
New Delhi: Concerned over rising bad loans, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday asked the banks to take steps to manage their non-performing assets (NPAs) which have grown on account of economic downturn. "NPAs have grown at an uncomfortable and unacceptable rate in the past couple of years. The RBI has recently advised the selected banks to take necessary steps for appropriate NPA management. I hope the concerned banks will...

08:01 PM, May 28, 2012

New Delhi: The illicit outflow of money from India has been estimated at $104 billion as of December last year, according to a report of the Global Financial Integrity (GFI). This has been disclosed by the white paper on black money tabled in Parliament on Monday. But the report does not give any estimate of the government about either black money in India or the amount stashed away in banks...

12:33 AM, May 22, 2012

In one of most profound dialogues of the film, a character referring to parenthood says, "There's no such thing as ready. You just get into a running train and hope not to die." Thankfully the film, unlike being a parent, is a fairly smooth and entertaining ride that has a universal appeal to both parents and those who ever had a father or a mother. In the city of New...

01:35 PM, May 20, 2012

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty stayed lower for the second consecutive session on Wednesday due to Greece concerns and rupee weakness. Uncertainty over Greece bailout after election results sent global stocks lower since yesterday - Asian markets were down 0.75-1.65 per cent at close on Wednesday. Banks, oil & gas, steel, auto and power stocks weighed down the market while the rally in ITC and TCS limited the...

09:05 AM, May 09, 2012

Mumbai: State-run banks are likely to give in to a government directive and lower lending and deposit rates within the next few days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made a deeper than expected cut to its policy rate on Tuesday. Banks had been reluctant to cut their lending rates despite a reduction in their reserve requirements, saying tight cash conditions were keeping deposit rates high and deposit growth...

05:43 PM, Apr 19, 2012

New Delhi: After three years and 13 consecutive rate hikes, the RBI has finally reversed the gear. In a surprise move, the RBI cut the repo rate - at which it lends to banks - by half a per cent. It is a strong signal to banks to cut interest rates on loans. Deepak Parekh said, "RBI has bitten the bullet." The banks admit the signal can't be ignored -...

08:59 PM, Apr 17, 2012

Los Angeles: Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson are lined up for a film on the behind-the-scenes drama while making the Disney classic 'Mary Poppins'. The film, titled 'Saving Mr Banks', has a script by Kelly Marcel detailing how Walt Disney spent 14 years coaxing PL Travers, the Australian author of Mary Poppins, in order to adapt her books about the magical nanny. Travers resisted for so long because she feared...

12:02 PM, Apr 11, 2012

New Delhi: Concerned over rising NPA, the government may ask state-owned banks to shut down branches and cut down on staff strength in loss-making units. "This is a part of an ongoing dialogue, not only banks but insurance companies also. If there are loss-making branches, then we need to re-look at why they are there. "If that needs working out a business strategy, may be relocating it, may be scaling...

08:28 PM, Apr 09, 2012

Mumbai: To popularise electronic transfer of funds, the Reserve Bank on Monday allowed regional rural banks (RRBs) and cooperative banks to participate in the centralized payment systems. With this, all the banks can now transfer funds electronically through real time gross settlement system (RTGS) and national electronic funds transfer (NEFT). At present, the centralised payment systems -- RTGS and NEFT can be accessed only by members that included public and...

07:40 PM, Apr 09, 2012

Mumbai: A slowdown in India's gross domestic product could impact banks' asset quality, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday. Mukherjee, speaking at an industrial event in Mumbai, added banks will have to raise additional capital to meet requirements for Basel III global banking rules. Indian economy is likely to grow by 7.6 per cent in fiscal 2012/13, up from 6.9 per cent in the current year, which is the...

01:31 AM, Apr 08, 2012

Mumbai: The government will recapitalise the state-owned banks to help them tide over the problems arising out of slow economic growth, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Mumbai on Saturday. "Going forward if GDP growth slows down, there could be some impact on asset quality (of banks)," Mukherjee said while addressing an event organised by the Indian Merchant Centre in collaboration with ICAI. He further said the government is committed...

05:53 PM, Apr 07, 2012

New Delhi: After three holidays this week, all public sector and many private banks have decided to function full day on Saturday. Banks usually are open for public dealings between 10 am and 1 pm on Saturdays. According to official sources, the Finance Ministry has asked all the public sector banks to function full day this Saturday. Country's largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI), has said that all its...

06:48 PM, Apr 06, 2012

New Delhi: The trailer of 'People Like Us' is out now. Directed by Alex Kurtzman, the film stars Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks and Michelle Pfeiffer in the lead roles. AR Rahman has given the music for the film. The story of the film revolves around a man who is tasked with delivering money of his deceased father's fortune to the sister he has never met. Here is the trailer. ...

04:03 PM, Apr 05, 2012