Around 35 staffers of Bank of America have opted for the voluntary retirement scheme aimed at trimming its back-office staff. These staffers who provided back-office support for BankAm's erstwhile retail, and corporate banking operations became surplus following sale of BankAm's retail arm to ABN Amro Bank.

14-day T-bills cut-off yield slashed

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed the cut-off yield of 14-day treasury bills by 52 basis points to 8.11 per cent at the auction held on Friday. It maintained the yield on 91-day T-bills unchanged at 9.48 per cent. For the 14-day T-bills, the central bank received 14 competitive bids for Rs 200.50 crore, of which it accepted two bids worth Rs 100 crore. There was no devolvement on either RBI or primary dealers. For the 91-day T-bills, the central bank received 14 bids worth Rs 116.50 crore, of which it accepted one bid worth Rs 5 crore.

Single bid for 4-day fixed repo

The RBI on Friday received one application for Rs 186 crore for its four-day fixed rate repo in government of India-dated securities for parties holding SGL and current account. The interest rate for the four-day fixed rate repo was pegged at 6 per cent.

Chennai NBFC registration rejected

The RBI on Friday rejected the application for certificate of registration submitted by the Chennai-based financial company-Pappu Finance with effect from October 21, 1999. "The above company cannot transact the business of a non-banking financial institution as defined in clause (a) of section 45 I of the RBI Act, 1934," said a RBI release issued on Friday.

Gujarat Gas FD rating

Crisil on Friday upgraded the fixed deposit programme of Gujarat Gas Financial Services. "The revision takes into account the high degree of synergistic business linkage between GFSL and its parent-Gujarat Gas. "The rating also factors the funding and management support enjoyed by GFSL from its parent company, partly offset by small size of company's operations," said a Crisil release.

Eimco CP rating upgraded

Crisil has upgraded the Rs 5-crore CP programme of Eimco Elecon (India) from `P1' to `P1+'. "The upward revision reflects the leadership position of the company in its product segment and its strong financial position characterised by consistently high operating margins, steady growth in the sale of spare parts, low gearing and a comfortable liquidity position supported by liquid investments."The rating also factors in the collaboration of Eimco Elecon with the Sandvik group, which is one of the world's leading manufacturer of equipment," a Crisil release said.