In this regard, Nokia has started talks with 6 banks in India.

The banks will be responsible for handling issues related to banking regulations as well as cash management.

According to Teppo Paavola, global chief of Nokia Money service, the company’s plan is to make use of its vast network of 1.9 lakh mobile-phone retailers and dealers, who will act as the “consumer point and banking correspondents.”

On its part, Nokia will offer a universal platform where the mobile phone can be a medium for banking, for payment of utility bills, paying merchants for goods and services, buying tickets, and for international remittance, Paavola told reporters.

India, he added, figures amongst the top 20 countries where Nokia plans to launch Nokia Money, start with.

The mobile-banking platform that India-based banks now have is limited to a single bank and a telecom operator. In contrast, Nokia aims at offering a full-fledged service, which will bring together all banks, operators and also mobile-phone handsets of other brands, Teppo Paavola explained.

On the “regulatory challenges” in India, Paavola said the crucial task would be to turn the retailers of Nokia into agent of Nokia Money.

The regulations in India, according to Paavola, are very tough, especially compared to those in Kenya and the Philippines.

The Reserve Bank of India’s customer policy for banks, he added, could act as a limitation for the Nokia agents, and hence Nokia is tying to make the banks tackle the regulations-related issues, such as licences and cash management.

All the same, Teppo Paavola said Nokia expects its Nokia Money service to be a big success in India because of the country’s extensive dealer network, through which the consumers can deposit money and withdraw cash.

As of now, setting up bank branches or ATMs in India is expensive and hence Nokia Money can act as an extension of a bank’s branch, according to Paavola.

The success of the Nokia Money service, he said, lies in the fact that the service should work in all mobile-phone handsets and also it should be “as simple and convenient as making a voice call or sending an SMS” and must have a very low transaction fee.

Nokia said it is expecting to launch its first Nokia Money service globally in early 2010.

Market surveys have shown that the global mobile financial services market is to touch 18 billion euros by 2014. Out of this, emerging markets alone are expected to contribute 12 billion euros.

Citigroup too has been hit hard by the recession and now aims to focus more on retail banking. Earlier in 2009, Citibank split its operations into two parts, Citicorp and Citi Holdings in order to deal with its traditional banking operations and noncore operations separately. This however did not work out well for the bank and it has witnessed a heavy decline ever since.

This is not the first time Citibank has sold its assets. In July 2009, Citigroup revealed its plans to sell its Japanese trust bank, NikkoCiti Trust and Banking Corp., to Nomura Trust and Banking Co. In May 2009, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group agreed to acquire

Citigroup’s Japan brokerage businesses, Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. for 545 billion yen ($5.76 billion).  The company has now decided to reduce its holdings in the riskier operations that it started under the Citi Holdings, that have apparently led to losses for the bank.

Richard Staite, a banking analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP in London talked about the Citibank’s efforts to get back on track, “The faster they can sell off their non-core assets and focus on core banking operations, the better,” he said. “Many investors see Citigroup as being too big and too diverse. They want to see the bank focus on core banking operations.” He further added.

Earlier, Citigroup failed to implement controls against money laundering which resulted in suspension of banking services from July 15 to Aug 14, 2009, by Japan’s financial regulator. Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, was quoted as saying, said that they were trying to cope with the tough conditions in a nice way and are moving “extremely fast.”

“We created and set targets for Citi in terms of asset reductions, in terms of risk reduction, in terms of cost reduction, and we have met every target and we met them on time, as well,” he said.

However, Pandit expects the bank to come back on track real fast and explained that it looks to capture the markets in countries like India and China.“We are one of the largest players in the emerging markets, and these are markets that are likely to grow pretty well over the next so many years,” Pandit said.

Citigroup finished an exchange of $58 billion in debt in end-July 2009. This includes the much hyped $25 billion from the government aid package. The good news is that in spite of the troubles the New York based bank is facing, it managed to encounter second-quarter profit of $3 billion.

Investors can subscribe to the Franklin Build India Fund from July 10 to August 8, 2009. The fund invests in companies operating in various sectors that have the potential to strengthen the Indian economy.

Franklin Templeton India’s president, Harshendu Bindal, affirmed that the move aims to provide customers with more investing opportunities keeping in mind the Indian economy. “The Indian economy has exhibited resilience amidst the global weakness witnessed over the last year,” he said.

“However, we need to enhance the key building blocks of the economy to sustain and enhance economic growth rates. Increasing investments in areas such as physical & social infrastructure, resources, financial services, and agriculture will benefit a plethora of companies across sectors,” he further added.

The minimum investment for the fund would be Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. The fund would target investors who are looking for medium-to-long-term investments, Bindal said.

The fund will allocate around 70 to 100 per cent of the assets in equity-linked instruments and equities. The rest 30 per cent will go in debt securities and money market instruments.

Under the Franklin Templeton Build India Fund scheme, units will be available for Rs 10 per units along with applicable load.

Investors will have to shell out an entry load of 2.25 percent for this scheme.

Franklin Build India Fund gives investors a single point access to a portfolio of companies in order to help them make superior risk-adjusted returns over a long period of time, Bindal said.

As of now, a search for GMAC Bank leads you to gmacbank.com, with an introduction to Ally Bank. The new bank website is ally.com.

Ally Bank said that it is changing “more than just its name.” There will be no monthly fees or minimums at Ally Bank. Ally Bank, the site said, offers competitive rates, and display them alongside the rates offered by competing banks. Ally Bank’s call centres will be open day and night. The bank has also pledged not to use teaser rates for loans, something which misled home buyers through the subprime boom and brought down many banks later. All Ally Bank deposits, like other FDIC-backed deposits, are insured up $250,000.
The service – call centre number for Ally Bank is 1-877-247-ALLY.

GMAC Bank, now Ally Bank, is a unit of GMAC Financial Services. The bank is among many financial institutions (including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs) which applied for bank-holding company status to make themselves eligible for treasury’s capital programs.

GMAC Financial Services, now Ally Bank, was founded in 1919, primarily to finance GM car buyers. “We certainly value our relationship with General Motors and GM continues to be an important customer. In addition to that, GMAC wants to grow as a bank holding company. The launch of Ally Bank provides a new platform to increase deposits,” said Sanjay Gupta, GMAC’s CEO.

Ally Bank said in a press release that the world does not need another bank; it rather needs a better bank. However, the fact remains that Ally Bank is seen as one of the likely candidates which will still need to go to the treasury for more taxpayer funds.

Those who wish to open accounts with Ally Bank can call the bank’s call centre, log on to the bank’s website or email the bank.

Ally Bank’s chief marketing officer said that the choice of the name “fits the character of the bank.”
All existing online account holders of Ally Bank will have smooth transition to the new bank website, the company said in a press release.

Citibank Online Remit will allow Indians living in the US to transfer fund from any U.S checking or savings accounts or by using U.S credit or debit cards. Through this scheme, NRIs can directly transfer funds into the beneficiary’s bank account or a draft can be couriered to the beneficiary’s mailing address in India, Citibank said in a statement.

Citi Global Head-Digital Banking and Payments Suresh Bajpai said, “Citi Online Remit is a fine demonstration of our commitment to generating customer insight and deploying technology and innovation to fulfill customer needs.”

Paul Galant, CEO of Citi’s Global Transaction Services said Citi Online Remit is aimed at offering the “a fast, safe, and secure platform for cross-border money transfers.” This feature is possible with a bundle of built-in security features including online identity verification, Multi-Factor Authentication, Global IP tracking and account authentication. The customer can track the transfer progress at every stage and also avail phone and online customer service offer. Email alerts will keep the account holders updated with the foreign exchange rates.

M.V. (Raja) Rajamannar, Chief Marketing Officer, Citi Global Cards, said of the initiative, “This is a powerful example of how Citi’s breadth of service can provide unrivaled benefits for customers around the globe. We are able to use robust consumer insights and segmentation methods to provide the right services to anticipate and satisfy customer needs. He also added that with this effort customers will be able to seamlessly send money overseas, now even using their credit card.

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

State Bank of India (SBI) has announced home loans at the rate 8% for new borrowers. This is the cheapest home loan available in India now. State Bank (SBI) said in a press release that the 8% offer will last for a year.

For one year, the interest rate will be frozen at 8%. After one year, these home loan borrowers must pay the earlier contracted rate which in the case of special scheme borrowers will be 8.5% for loans up to Rs 5 lakh and 9.25% for loans up to Rs 20 lakh. The new SBI home loan interest rate, which is the cheapest among Indian banks, will be offered between February 2 and April 30, 2009, SBI said in a press release. Those who wish to apply for these loans should get their loans sanctioned before April 30.

Existing home loan customers can also make use of this cheap 8% home loan rate scheme, subject to conditions. For them, it will be only for 10% or Rs 5 lkah. The scheme is called SBI Lifestyle Loan.

Currently, most private sector banks charge home loan interest rates between 9.75% and 13%. Though India’s central bank RBI has aggressively reduced interest rates over the last months, banks have been reluctant to cut home loan rates and help spur lending and spending.

The Indian government and the central bank RBI have been trying to stimulate borrowing and spending by reducing interest rates. The cheapest home loans from State Bank is thus part of an effort to push up lending and borrowing. Since SBI is the largest bank in the country, an interest rate cut on home loans to 8% by SBI is expected to spark similar moves by other banks and thus enhance credit flows. If the SBI loan scheme turns out to be a success, other government-owned banks too may plumb for the 8% rate sop.

However, many feel that an interest rate cut alone wont help stimulate home purchases. This is becase despite a fall in prices, houses in many metros are still priced too high for retail house buyers. Unless the real estate prices come down, they feel, cheap home loan rates wont be of much use.

The SBI chairman has also hinted at the possibility of further lowering the interest rates. The RBI governor too had indicated a “downward bias” in interest rates during the quarterlt monetary policy review last month. At a meeting with the finance secretary in New Delhi on Monday, heads of public sector banks also agreed to reduce home loan interest rates soon.

The development comes as a surprise owing to the fact that LIC had planned to partner with GE Money earlier. However, the pan did not materialize due to the failure of their partnership forcing LIC zero in on a PSU tie up. It is being rumoured that LIC had also weighed option to partner Canara Bank for the credit cards venture but decided against it later on. It is being said that the LIC’s foray into credit cards business comes in line with its strategy to leverage its large customer base and wide distribution network The new foray is, in fact, a shot at providing value added service to its huge customer base.

The new LIC-Corporation Bank credit card to be launched by the combine would be a white labeled, co-branded card and the product will be rolled out as a product from a separate wholly owned company called LIC Cards Services Ltd. The new company is said to look after all aspects of LIC’s credit card venture. Meanwhile, related buzz on theventure said that the Corporation Bank has not yet decided on the nature of the card, on whether it should be co-branded or independent. It has also not been decided on how much stake each of the companies would hold in the new venture.

According to LIC top brass, the insurance behemoth has already received the nod from the Central government to start this wholly owned venture. With the new company coming into force, LIC would be able to offer premium-payment facility to policyholders with their own credit cards. The new entity, LIC Cards Services Ltd, will leverage LIC and Corporation Bank’s strong brand and extensive branch, ATM, and sales distribution network to make the credit cards venture rolling without any hassles.

Meanwhile, confirming the alliance, Corporation Bank has said that the bank will extend its existing credit card facility to LIC by using both Visa and MasterCard.

The new Citibank product is a chip-embedded commercial card supported by a global expense data management function. Citibank Commercial Cards offers world-class business payment services enabling Indian companies to strengthen their financial operations and control over expenses.

What is so unique about the Citibank Commercial Cards? Going by what the bank has stated, a slew of positives come automatically to the card user.  Apart from the highest acceptance rate at merchants globally which the card enjoys, there are a host of benefits awaiting the Citibank Commercial Card user.

A corporate customer who uses the commercial card will be able to use the account management platform which captures transaction information the instant the card is used. This info is sent to the company’s expense management system. Thus, it is as good as simplifying the complex reimbursement and approval procedures and enhancing efficiencies for both companies and employees.

Besides this, the Citibank Commercial Card also allows Indian companies to manage travel expenses through a centralized travel account solution.

Users of the commercial card also will have greater control and visibility of expenses, the bank has said. Companies will be able select categories of expenses consistent with its internal policies, while personal expenses and advances for business travel would no longer be issues as the companies can selectively permit cash withdrawals and expense categories, it said.

MIS tools that the commercial card has deployed make it easier for companies for stronger price-negotiation position with the merchants they frequently visit to save costs.

With the unveiling of the new product, Citi has added a new payments’ product portfolio to comprehensively cater to the expense management needs of corporate clients, the bank has said.   It is believed that at a time when corporates in India are increasingly looking for solutions that streamline expense management and save costs, the launch of the new product with fraud protection capabilities and global acceptance across Visa and MasterCard merchants, comes as an addition to the many unique innovations that have happened in the financial sector.

The card’s launch has also been hailed by MasterCard  and Visa. It is a fact that India is the latest market in Asia where the product has debuted. The Commercial Cards from Citi are already present in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. Going by what Citi has to say, about 3,000 of the world’s largest companies use the product to manage their expenses