The Hindu Business Line : Oriental Bank to shift more operations to electronic mode

Singampunari (TN), May 11 The Oriental Bank of Commerce, the tenth largest nationalised bank in the country, is aiming to shift 50 per cent of its business to the electronic form.

Addressing a press meet here on Sunday, following the inauguration of a branch here by the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Alok K. Misra, said that currently the electronic mode of business was around 26 per cent and to cut the cost of operations, the bank proposed to raise the percentage to 50.

On the bank’s business volumes, he said that currently it was at Rs 1,33,00 crore with priority sector lending at Rs 18,756 crore, higher than the stipulated norm by the Reserve Bank of India.

By 2010, the bank aimed at securing a business volume of over Rs 2 lakh crore and earn a profit of Rs 1,500 crore, besides raising the number of branches to 1,500.

The business under the rural and semi-urban areas formed presently 16.24 per cent and the aim is to raise it to 25 per cent. The future growth has to come from agriculture, he said, adding that for this year, the bank has licences to open 56 branches across the country.

Referring to operations at the Chennai region of the bank, he said there were 35 branches and three more would be opened in the next few months in Vellore, Nagapattinam and Vadapalani in Chennai. The business volume for the region stood around Rs 3,562 crore and the target set is to cross Rs 4,500 crore.

Singampunari branch

About the branch at Singampunari in Sivagangai district, he said that the unit has adopted 7 villages and as a pilot project, the bank has set in motion an OBC health clinic at Sivapuripatti aimed at bringing three of the villages under financial inclusion.

To a query on the bank’s dealing with farm loans, he said the amount overdue stood at Rs 675 crore and a provision has been made for Rs 60 crore.

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