Paris - The much-criticized head of the board of directors of French bank Societe Generale, Daniel Bouton, is stepping down. "I choose to depart to protect the bank. I have become the target of incessant criticism which will end by damaging this enterprise," the 59-year-old Bouton said in an interview published Wednesday in the daily Le Figaro.

Bouton admitted making mistakes and being "clumsy" during his tenure as the bank's general director, which began in 1997, but said that the criticism had become "unbearable."

Stock market analysts have suggested investors to ‘sell’ Axis Bank stock as there are full chances of a downward trend in this stock in the coming days.

According to them, investors can sell the stock with a strict stop loss of Rs 536 to achieve a target that lies between Rs 520-516.

Today (April 29), the stock opened at Rs 548.95 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Current EPS & P/E ratio stood at 50.56 and 10.65 respectively. The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 969.90 and a low of Rs 278.50 on BSE.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), a market leader in the Utility Vehicle segment, has signed a MoU with the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) for financing of vehicles.

Under the arrangement, customers can avail of a loan up to 85% of the on road price of the vehicle, with tenure of up to 7 years. In addition, they can also avail low interest rates amounting to 12% for passenger vehicles and 11.75% for commercial vehicles.  

M&M’s Automotive Sector makes a wide range of vehicles including MUVs, LCVs and three wheelers.

The government's new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules which, according to the banking sector, are rather ambiguous might likely be reviewed. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had recently raised issues concerning the rules, and other banks too are awaiting clarity of the new policy.

As per the FDI guidelines given, the ownership of India's biggest private lender ICICI Bank would need to undergo a change - they would have to substitute their 'resident entities' status with a non-resident entities status.

Frankfurt - De

Beijing  - Germany's Allianz Group and US-based American Express have sold shares valued at up to 2 billion dollars in China's biggest commercial bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the companies said on Tuesday.

Allianz said it had sold 3.216 billion shares, or half of its stake in ICBC, to "a select group of investors through a private sale."