| ICICI Bank hikes home, personal loans | | Posted Wednesday, February 07, 2007 3:02:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | Barely a day after the Union Finance Minister had asked the PSU banks to restrain from hiking the home loan rates, the private sector ICICI Bank has hiked its home and personal loan rates by over one per cent on Tuesday. ICICI Bank hiked its overall benchmark lending rates to 14.75 per cent while floating rate loans jumped to 11.75 per cent from the earlier 10.75 per cent. The hikes come into force from February 9. The existing home loan customers are likely to feel heat from the respective reset date coming in a month or two, while the existing fixed rate customers will not get impacted by the change in the rates, the bank said in a release.However, the bank also tweaked its deposit rates for over 5-years tenure falling under tax rebate by 1.25 per cent to 9.5 per cent.... | |
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| | | How to make the most of your money in 2007 | | Posted Friday, January 05, 2007 1:06:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | Spending just a small amount of time to find the best credit deals could save hundreds of pounds, new research from Which? finds. With this in mind, the consumer group has put together its top tips on getting over a Christmas financial hangover. "Many of us will have overspent over the festive period, or be planning large purchases in the January sales, so it's a good time to sort out our finances," said Malcolm Coles, editor of Which? "It's really important to shop around to make sure that you get the best deal on credit. "For those who already owe money it's very easy to transfer existing card balances to a credit card with a lower interest rate, but consumers should check the terms and look out for transfer fees to make sure that they know how much it will really cost them." Tips on how to borrow wisely If you do take advantage of the discount a store card offers, make sure you pay off balance at the first statement to avoid interest charges.... | |
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| | | A challenge to save | | Posted Tuesday, January 02, 2007 3:03:21 PM by Blog57 Team | | At the beginning of every new year, so many people promise to get their personal finances straight. They vow to budget, save or get out of debt — or in some cases resolve to do all three. In 2007, according to a survey by Money Magazine and the market research firm ICR, 37 percent of Americans say they plan to make a financial New Year's resolution. Unfortunately, many of those promises will go unfulfilled long before the year ends. The Money/ICR survey found that of those who have made financial resolutions in the past, only 24 percent were successful. Why do so many people fail to keep their goals? Research shows that they don't have a plan from the start. Or they falter because they aren't accountable to anyone. If no one is tracking their progress or pushing them to succeed, they fall back to the same bad habits that landed them in financial jeopardy in the first place.... | |
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| | | Why the Attorney needs a strong stomach for the fight | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 3:10:34 AM by Blog57 Team | | IT IS not surprising that the Attorney-General?s role is in the news ? this time about his part in any prosecution of his fellow politicians in the loans-for-peerages affair. Francis Bacon, once the Attorney, called the job ?the painfullest task in the realm? ? a reference surely to the inevitable tensions arising from the Attorney?s various roles. He is legal adviser to the Government and, in some respects, to Parliament as well. Yet he is also a politician who takes the party whip and a minister who attends all Cabinet meetings. He ?superintends? various offices, such as the Crown Prosecution Service, and decides whether to permit or refuse some actions and prosecutions in the ?public interest?. He is also, strangely, head of the English Bar. .... | |
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| | | Personal loans 'a better choice than credit cards' | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 1:30:13 PM by Blog57 Team | | Personal loans are a better option than credit cards for borrowers worried about problem debt, due to the more structured repayments they offer, the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) has claimed. A recent report from The Debt Counsellors found that debts from credit card payments were the biggest cause of serious debt in the UK. Credit card debt was found to be a factor in 91 per cent of all serious debt cases, with their unstructured repayment system regarded as the main reason for this. Personal loans have the advantage of having a more structured repayment system where the borrower is aware of how much needs to be paid back, ABCUL spokesperson Abbie Shelton said. With credit cards, borrowers often just pay back the minimum, making it a long time before the loan is paid off, with credit cards proving very dangerous in the wrong hands, she added.... | |
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| | | David Sainsbury Resigns as U.K. Science Minister (Update4) | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 7:16:39 PM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- David Sainsbury resigned as U.K. science minister for ``personal reasons,'' saying his decision has nothing to do with the police investigation into whether Prime Minister Tony Blair's government gave honors in return for loans. ``There's no connection,'' Sainsbury, a ruling Labour Party donor and member of the House of Lords, Britain's upper chamber of Parliament, told BBC News 24. ``This is for personal reasons.'' Sainsbury, 66, is to be replaced by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, a spokesman for Blair's Downing Street office said. Trade Secretary Alistair Darling is to take over responsibility for energy policy. Sainsbury was one of 48 people questioned by police in July in connection with the inquiry after Labour disclosed that it received 14 million pounds ($27 million) in loans from 12 of its supporters last year, four of whom were later nominated for seats in the Lords.... | |
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| | | S.Korea housing loans up, fuelling rate speculation | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 11:18:42 AM by Blog57 Team | | SEOUL, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Home-backed loans to South Koreans rose at the fastest pace in five months in October from September, central bank data showed on Wednesday, adding to government worries about the red-hot housing market. Loans rose 1.32 percent in October from September, the biggest rise since 1.57 percent in May. The lending includes both mortgages to buy homes and shorter loans for other purposes but also secured on the borrower's home. The surge in such lending helped push overall bank loans to households up by 1.22 percent. The data comes amid speculation that rising home prices may persuade the central bank to raise interest rates soon, although no change is expected at its next policy meeting on Thursday. "The loan data itself did not have a huge impact on investors' sentiment today but clearly helped add to worries about the possibility of interest rate increases in the future," said Kong Dong-rak, a fixed-income analyst at SK Securities.... | |
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| | | Banks fear rise in real estate, personal loan rates | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 7:11:56 AM by Blog57 Team | | Several banks today feared that commercial real estates and personal loans may cost more in the near future following the directive from Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, to re-balance their credit portfolio for channelising advances to productive sectors. Loan rates may harden for the commercial real estate sector, Vijaya Bank Chairman, P P Mallya, told reporters on the sidelines of a PSU Bank Chairmen meeting with Chidambaram to take stock of the situation arising out of RBI's decision to hike the repo rate by 0.25 per cent in its busy season credit policy. "Real estate carries higher risks. To the extent that credit will be channelised to preferred areas, the rates for real estate may rise little bit," United Bank of India Chairman, P K Gupta, said. Another leading PSU bank chairman, who preferred not to be quoted, said there was a possibility of a quarter per cent rise in retail sector loans.... | |
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| | | Disaster Loans | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 11:06:37 PM by Blog57 Team | | The U.S. Small Business Administration announced low interest disaster loans will be made to Florida residents affected by the tornadoes that struck October 7, 2006. Administrator Steve Preston took this action following an October 18 letter from Florida Governor Jeb Bush requesting a disaster declaration by SBA. The declaration covers Orange County and the neighboring counties of Brevard, Lake, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia. According to Frank Skaggs, the Director of Disater Field Operations Center East: "Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the following Disaster Loan Outreach Centers to issue loan applications, answer questions about SBA's disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their applications." The Centers will be located in the following communities and will open on the indicated days and times: Orange County John Bridges Community Center 445 W.... | |
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| | | Personal, home loans might cost more as RBI hikes repo rates | | Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 11:19:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | Mumbai, Oct 31: Loans across the board, including that for housing, may become dearer with RBI today sending clear signals to banks that borrowing money from it could be an expensive affair."Raising the repo rate is only a signal that getting liquidity from the RBI will be expensive," RBI Governor Y V Reddy told reporters after releasing the mid-term review of its annual policy statement for this fiscal.In the busy season credit policy review today, RBI raised the Repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.25 per cent while keeping reverse repo, the rate at which it borrows from banks unchanged at 6 per cent."In particular, we have asked for greater fairness and transparency in regard to housing sector because we have received complaints about somewhat less than transparent practices," Reddy said Dubbing it as a balancing act, several bankers said the repo rate hike by 0.25 per cent to 7.25 per cent would not have any impact on home and auto loan rates, but personal and consumer loans may become costlier.Country's largest lender, State Bank of India Managing Director T S Bhattacharya said there would be no impact on home and auto loan rates for which the market will remain as it was.Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his reaction to the hike in repo rates said: "I endorse the decision of RBI hiking repo rate as it is primarily aimed to moderate the credit growth in the country." .... | |
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