Articles for Banking

Indian Money In Swiss Banks Falls By 10 Per Cent

Money held by Indians in Swiss banks fell by over 10 per cent last year to 1.8 billion Swiss franc (about Rs 12,615 crore), amid an enhanced clampdown against the famed secrecy wall of Switzerland's banking system by Indian and other governments.The funds held by Indians with banks in Switzerland fell by CHF 215 million to CHF 1,815 million ($1.98 billion), from 2,030 million Swiss franc, as per the latest data released today by the country's central banking authority SNB (Swiss National Bank).This is the second lowest amount of funds held by Indians in the Swiss banks and follows an increase of over 40 per cent in the previous year, 2013.In contrast, the money held in Swiss banks by their foreign clients from across the world surprisingly rose during 2014 to 1.5 trillion Swiss franc ($1.6 trillion or Rs 103 lakh crore), from about Rs 90 lakh crore at the end of 2013 - the record low level so far.During 2012, the Indians' money in Swiss banks had fallen by over one-third to its lowest ever level of 1.42 billion Swiss franc (Rs 8,530 crore).As per the latest data, the total Indian money held in Swiss banks at the end of 2014 included 1,776 million Swiss franc or Rs 12,350 crore held directly by Indian individuals and entities (down from 1,952 million a year ago), and another 38 million Swiss franc (down from 77.3 million Swiss francs at 2013-end) through 'fiduciaries' or wealth managers.However, "amounts due to customers' savings and deposit accounts" was only CHF 52 million (down from CHF 63 million a year ago), while over CHF 100 million was due through other banks and the remaining amount of well over one billion Swiss francs have been classified as "other amounts due to the customers" from India.(PTI)

SBI Q4 Net Up 23%, Bad Loan Ratio Down

State Bank of India, the nation's top lender by assets, reported a better-than-expected 23 per cent increase in quarterly profit and a lower bad loan ratio, sending its shares more than 5 per cent higher. SBI, which accounts for about a quarter of Indian loans and deposits, said net profit rose to Rs 3,742 crore ($589.11 million) for its fiscal fourth quarter to March 31 from Rs 3,041 crore a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 3,723 crore, according Thomson Reuters data. Gross bad loans ratio stood at 4.25 per cent in the March quarter, compared with 4.9 per cent in the December quarter. (Reuters) 

Indian Banks Must Aspire To Join Top Global League: Chanda Kochhar

With China' impressive economic growth catapulting their banks into the top global league, India's top private sector lender ICICI Bank's chief Chanda Kochhar has said Indian banks also must aspire to scale up their activities significantly. ICICI Bank, which has opened its first branch in China, would also keep reviewing the India-linked business opportunities in the international markets and expand its presence as new avenues emerge, Kochhar said. "For economies like India and China, where banks are the   major financiers of growth, the performance of the banking   sector is closely linked to the economy. "China has an exceptional record of consistent high growth of over 10 per cent for three decades which has helped to catapult Chinese banks to a significant size at a global level," said  Kochhar.  "India is expected to be the fastest growing economy in the medium term. As India grows, Indian banks must also aspire to scale up their activities significantly," added more.  A number of Chinese banks have made it to the world's top banking league, but Indian banks are still not there. Kochhar, who was here for the opening of ICICI Bank's first branch in China on Saturday, was replying to a question on whether some Indian banks, including ICICI Bank, would be   able to join the top global league some time soon. With a consolidated asset base of $132 billion, ICICI Bank is India's largest private sector bank and it is present across 17 countries. It already had a representative office in China, which it had opened over 10 years ago in 2003. The bank's international book accounts for about one-fourth of its assets. To another question on whether ICICI Bank would look at entering other countries which have potential for greater trade flows with India, Kochhar said, "The Bank continues to review India-linked business opportunities and expand our presence as new avenues emerge." "The Bank continues to calibrate its global presence as per its India-linked strategy. We have had a presence in China since over a decade through our representative office, which can now been be scaled up further through the branch to take advantage of the growing linkages between the two countries," she said. ICICI Bank's global footprint consists of subsidiaries in   the UK and Canada, branches in the US, China, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai International Finance Centre, and representative offices in UAE, Bangladesh,   Malaysia and Indonesia. The bank's UK subsidiary has established branches in Belgium and Germany. (PTI) 

'Going Where Banks Won't Go' - SIDBI Fulfilling Its Mandate Of Helping MSMEs

Turning A Bad Situation Into An Opportunity - Ramesh Sobti, MD & CEO, IndusInd Bank

'Banking On Rural Reach' - Aditya Puri, MD, HDFC Bank

Look At The India Story Not As A Photograph But As A Movie,Says Uday Kotak, Kotak Mahindra Bank

HDFC Bank Sees Strong Loan Growth After Profit Rises

HDFC Bank Ltd, India's second-biggest private sector lender by assets, said on Thursday it was optimistic of growing loans on the back of faster economic expansion after reporting net profit grew more than a fifth in the March quarter. The lender said net profit rose to Rs 2807 crore ($444 million) in its fiscal fourth quarter from Rs 2327 crore a year ago. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 27.8 billion rupees, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters. HDFC Bank expects to grow loans faster than the banking sector during the financial year to March 2016, Paresh Sukthankar, deputy managing director at the lender, told reporters. He expected the banking system loan growth this fiscal year to be between 13 and 14 percent if the economy grows one percentage point faster. Bank loans grew about 12 percent last fiscal year. Indian lenders have been hurt by two straight years of slower economic expansion that led to projects being stalled and corporate balance sheets getting stretched. Demand for loans from companies has yet to pick up, although consumer loans are growing fast. "Have we seen a huge pick up on the capex side? The answer is 'no'," Sukthankar said, but added that was not a surprise since loan demand revival typically comes with a lag to economic recovery. HDFC Bank's net interest income grew 21.4 percent in the March quarter as advances rose 20.6 percent. Net interest margin was stable at 4.4 percent. Bad loans as a percentage of total loans was at 0.9 percent compared with 1 percent in the third quarter. Shares in HDFC Bank, which is India's most-valuable lender with more than $40 billion in market capitalisation, have outperformed bigger rivals such as State Bank of India and ICICI Bank so far this year. HDFC Bank stock has gained 6.5 percent in 2015, while the bank sector index is down 2.6 percent.