Steep rise in NPAs

Source :rediff com:22 Nov 2011


Bad loans are turning nightmarish for Indian banks. A steep rise in interest rates over the past 18 months has led to a sharp increase in non-performing assets.


Non-performing assets, or NPAs, are assets which are categorised by a bank or a financial institution as sub-standard, doubtful or loss assets as they do not yield any returns to them.


The Reserve Bank of India has increased its lending (repo) rate 13 times since March, 2010 to tame inflation.


Moody's has assigned Baa3, the lowest investment grading rating, to India. The rating agency downgraded the outlook for the Indian banking system to 'negative' from 'stable' saying that economic slowdown would impact asset quality, capitalisation and profitability.


However, Standard & Poor's upgraded the Indian banking sector saying its domestic regulations are in line with international standards and said the Reserve Bank has a moderately successful track record.


The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of 37 listed banks has gone up to Rs 1.06 lakh crore (Rs 1.06 trillion) during the September quarter from Rs 79,078 crore (Rs 790.78 billion) in the corresponding period last year.


The banks are also under pressure from loans outgoes to the sectors facing inordinate delays in execution of projects, raising concerns over the companies' ability to repay loans on time.


Loans given to mining, power and realty companies might become NPAs for the banking sector due to the delay in completion of projects.


1. State Bank of India 


Net NPAs: Rs 12,347.90 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 25,326.29 crore


The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks increased by 20 per cent during June-September 2011.


Standard & Poor's, which had in September downgraded standalone ratings of State Bank of India, said high credit risks in the Indian banking sector reflects that the country has a weak payment culture and legal system that often result in low recoveries and delayed settlement of foreclosures.


(NPA figures are for the year ended March 2011, Source: RBI)




2. ICICI Bank


Net NPAs: Rs 2,407.36 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 10,034.26 crore


ICICI Bank has the highest NPAs among private sector banks. ICICI Bank has slightly improved its net bad debts to 0.90 per cent from 0.91 per cent in the earlier quarter.


Indian banks face challenges like increase in interest rates on saving deposits, a tighter monetary policy, restructured loan accounts and increasing infrastructure loans.


3. Canara Bank


Net NPAs: Rs 2,347.33 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 3,089.21 crore


Canara Bank's gross NPA ratio increased to 1.73 per cent (Rs 3,793 crore) for the quarter ending September 30 from 1.49 per cent (Rs 2,636 crore) in the year-ago period. The net NPA ratio stood at 1.43 per cent (Rs 3,117 crore) in September.


4. Punjab National Bank 


Net NPAs: Rs 2,038.63 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 4,379.39 crore


The NPAs of Punjab National Bank (PNB) rose by 29 per cent during the July-September quarter to Rs 5,150 crore.


5. Bank of India


Net NPAs: Rs 1944.99 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 4,811.55 crore


The bank's gross non-performing assets (npas) stood at 3.02 per cent, up 33 basis points sequentially, while net NPAs stood at 1.98 per cent, up 71 basis points sequentially.


6. UCO Bank 


Net NPAs: Rs 1,824.55 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 3,150.36 crore


As NPAs mount, UCO Bank is eyeing a 20 per cent growth in its business and a reduction in its non-performing assets (NPAs) to less than 3 per cent in FY12.


7. Union Bank of India


Net NPAs: Rs 1,803.44 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 3,622.82 crore


The system based NPA recognition method has led to a rise NPAs. Compared to the manual method, the system based study gives an accurate picture of bad loans. 


However, the Union Bank is optimistic about cutting down NPAs. It expects gross NPAs to be below 3 per cent in the coming quarter.


8. IDBI Bank


Net NPAs: Rs 1,677.91 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 2,784.73 crore


While IDBI's gross NPA rose to 2.47 per cent from 1.88 per cent, net NPA shot up to 1.57 from 1.19 per cent in the second quarter.


9. Indian Overseas Bank 


Net NPAs: Rs 1,328.42 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 3,089.59 crore




The gross NPA stood at Rs 3,090 crore in March 2011, as against Rs 3,611 crore in March 2010. 


In percentage terms, the gross NPA ratio was 2.72 per cent as on March 2011 compared to 4.47 per cent in March 2010.


10. Syndicate Bank


Net NPAs: Rs 1,030.84 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 2,598.97 crore




While the net non-performing assets (NPAs) increased to Rs 1,052 crore for the second quarter ended September, as against Rs 917 crore in the year-ago period, the percentage of net NPA declined marginally to 0.93 per cent, as against 0.97 per cent in the same period last year.


11. Oriental Bank of Commerce


Net NPAs: Rs 938.15 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 1,920.54 crore


Oriental Bank of Commerce saw more than 50 per cent rise in NPAs in the September quarter
.
12. Central Bank of India


Net NPAs: Rs 847 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 2,394 crore


In the July-September quarter, the bank's gross non-performing assets (NPA) as a percentage of total advances rose to 2.94 per cent from 2.28 per cent in the same quarter a year ago.


Its net NPAs rose to 1.37 per cent of total loans from 0.68 per cent in the year-ago period.


13. Bank of Baroda 


Net NPAs: Rs 790.88 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 3,152.50 crore


The Bank succeeded in restricting its incremental delinquency ratio to 1.09 per cent, gross NPAs to 1.36 per cent and net NPAs to 0.35 per cent during 2010-11. 


The Bank's Loan Loss Coverage Ratio (including technical write-offs) too stood at the healthy level of 85 per cent as on 31st March 2011.


14. United Bank of India


Net NPAs: Rs 757.41 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 1,355.78 crore


United Bank of India has introduced a system of monitoring the collection of NPA and collecting information all branches. 


It has also recruited more recovery agents for faster recovery of NPAs.


15. Vijaya Bank


Net NPAs: Rs 741.16 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 1,355.78 crore


Banks have been witnessing substantial bad loans in the agricultural sector.


16. Allahabad Bank


Net NPAs: Rs 736.37 cr
Gross NPAs: Rs 1,647.92 cr


A large portion of the NPAs are from agriculture and SME sector. The bank is hopeful of a fast recovery in the next six months


17. State Bank of Patiala


Net NPAs: Rs 620.77 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 1,381.68 crore


The business of State Bank of Patiala has grown manifold since its establishment. There are more than 1000 branches of SBP.


18. Bank of Maharashtra


Net NPAs: Rs 618. 95 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 1,173.70 crore


Bank of Maharashtra is now taking fresh initiatives to further bring it down to 2 per cent this fiscal. 


From Rs 1,468 crore in September 2010, the gross NPA of the bank was slashed to Rs 1,174 crore as on March 31, 2011.


19. State Bank of Hyderabad


Net NPAs: Rs 562.72 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 1,150.45 crore


State Bank of Hyderabad's fiscal second quarter (July-September) net profit fell 12.27% to Rs 232 crore from Rs 264 crore in the same period a year ago due to high interest expenditure and increased provisioning for bad loans.


Net NPAs of the bank during the quarter rose to 1.92% as against 0.64% in the same period last fiscal year.


20. Dena Bank


Net NPAs: Rs 54.89 crore
Gross NPAs: Rs 842.24 crore


The bank expects to have a net non-performing asset (NPA) ratio of 1.6 per cent to 1.7 per cent for FY11.

5 Signs That You Are Overworking

Source :SiliconIndia, Monday, 21 November 2011, 07:52 IST 

Bangalore: Often it is seen that the high degree of dedication comes at the expense of overworking; this can also be related as being under extreme stress. If you have been experiencing the listed below signs, then you are compromising with your life; here are five signs that indicates you are overworking.

1. Avoiding Family and Friends

You can be a careerist person; however, in order to excel in your career, you should not avoid participating in family affairs. Declining to spend ample time with family means you are overworking. The symptoms that are related to this issue are avoiding shopping or movies with family, unable to help kids for homework, romance turns insignificant, not being able to undertake family responsibilities etc. Stopping all contact from friends like ignoring emails, phone calls etc also indicate that you are under stress. 

2. Loosing Temper and Getting Frustrated

If you are losing your temper easily and getting frustrated, that means you are under heavy work load 

. It is always advisable to keep yourself away from work stress, especially when you are at home as this can create friction with the family members and can ruin your relationship with them forever. Often it is seen that people who are under heavy work load tend to get divorced or are in an estranged relationship with their spouses. Always remember that your family is the most treasured possession of your life and your objective is to make a great living for the family. 

3. Sleep Deprivation 

Sleep deprivation is the most regular indication of over-working. Insomnia is a sign of excessive stress. However , it is always seen that sleep deprivation can cause nervous breakdown. It is best to avoid certain circumstances where you need to take pills to fall asleep. This kind of a problem can be of major concern as this problem of yours can ruin your blooming career. A sound sleep is very much needed for a healthy living. Therefore, it is always advisable to keep this kind of problem at bay.

4. Excessive Smoking and Drinking 

It is always said that smoking is injurious to heath. Therefore, it is not a wise decision to smoke or drink excessively in order to de-stress yourself. Always remember that heath is wealth and it should not be ignored in order to acquire a dream career. A failure to maintain good heath due to work stress can prove to be disastrous. 

5. Extended Sickness 

Are you suffering from a prolonged sickness like a lasting body ache or perennial cold? If yes, then you are going over engrossed with your work. Extended period of sickness can cause massacre in your healthy life. It can also ruin your career as well. The best way to rejuvenate your body from the chronic sickness is to take a relaxing vacation. Also try to keep your mind and body free from stress by listening to a great music or watching an amusing movie. 

Biotor Scam: Four banks have exposure of Rs. 500 crore

Source :NDTV:Profit:Vijay Iyer, November 21, 2011 (Mumbai)

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Biotor Industries scam has found that four nationalized banks namely Bank Of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce and IDBI Bank have violated KYC or Know Your Customer norms.

 This means banks have not gathered adequate information about customers as mandated under these norms. 

Biotor Industries had sought loans from banks for procuring raw material from the farmers directly. Loans were then alleged to have been transferred to bank accounts opened in the names of "fictitious" farmers.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, these banks have opened 8000-9000 accounts in fictitious names and transferred loans into these accounts. The preliminary investigation has concluded that the loans will become Non Performing Assets (NPAs). 

According to the CBI's Banking Fraud and Securities cell that is investigating Biotor Industries, the four banks have an exposure of Rs. 500 crore to Biotor Industries scam that is estimated to be Rs. 1,300 to Rs. 1,500 crore.

Oriental  Bank is said to have an exposure of Rs. 120 crore, while Central Bank of India, IDBI and Bank of Maharashtra have an exposure to the tunes of Rs. 120 crore, Rs. 115 crore, and Rs. 50 crore respectively.

The CBI is now set to question the senior management of these four banks and file a charge sheet soon.

The scam came to light five months back, when Bank of Maharashtra had filed an investigation into the issue. It was subsequently taken up by the CBI.

Rise and fall of Lehman Brothers

Source : BL :D. MURALI :Nov 20,2011

“Grabbing and greed can go on for just so long, but the breaking point is bound to come sometime.” Opening with this quote of Herbert Lehman is The Last of the Imperious Richby Peter Chapman (www.landmarkonthenet.com), a tale about Lehman Brothers (1844-2008).

In fact, not one tale, but two, clarifies the intro. “The Lehman Brothers of the early days built and invested and developed the wealth that it had enjoyed. It dealt in solid things, materials that could be seen and touched. You could not fault it as far as risk taking was concerned; its founders crossed half the world under treacherous conditions to get where they were.”

PUBLIC SERVICE

Adding that Lehman Brothers was built with consistency and flair, the author notes that its imagination rarely wandered from a calm assessment of the realities and the people it was dealing with. He reminds that Lehman Brothers of this era spent its own money, not that of other people; and that it developed a high reputation for public service and was at the forefront of America's growing prosperity and reputation around the world.

Sadly, from around one of the high points of the US history – the moon landing of 1969 – Lehman Brothers entered its second phase, and one of decline, the book chronicles. “Short-term thinkers seized control. It moved from productive enterprises and businesses of substance and did not much care who it exploited as it developed a talent for fast talk and deceit. Lehman Brothers took excessive risks and betrayed all principles of financial good sense. Fatefully, it moved into bogus products like toxic mortgage bonds.”

A chapter titled ‘Sad in some respects' narrates how the twenty-first-century mortgage salesmen – who worked 84-hour weeks and made six-figure incomes – had far more snazzy products than Henry Lehman's pots and pans. The newer products included ‘Ninja' loans – short for ‘no income, no job, and no assets' loans that went to people with particularly restricted means and little chance of repaying. “The Hispanic community had ‘fecha y firma' loans, so named because to get one they required only a ‘date and signature.' Some loans came with a premium: If someone wanted a mortgage for a house costing three hundred thousand dollars, he might get thirty thousand dollars added to the loan for other spending.”

Among the newer ‘pots and pans' were CDOs, collateralised debt obligations, created out of mortgages bought from many companies and then sliced up to be sold to investors around the world. Banks and pension funds were keen buyers, because the rates of interest on the CDOs were far higher than those of the US Treasury bonds and a lot of other investments, one learns. “Lehman Brothers added a nice percentage fee to each slice sold.”

As the author explains, the assumption was that the CDOs could not fail. He clarifies that though inevitably some people would be unable to repay their mortgages, the probability of many people doing so at the same time was extremely low, and the risk to investors, therefore, would be dissipated. Or, at least that was the expectation, because “the analysts and rocket scientists within the issuing banks devised some high-technology mathematics to prove this. In some cases, their explanations spread to hundreds of pages of formulae.”

The book recounts how, as the business became so good, more and more complex investments were invented, with CDOs of CDOs, or CDO squareds, as they were known, coming into existence. Chapman observes that it was similar to the period building up to the crash of 1929, when investment trusts of investment trusts, and holding companies of holding companies, provided people with new things to put their money into without their having much understanding of where they were putting it.

Sombre account of an unforgettable phase of the world's financial history.

Move to allow Industrial houses to open banks opposed

Source  : The Hindu : 19 Nov 2011

The general secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) C.H. Venkatachalam has said that allowing corporate industrial houses to open private banks of their own would be “ detrimental to the economy of the country.”

Inaugurating the delegate session of the 27th All India Conference of State Bank of Travancore Employees’ Union here on Saturday he said that “Corporate industrial houses in India are known to account for the major share of NPAs in the country. In this backdrop, the Government move to liberalise bank licensing policy to enable the very same industrial houses to open private banks of their own would be detrimental to the economy of the country.”

Wall Street agitation an eye opener

The AIBEA General Secretary cautioned that the ongoing agitation in Wall Street should serve “ as an eye opener to the policy makers of India, who are trying to run the economy and Banks of the country the American way. ”

He has strongly opposed the move of the Central Government to merge banks of regional significance like State Bank of Travancore. The merger would simply mean that such banks would cease to exist, depriving their respective regions of the service rendered by them.

He alleged that the Government is trying to sabotage the bipartite service agreements of Bank employees, prevalent since 1966 through the Khandelwal Committee Report and warned that the Bank Unions would launch a joint struggle against any attempt to implement the same.

The three day conference commenced here with flag hoisting by A. L. Rappai, President of the Union. K. Muraleedharan Pillai, General Secretary of the Union, presented the report.

The Hindujas’ £100 million mansion is ready to move in

Source:BS:S Kalyana Ramanathan /  November 19, 2011, 0:32 IST

The Hindujas’ £100 million mansion is ready to move in. S Kalyana Ramanathan walks by the exclusive address.

Astatue of Baron John Lawrence, governor of Punjab during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 who later became viceroy of India, stands guard at the entrance of Carlton House Terrance in central London. The great imperialist would have been surprised, to put it mildly, to find that the new owners of the prime property along the street are an Indian family — the four Hinduja brothers, Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok Hinduja, who head a diversified global conglomerate with interests in trading, automobiles, oil, banking, power, defence and a lot else. The Hinduja family traces its origins to Sindh and first made its fortune in Iran during the reign of the Shah. With a net worth of £6 billion, the Hindujas, principally Srichand and Gopichand who live in Britain, made their debut this year on the Sunday Times Rich List, coming in at number nine.

Earlier this month news leaked to the British media that the “first Indian family” of Britain — who had paid nearly £60 million for the palatial mansion in 2006 and then spent another £40 million and five years restoring it and refurbishing it — was ready to move into its new home next month. The Hindujas’ property numbers 13 to 16 of this stretch that is numbered from 11 to 19.

Carlton House Terrace is a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s London residence. The houses along this stretch have been the address of several prime ministers, and eminent historical figures like Lord Curzon and Lord Kitchener, besides housing institutions such as the Royal Society and the British Academy. In fact, the Hindujas already had an apartment on the street before they invested in this property.

The four houses that the Hindujas have bought were built in the late 1820s-early 1830s on land previously occupied by Carlton House, the residence of the Prince Regent who became George IV. It’s architect, John Nash (not to be confused with the Nobel laureate and American mathematician), was the one who remodelled Buckingham House into Buckingham Palace, besides coming up with the design for developments along Regent Street and Regent Park. In fact, Carlton House Terrace was part of the Crown Estates — property owned by the British sovereign — and served as its headquarters until 2005. This heritage and grade 1 residential property is now the most exclusive and expensive of its kind in the entire United Kingdom.

By total spend the Hindujas Carlton House Terrace property falls in the same league as the £117 million that another Indian, Laxmi Niwas Mittal, had paid in May 2008 for a house on Kensington Palace Gardens. This was Mittal’s second house on the street, dubbed “billionaire’s row” in the media, the first being a 55,000 sqft mansion he bought in 2004 for £57 million. Mittal, who has been topping Britain’s Rich List for many years now, bought a third house on Kensington Palace Gardens a month later in June 2008 for £70 million.

* * *

The Hindujas’ property is commonly described in media reports as having six floors. But it is plain for all to see and count that there are only four floors to the Hindujas’ palatial new residence, unless there are hidden mezzanine floors without any windows. It would be even more intriguing if the building had two underground floors!

The media is yet to get access to the property, but there is reportedly enough and more space in the 50-room, around 70,000 sqft building for the 30-odd members of the clan. Snippets that have trickled into the British media suggest that the house has been carved out into four separate but inter-connected apartments, which also include a private theatre, a swimming pool, and a glass dining table that can seat 30 people.

From all accounts, the structure has been meticulously restored in a way that has not raised hackles in conservative circles in Britain. Paddy Pugh, the director for London of English Heritage, a semi-government body that champions historic places, told Sunday Times newspaper, “I can’t think of another domestic restoration project on this scale with buildings of this importance. Rarely have we seen such opulence allied to such craftsmanship.” In fact, the property was restored under the watchful eye of English Heritage.

Despite several requests, the Hinduja family, which is media shy at the best of times, has not allowed any mediaperson a peek into the house, let alone let him take pictures of the interiors.

The Hindujas had initially planned to produce a small brochure that would illustrate the transformation of this Victorian property from a state of shabby disrepair to its original stately beauty as conceived by Nash.

The idea of this brochure has apparently now been dropped after they were told that it would attract unnecessary media attention. The Hindujas had, around the beginning of the new millennium, come under a massive media scrutiny over a cash-for-passports scandal and insiders say they still cringe at the thought of being repeatedly referenced in the media over that sordid affair.

Brochure or no brochure, however, the Hindujas will surely get a lot of public attention when they finally move in next door to the Queen.

Three mega infra projects worth Rs 25,000 cr cleared

Source : BS Reporter / New Delhi November 19, 2011, 0:17 IST


The government on Friday gave regulatory clearances to three mega infrastructure projects involving an investment of Rs 25,000 crore. These are the first among a few projects the government has shortlisted to be put on a fast track.


The projects cleared on Friday were of Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd in Vishakhapatnam, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd, and Simhapuri Expressways Ltd in Andhra Pradesh. These had been held up because of regulatory bottlenecks.


“The government should take steps to see the clearance of projects is fast-tracked… The clearances have been given for projects that will now be implemented. It is expected clearances for the rest of the projects will be given before the next meeting,” department of financial services secretary D K Mittal told reporters after a meeting chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to review the projects.


The first review meeting was taken by the finance minister on October 18, in which 12 projects worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore were discussed. At on Friday’s meeting, 12 more projects worth Rs 37,000 crore with investments in the range of Rs 1,500-5,000 crore were discussed. The government will take up more projects worth Rs 1,000-1,500 crore in the next review meeting on December 18.


“Bank sanction is already available in these projects, but there were some other issues (in getting various regulatory clearances). The issue came up before the finance minister as these are very important projects. We want to clear them because the money of our financial institutions is invested in these projects. If they don’t take off, that will give rise to non-performing assets,” Mittal said.


Mittal said the Foreign Investment Promotion Board had approved the Hinduja power project envisaging an investment of about Rs 6,000 crore, though L&T’s metro project (about Rs 16,000 crore) was still facing some legal obstacles. The highway project in Andhra Pradesh (about Rs 2,550 crore) was also held up over the environment clearance.


The government has started reviewing large projects after a meeting between Mukherjee and the industry on August 1, when industrialists expressed concerns. The finance minister is reviewing implementation of infrastructure projects valued Rs 100 crore and more.
Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan and power minister Sushilkumar Shinde also attended the review meeting