6 million credit cards cancelled in 2009-10

Banks cut down sharply on issuing credit cards and also closed a number of cards in 2009-10.Six million credit cards or about a quarter of the total number of cards a year ago went out during the last fiscal.The number of cards in circulation as of March 2010 was 18.3million ,a level last seen about five years ago,data from the Reserve Bank of India show. Rising defaults in the credit card industry as well as unsecured personal loans portfolio by customers as a consequence of the slow down in the economy a year ago forced a number of banks to rethink their growth strategy .Besides ,regulatory warnings and court structures about aggresive recovery practices of many banks also forced them to go slow in the business. Apart from cutting down new issuances ,banks also began to cut credit limits for existing customers as part of a de-risking exercise.(BL 13052010)

Exim Bank to look at new markets

Export-Import Bank of India(Exim Bank)is planning to conduct in- depth research on countries in Africa and Latin America to help Indian businesses explore trade and investment opportunities there.This move comes in the wake of slowdown in the country's exports to the recession-hit Western economies.
The Development Financial Institution (DFI)says its proposed country studies will go a long way in helping Indian companies venture into non-traditional markets for exports and investments.'While information on Western economies is easily available ,the same is hard to come by in the case of Africa and Latin America.The DFI is planning to conduct detailed research on these two countries so that indian companies can use it to make informed decisions on tapping these markets for exports or for making investments',said Mr TCA Ranganathan,Chairman and Managing Director,EXIM Bank,at a press meet (BL 08052010)

Banks will extend insurance to 'all' villages in Karnataka

Commercial banks in Karnataka are planning to extend insurance and other banking services to targeted beneficiaries to all villages with a population of over 2000.The banks have prepared financial inclusion plans(FIPs)to provide banking facilities to all villages by way of a regular brick and mortar branch or using information and communication technology through banking correspondent(BC)model.These services will be provided using appropiate technology back up.In this regard ,all banks have submitted their board approved FIPs as directed by RBI.The banks will meet the target of March 2012 set by the government of india for providing banking facilities to all villages with 2000 and above population,Basant Seth, chairman and managing director,Syndicate Bank and convenor,SLBC,said.(BS 08052010)

SBI picks 2 US firms for point-of-sale terminals deal

State Bank of India has zeroed-in on two US-based companies -Visa international and Elavon Inc as joint venture partners for setting up a network of point-of-sales(POS)terminals across the country.The two foreign partners will help India's biggest lender with payments technology solutions for its ambitious plan to roll out six lakh POS terminals at merchant establishments over the next five years.POS terminals are devices seen in retail and hospitality establishments for processing credit cards ,debit cards,smart cards and other electronically submitted transactions in a traditional retail environment.A retail POS system includes a computer ,monitor,cash drawer,receipt printer,customer display,barcode scanner, integrated card processing system,a signature capture device and a customer pin-pad device. The merchant swipes the customer's card at the terminal or keys-in payment information and the terminal does the rest.In the future ,the bank is also envisaging use of POS for mobile top-ups,utility bill payments,booking of railway and movie tickets.(BL06052010)

Bajaj Finserv awaits RBI nod for banking foray

Bajaj Finserv ,financial services wing of the Bajaj Group is keen to foray into banking sector. Bajaj Finserv MD Sanjiv Bajaj said that they are a zero-debt company having an idle cash of Rs800 crore and would like utilise the resources to venture into banking.The final guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India on awarding new banking licences are awaited before the proposed plan in banking foray is taken forward.The two new segments that the firm is likely to venture in near future include mutual fund and wealth management.(FE 06052010)

Financial inclusion

The government is open to the idea of providing financial support to banks for implementing financial inclusion as the lenders fear that the move may be unviable in initial years.The government in a recent meeting with banks expressed it was open to the idea of subvention in initial years. The government met representatives of 32 banks to identify the challenges facing them for implementing financial inclusion.The government has embarked on an ambitious plan to cover all villages having a population of more than 2000 to have banking facilities by March 31,2012.There are about 64000 villages in the country with a population over 2000 lacking a formal banking channel.The central bank is currently reviewing the plans on financial inclusion submitted by banks.RBI had asked banks to submit their board-approved p;ans of financial inclusion for 2010-11 (BS 06052010)

Forex limit for overseas travellers hiked

Travellers going abroad can now carry more foreign currency.The RBI has increased the permissible limits for authorised dealers and money dealers selling foreign exchange to people travelling abroad from $2000 to $3000.In a circular issued,the RBI said authorised dealers and full-fledged money changers can sell foreign exchange in the form of foreign currency notes and coins upto $3000 to travellers proceeding to countries other than Iraq,Libya,Islamic Republic of Iran,Russian Federation and other Republics of Commonwealth of Independent States.(BL 05-05-2010)