10 August, 2013

Banks can be insurance brokers

Banks can now offer their customers policies from a host of life and non-life insurance companies with the government notifying regulations for licensing of banks as insurance brokers.

Until now, brokers had to be dedicated intermediaries for insurance distribution. The new regulation allows this business to be carried departmentally within a bank.Banks have played a huge role in generating business for life insurance companies that are part of the group. HDFC Bank, for instance, generates over half the business for its life insurance associate HDFC Standard Life. In fiscal 2013, HDFC Bank received Rs 472.23 crore as commission from HDFC Standard Life with an additional Rs 76.2 crore receivable from its life insurance associate.

IRDA relaxes investment norms for housing, infrastructure finance firms

Housing finance companies and infrastructure finance companies will get higher funding from the insurance companies as the sector regulator IRDA has relaxed investment norms for these firms.

"The investments in the debt instruments issued by housing finance companies as specified in the investment regulations shall not be included under the exposure to financial and insurance activities," Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said in a notification.

RBS sells part of India business to Ratnakar

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has agreed to sell its business banking, credit cards business and mortgage portfolio to Kolhapur-basedRatnakar Bank, one of the smallest private lenders in India. The deal will result in 1.2 lakh customers of RBS, one of the world's largest banking groups till 2008, moving to Ratnakar Bank, which until recently had customers largely in and around Western Maharashtra.

PV Sindhu loses in World Badminton Championships semifinals

India's rising shuttler PV Sindhu settled for a bronze medal at the World Championships after suffering a straight-game defeat against world number three Ratchanok Inthanon in the semifinals of the prestigious event.