The Hindu Business Line : State Bank of Bikaner sees more biz growth

"In 2006-07, our total business amounts to Rs 49,246 crore against the target of Rs 50,000 crore," Mr S.K. Bhattacharyya, Managing Director, told Business Line here on Monday, attributing the marginal shortfall from the target to the bank's refusal to accept high-cost bulk deposits in the last quarter.

"For temporary benefit, we were not interested in doing something that would prove costlier later," Mr Bhattacharyya said.

As for the current fiscal's target, he said: "the net addition to business this year will be higher than that in the previous year." In 2006-07, the incremental business amounted to more than Rs 11,000 crore.

He seemed confident that the targeted business growth in the current fiscal would be achieved despite a lower growth targets set for deposits and advances vis-à-vis last fiscal. In 2006-07, the advance growth was 31 per cent and deposit growth 29 per cent.

Financial inclusion

SBBJ, as the Managing Director pointed out, laid considerable emphasis on "financial inclusion", i.e. to bring more and more rural people in Rajasthan under the banking network. A beginning has been made with 533 villages having been covered by 107 branches of the bank. "In 2007-08, the bank proposes to open 10 lakh new accounts compared with 6.2 lakh in 2006-07," Mr Bhattacharyya said.

Intl banking dept

Mr Bhattacharyya today inaugurated the bank's international banking department at a new location in Park Street area of the city. The department was earlier located in the BBD Bag area.

Mr K.S. Subbaraman, Deputy General Manager in charge of forex treasury at the bank's office in Mumbai, said in 2006-07 the bank, through 67 authorised branches all over the country, handled import-export business of Rs 11,441.47 crore, which may rise substantially in the current year. The Kolkata outfit accounted for nearly one-third of the business. SBBJ would soon open more offices at various locations including two branches in Kolkata and a regional office in Chennai, he added.