Welcoming the launch of the Bharatiya Mahila Bank, India Inc on Wednesday said the initiative will propel women's financial inclusion, encourage female entrepreneurs and empower women in the country.
Coinciding with the 96th birthday of late Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first of its seven branches at a function in Mumbai in the presence of United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, coalition leaders Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah, besides Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Move to hasten rollout and, if successful, set a precedent for new banking firms.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the country needs big and world-class banks, and discussions are on with the Reserve Bank and lenders in this regard.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday allayed apprehension that privatisation of state-owned banks would hurt financial inclusion and national interest. She said the bank nationalisation done in 1969 has not yielded the desired result as far as financial inclusion was concerned.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will inaugurate country's first all-women Bharatiya Mahila Bank in Mumbai on November 19, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Bharatiya Mahila Bank to have 60 branches by Mar 31: CMD
With the inauguration of the bank in Mumbai, seven branches would become operational across the country including in Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Guwahati.
The bank has been garnering interest from women far and wide, but it needs to mobilise savings from customers to be able to take off.
Country's biggest lender State Bank of India had proposed merger of five associate banks.
In an ambitious initiative aimed at empowering women, the government has proposed to set up an exclusive bank for women having branches across the country which may see merging of the Bharatiya Mahila Bank launched last year by the UPA government.
In the biggest consolidation exercise in the banking space, the government on Friday announced four major mergers of public sector banks, bringing down their total number to 12 from 27 in 2017, a move aimed at making state-owned lenders global sized banks.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
The finance ministry on Wednesday allowed all private sector banks to participate in government-related business, like collection of taxes. pension payments and small savings schemes. At the moment, only few large private sector are allowed to conduct government-related business.
We do not expect any major price action at SBI counter as the swap ratio being largely neutral
Amendments would be required in the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 for privatisation, sources said.
The Bihar chief minister had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculations of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health.
These PSU banks also account for the lion's share of bad loans or NPAs plaguing the sector and need crores of rupees in new capital in the next two years to meet global Basel III capital norms.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj expressed disappointment over its poll debacle in the Bihar assembly elections, attributing the NDA's victory to cash transfers to women.
Khara will replace SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar, whose three-year term comes to an end on October 7.
Among other demands, the unions are also seeking immediate introduction of five-day week in full and reduction of cash transaction hours and regulated working hours.
Bihar recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 67.14 per cent in the second and final phase of the assembly elections. The election is seen as a referendum on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Kishanganj recorded the highest polling percentage at 76.26.
Did you know that women can avail for a loan of upto Rs 20 crores to set up a manufacturing business?
The government on Tuesday appointed SBI's senior-most managing director Dinesh Kumar Khara as the chairman of the the country's largest lender. He replaces Rajnish Kumar, who completed his three-year term on Tuesday.
Indradhanush-II is likely to chart out the process for resolution of non-performing assets.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
The operating income of the bank fell by 5.17 per cent to Rs 25,612 crore during April-June quarter of 2017-18
All shares held by SBI in the five associate banks will stand cancelled after merger.
'Consolidation was part of the Indradhanush package.'
Mudra Bank will be a Rs 20,000-crore institution, which would "primarily be responsible for refinancing all micro-finance institutions.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Rajnish Kumar was on Wednesday appointed the new chairman of the largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI), replacing Arundhati Bhattacharya who completes her one-year extended term on Friday.
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'
The mergers will not involve any cash but only share swaps
The Delhi government's Women and Child Development and Health departments issued public notices on Wednesday distancing themselves from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's promised schemes of providing Rs 2,100 to women and free treatment for the elderly, triggering a fresh row ahead of assembly polls.
Employee integration and branch rationalisation are major challenges.
There would be no retrenchment of employees and that their services conditions would also not be affected post merger.
Atishi, a former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader, accused the newly formed BJP government of failing to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of providing financial assistance to women under the Mahila Samridhi Yojana. She questioned why the scheme, which promised Rs 2,500 to each woman in Delhi, was not passed at the first cabinet meeting.
As per the mega consolidation plan, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will merge into Punjab National Bank (PNB); Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank; Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of India; and Allahabad Bank into Indian Bank. Following this merger, PNB will become second largest after the SBI, Canara Bank fourth, Union Bank of India fifth and Indian Bank seventh biggest public sector lender.
