MUMBAI, November 27: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that banks will no longer be required to secure its permission or the concurrence of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to offer new deposit schemes. In a press release issued in Mumbai on Thursday, the central bank said that before launching deposit schemes, banks should obtain the prior approval of their respective boards. In the case of non-resident deposits, however, banks will continue to need the exchange control department's approval. The RBI has also reiterated that banks will have to adhere to all its instruction on deposit rates, withdrawal norms and sanction of loans against term deposits.

State Bank of Bikaner posts Rs 43-cr net: The State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) has posted a net profit of Rs 42.81 crore for the first half of the current fiscal. This compares to the Rs 24.68 crore in the comparable period last fiscal, a growth of 73.42 per cent. SBBJ had earned a net profit of Rs 40.48 crore in 1996-97. The bank's income from operations in the first half of this fiscal stood at Rs 414.47 crore as compared to the Rs 350.34 crore in the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 18.14 per cent. Other income for the period stood at Rs 69.72 crore, a 22.02 per cent growth over the previous fiscal's comparable figure of Rs 57.14 crore.

BoB eastern zone records Rs 24-cr net: The eastern zone of Bank of Baroda (BoB) has posted a net profit of Rs 24 crore in the first half of 1997-98. Deposit mobilised during the period stood at Rs 136 crore, up by 10.2 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. The region handles business worth Rs 2,100 crore, out of which deposits amount to Rs 1,485 crore and advances at Rs 628 crore. Outstanding advances of zone, including bad advances, stood at Rs 630 crore. Gross NPAs were to the tune of Rs 93 crore, while business per employee stood at Rs 68.3 lakh, higher than the Rs 64.7 lakh in the previous year.

Crisil assigns A- to Punjab & Sind Bank bonds: The Credit Rating Services of India Ltd (Crisil) has assigned an A- rating to the Rs 100-crore bond programme of Punjab & Sind Bank. Crisil said that its rating indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment of interest and principal is adequate.

`Tardy credit offtake must go': The president of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Ram P Gandhi, said that bankers should tackle the issue of tardy credit offtake. Gandhi was speaking at a seminar organised by the chamber on `credit flows to industries, traders and professionals' in Mumbai. He said that the credit delivery system was the root cause for the poor offtake in credit.

Allahabad Bank opens NRI branch: Allahabad Bank has opened its first non-resident Indian branch at Jalandhar, home to a large number of NRI's from US, Canada, the UK and other European countries. The new branch will cater exclusively to the needs of the NRIs. It will also act as the main branch for the 34 branches of the bank in Punjab and play an advisory role to the branches in Jalandhar district and also to NRIs who pass through the region.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.