The BSE Mid-Cap Index climbed up 33.74 points, or 0.53%, to close the day at 6,373.76. It also touched its lifetime peak of 6,397.15 during the day.

IVRCL Infrastructure (up 1.71% to 367.75), Amtek Auto (up 1.57% to Rs 420.75) and Great Eastern Shipping Company (3.68% to Rs323.65) were the main components contributing to the index's heave.

IVRCL Infrastructure, Divi’s Lab (which was down), Amtek Auto and Great Eastern Shipping Company have weightages of 1.58%, 1.44%, 1.41% and 1.36% respectively, in the BSE Mid-Cap Index.

HDFC Bank has opened 19 branches in a day in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), outdoing its own record of 14 branches in a day in October 2005.

With the launch of 19 branches on Saturday (June 2), the total number of branches in Delhi and NCR has gone up to 116 and to 270 in North India. As on March 31, 2007 the bank had a network of 684 branches and 1,605 ATMs in 316 towns and cities.

HDFC Bank was established in August 1994 as HDFC Bank Limited. As of December 31, 2006, the bank had a India network of 684 branches in 316 cities in India and over 1663 ATM's. The Bank started its operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January 1995.

State Bank of India (SBI) will not increase interest rates for a range of existing home and education loan customers’.

Even as the shift may be partially influenced by the earlier finance ministry recommendation that banks should not rush through rate increases.

The banks’ asset liability committee (Alco) that gathered on late Thursday evening, has suggested to the bank panel that the standard prime-lending rate (PLR) may be hiked up by 50-75 basis points. At this time, the bank’s PLR is 12.25%.

With RBI rates increase, car loan providers have raised interest rates by 75 to 100 basis points. The enhancement would mean a monthly increase of Rs 50 for a five-year loan having a daily rest basis.

ICICI Bank’s direct selling agents (DSAs) said they have accepted an official report from the bank on the cost increase effective from Monday. Rack rates are inclusive of DSA commissions.

The officials stated, “We used to lend at rack rates of 15% per annum, we are now been told that the new rates will be 16% effective from Monday.”

Is Mumbai ready to be a global financial hub or not? This question will be answered by the Union Cabinet shortly.

There are a number of recommendations to enable Mumbai join the league of London, New York and Singapore as one of the premier IFCs of the world, from the high-powered expert committee (HPEC) on making Mumbai an international financial centre (IFC). The report submitted to the FM (finance minister) on Tuesday will be out before the Cabinet shortly.

According to HPEC, the Indian purchases of international financial services (IFS) touched $13 billion in 2005 and are expected to be in the range of $50-70 billion by 2015. Therefore, it has been stated that “if the country does not proceed on establishment of an IFC, the revenues will go to other IFCs”.