• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Jan. 28 United Bank of India (UBI) proposes to launch what it calls ‘financial clinics’ one each in the four metros — Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai — to push not only the bank’s own retail products but also mutual funds and insurance policies of other companies, and various other investment instruments.

“However, the clinics will target mainly the elite customers; i.e. those who have at least Rs 1 lakh to spare, to advise them how to get the maximum value of their money and better returns,” Mr T.M. Bhasin, Executive Director of UBI, told Business Line here recently. Each clinic would be located in the bank’s respective regional office, he said.

UBI, as the Executive Director pointed out, is also planning to set up a credit counselling centre in Kolkata to focus on small scale units (SSIs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“The objective is to help them cost their products properly, do better financial planning and achieve break-even,” he said pointing out that the bank’s advances to SSIs and SMEs in first nine months of the current year posted nearly 27-28 per cent growth.

The mobilisation of low-cost deposits and the reduction of NPAs were two other areas which received top priorities. One million low-cost deposit accounts were opened in the first half of the current fiscal, and the plan is to open additional one million accounts in the second half with the purpose of achieving financial inclusion.

“We’re paying a good deal of attention to those opening zero balance accounts,” Mr Bhasin said.

UBI, he pointed out, is exploring all avenues to bring down the size of the NPAs from Rs 900 crore to Rs 800 crore in the current year. “We’ve set up a settlement advisory committee and have also put in place a fast track settlement system,” he said pointing out that the move had already yielded results. “Fresh creation of NPAs has been contained and the quality of our assets too has improved as the officers at the branch levels are learning to lend cautiously,” he said.

Under the technological upgradation scheme being implemented by the bank, the number of CBS branches would increase from the present 264 to 325 by March this year and further to 700 by March 2009 covering 86 per cent of the bank’s business, Mr Bhasin added.

More Stories on : Public Sector Banks | Strategy

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Reliance Money to cover 5,645 tehsils for product distribution

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line