Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004 |
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Mergers & Acquisitions Money & Banking - Public Sector Banks Oriental Bank eyes buys in Kerala — Narang favours organic expansion in eastern region Sarbajeet K. Sen
New Delhi , Sept. 20 THE Chairman and Managing Director of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), Mr B.D. Narang, is keeping a close watch on his diet. After devouring the erstwhile Global Trust Bank (GTB), Mr Narang is wary of another big meal including the fare put out by the public sector. Instead, OBC now wants to have a frugal meal with flavour from Kerala and a sprinkling of eastern cuisine. "I cannot digest a strong public sector bank, at least not so soon after taking over GTB. Complete assimilation of GTB should take around one to one-and-a-half years. At present, I am looking to increase my presence in Kerala by taking over a small private bank there and also expand organically in the eastern region, especially Kolkata and Orissa," Mr Narang told Business Line. Mr Narang's decision not to go for an acquisition of a PSU bank comes at a time when the Government and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) are in the midst of finalising a set of norms that would facilitate mergers of strong Government-owned banking entities. The OBC Chairman said that expansion in Kerala and the East would give a pan-Indian flavour to OBC, which was till recently considered a bank with regional affinities especially tied to northern India. "I wanted to have a presence in the coastal belt in the East. That I got through the acquisition of GTB and by adding a few branches on my own. If I am able to expand my presence in Kerala and East, OBC would have a pan-Indian presence," Mr Narang said. He said that he would be happy if he gets an additional network of 20-25 branches in Kerala through the acquisition that he plans. On the Eastern side, OBC is most likely to go in for a major branch expansion on its own. "I have already started my eastern foray. In recent months I have added a few branches in Kolkata, some in Orissa and one branch in Sikkim. I would like to add some more in due course." He is very bullish on the business prospects in the eastern region, especially Kolkata. "There has been a perceptible improvement in the work culture in Kolkata, with the West Bengal Government going all out to improve the investment climate. Already, fresh investments are coming into the State that would give banks a good business opportunity," Mr Narang said. According to him, expansion in the East would also help OBC to relocate some of its staff. "We have around 1,500-1,600 people in our bank belonging to the East. Many of them would like to take a transfer to our new facilities."
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