Newsmakers: Hero MotoCorp profit rises 36.5%, Raghuram Rajan on banks' health and more

Hero MotoCorp net profit rises 36.50% in Q3
Country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Thursday posted a 36.50 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 795.81 crore for the December quarte, helped by boost in other operating income. The company had registered a profit of Rs 582.98 crore during the same period last fiscal.

India has 'fortress' like balance sheet, says govt on market rout
As the stock markets saw a carnage with the BSE losing over 800 points, its biggest fall in six months, the government reassured the investors of India having a "fortress like balance sheet" and terming the volatility to continue only in the short term. Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said that India is well prepared to deal with situations like these, which arise out of global economic turbulence and the investors should not get swayed and instead think long term. Sinha reassuring the investors said that he himself has been investing in stocks for 30 years now.

RBI chief Raghuram Rajan says banks will be restored to health
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said central bank and government efforts to clean up banks' balance sheets would be successful, and warned analysts against "scare-mongering" about the level of stressed assets in the sector. Banks are struggling under $100 billion of stressed loans, choking the financial system at a time when the economy needs fresh investment to galvanise growth.

Govt to link savings deposit terms to market rates
The government will link the interest paid to millions of small savers in a $137-billion central deposit scheme to market rates that will be revised every quarter, said Economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das. Cutting the small savings rate could save the government an estimated $700 million a year. But the move is likely to irk small savers and could be unpopular politically, particularly in rural areas where few banks have branches.

SBI Q3 net profit falls as bad loans rise
State Bank of India (SBI), the nation's top lender by assets, said quarterly net profit fell nearly two-thirds, below estimates, as it soaked up more bad loans and provisions in line with a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) drive to tidy up India's banking industry. The lender said on Thursday net profit for its fiscal third quarter ended December slid 62 percent to Rs 1,115 crore ($164 million) from Rs 2,910 crore  a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 3,308 crore.