The Hindu Business Line : Muthoot Finance looks at expansion of network

Coimbatore, June 19 Muthoot Finance, the flagship company of The Muthoot Group, is looking at rapid expansion of its branch network and foraying into other business verticals such as wealth management services, railway ticketing and inward remittances among others.

The company has tied up with IRCTC to facilitate booking of train tickets at any of its branches across the country. “The customer would have to pay the ticket fare plus Rs 10,” its Managing Director, Mr George Alexander Muthoot, said.

The service is being offered on a trial basis in about 600 branches at present. The company hopes to offer it across all its branches within the next month or so.

The Group has a network of over 1,200 branches located across 20 States at present. Mr George Alexander said the group envisaged to operationalise 2,000 branches by 2012.

Regional layout

In Tamil Nadu, it has established a network of 300 branches, of which 25 are in Coimbatore region. The company is planning to add another 15 branches in this region by the close of this year.

The company, according to him, has evoked good response for its gold loan scheme. “We cater to about 40,000 customers every day. We have disbursed around Rs 6,000 crore in Tamil Nadu alone in the last one year towards gold loan.”

The company also sells gold coins, but “does not buy back the coins”. “We sell close to 25 to 30 kg of gold coins every month,” he said.

Asked if the company would look at converting itself into a bank, he said “it is not in our horizon. There are advantages in remaining an NBFC,” he said and pointed out that as an NBFC, Muthoot Finance would not have to seek the banking regulator’s permission for opening of branches, “no restriction on sector lending and so on”.

On inward remittances, he said “In Tamil Nadu alone, 40,000 money transfers are disbursed every month and the volume is Rs 80 crore”.

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