Anand Krishnamurthy appointed new MD and CEO for Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd
- The Catholic Syrian Bank Limited has appointed Anand Krishnamurthy as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD&CEO) of the bank.
- The Catholic Syrian Bank Limited is one of the oldest private sector banks in India with a history of over 94 years, and a strong base in Kerala along with significant presence in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
- Krishnamurthy has about 22 years of experience in the field of banking having previously worked with HSBC for that period.
- He holds a bachelor's degree in technology (mechanical engineering) from IIT, Chennai and a post graduate diploma in management from IIM, Kolkata.
- The Union finance ministry has written to the Maharashtra government, directing it to stop filing FIRs (first information report) against bank managers of nationalised banks who didn't sanction loans to farmers.
- The finance ministry's letter terms the state government's move as "catastrophic", and warned that it could have "unintended consequences".
- The letter, a copy of which is with ET, has been written by Hasmukh Adhia, Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, on July 8 to Maharashtra chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya.
- The letter was written after district magistrates of Akola, Bhandara, Yavatmal and Chandrapur served notices under Section 188 to branch managers of 10 nationalised banks and 14 cooperative banks for not clearing loans to farmers.
- Adhia told the chief secretary that "while banks need to be sensitive and responsive to the needs of farmers, particularly in times of distress, the idea of using criminal act for such matters is catastrophic. It is certainly not going to achieve the purpose for which it is being used", wrote Adhia.
- He warned that the state government's move could be counterproductive as employees of banks would not cooperate with the government which could have unintended consequences.
- Adhia has politely reminded the state government that since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the regulatory body for financial institutions and banks, the state should take up the matter with the central bank if it has an issue.
- Former Maharashtra finance minister Jayant Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party has criticized the state government, saying that the situation could have been avoided if the state had simply followed up its earlier assurance that it would reschedule loans given to farmers by banks.
- Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked collectors to file FIRs against bank managers after farmers began complaining that they were not getting bank loans in the state.
Barclays appoints Alexander Harrison as new corporate banking head for Asia
- The British lender Barclays appointed Alexander Harrison as new head for this business across Asia, including India.
- With its corporate banking hubs in Singapore, India, Hong Kong and Japan, the bank plans to increase revenues significantly.
- As part of the new role, Harrison will relocate from Dubai to Singapore and will be designated as managing director.
- The bank has also set up specific India, China and Japan desks at the headquarters in England and a China desk in Africa, to better facilitate trade between EMEA and the Asia Pacific region.
- Bandhan Bank said it will open 14 branches in the five southern states - Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- These branches will be operational from August 23 - the same day the bank commences its nationwide operations.
- Bandhan Bank is all set to start with a Rs 11,000-crore book, capital of Rs 3,200 crore, 500-600 branches and 250 ATMS across India.
- President Pranab Mukherjee, will launch the bank in Kolkata on August 23 - the first bank to be born in the eastern India post-Independence.
- International Finance Corporation, Singapore government-backed GIC and the state-run Small Industries Development Bank of India have invested in Bandhan Bank.
- Bandhan has appointed 850 experienced banking professionals at senior and middle level positions to run its operations, in addition to 18,000 employees that the microfinance entity already has on its payroll.
White Label ATMs: Now avail more options at Tata Indicash
- Tata Communications Payment Solutions (TCPS), engaged in white label ATM business with the flagship product, Indicash, has on Monday launched three value-added services.
- Those include three new value-added services for its customers: card-to-card fund transfer, cheque book request and account statement request. Customers can now use these services while using their Automated Teller Machines.
- In the first phase, these additional services will be offered at over 1,600 Indicash ATMs located in tier one cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bangalore, Kochi.
- These services will soon be extended across the Indicash ATM network covering all tier two to tier six locations.
- Under card-to-card transfer, a bank customer can instantly transfer funds up to Rs 5,000 per transaction from their debit cards to the beneficiary's bank account, through an Indicash ATM.
- Indicash ATM users can also enjoy the convenience of requesting a cheque book and account statement of the primary account linked to their debit card through the Indicash ATMs.
- All of the above services can be availed by customers of banks that have enabled these services, eliminating the need to visit a bank branch.
What is white label ATMs?
- White Label ATMs does not have any label of any bank. Here, there are three inherent parties: the non-bank corporate entity like TCPS, authorized ATM network operators/card payment network operators like RuPay, Visa or MasterCard and a sponsor bank for cash management, funds settlement as well as customer grievance redressal.