Two new foreign banks, Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of the United States and KBC Bank of Belgium, have been granted licence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to commence operations in India. The banks have been allowed by RBI to set up their branches in Mumbai. According to an RBI statement today, five foreign banks have also been issued licenses by RBI to open new branches.

Dun & Bradestreet, ECGCI sign pact

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India has entered into an alliance with Dun & Bradestreet India to provide valuable credit information on the exporters, importers, banks and business entities. The institution is signing an agreement with Managing Director of D&B, David Emery for this purpose on Wednesday.

SBBJ net at Rs 91.88 cr

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) has reported a net profit of Rs 91.88 crore for 1998-99, up 1.5 per cent from Rs 90.48 crore clocked in the previous fiscal. The board of directors haverecommended a 30 per cent dividend unchanged from the 1997-98 levels. SBBJ said that its operating profit of Rs 162.12 crore for 1998-99 was reigned in by higher operating expenses and the provisioning for wage hike for the fiscal. The bank's capital adequacy ratio has also jumped to 12.26 per cent (10.85 per cent for 1997-98).

Shah re-appointed GIC director

Manubhai Shah, managing trustee of Consumer Education and Research Centre has been re-appointed as part-time non-official director on the board of directors of GIC for two more years.

Amex net falls 88% to Rs 8.17 cr

American Express Bank's net profit has dropped to Rs 8.17 crore for the fiscal year 1998-99, down 88 per cent from Rs 68.14 crore net achieved in the previous fiscal. Amex's net advances for the 1998-99 fiscal have declined to Rs 961 crore (Rs 1080 crore in the previous fiscal) and its deposits have shrunk to Rs 1733 crore (Rs 1981 crore). The non-performing assets net of provisioning account for 2.32 per cent of totaladvances compared to 1.21 per cent last year.