Source :ET:3 FEB, 2012, 05.26AM IST, ET BUREAU
MUMBAI: Top state-run banks led by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, with more than 6,000 crore loan exposure to telecom companies, will claim from the government the fees these companies paid as the licences were pledged with them.
This will protect them any losses since depending on companies to repay debt may be fruitless as their operations are under threat beyond the four-month deadline set by the Supreme Court, said top lenders who did not want to be identified.
Leading private lenders such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank said their loans will not be affected by the ruling. It is not clear whether the government would honour public sector banks' requests, or will stand legal scrutiny.
"While we expect them to explore all possibilities, and the situation remains fluid, on the face of it some of these smaller operators will be faced with the choice to either close operations or re-bid for licences,'' Fitch Ratings said in a press release. "It is unclear whether some players will have the stomach or resources to invest more to defend businesses which are still in start-up mode.''
Theoretically, licence is the main security against which banks have lent them money and if the licence is revoked, banks have little security to claim their loans. If the account becomes a loss asset, banks will have no tangible security to recover their funds.
SBI, which controls one-fifth of the market share, has given close to 1,100 crore in loans and another 3,400 crore in the form guarantees to companies which had received 2G licences while PNB has given loan of 508 crore. Among other banks, Corporation Bank has lent 146 crore to companies with 2G while IDBI has an exposure of 800 crore to telecom companies with 2G and 3G. Indian Bank officials said that their exposure is 39 crore to companies with 2G licence.
Some believe that companies such as Norway's Telenor that have huge stake and reputation will work to salvage the situation.
"Most of the telcos are large players therefore it is unlikely that they will create NPAs for banks since they have committed huge capital,'' said Hemindra Hazari, head of research institutional equities at Nirmal Bang.
"Since large foreign players are involved, they would not like to jeopardise their credit rating."
Source :ET :5 Feb, 2012, 11.18AM IST, PTI
MUMBAI: Country's largest lender, State Bank of India, has decided to waive guarantees and annual service fees for loans to small and medium businesses guaranteed under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust scheme.
To improve credit flow to the SME sector, the government-appointed Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) acts as a guarantor to loans up to Rs 1 crore. CGTMSE charges the above-mentioned twin fees to borrowers.
"The fees are basically a kind of insurance premium. To help clients we have now decided to pay up to the Trust from our books," managing director for national banking, A Krishna Kumar, told PTI here. The decision was taken two weeks ago.
The Trust, which came into being four years ago, charges a guarantee fee ranging from 1 to 1.5 per cent of the loan amount while the annual service fee ranges from 0.50-0.75 per cent.
Kumar parried a question on the financial implication of the move on the bank's balancesheet, but said this is a long-term arrangement, not a short-term move to lure customers.
Explaining the rationale, Kumar said the presence of such a commission clause dissuades "good borrowers" who feel it is unnecessary to take the extra burden in loan servicing.
Additionally, paying up the fees from the bank's own books will act as a "psychological deterrent" to the bank's staff, who can become complacent as the Trust stands guarantor to such loans, Kumar said.
If a loan turns bad, CGTMSE pays back 75 per cent for the principal to the lending bank and an additional up to 15 per cent depending on the case, Kumar said.
ஆதாரம் :ஒன்இந்தியா :சனிக்கிழமை, பிப்ரவரி 4, 2012, 12:30
நியூயார்க்: சமூக இணையதளமான ஃபேஸ்புக்கைப் பயன்படுத்துபவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை இந்தியாவில் கடந்த ஆண்டில் மட்டும் இரு மடங்காக உயர்ந்துள்ளதாக கணக்கெடுப்பில் தெரியவந்துள்ளது.
இன்றைக்கு ஒருவர் முகத்தை ஒருவர் நேரில் பார்க்கிறார்களோ இல்லையோ... பல முறை பேஸ்புக்கில் பார்த்துக் கொள்கிறார்கள்.
இன்றைய இளைஞர்கள் கண்ணாடியில் முகத்தைப் பார்ப்பதைவிட பேஸ்புக்கில் பார்ப்பதே அதிகம் என்று கிண்டலடிக்கும் அளவு facebook addiction அதிகரித்துவிட்டது.
ஒவ்வொரு மாதமும் ஃபேஸ்புக்கைப் பயன்படுத்துபவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கையை வைத்து கணக்கெடுப்பு நடத்தப்படுகிறது.
அதன்படி கடந்த ஆண்டில் இந்தியாவில் மட்டும் ஃபேஸ்புக் பயன்பாடு 132 சதவீதம் அதிகரித்துள்ளது. இது பிரேசிலில் 268 சதவீதமாக உள்ளது.சீனாவில் சமூக இணையதளங்களைப் பயன்படுத்துவதற்கு அதிகக் கட்டுப்பாடுகள் உள்ளதால் அங்கு இதனைப் பயன்படுத்துவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை மிகக் குறைவு.
ஃபேஸ்புக்கின் பங்குகளை அமெரிக்க பங்கு வர்த்தகத்தில் வெளிவிட முடிவு செய்துள்ளது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
