No end to bank scams; CBI registered a criminal case Gujarat-based firm for Rs 2,700 crore fraud

The CBI today said it had registered a criminal case against a Vadodara-based company dealing in electric cable and equipment and its directors for allegedly cheating various banks to the tune of Rs 2,654 crore. The central probe agency also launched searches at the official and residential premises of the company — Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd. (DPIL), and its directors in Vadodara in Gujarat, a CBI spokesperson said.

The CBI alleged that DPIL, which manufactures electric cables and equipment, is promoted by S N Bhatnagar and his sons Amit Bhatnagar and Sumit Bhatnagar, who are also the executives of the firm. “It is alleged that DPIL, through its management, (had) fraudulently availed credit facilities from a consortium of 11 banks (both public and private) since 2008, leaving behind an outstanding debit of Rs 2,654.40 crore as on June 29, 2016,” it said.

The loan, it said, was declared a non-performing asset in 2016-17.

The company and its directors managed to get the term loans and credit facilities in spite of the fact that they were named in the Reserve Bank of India’s defaulters list and ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) caution list at the time of the initial sanction of credit limits by the consortium, the agency alleged.

At the time of formation of consortium in 2008, Axis Bank was the lead bank for the term loan and Bank of India was the lead bank for cash credit limits. It is alleged that the firm, with active connivance of officials from various banks, managed to get enhanced credit facilities.

According to the CBI, the company had been allegedly submitting false stock statements to the lead bank by treating receivables more than 180 days (non-current asset) as less than 180 days (current asset) to get more drawing power in their cash credit accounts.

The CBI alleged that DPIL extensively utilised cash credit limits for obtaining a large number of letters of credits, and many of them could not be honoured by the company and were thus “forced charged” on the credit limit.

Bank of India’s exposure to the company is Rs 670.51 crore, Bank of Baroda’s exposure is Rs 348.99 crore and that of ICICI Bank is Rs 279.46 crore, the CBI FIR said.

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Expected DA hike for Bankers from May 2018

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is announced by Labour Bureau for month of February 2018 which is 287 (decreased by 1 point from January CPI which was 288).

Expecting CPI data to increase by 1 point for month of march 2018 i.e, 288, what will be the expected DA increase – here is the calculation.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) Numbers for January 2018 – 288 (published)

Consumer Price Index (CPI) Numbers for February 2018 – 287 (published)

Consumer Price Index (CPI) Numbers for March 2018 – 289 (expected)

    Multiply it by conversion factor (4.63 x 4.93),

·  CPI for Jan 2018 = (288×4.63×4.93) = 6573.85

·  CPI for Feb 2018 = (287×4.63×4.93) = 6551.03

·  CPI for March 2018 = (289×4.63×4.93) = 6596.68

·  Average CPI = (6573.85+6551.03+6596.68)/3 = 6573.85

·  Deducting 4440 slabs which are merged in basic pay as per 10th bipartite settlement = (6573.85-4440) = 2133.85

·  Divide 2126.24 by 4 to calculated DA slabs for quarter = (2133.85/4) = 533   on which 0.10 percent DA is payable.

Expected Increase in DA Slabs = 533-527 = 6 slabs

So expected DA increase for month of May, June and July 2018 will be 0.60 percent

So DA for bankers from May 2018, June 2018 and July 2018 will be 53.30%.

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Indian Bank Recruitment of Specialist Officers Posts 2018

Indian Bank has published Advertisement for below mentioned Posts 2018. Other details like age limit, educational qualification, selection process, application fee and how to apply are given below.

Posts: Specialist Officers

Total No. of Posts: 145 Posts (IT Department / Digital Banking Department - 31, Information Systems Security Cell - 07, Treasury Department - 13, Risk Management Department - 06, Security Department - 25, Credit - 50, Planning and Development Department - 02, Premises and Expenditure Department - 11)

Educational Qualification: 

• For IT Department / Digital Banking Department: 4 year Engineering/ Technology Degree in Computer Science/ Computer Applications/ Information Technology/ Electronics/ Electronics & Telecommunications/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation (OR) Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/ Electronics & Tele Communication/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications OR Graduate having passed DOEACC 'B' level.
• For Information Systems Security Cell: B.E/B.Tech Degree or Post Graduate in Computer Science/Computer Technology/Computer Science & Engineering/ Computer Engineering/ Computer Science& Tech/ IT/ Electronics & Communication.
• For Treasury Department: Full time - 2 years - MBA (Finance) / Post Graduate Diploma in Banking/Trade Finance/International Business from a recognised Institute/University approved by Govt. of India
• For Risk Management: Bachelors degree in any discipline. 02 Years full time regular MBA/ PG Diploma in Banking/ Finance/ M.Sc in Statistics from any University.
• For Security Department: Graduate / Degree in any discipline.
• For Credit: ICWA/ CA/ 2 years Full time MBA (Specialization in Banking and Finance). Desirable to have certification in Credit program from NIBM, IIBF, Moody's, IIBM, NISM, KPMH etc.
• For Planning and Development: Full time PG Degree in Statistics/ Applied Statistics/ Econometrics from University / Institute recognised by Govt of India.
• For premises and Expenditure: B.E/ B.Tech in a concerned engineering discipline.

Application Fee: The Non refundable fee should be made through Online payment mode.

• For SC / ST / PWD Candidates: Rs.100/- (Intimation Charges Only)
• For All Others (General): Rs. 600/-

Selection Process: Candidates will be selected based on Preliminary Screening Test Interview

How to Apply: Interested Candidates may Apply Online Through official Website.

Advertisement: Click Here

Apply Online: Click Here

Important Dates:

Starting Date of Online Application: 10-04-2018

Last Date to Apply Online: 02-05-2018

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AIBEA circular about gratuity act for bankers

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One more bank discloses Rs.772 crore fraud

IDBI Bank said on Tuesday that fraudulent loans of Rs772 crore ($118.8 million) were issued from five of its branches in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, sending its shares lower on Wednesday.

Some of the loans, which were issued during fiscal years 2009-2013 for fish farming businesses, were obtained against fake lease documents of non-existent fish ponds and by inflating the value of collateral, the company said.

The company found major lapses in processing and disbursing the loans by two of its officials. The lender dismissed one of the officials, while the other official had already retired, it said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has registered cases for two of the five complaints, relating to branches at Basheerbagh and Guntur, the company said.

The bank said earlier on Tuesday it initiated a quality assurance audit, expected to be completed by April.

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Change of Bank holiday for annual closing

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PSB privatisation not answer, empower bank boards: Industry

Privatisation of public sector banks is not the answer to address the current problems in the sector, according to some industry figures, who say PSU banks need empowered boards with freedom to operate efficiently in an environment free from political interference.

Former chief financial officer of Infosys Ltd, V. Balakrishnan, noted that the Global Trust Bank was a private bank when it failed, amid a debate on the functioning of PSU banks and whether there is a case for privatising them.

“Also, in a country where the unbanked population is still high, you need public sector banks to both increase the reach as well as meet social objectives,” he told PTI. Balakrishnan said India’s savings rate also is very high and public sector banks provide the required safety net and comfort for savers.

The Banks Board Bureau, he said, should be made really effective in selecting the chief executive officer (CEO), their compensation, their performance evaluation and also appointment of independent board members.

“The banks should be completely freed from political interference,” Balakrishnan stressed. “At the end of the day, it is the proper institutional mechanism along with strict regulatory mechanism and regulatory oversight that will determine the success of PSU banks.”

But another former CFO of Infosys, T.V. Mohandas Pai, concurred with the view of former NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya, who has made a strong case for privatisation of public sector banks with the exception of SBI.

“Yes, I agree (with Panagariya). They (PSBs) need their freedom to operate. Right now the problem is the owner who does not let them work efficiently,” Pai said. Meanwhile, a retired chairman and managing director of a large PSB suggested empowering boards of PSBs, allowing it to choose leadership and also recruit good human resource to significantly improve the functioning of the sector.

He said in a fast-changing world, PSU banks need to internalise a lot of technologies and they need to have an agile and nimble structure. “You have to really empower the boards because they sit with banks with greater time frequency. They should be given the freedom to decide on the leadership and also the strategy,” said this former top banker on condition of anonymity.

Different banks are at different stages of risk management, and the finance ministry’s “cookie-cutter” approach that “every bank is like this” does not really address the issues, he said. What is needed is empowerment of the boards and bringing in right practices, risk management processes, monitoring and right mitigation measures, he noted.

“Board should decided leadership (chairman, executive director)...how to recruit, who are the people who should be there. They need to decide, instead of the ministry giving you directions all the time; again for the ministry, it’s not humanly possible. They (finance ministry) will always try to have a cookie-cutter approach,” he added.

“Today, the finance ministry conducts 45-minute interview in order to determine who should lead the bank for the next three years.. Somebody will speak very well and that person may be only talk and no execution. You can never make out (in a short interview),” the former official said.

Source- Livemint

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Punjab National Bank(PNB) could be labelled defaulter

Punjab National Bank (PNB) could be labelled a defaulter if it does not pay the Union Bank of India about Rs 1,000 crore by 31 March, according to a media report.

PNB has to settle claims against  letters of undertakings (LoUs) issued by it earlier.

If PNB fails to do so, the Indian banking sector, already troubled by frauds, will witness an unprecedented event, where, for the first time, a bank will be "technically described as defaulter”, reported The Economic Times.

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) could be labelled a defaulter if it does not pay the Union Bank of India about Rs 1,000 crore by 31 March, according to a media report.

PNB has to settle claims against  letters of undertakings (LoUs) issued by it earlier.

If PNB fails to do so, the Indian banking sector, already troubled by frauds, will witness an unprecedented event, where, for the first time, a bank will be "technically described as defaulter”, reported The Economic Times.

“For us, it’s a genuine claim on PNB backed by documents. It is not a fraud in our books. We will take the auditor’s view. However, we don’t want to list PNB as a defaulter. We are expecting some intervention from either the government or RBI so that there is a resolution by March 31,” Rajkiran Rai, MD of Union Bank was quoted as saying in the report.

In February, state-owned Union Bank said it had an exposure of $ 300 million (around Rs 1,915 crore) to the Rs 11,400-crore PNB fraud case, but stressed that its money was safe and that it would recover it,  the PTI had reported. "The outstanding exposure related to the incident is approximately $ 300 Million and the Bank is fully secured by LoU /LC /Other documents and fully confident to receive the payment," said the Union Bank statement.

The State Bank of India (SBI) too has an exposure of at least $200 million to the PNB fraud involving Nirav Modi-helmed companies. SBI, in February, said that it had an exposure of $212 million to the PNB with respect to the fraudulent transactions, but did not have any direct exposure to Modi. “We don’t have any direct exposure to Nirav Modi, but we do have some exposure to PNB,” SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar was quoted as saying by the PTI.

Last week, Union Bank's shares fell to an over 11-year low after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against a private company for allegedly cheating eight banks, including the Union Bank, of 13.94 billion rupees. The CBI registered a case against Hyderabad-based Totem Infrastructure and its directors post a Union Bank complaint, which said the lender had been cheated of about 3.14 billion rupees.

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