N Shankar

Credit risk insurer Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) which posted higher profits on account of better business in FY14 will now offer direct factoring for MSMEs and  is now looking to offer cover for factoring companies. N Shankar, chairman and managing director of ECGC tells M Saraswathy about this strategy, Excerpts:ECGC has posted profit after tax is up by 48.5 per cent. Was this purely due to business growth?The rise in profit is due to business growth. We do not intend to increase premiums and look at volume play. We have been providing incentives to performers and disincentives to non-performers. In the last 3 years, we have been growing with respect to profits before tax. Unless untoward incidents happen, we will maintain this growth. You have had higher claims in sectors like gems and jewellery?In the jewellery sector, there were more claims from banks. So, this year we have taken more interventions and put more conditions on banks. Hopefully, we will not hav

We plan to give cover to factoring firms: N Shankar

Business Standard

PNB Metlife India Insurance is selling long-term products, on the back of strong bank tie-ups. Tarun Chugh, recently appointed the managing director and chief executive, talks to M Saraswathy & Priya Nair about plans for growth. Edited excerpts:

We are selling right and selling long: Tarun Chugh

Interview with MD & CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

To increase profit, we need to tap existing customer base: Tapan Singhel

B Prasanna

B Prasanna, Managing director & CEO of ICICI Securities Primary Dealership talks to Neelasri Barman about the way ahead for the debt market and economy. Excerpts

SLR cut signals RBI's optimism on credit pick-up: B Prasanna

A P Hota

Except one, no pvt banks have issued RuPay cards: A P Hota

A media report accusing Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Bank of window dressing its accounts and concealing stressed loans worth Rs 2,500 crore created a panic among the investors last week

We've the ability to absorb sudden shock in the system: Mushtaq Ahmad

EY's global leader - insurance, Shaun Crawford hopes that the Modi government makes it easier for Indian insurers to manufacture more, better quality products. It should also try and make it easier for insurers to sell products. In conversation with Neha Pandey Deoras and M Saraswathy, his biggest concern is too many regulations for Indian insurers and all too quickly. Edited excerpts - What is your outlook for the Indian insurance sector and how does it compare with its foreign peers?The Indian insurance industry has been through difficult times in the past few years. I am positive about the new government in India. And I hope that the Modi government will understand that the Indian society needs insurance products. And I hope that the government will make manufacturing insurance products by encouraging manufacturers to make more products, make it easier for insurers to make better quality products and make it easier to sell these products. The Insurance Bill that proposes to raise th

Irda should go slow on regulations

The last financialyear was a tough year for the company. However, profitability has been steady. Whatare the reasons?We introduced number of measures including pre-verificationcall, higher KYC standards, surprise visits concurrent audits and HDFC Bankalso stopped accepting third party customers. Lot of measures were put in last3-6 months. So, as a result we growth was far less than the industry, but weare confident that we have used this opportunity and institutionalised thesepractices.The overall premiums did quite well, renewals saw a healthygrowth of 17 per cent. Our persistency came down due to the regulator changingthe meaning of persistency with one month lag. Plus, the exit costs onsurrenders have come down and markets have done well in the latter half of theyear. Since we have a large unit-linked (Ulip) portfolio and people started en-cashingit since they could get out at low surrender charges, this impactedpersistency. Why do want to diversifyinto other distribution channels o

Hope to get some signals in next 3/4 months on how seriousthe new govt is on insurance bill

K C Chakrabarty

Chakrabarty tells Shyamal Majumdar & Manojit Saha that banking came to him not by design but by accident, and that banks in India ignore the poorOur first question was inevitable. Why, really, we ask Kamalesh Chandra  Chakrabarty, did he decide to resign as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor nearly three months before his term was slated to end on June 15 this year. To our disappointment, the answer does no justice to his public persona of a fiercely outspoken banker and regulator. "That's not for public consumption," Chakrabarty, dressed in an immaculate two-piece black suit, demurs before proceeding to provide us with details of his excellent equation with all his bosses at RBI.We take the cue and try, quite reluctantly, to change the topic, but the vintage Chakrabarty is back in a jiffy. As we settle down at Fenix, the restaurant at the sprawling lobby of the Trident hotel at Nariman Point, he volunteers to talk "in general" about a couple of issues. First, one should l

Lunch with BS: K C Chakrabarty

Q&A with MD & CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance

Pricing on group health has become tough: Ritesh Kumar

S K Dubey, managing director at PNB Gilts, talks about the debt market scenario with Neelasri Barman. Edited excerpts:

Only one-third of FII limit in corporate debt utilised: S K Dubey

Yaduvendra Mathur

Question: Merchandise exports have been quite volatile like the Rupee. After falling for two straight months, it has suddenly jumped over five per cent in April. What could be the possible reason?Answer: The slowdown is basically because the global factors, recession in EU is party over not fully, and then there are general global uncertainties. But IIndia's exports are still better compared to other emerging countries. In last fiscal our exports grew by about 4.1 per cent while in South Africa it was 2 per cent, Russia was (-)1 per cent, Thailand and Malaysia no growth at all, Indonesia was down by (-)3 per cent, Mexico and Brazil again no growth. So ours was fairly appreciable. And now the numbers are rising because the recovery is happening in US and Europe. GDP of both are expected to increase in 2015. Question: But what is the main problem exporters are facing besides the usual infrastructure and procedural issues? I understand lack of technical productivity is a challenge. Answer

SMEs need to export more to boost exports growth.

Pradeep Madhav, managing director, STCI Primary Dealer discusses with Neelasri Barman what lies ahead for the economy and bond market

Expect efforts from new govt to bring inflation down: Pradeep Madhav

Q&A with Sudhir Kumar Jain, chairman and managing director of Syndicate Bank

Q& A: 'Will monitor stressed account to contain our NPAs'

To maintain NPAs (non-performing assets), improve recovery level and ensure more business in present tight economic conditions, Manipal-based Syndicate Bank is eyeing mid-corporate, retail and SME (small and middle enterprises) segment

Our START will target accounts below Rs 10 lakh: Sudhir Kumar Jain

Ashima Goyal

Q&A with external member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of RBI and professor of economics at the IGIDR, Mumbai

Rate hike cycle has come to an end: Ashima Goyal

Granting licences to corporate sector is tricky: K C Chakrabarty

Sandeep Bakhshi

Sandeep Bakshi

Q&A: Sandeep Bakhshi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI Prudential LifeInsuranceICICI Prudential Life Insurance has taken a lead in use of technology to get more business. SANDEEP BAKHSHI, managing director and chief executive officer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, talks about these to M Saraswathy. Edited excerpts: It is four months since the new product guidelines were implemented. How have the changes impacted customers?The new regulations have made products simpler and easier to understand for customers. The charges have been rationalised, surrender values have been increased and the incentive structure of advisors has been transformed. Additionally, funds of lapsed policies have to necessarily be transferred to the discontinuance fund, which guarantees the policyholder an annual return of four per cent. Therefore, it is in the interest of the life insurance company and the advisors to ensure the policyholder continues with the product till the end of the term

Every digital tablet-equipped advisor becomes a virtual branch for us: Sandeep Bakhshi

South Africa-based Sanlam, a leading financial services group which was originally established as a life insurance company in 1918, in 2012 invested around Rs 2,500 crore in Shriram Group's financial service businesses, which estimated to be around Rs 60,000 crore.In an interview with T E Narasimhan, Sanlam's Group Chief Executive Johan van Zyl said the company is interested to increase its stake in insurance venture and provisions were also made for the same and will look at inorganic growth.Edited excerptsIt has been over two years since Sanlam invested in Shriram Capital, how has been Sanlam's experience in India and are you happy with the investment?Our relationship with Shriram started in 2005 when we entered the Indian market by launching Shriram Life in partnership with the Shriram Group. Sanlam invested R (South African currency) 2 billion for an effective 26 per cent in Shriram Capital (holding company of all the financial services of Rs 60,000 crore Shriram Group) in 2012 whi

We are interested in increasing stake in Shriram: Johan Van Zyl

Interview with CEO & MD, Max Life Insurance

We've been constantly reducing our costs and we're focused on it: Rajesh Sud

G S Sandhu

Q&A: GS Sandhu, secretary, Department of Financial ServicesThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday granted in-principle licences to infrastructure lender IDFC and microfinance company Bandhan Financial Services to set up banks, but left out large companies such as Aditya Birla Nuvo, L&T Finance Holdings and Reliance Capital. Financial Services Secretary GS Sandhu tells Vrishti Beniwal the central bank has only made a beginning, adding the door for industrial houses isn't closed, as both the finance ministry and RBI believe licences can be given on-tap. Edited excerpts:Why didn't any large company qualify for a bank licence in this round?We are not privy to the reason behind this. But I'm sure there must be a good reason. A good beginning has been made and, subsequently, many more players will come.Do you think large corporate houses should get bank licences?There cannot be a simple reply to this, as it will depend on the objectives behind that, as well as the credentials and track

Page 23 - Interviews