The Hindu Business Line : SBBJ set to cross biz target of Rs 50,000 cr

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Chennai Jan. 28 State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ) hopes to touch a business volume target of Rs 50,000 crore before March. The bank has added nearly Rs 18,000-crore business (deposits and advances) in the past two years.

Mr S.K. Bhattacharyya, Managing Director, SBBJ, said that his personally meeting all 832 branch managers in groups to lay out the vision for the bank and emphasise the need to increase business, helped exceed the target.

Treasury Strengthened

Simultaneously, the bank's treasury department has also been strengthened and started contributing to profits. The bank was able to make some quick gains by being a lender when call money rates shot up a couple of weeks ago, shortly after the announcement of the hike in cash reserve ratio, he said.

The bank's raising of about Rs 500 crore through tier-II bonds a few months ago came in handy to capitalise on the opportunity, he said.

SBBJ was also able to make a profit of Rs 40 crore through equity trading alone this fiscal, Mr Bhattacharyya said. The bank had reported a profit of Rs 203 crore for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2006. He said that the bank's low-cost deposits (current account and savings account), which were currently at about 40 per cent of total deposits, would go up with several initiatives. About 6 lakh new accounts had been added this year, he said.

Marketing initiatives

A couple of marketing initiatives, including a campaign to increase loans, had been very successful, he said.

For instance, potential borrowers could just send an SMS to a certain number — "7575"— and there would be an immediate follow-up from bank officers.

This campaign was started to help borrowers in Rajasthan overcome the fear of being rebuffed if they directly approached the branch for a loan, he said.