ICICI Bank CEO sees 20 pct credit growth in FY11

July 19 (Reuters) – ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO), India’s second-largest lender, expects 20 percent credit growth in this fiscal year to March 2011, its chief executive said on Monday.

The bank is not planning to launch the initial public offering of its broking arm, ICICI Securities, during this fiscal year, Chanda Kochhar told reporters. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy)

SpareBank 1 SMN: SpareBank 1 SMN, SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge, SpareBank 1 SR-Bank and SpareBank 1 Gruppen are presenting the accounts for 2nd quarter 2010.

Time: Wedensday 11th of August at 0400 pm

Place: Shippingklubben, Haakon VII’s gate 1, Oslo

The presentations held by:

SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge:CEO Hans Olav Karde

SpareBank 1 SMN: CEO Finn Haugan

SpareBank 1 SR-Bank: CEO Terje Vareberg and CFO Inge Reinertsen

SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS: CEO Kirsten Idebøen

After the presentation there will be a boat trip on the fjord with “Christiania”. The
departure is from Rådhusbryggen around 0700 pm. Returns at approximately at 1000 pm

For participation to the presentation and the boat trip please reply to Inger Årsvoll
Tuxen, inger.tuxen@sr-bank.no mailto:inger.tuxen@sr-bank.no or tlf +47 51 50 95 51
by Friday 6th of August 2010.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to §5-12 vphl (Norwegian
Securities Trading Act)

California Assembly Speaker, Pan American Bank (Los Angeles) Host Free Tax Preparation Event

EAST LOS ANGELES, Calif.–(Business Wire)–
Pan American Bank (Los Angeles) today announced that is will host a free tax
preparation event at its East Los Angeles headquarters on Saturday, April 3,
2010 with California Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, Assemblymember Charles M.
Calderon and California State Controller John Chiang. The event will serve
residents from Assembly Districts 46 and 58 with incomes of $49,000 or less
during 2009.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Speaker of the Assembly
John A. Perez, Assemblymember Charles M. Calderon and California Controller John
Chiang,” said Pan American Bank CEO Jesse Torres. “The free tax event will
enable local residents to not only timely file their tax returns, but will also
ensure that residents maximize their refunds through professionally prepared tax
returns. Further, Pan American Bank will provide all participants with a free
bank account with no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance requirement
in order to facilitate quick and safe direct deposit of tax refunds.”

WHEN: Saturday, April 3, 2010. 9:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Appointment Required: (213) 620-4646

WHERE: Pan American Bank Headquarters
Rear Parking Lot
3626 East First Street
East Los Angeles, CA 90063

WHO: Pan American Bank
California Speaker of the Assembly John A. Perez
California Assemblymember Charles M. Calderon
California Controller John Chiang

WHAT: Free Tax Preparation Workshop

WHY: To provide free tax preparation assistance to the East Los Angeles community.

Residents with appointments should bring the following to their appointment:

* Social Security Card or ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) for
each family member;
* W-2 forms for all jobs worked in 2009;
* All 1099 forms for other income;
* All 1098 forms for educational expenses;
* Childcare provider information: name, address and Tax ID number (if
available); and
* Photo ID.

Established in 1964, Pan American Bank is California`s oldest Latino-owned bank.
Headquartered in East Los Angeles, Pan American Bank serves the needs of the
Latino communities in Los Angeles and Santa Ana. Founded by former U.S.
Treasurer Romana Acosta Banuelos, the Bank has stayed true to its mission of
transforming and empowering Latino communities through banking relationships
built on trust, service, respect, communication, and guidance. Pan American
Bank’s Facebook page can be found at http://bit.ly/pab-facebook. The Bank`s blog
is found at http://PanAmericanBank.blogspot.com. Pan American Bank can be
followed on Twitter as @PanAmericanBank.

Pan American Bank
Tony Ramirez, 323-264-3310
TRamirez@PanAmericanBank.US

Copyright Business Wire 2010

Light at end of slump tunnel: Biz boss

KOLKATA: Two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India’s GDP growth rate for the current fiscal will fall below 7%, ICICI Bank MD
and CEO KV Kamath projected a similar outlook but indicated that the country was on its way out of the current economic crisis.

Speaking at the annual convocation of IIM-Calcutta on Saturday, Kamath said: “The situation has improved since December last year. Commodity prices have come down, as has inflation. The interest rates, too, have been corrected. Our (GDP) growth this year will not be significantly below 7%.”

Further, the chief of India’s largest private lender felt that the government’s initiatives to battle the crisis had been effective and that the end was closer than many would perceive.

“The government responded admirably and the industry was granted almost everything that we had asked for. It has taken the rights steps.

The dark clouds that had gathered have now been blown away and we should be back on track soon. We should register close to 8% growth in 08-09, which will further accelerate subsequently,” he said.

The ICICI Bank CEO, however, said that there was little scope for banks to reduce their interest rates unless the centre dealt with the disproportionate yield on the 10-year government bonds.

“You have a situation where there is near 0% inflation and a bond which is at almost 7%.

“Banks expecting it (bond yield) to be just below 5%, so you have a 2% disconnect. This has to be understood by the entire system, only then can the interest rates come down,” he said.

He said that the increase in fiscal deficit, and consequently in government borrowing, was a cause for concern and urged the government to be more forthcoming.

“A clear articulation of how this (deficit) will be managed, along with measures to encourage external inflow into the country through channels like foreign currency deposits by non-residential Indians, would be important,” Kamath said.

IIM-C to increase seats, develop infrastructure

Kolkata: IIM-C will increase the number of seats in its postgraduate programme for executives from the existing 60 to 120. For the VLMP programme, the number of seats will be increased to 60 from 30. The decision was taken at the board of governors’ meeting of the institute before the 44th convocation on Saturday. The institute is also developing its infrastructure, keeping in view the additional student intake, which will reach 462 in 2010.