State Bank of Patiala to finance Mahindra vehicles

Homegrown auto major, the $ 16.7 billion Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, India’s leading SUV manufacturer, has entered into a Preferred Financier tie-up with the State Bank of Patiala, according to a company statement.

From (L-R): Pukhraj Kanther, CGM Commercial Banking, SBoP; S Vijaykumar, CGM Retail Banking, SBoP; SA Ramesh Rangan, Managing Director, SBoP; Purshottam Behera, GM Planning, NB and PS, SBoP; Arun Malhotra, Chief Sales & Customer Care Officer, Mahindra and Jyoti Malhotra, Senior GM Sales North, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Patiala on March10, 2014 will enable Mahindra customers to avail of a vehicle loan from any of the 1,175 branches of the bank. Arun Malhotra, Chief Sales and Customer Care Officer, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and  Purshottam Behera, General Manager, Planning, New Business & Priority Sector, State Bank of Patiala, signed the agreement in the presence of SA Ramesh Rangan, Managing Director, State Bank of Patiala and S Vijaykumar, Chief General Manager, Retail Banking and Pukhraj Kanther, Chief General Manager Commercial Banking, State Bank of Patiala and Jyoti Malhotra, Senior GM – Sales, North, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. The tie-up will enable both the auto maker and the lender to leverage on the inherent strengths of each other’s vast pan-India network of 1175 branches and 250 dealers, respectively.
Rangan, while speaking on the occasion said: “This is an innovative step towards providing better customer satisfaction. Both the parties have mutually agreed to pool their resources together to promote, market and make available organized finance facility at competitive interest rates to customers”.
On the alliance, Malhotra pointed out: “At Mahindra, we relentlessly look at options to provide the best finance schemes to our customers and give them the power of choice. This strategic tie-up is a step in the same direction. 80 percent of all our vehicles are financed of which PSU Banks contribute 15 percent, which makes them an important partner for us and a key sales enabler. The bank offers innovative products and services at affordable rates. With highly competitive schemes for car loans and commercial vehicle loans, we are hopeful of a good response from our dealers and customers”.
Vijaykumar added: “SBoP is expanding its operations in commercial and passenger vehicle financing.  It has been making niche offerings to its customers and this arrangement with Mahindra & Mahindra will be one such special initiative.  Customers of SBoP will benefit from this tie-up since they will have privileged access to the specialized services of M&M”.

Assam Gramin Vikash Bank to retail finance Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India’s two-wheelers

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), the second largest two-wheeler Company in India today announced its new retail finance tie-up with Assam Gramin Vikash Bank, the largest Regional Rural Bank in North East at a special event in Guwahati, according to a statement issued by the Japanese two-wheeler major.

HMSI has already associated with Co-operative, Gramin and Non-Banking financial institutions in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal for providing two-wheeler retail finance facility at state and PAN India level. This announcement marks an important step towards making Honda’s two-wheelers more easily accessible to its valued customers as Assam Gramin Vikash Bank is operational in all of Assam with it’s 388 branches which is sponsored by United bank of India.
With this partnership, customers across all towns/Village where the bank has its network can avail many attractive value-ads. These benefits include daily reducing interest rates, minimum processing fee and hassle free loan with nil documentation. Through this partnership, buyers can avail loan amount of upto 80 percent of Honda’s two-wheeler.
On the partnership, Shio Shankar Singh, Chairman, Assam Gramin Vikash Bank said: “We are really happy to partner with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. With our wide network we believe customers across Assam will immensely benefit and would be able to avail Honda’s extensive and world class product portfolio. It is our continuous effort to make convenient, the availability of finance to the people and with Honda’s partnership we believe we would be able to help people in buying their choice of Honda two-wheeler”.
Speaking on this alliance, YS Guleria, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, HMSI said: “Honda is always working to offer its customers with best value products and services. Today we are privileged to partner with the largest Regional Rural Bank in North East, Assam Gramin Vikash Bank to make two-wheeler buying for its customers more accessible and convenient. We are sure that with the Bank’s wide network we will be able to reach out to more and more customers in Assam and provide them an opportunity to experience high quality Honda products”.
North East market

Backed by the overwhelming trust of customers, Honda has consolidated its position as the ‘Fastest Growing two-wheeler company in both North East and pan-India. While two-wheeler industry in North East has grown at moderate pace of 15 percent, Honda has grown by an overwhelming 29 percent in April-December’2014 period (YoY basis).

Ruchira Karnik talks about Work Better and how it works better

Ruchira Karnik helped in establishing Work Better as one of the leading  companies in the Executive training space. She has been instrumental in bringing the firm where it stands now. Back in 2008, Ruchira  and her husband Swapnil Kamat establised Work Better, after having been on the receiving side of several boring, theoretical and irrelevant training programmes in their respective corporate jobs. Before taking the entrepreneurial plunge, Ruchira worked as the Advertising Manager for Ogaan Publications.

A perfectionist by nature, Ruchira has bird’s eye on little big things necessary to run the business. She also loves travelling with her husband and is an ardent Cricket fan. She is currently the Head of Business Development at Work Better. She graduated from Goa university with an honours in Bio – Technology in 2002. Prior to Work Better, she founded a Travel Portal called Trip2Goa.com and built it to a sizeable scale before exiting the venture.
Achievements

Ruchira has developed a highly prestigious list of clientele with some of the biggest corporates counting Work Better as long term partners in training. She has been instrumental  in driving innovative practical training solutions which  has helped give Work Better a definitive edge over its competitors.

Lasting relationship
Ruchira has managed to build strong relationships with clients and partners associated with Work Better with her unbeatable focus and dedication and she has  even built an extremely competent team at Work Better Training as well a solid pool of trainers PAN India. Ruchira has set up strong  internal processes leading Work Better of reputation of one one of the most reliable organisations with flawless execution skills. She has been featured on the Economic Times, the Times of India and various other national media as a  successful entrepreneur and businesswoman.
Perfectionist
Ruchira is a perfectionist by nature and has eye on little big things necessary to run the business. She also loves travelling with her husband and is an ardent Cricket fan, especially of Sachin Tendulkar.

In an informal chat, Ruchira speaks to Jayashankar Menon more about Work Better and how it works better. Excerpts:

JM: Can you talk about Work Better and how it works better?
RK: Work Better Training is one of India’s fastest growing Executive Education and Training firm. We provide customised training solutions in the soft skills, behaviour and management domain. Since it’s inception half a decade ago, we have  partnered with some of the biggest organisations on our people development initiatives and trained in excess of 75,000 executives across the country.

JM: What made to start Work Better?
RK: The question that If learning is such an integral part of a professional’s development and an organisation’s progress, why can’t it be done better? led us to do our research, our study and launch Work Better Training. We started Work Better to fundamentally change the way executive training was delivered in India and help professionals Work Better.

JM: How do you define Work Better programme?
RK: Practical, Real and Implementable are the three words that define a Work Better programme. We have created a huge impact through our holistic approach to training which involved doing extensive groundwork, creating customised content, conducting training on Adult Learning principles and engaging participants through post programme tools.
What is more, a dedicated content team invests time and effort in researching, creating various techniques and analysing what module will work best in which format. Besides that, we also provide some of the world’s best tools to engage and involve participants up to six months after the classroom workshop through our various initiatives like online and mobile learning.

JM: What is the kind of growth you predict?
RK: With a solid client base, a full time team of ten people and an empaneled network of over 50 trainers across the country, Work Better is poised to grow by 40 percent year on year in terms of revenue in this financial year.

JM: What verticals Work Better had specialised?
RK: Work Better specialises in six verticals such as leadership development programmes, customer service excellence, business communication and presentation skills, sales and negotiation skills training, personal effectiveness training and innovation. Learning

JM: Can you reveal few major clients?
RK: Essar, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, IDBI Bank, National Stock Exchange, ING Life Insurance, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Ingram Micro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Schneider Electric, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Trident Hotels and more.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank is a vision of economic empowerment for women

Bharatiya Mahila Bank is the first of its kind in the Banking Industry in India formed with a vision of economic empowerment for women.

Established on Augusst 5, 2013 BMB received the certificate of commencement of Business on Autust 22 and the Banking License from RBI on September 25. The bank’s Corporate Office is located at the IFCI Towers, 9th floor, Nehru Place, New Delhi .
Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, UPA inaugurated the bank on November 19, 2013. Bharatiya Mahila Bank has nine branches: one each in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore, Guwahati and Lucknow, which are currently operational. What is more, the bank will also open branches in all the State capitals and rural areas in a phased manner.
Focus on women

While the Bank will be focussing on the entire pyramid of Indian women, special attention will be given to economically neglected, deprived, discriminated, underbanked, unbanked, rural and urban women to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth. With a team of professionals having rich experience and expertise have designed and developed new products and services to suit the needs of women of all segments including Self Help Groups, women entrepreneurs, salaried women, HNIs and Corporates.
The Savings Bank rate of interest for R00,000 and above is five percent and for amount less than Rs 100,000, the interest rate is 4.5 percent. The interest for deposits of one year is nine percent. With working women in mind, the Bank has designed a special loan product for creating an efficient kitchen, Educational loan, loan for day care centres, vehicle loan, home loan are some of the other loan products that have been designed for the benefit of women. The Bank will also conduct programmes on financial literacy, skill development, training for women of all segments of the society so that women in turn generate more income, more jobs and growth opportunities and contribute significantly for the economic growth of the nation.
The bank, with an all women Board of Directors is headed by Usha Ananthasubramanian as Chairman and Managing Director. The Bharatiya Mahila Bank has become operational within a short span of time after the announcement made by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his Budget speech. The bank has been allocated with an initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore.
Board of Directors
•    Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and Managing Director
•    Nupur Mitra, Director
•    Renuka Ramnath, Director
•    Tanya Dubash, Director
•    Kalpana Saroj, Director
•    Chhavi Rajawat, Director
•    Pakiza Samad, Director
•    Priya Kumar, Director

Usha Ananthasubramanian, prior to taking over as CMD of the bank, was the Executive Director of Punjab National Bank for over two years.  She started her career with LIC. She joined the banking industry in February 1982 as a Specialist Officer in the Planning Stream of Bank of Baroda and rose to the rank of General Manager. At PNB, Usha was part of the Committee formed for examination of the blue print and other related tasks for setting up of the first women focussed Bank of India. She was the Head of the core management team constituted by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, for coordinating the process of establishment of the Bank.
In a career spanning over three decades, Usha has worked in various positions in the banking and allied areas. Key assignments held include General Manager South Zone, Bank of Baroda and Life Insurance Joint Venture Formation. She was closely associated with the transformation project of Bank of Baroda including rebranding and innovative HR initiatives.
Usha holds a Masters degree in Statistics from the University of Madras and a Masters degree in Ancient Indian Culture from the University of Mumbai. For further details about the bank, visit http://www.bmb.co.in/home/.
Branches
•    Mumbai – Ground Floor (Towards Trident Hotel), Air India premises, Air India Building, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400021
•    Chennai – Ground Floor, SIDBI Chennai, Overseas Towers, 756-L, Anna Salai, Chennai – 600 002
•    Kolkata – Apeejay House, 15, Park Street, Kolkata – 700 016
•    Bengaluru – IFCI Bhawan, 2, Cubbonpet Main Road, NR Square (Hudson Circle), Bangalore – 560 011
•    Ahmedabad – IFCI Bhawan, CG Road, Bodyline Churasta, Near Lal Bungalow, Ahmedabad – 380 006
•    Guwahati – IFCI, Christian Baste, Guwahati – Shillong Road, Guwahati – 781 005
•    Lucknow – UTI Tower, Ground Floor, Regency Plaza, 5 Park Road, Opp. Civil Hospital, Hazrat Ganj, Lucknow – 226 001
•    New Delhi – IFCI Tower, 9th Floor, 61, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110 019
•    Indore – SBI Main Branch Complex, New GPO, AB road, Indore – 452 001

HDFC Bank organises Secure Banking workshop in Chennai

HDFC Bank Ltd recently conducted its first Secure Banking workshop at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The Secure Banking workshop is part of Bank’s endeavour to make customers aware on the precautions that must be taken in order to safely conduct banking transactions, according to a statement issued by the bank.

From (L-R): George Mathai  (Zonal Head, HDFC Bank) and Vishal Salvi (Chief Information Security Officer, HDFC Bank) addressing media on  Secure Banking Workshop conducted by HDFC Bank.
What is HDFC Bank’s Secure Banking Workshop?

Banking in India has made tremendous progress in the last two decades. From early days when visiting the branch was a necessity, customers today have access to multiple platforms to conduct banking transactions. The Secure Banking Workshop educates customers about the do’s and don’ts, they must follow; be it using a cheque, transacting at ATMs, using debit or credit cards at POS terminals, merchant outlets to banking online. The simple measures as illustrated under Secure Banking will help customers minimise any risk of compromise.
Who can attend and where is it held?
The Secure Banking Workshop aimed at educating the public. The objective is to make both customers and non-customers aware of safe banking habits. HDFC Bank plans to conduct Secure Banking workshops at various branches across India on a regular basis. At various branches, HDFC Bank will conduct Secure Banking workshops and educate the common man.
Key takeaways from the Secure Banking Workshop

·                     Do not share PIN or passwords with anyone.

·                     Keep your bank informed whenever you change your address, contact number or email ID.

·                     Keep all ID address proofs and personal credentials in a secure place.  Always save your regional phone banking number on your contacts list, which will help in case of emergencies where your card is lost or stolen or you get an unexpected transaction alert. In Chennai you can call 044 61606161 to reach HDFC Bank’s Phone Banking.

·                     If you lose your credit or debit card, inform your bank immediately via Phonebanking

·                     If you find your mobile number inactive or are unable to make any calls, please contact your telecom service provider immediately to understand the reason.

·                     Never ignore alerts and statements sent from your banks

·                     Do not sign on blank cheques and hand them over to anyone claiming to be from the bank or any other organization. Always fill in the date, the name of the receiver and the amount before signing the cheque

·                     Never take help from strangers at ATM or Branch cash counter for counting the notes
Promoted in 1995 by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), India’s leading housing finance company, HDFC Bank is one of India’s premier banks providing a wide range of financial products and services to its 28.5 million customers across hundreds of Indian cities using multiple distribution channels including a pan-India network of branches, ATMs, phone banking, net banking and mobile banking. Within a relatively short span of time, the bank has emerged as a leading player in retail banking, wholesale banking, and treasury operations, its three principal business segments.
The bank’s competitive strength clearly lies in the use of technology and the ability to deliver world-class service with rapid response time. Over the last 19 years, the bank has successfully gained market share in its target customer franchises while maintaining healthy profitability and asset quality.

As of September 30, 2013 the Bank had a distribution network with 3,251 branches and 11,177 ATMs in 2022 cities/towns. For the quarter ended September 30, 2013 the Bank’s total income was Rs 119.37 billion (Rs 11,937.7 crore) as against Rs 101.46 billion (Rs 10,146.7 crore) for the quarter ended September 30, 2012. Net revenues (net interest income plus other income) were Rs 63.20 billion (Rsv6,320.9 crore) for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, as against Rs 53.37 billion (Rs 5,353.7 crore) for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Net Profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 was Rs 19.82 billion (Rs 1,982.3 crore), up by 27.1 percent over the corresponding quarter ended September 30, 2012.
Total income for the year ended March 31, 2013, was Rs 419.175 billion (Rs 41,917.5 crore). Leading Indian and international publications have recognised the bank for its performance and quality.

MFIN welcomes RBI’s move of a self regulatory structure for the NBFC-MFIs

The release of SRO guidelines for NBFC-MFIs is a major milestone in the evolution of microfinance sector in India. These guidelines will lead to the creation of a layered regulatory framework which will make for a good balance between core regulatory drivers and the developmental needs of the industry, according to a statement issued by MFIN.
Structurally, and functionally, MFIN has been acting as the de-facto SRO for its members. Towards this end, MFIN has taken a number of significant initiatives such as a stringent industry code of conduct, establishment of a high powered Enforcement Committee with external members, development of a full scale credit bureau ecosystem and promotion of transparency through quarterly publication of industry reports.
According to RBI norms released on Tuesday, an SRO must have at least one-third of the NBFC-MFIs as its members and adequate capital to be able to discharge its functions without being overly dependent on its member. MFIN has 42 members that make up 85-90 percent of the industry and also has requisite capital to meet the stipulated norms set by the RBI.

Commenting on this, Alok Prasad, CEO, MFIN said: “MFIN strongly welcomes the issue of the SRO guidelines for the Microfinance industry. These guidelines will substantially aid the process of improved governance and grievance redressal, within a well defined framework. Over the past 3 years or so, MFIN has been acting as the de- facto SRO and we now look forward to getting formal recognition by the RBI, under the guidelines issued today”. Speaking about MFIN’s vision, he said, “Our aim is to promote the robust development of the Microfinance sector by facilitating access to finance by millions of our un-served/underserved citizens”.
While membership of a SRO has not been made mandatory, the RBI has advised all NBFC-MFIs to voluntarily become members of at least one SRO. The SRO holding recognition from the Reserve Bank will have to adhere to a set of functions and responsibilities, such as formulating and administering a Code of Conduct recognized by the Bank, having a grievance and dispute redressal mechanism for the clients of NBFC-MFIs, responsibility of ensuring borrower protection and education, monitoring compliance by NBFC-MFIs with the regulatory framework put in place by the Reserve Bank, surveillance of the microfinance sector,  training and awareness programmes for the members, Self Help Groups, etc and submission of its financials, including Annual Report, to the Reserve Bank.
Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) is the premier industry association for the microfinance industry in India and its current membership consists of 42 leading NBFC (Non-banking Financial Company) Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the country. The aggregate business of MFIN members constitutes over 85 per cent of the Indian microfinance industry (excluding SHGs). MFIN seeks to work closely with regulators and other key stakeholders to achieve larger financial inclusions goals through microfinance.

Sona Group launches ‘Masterpreneur India’ Series to promote MSMEs in India

Recognising the potential of the Indian entrepreneurial spirit and to provide a thrust to same, the Sona Group, India’s leading auto components manufacturers, has launched ‘Masterpreneur India’ season one with CNBC Awaaz, according to a company statement.

This annual series is a five year property and will search for budding entrepreneurs across the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India to challenge them to come and drive innovative thinking into their businesses. Supported by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Trade India.com the entrepreneurial business growth partner, Masterpreneur has received a total of 830 entries at the initial round. Any business ranging between Rs. 25 lakh to Rs. 10 crore with at least two years in existence and a business model that is innovative, scalable and not easy to replicate have qualified to present their case in this reality business show.

Sunjay Kapur, Vice Chairman and Managing Director Sona Koyo said: “Masterpreneur is a platform to recognize the spirit of entrepreneurship in you. As often seen, inadequate finance, limitations in resources and even the right counsel can be a hindrance to pursuing one’s business ambition. We strongly believe that with the support of our partners, we can provide a fillip to deserving entrepreneurs. I am extremely excited and overwhelmed by the response we have received; the quality of entries made it extremely challenging for us to shortlist them. This is going to be exciting”.
MSMEs in India play a significant role in the growth story of the nation. With about 3.6 crore such enterprises in the market today, it contributes over eight percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides for employment opportunities to over eight crore people.

However, only 34 percent of these have access to banks and financial institutions, while the rest raise money through informal channels. With a debt demand in the market of Rs. 32 lakh crore today, only 6 lakh crore is financed through the formal sector, chiefly by Public Sector Banks. In addition to this, lack of proper knowledge and skill development, advisory support and little or no access to adequate technologies and an uncertain market make it difficult to survive or even venture out for some of these entrepreneurs. The sector has been witnessing a slow growth with its share of exports falling from 40 per cent to 36 percent lately as per news reports.
Masterpreneur will be one such platform where these shortlisted candidates will get an opportunity to be mentored by industry luminaries. They will also get a life time opportunity to be trained by experts as well as meet with venture capitalists and angel investors. This would help to provide them with a holistic perspective and guidance on how their business case can be strengthened.
While the semifinal rounds for Masterpreneur scheduled for November 15th to November 16th, 2013 in New Delhi, the show is expected to be aired on 30th November with the North-West regional rounds and then progress into the other regional rounds. Three semi-finalists from each region will be selected from each region that will be flown to Delhi where they will undergo the mentorship programme. Subsequently, four contestants will be shortlisted for the national finals which will be held in New Delhi.
The show will culminate with the awards night on 29th November’2013, a gala evening that will also see the release the dossier containing the 48 shortlisted cases from each region for the season. This will be circulated to select members among the business community from among venture capitalists, angel investors, business houses and other members of the business community.
As the name suggests, this reality show promises to be exciting and will be a significant step in bringing together India’s best and aspiring talent and encourage them to present their business acumen in front of established business luminaries. This is a small yet critical initiative from Sona to encourage Indian entrepreneurship and help drive inclusive economic growth.

Regional rounds are being aired as follows:

30th Nov -1st Dec: 5.30pm, Zonal round (Delhi + Mumbai)
7th Dec – 8th Dec: 5.30pm, Zonal round (Kolkata + Bangalore)
14th Dec – 15th Dec: 5.30pm, Semi finals
21stDec – 22nd Dec: 5.30pm, Semi finals
28thDec – 29th Dec: 5.30pm, Finale
January: A half an hour show covering the journey of the winner
January: A half an hour show covering the journey of the runners up
For more information on Masterpreneur, please visit: masterpreneurindia.in.com.

SONA KOYO Steering Systems Ltd, (SONA) is the flagship company of the SONA Group of Companies. The company is India’s largest manufacturer of steering systems and is the supplier of choice to major auto manufacturers with over 45% domestic market share, supplying steering gears, columns and RPS assemblies to almost all Indian passenger car and utility vehicle manufacturers. More information about the company is available on the website sonagroup.com.

Sustainable Livelihood Initiative of HDFC Bank crosses milestone of 200,000 households

HDFC Bank’s Sustainable Livelihood Initiative (SLI) – which aims to financially empower people in the bottom of the pyramid – today achieved a milestone in its journey of supporting inclusive growth, according to a statement issued by the bank.

Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank disburses a loan to Sajna Devi, the 20th lakh participant in HDFC Bank’s Sustainable Livelihood Initiative (SLI) at an event held to celebrate the milestone at Chomu in Rajasthan. On Mr Puri’s right is Mr Manohara Raj, Executive Vice President and Business Head, SLI.
Sajna Devi, a mother of three from Malikpur village in Rajasthan, represents the 20th lakh household that has benefited from the Bank’s initiative. The loan disbursement was handed over to Sajna Devi by HDFC Bank’s Managing Director, Aditya Puri, at a function held in Chomu today.

The Bank’s SLI is a key driver to achieve its board mandated objective to empower one crore families (five crore Indians) in unbanked and underbanked locations and bring them into the banking fold. The Bank’s SLI footprint has so far spread to thousands of villages across 24 states.
SLI is a holistic approach to people empowerment.  It entails occupational training, financial literacy, credit counseling, livelihood finance and market linkages – in that order. Its beneficiaries include people at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’, largely women in rural unbanked India, such as Sajna Devi.
Speaking on the occasion Puri said: “When we look back to when we started, it’s been an extremely gratifying journey so far for all of us here at HDFC Bank.  Tough, but extremely gratifying. We are committed to making 1 crore women, like Sajna Devi, economically independent. This translates to 5 crore Indians. In a country that has 27 crore people living below poverty line, 22 crore of them are living in rural India (as per the latest Government statistics) which is where we are largely focussing”.
On the initiative, Manohara Raj, Executive Vice President and Business Head, SLI said: “We believe that simply disbursing credit to these individuals will not help bring them out of poverty. Through SLI, the Bank scripts the change in a rural household – from imparting new skills to a participant to ensuring sustainable income – thus making a difference to their lives. Financial empowerment of women has also prompted a positive change in their social well-being. We are pleased to note that, to date, the Bank has been the catalyst for change in the lives of 20 lakh households i.e. about 80 lakh individuals, including the beneficiary’s dependents. The Bank continues its efforts to bring about the change in the lives of 5 crore such individuals”.
The uniqueness about the Bank’s SLI is that it uses the bank’s own resources and infrastructure, thus eliminating the need for intermediaries. This is done through 439 business hubs attached to its branches and a dedicated workforce of over 3400 employees to the initiative. The 20th lakh household under HDFC Bank’s SLI is headed by Sajna Devi. Five years ago Sajna Devi lost her husband and the responsibility of running the house and taking care of her three children fell on her. Working as a labourer in the farm as well as selling milk, Sajna Devi has been making ends meet. But her current resources do not allow her to save for the future for her children, which assumes importance, given that she is the only earning member.
Today, as HDFC Bank SLI’s 20th lakh participant, she will avail of a loan for enterprise as part of the Self Help group (SHG). She will use the credit to pursue income generating activity, which will augment her earnings, thus allowing her to take better care of her family’s needs. Through the bank, she will receive need-based training in designing jewellery, handicrafts, or embroidery to enhance her skills. In addition to this, Sajna Devi will have access to a basic saving bank account, recurring deposits, micro insurance and training in financial literacy. These offerings will allow participants like Sajna Devi to save for contingencies such as medical emergency, long-term goals like building a house or children’s education and marriage.”
HDFC Bank will also seek to provide market linkages, wherein the final products like garments, artificial jewellery and other items created by SLI participants’ like Sajna Devi, are sent directly to shops and establishments in larger towns and cities. This enables these women to achieve a better price for their produce.

Polaris Financial Technology introduces world’s first complete Global Transaction Banking Platform in Dubai

Polaris Financial Technology Limited launched iGTB, the world’s first complete global transaction banking platform at Sibos, Dubai today. Building on a worldwide customer base, the third generation iGTB platform with a built-in Corporate Business Exchange, enables transaction banks to position themselves as the principal bank for their corporate customers, a company statement said.

With the launch of the formidable Polaris third generation iGTB with built in Corporate Business Exchange, banks can power their way to Principal Banker position. Polaris’ iGTB will focus exclusively on transaction banking, leveraging its successful solutions across the Global Transaction Banking (GTB) market. iGTB is a platform to seize the tremendous global transaction banking opportunity, estimated by the Boston Consulting Group at $ 509 billion by 2021 at a 10.4 percent growth rate. Polaris’s GTB division already supplies top banks across the world with Transaction Banking solutions.

Manish Maakan, Chief Executive Officer, Polaris iGTB, said: “Transaction Banking is about enabling financial institutions improve their day to day business and, as such, is critical to the world’s economic growth and recovery. I am delighted that we are able to bring all the components of the complete global transaction banking platform to financial institutions, whether they need an integrated package or to deploy just one element to improve an existing offering. Now corporate customers can have all their transaction needs seamlessly integrated through a consolidated next generation portal for the corporate user, leveraging the Customer Business Exchange. With Customer Business Exchange we provide clients with a single fast highway to run Customer Onboarding, Payments Services, Receivables Management, Cash Management, Liquidity Management, Funds Control, Trade Finance and Supply Chain Finance, singly or in an integrated set, whilst others are stuck on single track roads”. Designed for complexity reduction between banks and corporate customer operations, superior workspace design technology assures enhanced operational productivity.

“We are confident about this sector because several of the world’s leading global transaction banks use Polaris for transaction banking solutions, while a large number of smaller transaction banks use the integrated package to compete effectively using products and STP of the same top quality. The iGTB brand was carefully chosen to build on the rich Polaris heritage and bring a sharp focus on Global Transaction Banking (GTB),” Maakan added.

Headquartered in London, Polaris’ iGTB division has offices in New York, Toronto, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Chicago, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Johannesburg, Dubai, Riyadh and Mumbai as well as the wider geographic presence of Polaris, its parent company. Polaris Financial Technology Limited is a global leader in Financial Technology for Banking, Insurance and other Financial Services. With over 25 years of expertise in building a comprehensive portfolio of products, smart legacy modernization services and consulting, Polaris owns the largest set of Intellectual Property for a comprehensive product suite. iGTB is the world’s first complete Global Transaction Banking platform, used by the world’s top transaction banks.

This makes Polaris the chosen partner for nine of the top ten global banks and seven of the top ten global insurance companies. The company has a global presence through its 40 relationship offices across 30 countries, six international development centers and eight fully owned Business Solution centres. Polaris has a talent strength in excess of 13,000 solution architects, domain and technology experts.

Balaji Vardhan is the new Director of Barclays Wealth & Investment Management

Barclays Wealth & Investment Management announced the appointment of Balaji Vardhan as the new Director. Based out of Chennai, Balaji will be responsible for developing and servicing high net worth clients in Chennai and the region. In addition to that, the official will also manage a team of Private client Relationship Managers and lead the business development initiatives in the region. Balaji will report to Vishal Jain, Managing Director and Head of Sales, Wealth & Investment Management, a company statement said.

Prior to the new assignment with Barclays, Balaji was Director at BNP Paribas Wealth Management where he worked for 13 years. With over two decades of experience, Balaji has had significant experience across Wealth Management and Private Banking, Investment Banking, Project & Structured Finance and Corporate Banking. He also worked in Singapore for ten years with varied experience in South Asian (India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan) and SE Asian (Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam) markets. Balaji is a qualified chartered accountant and cost accountant.

Jain said: “Balaji brings in maturity and experience across market cycles that would help us deliver effective solutions in the ultra high net-worth space dominated largely by promoters in the large- and mid-cap segment”.

Satya Bansal, Chief Executive of Barclays Wealth & Investment Management India said: “We continue to attract high calibre talent in our pursuit of excellence. Balaji’s appointment is an integral part of the planned expansion of our high net worth proposition across India”.

Barclays Wealth & Investment Management has been voted ‘The Best Private Bank in India’ in The Asset Triple A Investment Awards for three years in a row in 2011, 2012 and 2013. This year, the Awards also recognised Barclays as the Rising Star Private Bank for Asian ultra high net worth individuals.