The Hindu Business Line : Andhra Bank plans to expand presence across West Asia

Growth plans
The bank has also decided to increase its presence in Kerala by opening more branches and ATM network across the State.
The introduction of mobile branch-cum-ATM facility in Hyderabad has received tremendous response and it proposes to reach out to new areas soon.

MR K. RAMAKRISHNAN, Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Bank, at a press conference in Kochi on Monday. — K.K. Mustafah

Kochi , July 17

Andhra Bank is planning to spread its presence across West Asia by opening offices in four centres soon, Mr K. Ramakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director, has said.

The bank, which opened its office in Dubai in May, has applied to the Reserve Bank of India for opening offices in Saudi Arabia and Oman. The bank's board has also approved proposal to set up offices in Qatar and Kuwait. An office at Bahrain is also on the anvil , he said at a press meet here on Monday. The idea is to spread strategically in West Asia where a lot of people from Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are working, he added.

Financial performance

Referring to the financial performance of the bank, he said it had posted a total business of Rs 56,406 crore, comprising Rs 33,922 crore of deposits and advances of Rs 22,484 crore. The bank has set a target of achieving a total business of Rs 67,000 crore for the fiscal 2006-07 comprising Rs 39,000 crore of deposits and advances of Rs 28,000 crore.

There are also plans to open 100 branches and an equal number of ATMs in the current year.

Andhra Bank, which has reported a 208 per cent net profit from core banking operations for the financial year ended March 2006, has decided to focus on low-cost deposits during the current fiscal to sustain growth. Last year, the bank had achieved a profit of Rs 485 crore. The low-cost deposit currently stood at Rs 12,322 crore, he said.

According to Mr Ramakrishnan, the bank has also decided to increase its presence in Kerala by opening more branches and ATM network across the State. It has 20 branches and three extension counters in the State and is identifying prospective areas to open three more branches.

The total business in Kerala branches is currently at Rs 477 crore and the target is to achieve Rs 600 crore this fiscal, he added.

Treasury portfolio

Strengthening the treasury portfolio, augmenting fee-based income, raising low-cost deposits, reducing NPA, improving recoveries and avoiding slippages are the major challenges for the bank. The bank's non-performing assets declined to 0.24 per cent from 0.28 per cent during 2005-06, he said.

The introduction of mobile branch-cum-ATM facility in Hyderabad has received tremendous response and the bank proposes to reach out to new areas soon.

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