George Mathew & Swarup Chakraborty of Indian Express Mumbai have done the following story: At a time when banks are slashing home loan and other lending rates, they are quietly hiking the interest rates on credit card outstandings. Since October 2008 banks have raised interest rates on credit cards, some by over 4 per cent […]
Why is it that in the case of Satyam and in the world wide mess it is largely the equity shareholder who is losing? Welcome to the world of moral hazard. When you lend money to a bank (which may be insolvent even as you are lending) or to a country (which technically cannot become […]
March is the month that insurance companies, mutual funds, their agents, banks, relationship managers, etc. love! Throughout the year sales of all these products have been taking a hit. All life insurance companies are funded by the strong and rich parent – SBI, Hdfc, Icici or the foreign counterparts. One branch of one life insurance […]
A few days ago India’s largest bank dropped its interest rates on home loans to 8%. This is nothing short of sensational – considering that at the same time one of the top Indian groups (let us say Bluest of Blue) are willing to borrow in the same market at 12% per annum! However, I […]
If you have been following my blog, you may have seen more articles about ‘renting vs. buying’ here is the next instalment. “If I buy a house, I get a tax break.” Business men also get tax breaks when they make losses or incur expenses! As do share buyers, – all are bad deals! The […]
When the finance minister says something, you listen. Especially if you are a PSU bank – and even if you are the biggest. The PM/ FM combine know that elections are coming, so they should look good. How can you look good? By reducing the prices of petrol, and makaan. However as the government does […]
One of my popular posts is “life insurance simplified” so I thought I will continue to use the same tag line for all my 101 lessons! The number of journalists I know is going up, and the questions I get from them is stunning. The latest – “If Hdfc bank pays 3% interest on a […]