Kikuo Iwata, the government's nominee to become a Bank of Japan deputy governor, said on Tuesday that the a law guaranteeing the independence of the country's central bank is necessary so that the law clearly states that that the BOJ can choose between alternatives to meet its inflation targets.

London, Mar 5 : The boss of HSBC, Stuart Gulliver, earned over 500 times more than the bank's lowest paid workers last year. The bank revealed that Gulliver received a hefty 7.4 million pounds in pay and perks in 2012.

The bumper package included a near two million pounds annual bonus even though the bank was fined 1.2 billion pounds for a money laundering scandal.

According to the Daily Mirror, Gulliver also earned a 1.25 million pounds salary, 1.2 million pounds in other benefits and share awards of three million pounds.

Industry members are expecting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut its key lending rates during its upcoming review meeting on 19 March, 2013 in order to revive the Indian economy.

The CEOs of various firms are expecting the central bank of the country to loose tis monetary policy and boost liquidity in the third largest economy in Asia. They believe that the lower interest rates will be able to boost investments in the country and help revive the economic growth.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may announce a cut in key rates later this month but banks will likely continue to offer higher rates, thanks to tight liquidity and decline in deposit growth.

The finance ministry has long been calling for lowering of interest rates to provide a boost to economic activity, but the central bank has so far been reluctant in making any considerable cut in rate due to high inflation. But the central bank is now expected to announce a cut in key rates on March 19.

Three government-run lenders, viz. United Bank of India (UBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and UCO Bank, have recently hiked their respective interest rates on domestic term deposits.

The Japanese government has announced its decision to nominate Haruhiko Kuroda for the post of the head of the country's central bank.

Mr. Kuroda is known for his backing for a more aggressive stimulus for the struggling Japanese economy. It was widely expected that the government will nominate Mr. Kuroda because his views of turning around the economy is in line with the stand taken by Prime Minster Shinzo Abe. Mr. Kuroda is presently working as the head of the Asian Development Bank.

Home, auto as well as corporate loans will soon become cheaper for Andhra Bank's customers, as the state-owned lender has announced its decision to slash its benchmark lending rate by 0.25 per cent.

Andhra Bank on Tuesday announced a downward revision in its minimum lending rate or base rate by 0.25 percentage points, from 10.50 per cent to 10.25 per cent.

In addition, the bank also announced its decision to revise the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate by 0.25 per cent to 14.50 per cent.

Seoul, Feb 27 : Bank lending rates in South Korea rebounded in January from a record low level as demand for mortgage loans reduced amid the end of temporary tax benefits for housing transactions, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Weighted average annual rate for new loans extended by banks to households and companies was 5 percent in January, rebounding from an all-time low of 4.84 percent in the prior month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Washington, Feb 27 : US banks reported strong profit growth in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) said.

FDIC-insured commercial banks and savings institutions earned $34.7 billion for the last three months of 2012 -- 36.9 percent more than the same period in 2011. It was the 14th consecutive quarter since US banks saw quarterly net earnings improve, reported Xinhua.

According to a new report by RHB Research Institute, Hong Leong Bank's net profit might have risen by about 32 per cent to RM986 million during the six month period till December of 2012 compared to the same period of the previous year.

Islamabad, Feb 23 : The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is set to establish a banking channel between India and Pakistan by opening a NBP branch in Mumbai or Delhi.

NBP President Dr Asif Brohi stated that NBP has already contacted the Reserve Bank of India to seek permission for establishing the NBP branch in India and is awaiting a formal approval, the Daily Times reports.

Business leaders in Canada have come forward with some measures to address the problem of a shortfall in the pension funds in the country.

Gerry McCaughey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has recommended that the government should implement a system for voluntary contributions to the Canada Pension Plan in order to encourage a culture of savings in the country.

Kolkata, Feb 20 : Banking services in West Bengal were hit Wednesday, the first day of a two-day nationwide bank strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).

The bank strike, called by the UFBU, an apex body of nine bank associations, is in tandem with the 48-hour shutdown called by 11 central trade unions.

"The strike is 100 percent successful. Bank officers and employees are fully participating in it in West Bengal. Branches are closed across the state," UFBU convenor N. N. Bhattacharya told IANS.

India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that it will release the final rules for obtaining new bank licenses within this financial year before 31 March, 2013.

The new rules are expected to allow firms in other sectors to enter the tightly regulated banking sector of Asia's third largest economy. The banking sector in the country has been traditionally dominated by the state-run banks with private banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank Ltd as well as some foreign banks making in roads and consolidating their positions in the market.

India leading public sector bank, the State Bank of India's (SBI) has recorded a 4 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 3,400 crore during the third quarter of the financial year.

The increase in net profit of just 4 per cent was mainly due to lower net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned and paid out. The bank's net interest income fell about 3 per cent to Rs 11,154 crore during the third quarter from October to December, 2012 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Sydney, Feb 12 : Australian business confidence was broadly steady in January after recovering strongly in December from very poor levels, a private survey released on Tuesday by National Australia Bank (NAB) showed.

NAB's monthly business survey showed business confidence rose one point to an index level of plus three points in January, reported Xinhua.

However, business condition remained in negative territory in the month despite improving three index points to minus two.

Bank unions should work together with managements so that banking services could be made available to everyone, RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty said.

Speaking at a seminar on `Banking as fundamental right of people' yesterday, Mr. Chakrabarty stressed on the need of strong and responsible trade unions that in cooperation with managements could fight market forces and assist in making banking services available to everyone.

Australia's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept its key interest rates unchanged in the country, in line with the expectations of the market.

The central bank decided in its first meeting this year that was held on Tuesday to hold the interest rates to keep the monetary situation at ease in the Australian economy. The RBA had previously reduced its cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point in December and the rates have remained at levels that were recorded during the global financial crisis around 2008.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can soon announce the rules for giving new bank licenses as its consultations with the union finance ministry on the guidelines for the same are in the final stage, Deputy Governor Anand Sinha said.

Mr. Sinha said that the central bank would likely soon arrive at a consensus with the finance ministry on whether to let real-estate developers and brokerage firms to open banks or not.

New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Union cabinet Thursday raised the authorized capital of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to Rs. 20,000 crore from Rs. 5,000 crore and enlarged its operations.

At a meeting here, the cabinet approved amendments to the NABARD Act 1981 to expand the apex rural and farm development financial institution's capital base and ability to introduce new credit products, forge new linkages and develop new clients.