The Hindu Business Line : Corporation Bank mulls strategic investment

Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, on the eve of its centenary celebrations, Mr V.K. Chopra, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, said, "We have a strong capital base. At the end of December 2005, our CAR was 14.9 per cent. Even at this level, I think, ours is the only bank which has not relied on Tier II capital for maintaining the capital adequacy.''

Stating that the rules of the system do not permit any bank to acquire more than 5 per cent holding in an investee bank, he said, "But we are looking for a strategic investment. Whenever opportunity comes, we can do that."

The bank will take both organic and inorganic routes to grow, he said. Stating that Corporation Bank is one of the earliest banks to be listed in the stock exchange, he said the bank has been declaring dividends for its shareholders every year. Already it has declared and paid an interim dividend of 35 per cent during the current fiscal.

Office in Dubai

The bank's application for opening a representative office in Dubai is pending with the UAE authorities, after the bank got approval from the Reserve Bank of India in this regard. He said it would open an RO in Dubai in a few months after getting the approval from the UAE authorities.

Terming technology as the key for the bank's growth, Mr Chopra said that 87 per cent of bank's business is covered under core banking solution (CBS). "Our aim is to bring entire business of the bank under CBS by June 2006," he said.

Credit growth

Stating that the bank has been growing well, he said the credit grew by 34 per cent in the last fiscal.

At the end of the December 2005, it grew by 20 per cent. He hoped that it might register a 24 per cent growth during this year. The credit-deposit ratio is 74 per cent.