Total income of BoB in the reported quarter increased at Rs 14,562.85 crore as compared to Rs 12,976.28 crore in the year-ago period

Metal stocks a drag on Sensex, Nifty. BSE metal index down 2.43 percent at 13,927 level; Hindalco, Coal India and Hindustan Zinc top losers.

State-run Bank of Baroda on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 253 crore in the quarter ended December led by lower cost of deposits and higher treasury income. The bank had reported a net loss of Rs 3,342 crore in the same period last year.

\"The banks are finding it easy to operate in the IFSC in the existing tax provisions itself. It's a good sign....any further improvement will move it up,\" Ajay Pandey, MD and Group CEO of GIFT City said.

Shares of Bank of Baroda gained nearly 25 per cent in trade on Monday even as the company reported a net loss of Rs 3,342.04 crore for the third quarter.

All the lenders in the system have been reporting massive setbacks due to a asset quality review undertaken by Reserve Bank to clean-up balance-sheets in a way that they reflect the true picture.

The Mumbai-based bank has a board approval to raise $5 billion through MTN beginning 2005 and has so far raised $2.5 billion.

Bigger PSU lenders such as Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank have also seen their bad loans rising in the December quarter.

The CIL issue received bids for 67.52 crore shares of the value of Rs 24,210 crore over-subscribing the offer 1.05 times.

The Bank of Baroda stock fell 24 points to close at Rs 193.35 on the BSE.

Bank executives insist they cannot lower loan rates despite the official interest rate cut because cash conditions are tight, and money markets are little changed.

The bank, majority-owned by the government, says net profit reached Rs 3.3 billion in the third quarter from Rs 10.5 billion a year earlier.

Earlier in the day, BSE Sensex rose 162.39 points to touch a fresh record high of 29,844.16.

There are many unanswered questions over the sudden fall in profit when a new chairman takes over a public sector bank, writes Senior Editor Anand Adhikari.

SBI becomes the fourth public sector bank to increase fixed deposits rates this month, a move others will follow.

The total income grew to Rs 6,342.30 in the period under review from Rs 4,836.62 crore in the year-ago period, the lender said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Foreign institutional investors continue to be heavy buyers of Indian stocks, benefiting from a strong rupee that translates into higher returns in US dollars. Indian mutual funds too have turned buyers.