The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Reverse mortgage, forward security
To save for retirement, people have to become better at guessing how much they need and how long they will live. Both guesses are tricky. Most people underestimate their longevity and financial needs. Reverse mortgage overcomes a significant part of these problems. It spurs economic activity, provides security and retains the principal flavour of a defined-benefit scheme, say G. Ramachandran and Praveen Kumar Grandhi. More

The not-so-rich swell banks' deposits
A report in Business Line a few weeks ago spoke of the migration of deposits of high net worth individuals to foreign banks, which had an average deposit of Rs 1,20,000 per account against the average of Rs 20,000 for accounts of ... More

Fed will raise rates 25 bps, could drop `measured pace'
It is the inflation side of things which may not give Mr Greenspan that much comfort. More

FOREX

Rupee unchanged; bond prices fall
MUMBAI: The rupee ended at 43.7250/7325 against the dollar on Tuesday, almost unchanged from Monday's close of 43.72/73. The one-day nationwide strike by bank employees resulted in thin trade, said a dealer at a private bank. The ... More

INSURANCE

i-flex keen to buy insurance product
i-flex plans to focus on both life and non-life segments of insurance as it gears up to tap the industry aggressively. More

IRDA panel to review Insurance Act sections
The proposed changes assume significance especially since the insurance industry has also been demanding an overhaul of some of the provisions in the original statute. More

NBFCS

NBFCs could opt out of public deposits
THE Reserve Bank of India plans to work out a roadmap for helping non-banking finance companies to increase their asset base. The central bank had convened a meeting of NBFC representatives recentlyto elicit their views. The RBI Governor, ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

SBI Life hikes capital base by Rs 175 crore
SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd, a joint venture between State Bank of India and Cardif SA of France, has infused Rs 175 crore and doubled its capital base to Rs 350 crore. As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Aurhoity, the joint ... More

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS

Correction
In the news item "SBI in growth mode, eyes acquisitions" that appeared in these columns on March 19, it was wrongly reported that SBI had acquired State Bank of Mauritius. The error is ... More

NON-PERFORMING ASSETS

ARCIL takes possession of Palco's Nagapore assets
THE hopes of the shareholders of the ailing Pennar Aluminium Company Ltd (Palco) that the company would be revived under the aegis of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) have faded. Asset Reconstruction Company of ... More

CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS

Andhra Bank plans life, liability covers for cardholders
ANDHRA Bank plans to offer life and liability insurance cover for its credit cardholders. The move comes close on the heels of the Reserve Bank of India appointing a high-level committee to prescribe best practices for credit card issuers. ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS

Bank strike hits cheque clearing
BANKING operations all over the country were partially affected on Tuesday as employees struck work to protest against Government plans to merge public sector banks and allow 74 per cent FDI in banks. According to the United Forum of Bank ... More

Bank unions claim strike success
THE Andhra Pradesh unit of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), comprising nine national level bank unions, has claimed that the strike on Tuesday was a total success. Banking operations were totally hit and clearing operations did not ... More

Banking activities come to halt in Dakhsina Kannada
BANKING activities came to a halt in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts on Tuesday following a strike call given by United Forum of Bank Unions. More than 350 employees of various public sector banks (PSBs) and some old generation private ... More