The Hindu Business Line : Oriental Bank keen on rural push

New Delhi, March 31 The Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) wants to push up the share of its business in rural areas to about 30 per cent from the current level of about 18 per cent. The bank’s total business as on March 31, 2008 is estimated at about Rs 1,30,000 crore.

“About 30 per cent is what we are internally thinking. We will try to push it to that. We want to push it up because the growth is going to be there,” Mr Alok K. Misra, Chairman and Managing Director told Business Line here, when asked to put a number on the share of business in the rural area that the bank was looking for.

Asked to comment on interest rate outlook, Mr Misra said that he expects the interest rates to be stable for some time. “As things improve, they should come down,” he said.

On Global Trust Bank (GTB), Mr Misra indicated that OBC may look at starting the next financial year with a clean slate. With the bank expected to make record profits this financial year, OBC’s senior management may completely write-off the remaining GTB losses in the accounts for financial year 2007-08 itself, rather than wait for another year and make quarterly provisions (about Rs 65 crore every quarter) in 2008-09.

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