Bharatiya Mahila Bank to merge with SBI

The Government of India has decided to merge the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with the State Bank of India (SBI) to ensure greater banking services outreach to a larger number of women, at a faster pace. The objective is to offer affordable credit to women as well as propagate women-centric products, which need to be quickly achieved through a wider network and lower cost of funds.

The decision to merge BMB with SBI has been taken in view of the advantage of the large network of SBI among other things. In the three years since BMB was established, it has extended loans of Rs.192 crore to women borrowers, while the SBI group has provided loans of about Rs.46,000 crore to them. SBI has a large outreach of more than 20,000 branches, with lowest cost of funds in the sector.

Out of the total workforce of around 2 lakh employees in SBI, 22 percent are women. SBI group already has 126 exclusive all-women branches across the country, while BMB has only seven. The proportion of administrative and managerial cost in BMB is much higher to reach the same coverage.   For the same cost, a much higher volume of loans to women could be given through SBI.

However, Union Government is committed to enhance the access to financial services to the population at large and women in particular. Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, preference is given to women for overdraft facility. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana had 73 percent women borrowers in the previous financial year.


Source : Financial Express

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Merger of SBI, Bharatiya Mahila Bank to herald slew of reforms

The government is expected to initiate reforms in the financial sector soon, starting with merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank with State Bank of India, India’s largest lender.

Other key decisions that may be unveiled over the next 2-3 months include new capital infusion parameters for 2017-18, a consolidation road map for state-run banks and insurance firms and steps to resolve stressed assets.

“The merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank may happen within the next few days,” said a senior finance ministry official, adding that consolidation of other state-run banks will be taken forward by bringing in the Banks Board Bureau. “The government is only expected to play a matchmaker. It is for the banks to finally decide and kick-start the process,” the official said. There are six to seven merger combinations on the table.

After being nudged by the government, SBI announced its intent in 2016 to merge its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank. The cabinet approved the merger last month and said in a gazette notification that the entire undertakings of these five banks will stand transferred to and vested in SBI from April 1.

On the proposal to merge Bharatiya Mahila Bank with SBI, finance minister Arun Jaitley had then said, “It is under consideration as of now.”

The government is open to sell stakes in IDBI Bank in small tranches, including a possible follow-on offer of shares. “We are providing extended capital support to IDBI. Once it has more control on its bad loan portfolio, we are sure there will be enough interest from investors,” the official said. IDBI Bank’s gross nonperforming assets widened to Rs 35,245 crore, or 15.1% of gross advances, at the end of December from Rs 30,134 crore, or 13.05% of advances, as of September 30.

Separately, the finance ministry is giving final shape to more stringent norms on capital infusion in PSBs. The government budgeted Rs 10,000 crore for supporting banks in this fiscal.

“We have already directed banks to divest non-core assets. Increasingly, capital will only be allocated to performing lenders and laggards will either need to change business strategy or merge to achieve economies of scale,” said another ministry official aware of the developments.

The Banks Board Bureau will work with lenders to develop business strategies and capitalraising plans.

In 2016-17, the government decided to infuse funds early to allow banks to step up lending. It set aside 25% of funds to be disbursed based on performance parameters including more efficiency, growth of credit and deposits and reduction in operation costs.

Jaitley and senior government officials met Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel and his two deputy governors last week to take stock of stressed assets in staterun banks and firm up ways for their quicker resolution, which may include the setting up of a bad bank, an asset management company to tackle stressed loans.

The non-performing assets of public sector banks stood at Rs 5,89,502 crore (11.82%) in September, the government said in parliament last month.

Source : Economic Times

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Bharatiya Mahila Bank opens branch in Vizag

The Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) is making all efforts for the economic empowerment of women, especially those from the economically disadvantaged sections of the society, and that is the specific mandate given to the bank, according to Executive Director S MSwathi.

She was speaking here on Thursday morning after inaugurating a BMB branch, the first in the city and the fourth in Andhra Pradesh. She said the bank was in expansion mode and it would aim to cross the hundred-mark soon in the country.

Swathi said the bank, established in 2013 with a capital base of Rs. 1,000 crore, was offering loans to women upto Rs. 1 crore at the base rate and the processing fees was also being waived up to Rs. 75 lakh for women.

"We are supporting all income-generating activities and encouraging women to become entrepreneurs. We are encouraging women to set up small and cottage units, and we are also tying up with NGOs and other organisations to extend loans to women and support their economic activities," she said.

She said, "We have given loans to women to run electronic-rickshaws in some cities. Women need not confine themselves to setting up beauty parlours, as so many other avenues are opening up in a growing economy. However, there is a need for promoting financial literacy among women and we are taking up those programmes as well."

She clarified that the bank was not only for women and men could also deposit their monies in the bank and avail themselves of the banking services. But when it comes to loaning, "women would be given preference. After all that is our basic objective. If a woman prospers, the whole family prospers. Men are also benefited indirectly."

She said the bank had made considerable progress in three years and it would strive to make its presence felt, especially in semi-urban and rural areas.

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Bharatiya Mahila Bank to have 60 branches by Mar 31: Chairman and Managing Director

Bharatiya Mahila Bank will launch nine more branches by this month end to close the fiscal with a network of 60 outlets, a top official said today.

"The number of branches of the bank will be increased to 60 by the end of this financial year (2014-15)," Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) Chairman and Managing Director Usha Ananthasubramanian told reporters after inaugurating the bank's 51st branch here.

She said, the bank plans to open some more branches next year, but the decision would be taken by the Board.

The deposits of the bank stand at Rs 800 crore and advances at Rs 400 crore, she said.

BMB provides internet banking and very soon it would introduce mobile banking on the Android platform for the benefit of its customers.

She said, the bank's priority is to improve financial literacy among women and it provides loans to women entrepreneurs to set up small businesses in order to become self-reliant.

Launched in 2013, BMB is the first of its kind in the country's banking industry, formed with a vision of economic empowerment for women.

Source : Economic Times

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Bhartiya Mahila Bank eyes Rs. 1,000 cr business this fiscal

Bhartiya Mahila Bank (BMB), Government-owned all-women bank, hopes to close the current financial year with over Rs. 1,000 crore business. “Our primary target is to expand out footprint across the country, including tier-III towns and un-banked villages. We will close the year with 80 branches,” said Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank.

According to her, the 15-month-old bank currently has 45 branches, and is on track to have 80 branches by the end of the year. It has several branches in the pipeline in different stages of completion.

“Considering that the bank was started from scratch and is taking its baby steps yet, the numbers are quite satisfactory,” she said adding next year BMB will cross Rs. 1,800 crore of business.

The bank’s primary focus is to promote entrepreneurship among women. In this direction, it has signed pacts with beauty salon brands such as Naturals, GreenTrends and Lakme (beauty salons) and funded hundreds of women to own and run franchisee outlets of these brands. It also has Rs. 200-crore exposure to corporates, particularly those run by women.

Today, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) to promote entrepreneurship among youth. Addressing a press conference here to mark this occasion, Ananthasubramanian said under the pact, financial and monitoring assistance will be provided to the under privileged youth in the age group of 18-25, women, ethnic minorities and physically challenged – but with an initiative and a meritorious business idea.

The loan would be for a period of 5-7 years depending on the loan amount, business type and the expected cash-flow generation. Besides, a holiday period of up to 24 months will also be given on a case-to-case basis.

Lakshmi V Venkatesan, Founding Trustee and Executive Vice-President of BYST, said the Trust would offer guidance through mentors with a whole range of innovative business development services.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Bharatiya Mahila Bank opens Coimbatore branch

Bharatiya Mahila Bank plans to close the current fiscal with a network of 80 branches.

The year-old bank, according to its Chairperson Usha Anathasubramanian, has started to take baby-steps.

Launched by the UPA Government on November 19, 2013, this 100 per cent Government-owned bank, started its operations with seven branches, added two more to take it to nine before March 31, 2014.

“This is the 36th branch of the bank and the second in the state of Tamil Nadu,” she said, inaugurating the Coimbatore branch at Ramnagar.

New branches

Mahila Bank plans to open a branch in Pune the day after, followed by branches in Bhopal, Haridwar, Jamshedpur and Nagpur.

In Tamil Nadu, the bank plans to establish its presence in Tiruchi and Madurai.

“We intend to double the branch network to 80 before March 2015. The pace of expansion is going to be aggressive,” Usha Anathasubramanian told BusinessLine.

About 20 of these (branches) would be in rural, unbanked pockets, she said.

Total business

In its first year of operation, which was just for four-and-half months (between mid-November 2013 to March 2014), the bank registered a total business of Rs. 190 crore.

Its business at present is around Rs. 870 crore. Usha Anathasubramanian is confident of reaching the business target of Rs. 1,800 crore before the close of the current fiscal. “This is our first full year of operation,” she said.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Bhartiya Mahila Bank eyeing Rs. 1,000-cr deposit base by March-end

Bhartiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the country’s first all-women bank, today said that it is targeting a deposit base of Rs. 1,000 crore and advances of Rs. 800 crore by March-end this fiscal.

At present, the bank’s deposit base stands at over Rs. 300 crore and loans at Rs. 500 crore.

“As of today, our total business is at Rs. 825 crore. For this year, we are aiming advances of Rs. 800 crore and deposits at Rs. 1,000 crore,” BMB Chairman & Managing Director Usha Ananthasubramanian told reporters today after inaugurating its 35th branch here.

The branch, which was opened in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, is the third in Maharashtra. The bank would shortly open branches in Nagpur, Pune and Haridwar.

BMB is looking to increase its branch network to 80 by March 2015, which will also include 20 rural branches.

Ananthasubramanian said the bank’s focus would be on opening branches in tier II and tier III cities.

“We are also planning to roll out 50 offsite ATMs across the country by the end of this year,” she said.

The country’s first all-women bank was launched in November last year and is wholly owned by the government which had initially infused Rs. 1,000 crore in it.

Ananthasubramanian said the bank does not plan to raise any fund as the capital which it received from the government is sufficient to take care of its business currently.

Total employee strength of the bank is 300 and it will add another 120 by the end of this fiscal. It has one lakh customers, out of which 81 per cent are women.


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Bharatiya Mahila Bank launches net banking

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd (BMB) on Wednesday launched its internet banking facility by the name ‘BMBSmartBanking’.

This facility was launched at the hands of Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and Managing Director, BMB.

A newly designed website of the bank was also launched.

Currently, this women focused bank has branch network of 33 branches and all of them on core banking solutions with onsite ATMs.

Speaking on the occasion, Usha Anathasubramanian said the internet facility came with several value added services besides regular features.

She also said BMB was entering into the second year of its operations today.

BMB also opened on Wednesday its second branch in the capital at Model Town.

srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in


Source : Thehindubusinessline

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Trends in Vogue inks pact with Bhartiya Mahila Bank

Trends in Vogue, a CavinKare initiative that manages hair saloons under Green Trends, has entered into an agreement with Bhartiya Mahila Bank to promote women entrepreneurship.

Under the agreement, Green Trends plans to have 500 salons nationally set up by women entrepreneurs by the end of the current financial year, a top company official said today.

"We are happy to associate with Bhartiya Mahila Bank in providing collateral free loans to prospective franchises across the country, especially women. We believe it will not only ease the process of salons but also empower more women to emerge as successful entrepreneurs...," CavinKare Chairman & Managing Director CK Ranganathan said.

Green Trends has also introduced mobile and online check- in service for customers, he said.

"We have been noticing a significant upswing trend of women from various backgrounds entering this beauty salon segment and this MoU with Bhartiya Mahila Bank will further strengthen the support," Trends in Vogue's Business Head R Gopalakrishnan said.

Bhartiya Mahila Bank Chairman and Managing Director Usha Ananthasubramanian said after this tie-up with CavinKare, the bank is confident of developing women as "entrepreneurs" across the country.

She said the bank will provide loans of up to 75 per cent of the total project cost to women entrepreneurs across the country.

"The rate of interest will be between 11.5 per cent and 12.5 per cent," she said.


Source: Economic Times

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Bharatiya Mahila Bank plans to open 57 branches in 2014-15

Bharatiya Mahila Bank on Monday said it plans to open 57 branches across the country this fiscal year (FY15) to take its total number of branches to 80 by March 2015.

The bank plans to launch its net banking services shortly, for the convenience of its customers, it said in a statement.

In this short span of four months, BMB has opened 23 branches across the country with a presence at Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai.



Source: ndtv

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Bharatiya Mahila Bank to open 55-60 new branches in next financial year

Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the first all-women bank, which opened its 19th branch here today, will open 55-60 new branches in 2014-15 fiscal, a top official said.

"By March 31 this year, 23-24 branches will be opened and BMB will have 55-60 more branches in next financial year scattered across the country.

"As per RBI guidelines, 20 branches out of the proposed around 80 will be opened in the rural areas," Usha Ananthasubramanian, chairperson and managing director (CMD) of Bharatiya Mahila Bank told reporters.

BMB which opened its first branch in November last year, needs to have a brand, she said.

"We need to establish a brand. The bank is designed to cater to the needs of women and offers the entire banking and financial services. It will cater to every segment of women from SHGs to lower middle class women to high net worth individuals with the basket of various products to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth," she said.

The bank has designed a special loan product for setting up day care centres.

BMB also offers total collateral free loans of upto Rs 1 crore by covering it under CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises).

"We will reach to the rural women by having tie-ups with NGOs," she said.


The government approved Rs 1,000 crore seed capital for the women-focused public sector bank, announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech.

One of the key objectives of the bank is to focus on the banking needs of women and promote economic empowerment.



Source: Economic Times

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All-woman bank plans to open 55 more branches next fiscal

Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the first all-woman bank and a new entrant in the sector, has embarked on a mission to open 55 additional branches pan-India by the next financial year, a senior official said.

"We are going to touch a mark of 25 branches by end of this financial year, while for the ensuing FY, the target is to have 55 additional branches in the two-tier and unbanked cities," BMB's Chairperson and Managing Director Usha Ananthasubramanian told reporters here.

She was here to inaugurate the 14th branch of the bank. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had inaugurated the first branch of the bank in the presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on November 19 in Mumbai.

The bank allows deposits from everyone, but lending will be predominantly for women, the CMD said adding that lending to women is safe as compared to men.

"Women don't default much. Often there is peer group pressure on them," she said, adding that unlike men, women don't divert funds for other projects and this quality makes them safe borrowers.

The bank has already tied up with Tata Motors for vehicle financing. Besides, a deal has also been inked with Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) for girl students to study CA.

In yet another initiative, the bank in collaboration with ICA provides loan to women chartered accountants at lower rates to set up their own office, Ananthasubramanian said.

"Almost 40 per cent of CAs are women but they have to practice under men. We help them to get their own identity," she added.

The bank also plans to enhance its association with the insurance sector, while a deal with Institute of Company Secretaries is also lined up, the CMD added.


Source: Economic Times

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Mahila Bank ties up with New India; launch 3 health schemes

Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), the first all-women bank, today tied with New India Assurance to launch health insurance products for women account holders of the bank.

These policies, BMB Sakhee, BMB-Nirbhaya and BMB-Parivar Suraksha provide customised package of health insurance policies from New India assurance, its chairperson Usha Ananthasubramanian said here.

While Sakhee Policy aimed at rural women, offers covers up to Rs 50,000, the Nirbhaya schemes offers cover limit up to Rs 5 lakh.

At the same time, Parivar Suraksha offers family floater facilities, she said.

These products would be available on portals for the bank, to create more efficiencies and ease of use, she added.

The bank, a pioneering initiative to empower women, was launched in November last year with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore to function as a universal bank.

Coinciding with the 96th birthday of late Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first of seven branches of the bank in the presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Mumbai on November 19, 2013.

The idea of an exclusive lender for women was mooted at the Jaipur Congress plenary 2012.


Source: Economic Times

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