Karnataka Bank to open 20 financial inclusion branches

Karnataka Bank is likely to open 20 financial inclusion branches by March 2013. Of them, three branches will be opened by this month-end.

Mr P. Jayarama Bhat, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, told Business Line that the bank opened its first financial inclusion branch at Kairangala village in Dakshina Kannada district on Wednesday. Mr Ananthakrishna, Chairman of the bank, inaugurated it at Kairangala village.

The second such branch will be opened at Horanadu village in Chikmagalur district on March 12. Two more branches – one in West Bengal and another in Andhra Pradesh - will be opened by this month-end, he said.

The plan is to open around 20 brick-and-mortar financial inclusion branches in the country by March 2013. A majority of them will be opened in Karnataka, he said.

Financial inclusion branches will be opened in the villages, where the population is above 2,000. The branch will take care of the entire requirement of the village such as credit disbursement and opening of accounts, Mr Bhat said.

To a query on the implementation of financial inclusion programme by the bank till now, Mr Bhat said Karnataka Bank was allotted 80 villages in the country. Of them, 69 villages are in Karnataka.

The existing 15 rural branches are implementing the financial inclusion programme in some locations in these 69 villages. The remaining villages are being covered by business correspondent model.

Asked about the response to the financial inclusion programme, he said the bank has opened more than three lakh no-frill accounts under this programme.

vinayakaj@thehindu.co.in