Two public sector banks, Union Bank of India and United Bank of India (UBI), on Monday cut lending rates by 25-50 basis points (bps) ahead of Finance Minister P Chidambaram's meeting with PSU bank chiefs.
DLF, Indiabulls Real Estate, HDIL, YES Bank, Union Bank of India and Maruti Suzuki are down 4-12% on NSE.
FM has called for a tripartite meet to resolve the bank staff issue and avoid a strike.
At least two public sector banks Union Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank have quietly increased interest rates on short-term deposits to raise resources and manage asset-liability mismatch. Union Bank has announced a special deposit scheme for 400 days, which offers 9 per cent interest. The scheme was launched much before the announcement of the monetary policy. Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank has also raised rates for large deposits.
The deadly terror attacks, which crippled Mumbai on Thursday also, will not be able to dent the confidence of India's banking and financial system, which, bankers feel, will bounce back to normal soon.
The Enforcement Directorate, which continued its searches against Modi, Choksi and their companies for the fourth day on Sunday , is also moving to attach at least two dozen immovable properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Several PSU lenders, including Canara Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda, Syndicate Bank, have already slashed their benchmark prime lending rates by 0.75 per cent after Finance Minister P Chidambaram met state-owned banks' heads to discuss the possibility of rate cuts.
On the sectoral map, consumer durables stayed in the lead by surging 2.39 per cent, followed by realty index, oil and gas and infra.
United Forum of Bank Unions, apex union of bank employees, claimed that over 10 lakh employees and officers are observing strike to press their demands.
Bank union Unite official John Bancroft said, he was disappointed with the news. He said: "Unite has an off shoring agreement with Lloyds TSB which states the union will be consulted before any off shoring decisions are made and that there will be no compulsory redundancies. "We will be working to ensure that staff in the bank are offered suitable alternative employment and that their terms and conditions are protected."
Union Bank of India on Thursday slashed its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 0.50 per cent to 12 per cent per annum, a day after RBI cut key rate by similar percentage points.
AIBEA is part of United Forum of Bank Unions, the umbrella organisation of employee and officer unions of nine banks, which has given the call for one-day strike on January 7 and four days from January 21 in support of their wage hike demand pending since November 2012.
Manish Khera, chief executive officer, Fino, tells Shriya Bubna that the smart card technology platform of Fino can help banks cut operational costs by one-third and MFIs, but connectivity remains an issue.
The conciliation talks between UFBU and Indian Banks Association held in Mumbai moved a step ahead positively after the IBA offered a 9.5 per cent hike on pay slip cost and hold another round of talks on January 27, UFBU national Convenor M V Murali told PTI in Tirupati over phone.
As the 50-day deadline for completion of demonetisation process draws near, there is a growing consensus among bankers that the restrictions on withdrawal would have to continue even in the New Year so as to maintain orderly working at the banks.
"If IBA does not come out with a solution with regard to our demands within given time-frame of three months ending on May 31, then we will be left with no option but to again adopt agitational path. And this time, we will observe indefinite strike," All India Bank Officers' Confederation (a member of United Forum of Bank Unions) General Secretary Amar Pal said in Chandigarh on Monday during the 8th Triennial General Council meeting.
The government has asked the Indian Banks' Association to make sure that IDBI Bank's wages are on a par with other banks.
It is Finance Minister P Chidambaram's meeting with leaders of public sector bank unions that averted the three-day bank strike proposed from March 28.
Banking services were affected on Friday as employees of public sector banks struck work demanding compassionate appointments, fresh recruitments, one more pension option and ban on outsourcing and merger of public sector banks.
Public sector banks have asked the Centre to intervene as talks with bank unions for allowing half of their employees a second chance to opt for pension instead of provident fund have reached a deadlock.
Less than a month after five financial institutions sold 20 per cent in the National Stock Exchange, a consortium of five stakeholders led by State Bank of India are looking to sell an 11 per cent stake in the exchange.
All the banks in the country will go on a one-day strike on February 23 to show their solidarity towards employees of the Central Bank who have planned an indefinite strike from February 22.
Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the central bank cannot ask them to lower the rates.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India will get the largest sum of Rs 8,800 crore as government's capital infusion.
Financial reforms and consolidation of banks in India might get delayed due to compulsions of coalition politics and unions' muscle power, warned Simon Long, the author of A survey of business in India.
ICICI Bank, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Dena Bank have all hiked interest rates on NRE and FCNR fixed deposits from January 1.
Employees of the State Bank of India will go on an indefinite strike countrywide from Monday demanding enhanced pension package.
Employees of the State Bank of India will go on a nationwide indefinite strike from April 3 to press for revision of their pension
The BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices outperformed to gain 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively
Rajan sees banks passing on the benefit of lower rates regime to customers.
Banking operations are likely to be hit on Tuesday as unions have called a nationwide strike to protest mergers of public sector undertaking banks and the proposed hike in foreign direct investment limit to 74 per cent in the sector.
Normal banking operations like cheque clearance in public sector banks across the country are likely to be hit on Wednesday as employees have decided to go on one-day nation-wide strike to press for wage revision.
Over 10 lakh (1 million) bank employees across the country are likely to strike work on Tuesday in protest against the 'negative attitude of the Indian Banks Association and the central government' towards their wage revision.
Leading bank unions on Thursday threatened to go on a nationwide strike on Friday if government did not meet their demands including an early wage revision.
PSB branches will work fulltime on the 1st and 3rd Saturday.
The Industrial Development Bank of India will be merged into its subsidiary IDBI Bank, in a reverse merger on similar lines as the merger of ICICI into its subsidiary ICICI Bank.
The government is examining a proposal for the merger of IDBI with the IDBI Bank, Union Minister of State for Finance Anandrao Adsul said in Jaipur on Friday.
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