The benchmark BSE Sensex on Wednesday rose over 54 points in early trade, extending gains for the second straight day, as participants made selective buying in shares of RIL, ONGC, SBI and Infosys.

The 30-share index gained 54.14 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 25,575.33. The gauge had gained 330.71 points in the last session on late heavy fund-based buying.

MUMBAI: State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, plans to recruit about 7,200 people even as nearly 8,100 members of its staff are due to retire during the current fiscal, as it seeks to increase its dependence on technology for a number of routine tasks.

Eighteen public sector banks, including SBI and PNB, failed to fulfil the target for installing ATMs during 2013-14, leaving more than over 9,300 branches without cash vending machines. As part of the target, a total of 34,668 onsite ATMs were to be installed by PSU banks during the last fiscal.

However, they could set up only 25,331 such machines by March 2014, thus falling short by 9,337, as per Finance Ministry data. Installation of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), especially by public sector lenders, has been a major priority for the government's efforts to ensure financial inclusion. Pursuant to Budget 2013-14 announcement, public sector banks were required to ensure an onsite ATM in ever branch.

All three listed subsidiaries of State Bank of India (SBI) - State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore (SBM) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) - have rallied by up 18% on the bourses on reports that SBI proposes to merge its five remaining subsidiaries with itself.

State Bank of India, the nation's biggest lender, will kick off consolidation in the banking industry by combining five associate banks as it prepares to fund the economy that is on the cusp of a strong growth like China two decades ago, the Economic Times report suggests.

Mumbai: The Allahabad high court has directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) to scrutinize every policy sold by SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd, and order the company to discontinue its policies and wind up its business if it detects any regulatory breaches.

The 29 May order came in response to a petition filed by an SBI Life customer, Virendra Pal Kapoor, 72, who claimed he had invested Rs.50,000 in 2007 in the insurer’s Unit Plus II–Single, a unit-linked insurance product (Ulip) with an option of a limited term of five years, on the basic sum assured for life at Rs.3,12,500 (625% of the investment), with a choice of investment in a growth fund. But on maturity, he was paid a mere Rs.248.

Raising capital through the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route has been a hit this calendar year, with four issues already mopping up Rs 11,455 crore in the first five months - nearly 30 per cent more the Rs 8,075 crore 10 companies raised in full 2013. In fact, the amount raised this year has been the highest since 2010 (see chart).

Commercial banks plan to involve restructuring agencies such as SBI Caps and IDBI Capital Markets to examine the feasibility of forming a special asset reconstruction company (ARC) to manage and revive large-size infrastructure-stressed loans.

On Wednesday, the Union government held discussions with ARC representatives and some bankers on the proposal. A senior executive with Indian Banks Association (IBA) said the pressure on balance sheets of public sector banks (PSBs) due to provisioning for stressed loans is immense.

The Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to waive farm loans of around Rs 54,000 crore is a negative for the banking sector, feels Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, State Bank of India . In an interview with CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy, she said the Indian Banking Association was likely to protest the move.

State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, led state-run banks higher in Mumbai trading after an official said the government is working on creating a holding company to infuse capital into them.

The holding company will be a repository of government equity in all state-run banks, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

Deepak Ishwarbhai Amin, the Congress leader who was also a director on the board of State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, has resigned from the bank's board. The central board of SBI accepted his resignation at its meeting held on May 23, the lender said in a communication to the stock exchanges. Amin was appointed by the government on the SBI board in January 2012.

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