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Shobha Kannan

Kolkata, Aug.13 Kolkata-headquartered banks plan to focus on mobilising low-cost Current Account and Savings Account (CASA) deposits in order to manage their cost of funds.

United Bank of India plans to open 10 lakh accounts by September. “We have already opened six lakh accounts so far and we plan to open four lakh more. Our branches have been given specific targets and the progress so far has been good. The branches have also been asked to ensure the quality of accounts opened,” said Mr T.M. Bhasin, Executive Director of the bank.

The share of CASA to total deposits of the bank was at 40 per cent in 2007-08 and it plans to take it up to 42 per cent this year. “In 2007-08, our CASA deposits increased by 24 per cent and we plan to achieve a growth of 30 per cent this year,” he said.

According to Mr V.K. Dhingra, Executive Director, UCO Bank, CASA deposits are the main strength for any bank as it helps to bring down the cost of funds. “Our CASA share has, however, been lower than that of the industry so we are focusing on it in a big way this year,” he said.

The bank has set a target of increasing the proportion of CASA to 35 per cent of total deposits. It therefore plans to launch pre-funded chequebook schemes that can be used as traveller’s cheque, demand drafts and gift cheques in order to acquire more customers. The scheme would be rolled out in 250 branches within September this year and subsequently in other branches, said Mr Dhingra.

Allahabad Bank also plans to expand CASA by over 35 per cent in 2008-09, Mr K.K. Agarwal, Executive Director of the bank, said. Such deposits of the bank grew by Rs 3,268 crore in 2007-08 and the share of CASA to total deposits stood at 34.64 per cent, he said.

More Stories on : Fixed Deposits | Public Sector Banks

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