PNB targets Rs 13,000-cr business turnover in Kerala

The public sector Punjab National Bank is targeting a business turnover of Rs 13,000 crore in Kerala during the financial year of 2012-13.

Mr K.V. Rajesh, deputy general manager and circle head, told Business Line that during last financial year the bank had garnered a business volume of Rs 10,000 crore in the State. Of this, advances were of the order of Rs 6,000 crore and deposits at Rs 4,000 crore.

The bank is also in the process of expanding its branch network in the state by opening 11 more branches in the current fiscal. At present, it has 141 branches and 149 ATMs.

The new 11 branches will be located in Aroor, Maradu, Piravom, Karunagappally, Eerattupetta, Kothanelloor, Vaikom, Attingal, Varkala, Vizhinjam and Wadakkanchery. All these branches will be opened with ATM facility, he said.

PNB is very aggressive in financing agriculture, educational loan and loan to SMEs. It had disbursed Rs 265 crore, Rs 109 crore and Rs 531 crore respectively in these sectors during 2011-12.

The disbursement in housing and vehicle loans also registered a growth in 2011-12, touching Rs 366 crore. Considering the growth in these sectors, it has been proposed to enhance the credit portfolio to these sectors by 60 per cent in the current financial year, he said.

PNB, he said, has launched a scheme to enable customers to save money to buy gold coins and other consumer goods by opening Flexi Recurring Deposit Account. The bank is also offering gold loans at Rs 2,110 per gram, which is very much in demand presently.

To speed up gold loan process, the bank is installing several automated machines for appraising gold. Punjab National Bank is the first bank to install cash deposit machines in many centres in Kerala.

The special salary scheme launched by the bank for State government employees, nurses in private hospitals has also received encouraging response.

The Medi Claim policy launched by the bank in association with Oriental Insurance Company is one of the lowest in the industry, which carries a premium of Rs 1,749 for a policy of Rs 1 lakh covering four family members, he said.