India’s biggest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is ready to reintroduce a refurbished and cheaper Alto. Maruti considers that the time is ripe to introduce a basic model of its most popular car. It sells nearly 20,000 Altos a month, thus making it India’s best selling car.
There has been a spurt in the share of loans offered by housing finance companies (HFCs) to non individuals. This trend can lead to higher non performing assets (NPAs) according to CARE.
As per a research report by HDFC Securities there has been a reduction in the asset quality of foreign banks functioning in India despite an increase in their loan books, including personal loans. The loan books of these banks have posted profits.
With consumers grabbing every available Ninja (performance bike from Kawasaki) from Bajaj Auto showrooms, the company is readying to introduce more premium products from the Japanese company later in the year. Part of the increased demand has also been due to economical car loans.
Nokia- a leading mobile producer and supplier intends to commence its mobile banking service in India. The service would be called as Nokia Money, as per a Nokia official.
During the height of recession, banks had stopped offering personal loans. However they have started offering these loans again, but have become very strict with offering unsecured loans.
Interest on savings accounts would be computed on a daily basis from 1st April 2010. while the savings account holders are happy, the banks are not happy. This is because the banks’ margins are set to be impacted with the introduction of this new system.
SBI has started a strategic training unit (STU), to bring the bank’s complete training system under a single command, led by a chief general manager. This was done with the aim of improving expertise, especially among the 25,000 extra recruitment that the bank is scheduling for the present financial year.
Crisil has said the cost of deposits for banks will increase by 10-20 basis points as they start computing interest on savings account balances on an everyday basis. The effect will be maximum for banks which have a major portion of salary accounts with highly variable balances.
The country’s biggest lender State Bank of India has said it will not increase its lending rates right away but will wait for additional signs from the Reserve Bank’s impending annual monetary policy.