Washington, Oct 20: The International Monetary Fund chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has welcomed South Korea's move to join international rescue efforts to ease pressures in the local dollar funding market.

"The announced guarantee of banks' external liabilities will bring Korea''s policies closer in line with advanced countries, including some in the region, and help ease pressures in the local dollar funding market," The News quoted Strauss-Kahn, as saying.

State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) is looking at acquiring a bank in Kazakhstan and also exploring options of a subsidiary in Canada.

According to the sources, the public sector lender is eyeing a bank with a capital size of $20-25 million.

The bank expected that the Canada subsidiary option would come through by March 2010.

On its abroad proposals, PNB is looking at building up a representative office in Norway, and upgrading the representative office in Shanghai.

Canara Bank, a leading public sector lender has inked MoU with Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), Mumbai.

The main aim of entering into this MoU is to implement risk sharing facility scheme for advances to micro and small enterprises.

The scheme helps the bank to extend collateral free loans upto Rs 100 lakh for micro and small industries.

Under the scheme the CGMTSE would offer guarantee cover up to 50% of the credit extended by the bank.

In the Q-2 of July to Septmeber, this year, the net profit of HDFC Bank climbed 44% to Rs 528 crore as against Rs 368 crore in the same period last year.  

For the very first time, the consolidation results following its merger with Centurion Bank of Punjab, completed in May 2008, was announced by HDFC.

Excellent credit growth was witnessed by the bank during this period. However, the pace of loan growth could be affected due to rise in interest rates to a seven-year high and possibility of an economic slowdown.

Berlin - In a one-day legislative marathon, Germany adopted Friday one of the world's biggest bail-outs, to inject 480 billion euros (650 billion dollars) into shaky banks.

In barely seven hours, both chambers of parliament debated and passed the bill and Germany's president Horst Koehler, gave the bill his assent so it could be gazetted.

Two small opposition parties, the Left and the Greens, opposed the bill in the Bundestag chamber. The Bundesrat upper chamber, representing the 16 state governments, passed the bill unanimously.

The package aims at shoring up confidence in banks following weeks of share market turmoil.