Indian Bank to add 100 branches, come with IPO

Press Trust of India / Kochi March 4, 2011, 17:56 IST

Public-sector lender Indian Bank today said it aims to expand its branch strength by adding 100 branches across the country by next financial year.

Of this 25-30 branches would be in Kerala, bank's Executive Director Rajeev Rishi told reporters here.

Currently, Indian Bank has over 1,800 branches in India and three overseas -- Singapore, Colombo and Jaffna. Within the three years, it plans to increase its branch strength to 2,500, total employees to 25,000, business to Rs 5 lakh crore and net profit to Rs 2,500 crore, he said.

The bank also plans to enter the capital market through IPO route by next fiscal, he said, adding they have already written to the government and the RBI.

The bank's focus would be on the rural population, particularly those in remote villages and unbanked areas, he said.

Under the Financial Inclusion project, the bank would be covering about 20,000 villages within the next two years, he said, adding in Kerala, it has already brought Kollam district under complete financial inclusion.

Kerala has been bifurcated into two zones Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram. Ernakulam zone has 50 branches and 30 ATMs. The bank will be opening two more branches at Manjeri and Koyilandy before this fiscal-end, he added.

Source: Business Standard