee to dictate RBI policy

Rise of rupee to dictate RBI policy

Rediff.com   21 Jan 2010

The buoyant foreign capital flows in debt instruments since the beginning of 2010 could weigh on the Reserve Bank of India's decision on whether to raise policy rates.

200,000 recruits to bring bank to your doorstep

200,000 recruits to bring bank to your doorstep

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2010

With the Reserve Bank of India allowing retired teachers, kirana shop owners and public call office (PCO) operators to be hired as business correspondents, banks are set to hire over 200,000 people over the next few years to push financial inclusion initiatives.

SBI banks on wind power

SBI banks on wind power

Rediff.com   28 Dec 2009

The country's largest lender will set up wind power projects in Maharashtra (9 Mw), Tamil Nadu (5 Mw) and Gujarat (1.5 Mw) - with a combined capacity of 15.5 Mw - for its captive consumption at various SBI offices and branches in these three states.

Banks ready war chest to fund global acquisitions

Banks ready war chest to fund global acquisitions

Rediff.com   17 Dec 2009

The intensification of global financial crisis in the second half of 2008 had forced Indian companies to put on hold their global plans. When going was good till early 2008, Indian banks -- both public and private sector -- played their part, albeit as junior partners to large international banks, in funding deals.

Power is the new dot-com!

Power is the new dot-com!

Rediff.com   16 Dec 2009

Power seems to have become the new dotcom," a market observer said, referring to the surge in the number of companies of all shapes and sizes wanting to get into the power business.

Dubai crisis may push up cost of overseas credit

Dubai crisis may push up cost of overseas credit

Rediff.com   2 Dec 2009

The premium that borrowers would have to pay over the London Inter Bank Offered Rate (Libor) have not, however, shot up the way they did a year ago when spreads had jumped 750 basis points for some Indian companies in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

SBI begins selective repricing of loans

SBI begins selective repricing of loans

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2009

The move is aimed at improving margins.