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Mr R.S. Reddy

G. Naga Sridhar

Hyderabad, Sept. 2 Andhra Bank is planning to expand its credit card portfolio significantly, according to Mr R.S. Reddy, its Chairman and Managing Director.

“We have been going slow on the credit card segment by limiting the issue of cards only to our internal customers. But now, we will be issuing to non-customers of the bank as well ,” Mr Reddy told Business Line here.

Andhra Bank, which has an outstanding of Rs 130 crore, is of the view that volume growth in credit cards will handle the issues of NPAs, if any.

As of now, it has Rs 18 crore overdues on the cards.

“Instead of worrying about defaults and exiting from the business, I want to compete with others by putting sound systems in place. We are revamping the recovery team to ensure steady contact with the card-holders,” Mr Reddy said. The bank had issued 1.47 lakh cards as on June 30.

Exercise is also on to modify the loan policies to attract big corporates. “We are looking at large increase in assets by getting out of lending to public sector units to focus on big corporates and small and medium enterprises,” Mr Reddy said, adding that the decision-making in corporate lending was being speeded up.

At the end of first quarter, Andhra Bank’s corporate lending stood at Rs 9,577 crore.

In view of the increase in demand for gold from households, especially in festive season, Andhra Bank will commence sale of gold coins at its branches shortly. “We have applied to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for permission and also short-listed suppliers,” the Chairman said.

More Stories on : Credit Cards & Debit Cards | Public Sector Banks

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