Ratnakar Bank plans to double branch network

Private sector lender Ratnakar Bank plans to ramp up its branch network to 200 branches in the next 12-15 months, its Managing Director & CEO, Mr Vishwavir Ahuja, has said.

Plans are afoot to open 30-35 branches in the next 4-5 months including in places like Chennai and Hyderabad where the bank currently has no presence, Mr Ahuja, who headed Bank of America in India for years, told Business Line here.

“We already have 30-35 branch licences which will be used in the next 4-5 months”, he said.

Mr Ahuja was in the Capital for the launch of Ratnakar Bank’s Delhi main office and flagship branch at the commercial business district at Connaught Place making this the 101st branch of the bank.

Ratnakar Bank, which is the country’s smallest scheduled commercial bank, is aiming at a network of about 250 ATMs by end March 2013, said Mr Rajeev Ahuja, Head-Strategy & Financial Markets.

The bank had in the beginning of this year raised Rs 700 crore from a group of investors to fund its growth. The clutch of investors included private equity firms and also one financial institution (HDFC) which bought a combined stake of over 30 per cent in Ratnakar Bank.