Important General Awareness VII

1. Income tax in India was introduced by ?

a) William Jones b) James Wilson c) Lord Macaulay d) Sir Charles Wood

2. Which of the following country is not a member of SAARC ?

a)Nepal b)Pakistan c) India d) Myanmar

3. The Indian Rupee symbol was designed by ?

a) D Udai Kumar b) Udai Chopra c) Rakesh Mohan d) D raju Reddy

4. Which of the following bank is limited to the needs of agriculture and rural finance ?

a) RBI b) NHB c) SBI d) NABARD

5. The food for work programme was renamed as

a) RLEGP b) IRDP c) NREP d) NREGA

6. Which of the following is the credit rating agency in India ?

a) CRISIL b) FITCH c) CARE d) ICRA e) All of these

7. Infrastructure financing committee is which of these ?

a) T Vikas Mohan b) V Kurien c) Deepak Parikh d) K V Kamat

8. Present SLR rate is ?

a) 26% b) 24% c) 6% d) 7%

9. SFIO stands for ?

a) Serious Fraud Investing Office
b) Super Financial Investment Office
c) Serious Financial Investing Office
d) None

10. Chinese largest which recently set up its operation in India ?

a) China Commerical Bank
b) Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
c) Shanghai commercial Bank
d) Honkong and Shanghai bank

11. Who among the following has been elected as first ever woman Prime Minister of Denmark ?

a) Jytte Anderson
b) Angella Merkel
c) Helle Thorning-Schmidt
d) KimY Clisters

12. Which is the biggest bank of France ?

a) BNP Pribas
b) HSBC bank
c) Barclays Bank
d) Rabobank

13. 44th Jnanpith Award has been awarded to which of the following ?

a) Akhlaq Shahryar b) Javed Hussian c) Anupam Kher d) Kirron Kher

14. First Ever formula one rance in India will be held where ?

a) Bangalore
c) Navi Mumbai
d) Noida
d) Chennai

15. Which of the following European Country has banned Muslims Friday prayers on streets ?

a) England
b) France
c) Poland
d) Germany

KEYS......

1.(a) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4 (d) 5. (c) 6. (e) 7. (c) 8. (a) 9. (a) 10. (b) 11. (c) 12. (a) 13. (a) 14. (d) 15. (b)

If your score is...

>12.... excellent
8-12...Needs further polishing
<8.. Need high improvement

Important General Awareness VI

1. The country which achieved number one position in terms of medals tally in the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi is

a) England  b) Australia  c) Germany  d) Malaysia

2. Bharti Airtel which is India largest telecom service provider has recently bought Zain. Zain is the biggest phone company of

a) Kuwait b) UAE c) Egypt d) Sudan

3. The chief election commissioner of India is

a) S Y Qureshi b) Navin Chawala c) N Gopalaswami d) Hamid Ansari

4. Naoto Kan is the Prime minister of which country

a) Iran b) Japan c) Argentina d) Brazil

5. International Youth day is observed on

a) August 9 b) 15 c) August 21 d) August 12

6. Lawn Tennis player Kim Clisters belongs to which country

a) Belgium b) Russia c) Yugoslavia d) Spain

7. Rangaswamy Cup is associated with

a) Hockey b) Chess c) Polo d) Squash

8. Kiran Kumar Reddy is the Chief Minister of which state in India

a) Karnataka b) Kerala c) Andhra Pradesh d) Orrisa

9. Highest sports award in India is

a) Arjuna Award b) Dronacharya Award c) Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna d) Bharata Ratna

10. Moin-ud-Dawala cup is associated with which sports

a) Cricket b) Football c) Tennis d) Golf

..........................
Keys :

1. B
2. A
3. A
4. B
5. D
6. A
7. A
8. C
9. C
10. A

Important Banking Terms for IBPS Exam II

BASEL Committee on Banking Supervision
	The BASEL Committee is a committee of bank supervisors consisting of members from each of the G10 countries. The Committee is a forum for discussion on the handling of specific supervisory problems. It coordinates the sharing of supervisory responsibilities among national authorities in respect of banks' foreign establishments with the aim of ensuring effective supervision of banks' activities worldwide.
BASEL Capital accord
	The BASEL Capital Accord is an Agreement concluded among country representatives in 1988 to develop standardised risk-based capital requirements for banks across countries. The Accord was replaced with a new capital adequacy framework (BASEL II), published in June 2004. BASEL II is based on three mutually reinforcing pillars hat allow banks and supervisors to evaluate properly the various risks that banks face. These three pillars are: Minimum capital requirements, which seek to refine the present measurement framework supervisory review of an institution's capital adequacy and internal assessment process; market discipline through effective disclosure to encourage safe and sound banking practices
Risk Weighted Asset
	The notional amount of the asset is multiplied by the risk weight assigned to the asset to arrive at the risk weighted asset number. Risk weight for different assets vary e.g. 0% on a Government Dated Security and 20% on a AAA rated foreign bank etc.
CRAR(Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio)
	Capital to risk weighted assets ratio is arrived at by dividing the capital of the bank with aggregated risk weighted assets for credit risk, market risk and operational risk. The higher the CRAR of a bank the better capitalized it is.
Credit Risk
	The risk that a party to a contractual agreement or transaction will be unable to meet its obligations or will default on commitments. Credit risk can be associated with almost any financial transaction. BASEL-II provides two options for measurement of capital charge for credit risk 1.standardised approach (SA) - Under the SA, the banks use a risk-weighting schedule for measuring the credit risk of its assets by assigning risk weights based on the rating assigned by the external credit rating agencies. 2. Internal rating based approach (IRB) - The IRB approach, on the other hand, allows banks to use their own internal ratings of counterparties and exposures, which permit a finer differentiation of risk for various exposures and hence delivers capital requirements that are better aligned to the degree of risks. The IRB approaches are of two types: a) Foundation IRB (FIRB): The bank estimates the Probability of Default (PD) associated with each borrower, and the supervisor supplies other inputs such as Loss Given Default (LGD) and Exposure At Default (EAD). b) Advanced IRB (AIRB): In addition to Probability of Default (PD), the bank estimates other inputs such as EAD and LGD. The requirements for this approach are more exacting. The adoption of advanced approaches would require the banks to meet minimum requirements relating to internal ratings at the outset and on an ongoing basis such as those relating to the design of the rating system, operations, controls, corporate governance, and estimation and validation of credit risk components, viz., PD for both FIRB and AIRB and LGD and EAD for AIRB. The banks should have, at the minimum, PD data for five years and LGD and EAD data for seven years. In India, banks have been advised to compute capital requirements for credit risk adopting the SA.
Market risk
	Market risk is defined as the risk of loss arising from movements in market prices or rates away from the rates or prices set out in a transaction or agreement. The capital charge for market risk was introduced by the BASEL Committee on Banking Supervision through the Market Risk Amendment of January 1996 to the capital accord of 1988 (BASEL I Framework). There are two methodologies available to estimate the capital requirement to cover market risks: 1) The Standardised Measurement Method: This method, currently implemented by the Reserve Bank, adopts a ‘building block’ approach for interest-rate related and equity instruments which differentiate capital requirements for ‘specific risk’ from those of ‘general market risk’. The ‘specific risk charge’ is designed to protect against an adverse movement in the price of an individual security due to factors related to the individual issuer. The ‘general market risk charge’ is designed to protect against the interest rate risk in the portfolio. 2) The Internal Models Approach (IMA): This method enables banks to use their proprietary in-house method which must meet the qualitative and quantitative criteria set out by the BCBS and is subject to the explicit approval of the supervisory authority.
Operational Risk
	The revised BASEL II framework offers the following three approaches for estimating capital charges for operational risk: 1) The Basic Indicator Approach (BIA): This approach sets a charge for operational risk as a fixed percentage ("alpha factor") of a single indicator, which serves as a proxy for the bank’s risk exposure. 2) The Standardised Approach (SA): This approach requires that the institution separate its operations into eight standard business lines, and the capital charge for each business line is calculated by multiplying gross income of that business line by a factor (denoted beta) assigned to that business line. 3) Advanced Measurement Approach (AMA): Under this approach, the regulatory capital requirement will equal the risk measure generated by the banks’ internal operational risk measurement system. In India, the banks have been advised to adopt the BIA to estimate the capital charge for operational risk and 15% of average gross income of last three years is taken for calculating capital charge for operational risk.
Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP)
	In terms of the guidelines on BASEL II, the banks are required to have a board-approved policy on internal capital adequacy assessment process (ICAAP) to assess the capital requirement as per ICAAP at the solo as well as consolidated level. The ICAAP is required to form an integral part of the management and decision-making culture of a bank. ICAAP document is required to clearly demarcate the quantifiable and qualitatively assessed risks. The ICAAP is also required to include stress tests and scenario analyses, to be conducted periodically, particularly in respect of the bank’s material risk exposures, in order to evaluate the potential vulnerability of the bank to some unlikely but plausible events or movements in the market conditions that could have an adverse impact on the bank’s capital.
Supervisory Review Process (SRP)
	Supervisory review process envisages the establishment of suitable risk management systems in banks and their review by the supervisory authority. The objective of the SRP is to ensure that the banks have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business as also to encourage them to develop and use better risk management techniques for monitoring and managing their risks.
Market Discipline
	Market Discipline seeks to achieve increased transparency through expanded disclosure requirements for banks.
Credit risk mitigation
	Techniques used to mitigate the credit risks through exposure being collateralised in whole or in part with cash or securities or guaranteed by a third party.
Mortgage Back Security
	A bond-type security in which the collateral is provided by a pool of mortgages. Income from the underlying mortgages is used to meet interest and principal repayments.

Important Banking Terms for IBPS Exam I

Capital Funds
	Equity contribution of owners. The basic approach of capital adequacy framework is that a bank should have sufficient capital to provide a stable resource to absorb any losses arising from the risks in its business. Capital is divided into different tiers according to the characteristics / qualities of each qualifying instrument. For supervisory purposes capital is split into two categories: Tier I and Tier II.
Tier I Capital
	A term used to refer to one of the components of regulatory capital. It consists mainly of share capital and disclosed reserves (minus goodwill, if any). Tier I items are deemed to be of the highest quality because they are fully available to cover losses Hence it is also termed as core capital.
Tier II Capital
	Refers to one of the components of regulatory capital. Also known as supplementary capital, it consists of certain reserves and certain types of subordinated debt. Tier II items qualify as regulatory capital to the extent that they can be used to absorb losses arising from a bank's activities. Tier II's capital loss absorption capacity is lower than that of Tier I capital.
Revaluation reserves
	Revaluation reserves are a part of Tier-II capital. These reserves arise from revaluation of assets that are undervalued on the bank's books, typically bank premises and marketable securities. The extent to which the revaluation reserves can be relied upon as a cushion for unexpected losses depends mainly upon the level of certainty that can be placed on estimates of the market values of the relevant assets and the subsequent deterioration in values under difficult market conditions or in a forced sale.
Leverage
	Ratio of assets to capital.
Capital reserves
	That portion of a company's profits not paid out as dividends to shareholders. They are also known as undistributable reserves and are ploughed back into the business.
Deferred Tax Assets
	Unabsorbed depreciation and carry forward of losses which can be set-off against future taxable income which is considered as timing differences result in deferred tax assets. The deferred Tax Assets are accounted as per the Accounting Standard 22.
Deferred Tax Liabilities
	Deferred tax liabilities have an effect of increasing future year's income tax payments, which indicates that they are accrued income taxes and meet definition of liabilities.
Subordinated debt
	Refers to the status of the debt. In the event of the bankruptcy or liquidation of the debtor, subordinated debt only has a secondary claim on repayments, after other debt has been repaid.
Hybrid debt capital instruments
	In this category, fall a number of capital instruments, which combine certain characteristics of equity and certain characteristics of debt. Each has a particular feature, which can be considered to affect its quality as capital. Where these instruments have close similarities to equity, in particular when they are able to support losses on an ongoing basis without triggering liquidation, they may be included in Tier II capital.

General Awareness Important Questions III

 India International bank in Malaysia will be operational by October:India International Bank (Malaysia) - which is a three-way joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank and Andhra Bank – will entail a total investment of $100 million (approximately Rs 450 crore). Bank of Baroda, which holds the majority stake at 40 per cent, will invest about Rs 180 crore, while Indian Overseas Bank (35 per cent) and Andhra Bank (25 per cent) about Rs 157 crore and Rs 112 crore respectively in the joint venture, according to Mr M.D. Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director, BoB. The bank would be operational by October, he said, while talking to newspersons on the sidelines of a banking conclave organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Thursday. (BL dt 12.08.2011 p.6)

RBI survey pegs down GDP growth to 7.9%:
India’s GDP growth projection for the current financial year has been pegged down to 7.9 per cent from the earlier projection of 8.2 per cent, according a Reserve Bank of India Survey. In its First Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2011-12 on July 26, the RBI had stuck to its baseline projection of real GDP growth for the current year at 8.0 per cent. The Survey of Professional Forecasters on Macroeconomic Indicators had revised the real GDP growth rate forecast downwards to 8.2 per cent in its May survey from 8.5 per cent in the earlier survey. The latest round of survey has revised projections for agriculture, industry and services growth to 3.5 per cent (3.1 per cent in the May survey), 7.4 per cent (8.2 per cent) and 9.0 per cent (9.6 per cent) respectively. (BL dt 13.08.2011 p.4)

India BBB rating stays, says S&P:
Standard and Poor’s has said there is no immediate threat to India’s sovereign debt rating of BBB, though loose fiscal policy and the government’s inability to carry forward economic reforms could have implications in the medium term.“We do not see an immediate impact on India’s sovereign rating (BBB-/Stable) resulting from the lowering of the US sovereign rating to AA+,” Standard & Poor’s sovereign analyst Mr Takahira Ogawa told PTI. S&P recently lowered the sovereign rating of the US to AA+ from AAA. The ratings are opinions that reflect the ability and willingness of the rated entity to meet financial obligations. The decision to lower the sovereign rating of the US had deleterious consequences for stock markets all over the world, including India. (DH dt. 16.08.2011 p. 14)

SBI net drops 46% in Q1 on higher bad loan provisioning:
Higher provisioning for NPAs and depreciation on investments dented State Bank of India’s net profits for the first quarter ended June 30, 2011 to Rs 1,584 crore, down 46 per cent decline over Rs 2,914 crore recorded in same period last year. The sharp fall was despite a 32-per cent increase in NII at Rs 9,700 crore (Rs 7,304 crore) and an 18 per cent increase in operating profit at Rs 7,242 crore (Rs 6,134 crore). However, the latest quarterly net profit was much higher than the Rs 20.88-crore recorded in the last quarter of fiscal 2010-11. (BL dt 14.08.2011 p.1)

SEBI wants powers to see phone call, e-mail records:
The SEBI has sought powers to seek e-mail and call records from telecom service providers. This move, the market regulator hopes, will help it prevent black money entering the market as also keep an eye on insider trading. The Minister of State for Finance, Mr Namo Narain Meena, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on August 12 (unstarred question no 2091) that SEBI also wants to be in the list of law enforcement/investigating agencies that includes the CBI and the IB. A formal request has been sent to the Department of Telecommunications. Though getting call records from the phone service providers may not be difficult, tracking e-mail records could be. Most e-mail service providers such as Google, Yahoo, Hotmail have their servers based outside India. Even security agencies have been trying to get access to these services in vain. (BL dt 16.08.2011 p.1)

Banking on performance:
The rules of the game are changing for public sector bank staff. A number of banks are rolling out performance-based incentives for their officers and clerical staff numbering about 10 lakh. This, feel experts, would to ‘better’ the performance of the PSBs. “We are in the process of formulating a scientific system to encourage performance by structured incentives which will be implemented soon,” Ms Archna Bhargava, Executive Director, Canara Bank, told Business Line. Banks can spend at least one per cent of their profits on performance incentives, she added. (BL dt 17.08.2011 p.1)

SBI hopes to see net profit grow to Rs 2,500 crore in Q2:
Having posted a decline in profit for two successive quarters, State Bank of India hopes to clock an increase in its bottomline to Rs 2,500 crore in the second quarter on account of lower provisioning against bad loans. “We expect to turn in another Rs 7,200 crore of operating profit. If you leave out the one-off provisions, which had happened due to raising of prudential norms and also the investment provision, we expect a normal provisioning of Rs 2,500-3,000 crore,” State Bank of India Chairman Mr Pratip Chaudhuri said. “So we would possibly look at a net profit of Rs 2,500 crore. This is broad indication, but we would get a number after we see August investments,” he said.
(ET dt. 17.08.2011 p. 11)

Banking doors set to open for India Inc:
Indian companies may have reasons to rejoice, as the RBI is likely to allow some of them an entry into the banking space. The entry will, of course, be subject to stiff riders. Real estate companies, however, may not be as lucky as they are among four sectors that will find the banking doors locked. According to a government official, the RBI is expected to come out with draft guidelines on allowing new private banks by next Monday, as the finance ministry and the central bank have resolved their differences on most of the contentious issues. The official said foreign direct investment (FDI) in new banks may be capped at 49% for now, as the RBI was not in favour of higher FDI. In a discussion paper released in August last year, the central bank had suggested capping FDI in new banks at 49% in the first 10 years, which could be subsequently raised to 74%. The ministry was open to a higher cap. The number of new licences to be issued has not been decided yet and the call will be taken by the RBI. The guidelines were more or less final, but the regulator would want to give a one-month window to all stakeholders to give their suggestions on the draft, said the official. (BS dt. 18.08.2011 p. 1)

Syndicate Bank likely to buy 26% in Aviva Life:
Aviva Life has emerged as the front-runner for tying up with Syndicate Bank for its proposed insurance joint venture. According to sources, the Manipal-headquartered lender is likely to pick up 26% stake. Mohit Burman, director of fast-moving consumer goods major, the Dabur Group, holds 74 per cent stake. The rest is held by UK’s Aviva. A Syndicate Bank official said the bidding process was still on and the bank was yet to decide on the insurance partner. “We have just finished receiving the financial bids and would shortlist three-four players on the basis of financial bids. Then, we would take the final call,” said a senior bank official. However, according to sources involved with the deal, Avia Life is better placed, as it is willing to offer significant equity. (BS dt. 18.08.2011 p. 6)

General Awareness Important Questions II

Here is the second set of Important GK (general awareness) questions related to banking industry for upcoming IBPS Bank commont written test 2011.

Subbarao to be RBI Governor for 2 more years:
The Government has given Dr D. Subbarao, two-year extension as the Governor of the RBI. He will hold office till 2013. “The Prime Minister has approved the extension of the term of Dr Subbarao as Governor of the RBI for a further period of two years with effect from September 5, 2011 up to September 4, 2013,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.This move is meant to give an impression of stability to the economy, sources told Business Line. Secondly, in the current global economic situation, bringing a new person at the helm would not be seen as a wise step, they said. (BL dt. 10.08.2011 p.1)

Foreign investors can invest in MFs:
In a further liberalisation of the portfolio investment route incorporating the industry’s suggestions for a more vibrant debt market for the infrastructure sector, the Centre on Tuesday permitted a new category of qualified foreign investors (QFIs) to invest up to $13 billion in equity and debt schemes of mutual funds (MFs). Announcing this, for which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued separate notifications to set the investment norms as market regulators, a Finance Ministry statement said: “It has been decided that the aggregate investments by qualified foreign investors (QFIs) in equity schemes of the mutual funds under direct and indirect routes shall be subject to a ceiling of $10 billion.’’ (The Hindu dt. 10.08.2011 p. 19)

Signs MoU with PSU insurers:
Vijaya Bank has signed an MoU with United Insurance Co. Ltd. Under MoU, it will distribute life insurance and general insurance products of United India Insurance Co Ltd. The bank will also distribute insurance products of LIC, the bank said in a statement. (BS dt. 09.08.2011 p. 5)

Plan FY 12: SBI to raise capital via rights issue:
State Bank of India plans no further consolidation of its associate banks with itself during the current fiscal, Chairman Mr Pratip Chaudhuri has said. This comes even as the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, recently indicated that the Government would not be averse to considering merger proposals involving State Bank of India and its associate banks in 2011-12. The State Bank of India management's "time and bandwidth" during this fiscal would be devoted to raising additional capital of Rs 20,000 crore through a rights issue, besides addressing issues such as asset quality and international expansion, Mr Chaudhuri told reporters after a meeting of the bank's board. (BL dt. 07.08.2011 p. 1)

SBI to open 800 branches this fiscal:
State Bank of India plans to open 800 more branches in 2011-12 taking its total network to over 14,000 branches. "We are planning to open 700-800 branches in the current financial year against 650 set up during the last fiscal," the SBI Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Mr Diwakar Gupta, told PTI. New branches would be spread across all the 14 circles, he said. At the end March,2011, the total number of branches was 13,542 while the number of ATMs stood 20,084 across the country. Besides, the bank is also looking at expanding its overseas network. The bank would look at increasing its presence in the neighbouring countries in CIS(Common wealth of Independent States)countries. SBI has 156 offices across 32 countries, including US, UK, Singapore, Canada and the Mauritius. The focus of these offices is India related business and the international needs of the bank's foreign customers, in addition to conducting retail operations. Currently, the overseas business contributes about 16% to the bank's total business. The number of foreign offices increased from 142 as on March 31, 2010 to 156 as on March 31, 2011 spread across 32 countries. (BL dt 08.08.2011 p.7)

Banks can now issue prepaid instruments to listed cos:
In a bid to widen the scope of prepaid payment instruments, the Reserve Bank of India has permitted banks to issue such instruments to listed corporate entities for onward issuance to their employees. Currently, prepaid instruments are issued by banks to: government organisations for onward issuance to the beneficiaries of government sponsored schemes for loading of funds from such schemes; and financial institutions for loading of one-time/periodical payments by these entities to their customers. Banks also issue such instruments to beneficiaries under money transfer service scheme for loading of cross-border inward remittances received by them. Further, prepaid gift instruments are issued by banks, non-banking finance companies and other persons. (BL dt. 05.08.2011 p. 6)

SIDBI to widen refinance window:
Banks’ appetite for refinance from the Small Industries Development Bank of India is expected to increase to about Rs 30,000 crore in the current financial year against Rs 22,900 crore last year, according to a top official of the development financial institution. With deposit rates rising by almost 250 basis points (a basis point is equivalent to 0.01 percentage point) in the last one year or so, banks are finding refinance from SIDBI comparatively cheaper. Lucknow-headquartered SIDBI gives refinance against term loans granted by banks to industrial concerns for setting up industrial projects in the small-scale sector as also for their expansion/modernisation/diversification. (BL dt. 02.08.2011 p. 6)

RBI to issue new Rs 10 notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it will shortly issue Rs 10 denomination bank notes with inset letter 'B' in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi series 2005 bearing the signature of RBI Governor Dr D Subbaro. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi series 2005 issued earlier. All banknotes in the denomination of Rs 10 issued by the bank in the past will continue to be legal tender, the press release said. (DH dt 02.08.2011 p.15)

New bank licences on the back burner:
Companies with ambition of setting up a bank will have to wait longer. The much-hyped grant of new bank licences has been put on the back burner, as the Government is not keen to go ahead. Sources familiar with the developments said the government had conveyed its view that the matter be set aside to Reserve Bank of India, the authority for issuing fresh licences. RBI had framed draft guidelines for new bank licences and submitted these to the Finance Ministry for its views. The ministry is yet to formally get back to RBI. “RBI and the government had reached a consensus on most of the important issues in the draft guidelines, including grant of licences to corporate houses. The government had also agreed to amend the RBI Act to vest more power with the regulator. Things have slackened after that,” said a source. (BS dt. 01.08.2011 p. 1)

Post offices to seek nod to convert into banks:
The humble post office is all set to undergo a radical change with a proposal to convert over 1.5 lakh post offices across the nation into full fledged banks on the anvil. Telecom Minister Mr Kapil Sibal wants to reach out to the masses in the rural areas with modern banking facilities through the post offices. “We want to commercialise the department. We will seek a licence from the RBI to convert all our post offices into banks,” Mr Sibal told PTI. The post offices currently offer financial services like savings bank, postal life insurance, pension payments and money transfer services. Its total corpus stood at Rs 5,82,832.90 crore as on March 31, 2011. (DNA dt. 01.08.2011 p. 11)

Punjab & Sind Bank seeks Rs 990 cr from Centre:
Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) has sought capital support of Rs 990 crore from the Central Government to fund business growth, a top official of the bank has said. “It will be pure equity. We have made a request to the Government for capital infusion through preferential allotment route. The capital infusion if done will be made at a premium and near market price,” Mr P. K. Anand, Executive Director, PSB, said. The last time Government infused capital in PSB was in 2005 and the amount pumped in was Rs 500 crore, officials said. Later on, the Government had converted equity capital of Rs 550 crore into preference shares as well as long-term debt. (BL dt. 31.07.2011 p. 18)

Canara Bank gets new executive director:
The Government of India has appointed Mr Ashok Kumar Gupta, General Manager of Punjab National Bank, as the Executive Director of Canara Bank. He succeeds Mr Jagdish Pai K.L., who retired on June 30. According to a press release from Canara Bank, Mr Gupta assumed office on Thursday. He started his career as management trainee in Punjab National Bank in 1976. He also served as the Managing Director of PNB GILTs, a subsidiary of PNB. Before his elevation to the post of Executive Director of Canara Bank, Mr Gupta was in Chandigarh as Field General Manager for Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh. (BL dt. 30.07.2011 p. 6)

PNB to accept 'cash' from door steps:
Punjab National Bank said it would start accepting cash up to the value of Rs.2 crore from the premises of its customers, facilitating high value cash collection at their door steps. "We will soon start our new initiative in Chandigarh, where we will be accepting high amount of cash from customers' premises," GM Rohtash Kumar said. The minimum amount of cash to be collected from customers' premises would be Rs 1 Lakh, with maximum ceiling of Rs 2 crore without any charge. A dedicated team of bank officials will be set up which will look after door step banking services. The bank would also allow making payments to customers as per their requirement but within ceiling of Rs 2 crore.
(DH dt 26.07.2011 p.15)

Canara Bank may hire 3,000 personnel this year:
Canara Bank is likely to fill-up 3000 vacancies in various categories during this year, according to its Executive Director, Ms Archana S Bhargava. Speaking to newspersons on Friday, Ms Bhargava said apart from clerks, probationary officers, and agricultural officers, specialist positions in areas such as information technology would also be filled-up. “We have significant retirements which are to be replaced and branch expansion programme during the current year,’’ she said. Over 250 branches were likely to be added before March 2012 to the present network of 3,350 branches, she added. As part of its focus on microfinance and Self Help Group (SHG) linkage, three new microfinance branches would be opened in Andhra Pradesh. (BL dt. 23.07.2011 p. 15)

Canara Bank to open branches in 7 nations:
Aiming to expand its overseas footprint, Canara Bank said on Thursday that it plans to open offices in seven countries, including Germany and US soon. The bank had already received the permission to open a branch in Germany, while in other countries including US, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Australia, the process of getting permission has started, the bank’s ED Smt. Archana S Bhargava told reporters. Currently, the Bank has overseas branches in the UK, Hong Kong and China. It also has a joint venture with SBI in Moscow. The Bank, which has around 3,300 branches at present in the country, is also planning to add another 300 by end of this fiscal, she said adding that most of the new branches will be opened in rural and semi urban areas. She also said that the Bank has its presence in 452 districts of the total 644 districts in the country. As corporate social responsibility, bank has opened four computer training centres to impart free computer training to poor unemployed youth. Earlier, bank’s first specialised Government Business branch was opened at National Archives of India (NAI) office premises on Thursday. (DH dt. 22.07.2011 p. 17)