Banks focus on retail business

Most banks are eyeing the retail segment this fiscal and what makes it interesting is the way they go about targeting the sector.

South Indian Bank, for instance, has created a ‘special hub’ for retail in Kochi.

“We started the hub at the start of this fiscal. All the 450-plus branches located in Kerala will fall under this hub, which will push home loans, vehicle loans and trader accounts, among others. Depending on the performance of this hub, we will look at replicating it in other States. A strong team comprising a General Manager and two Deputy General Managers have been put there,” the Chief Executive of SIB, VA Joseph, told Business Line.

“The focus remains the same for us. It has been retail and SMEs for the last couple of years,” added the Managing Director of Karur Vysya Bank, K Venkataraman.

Admitting to a slowdown in growth in the last fiscal, he said, “We took a conscious decision as the macro-economic conditions were not conducive. But now that things are looking up, we have started ramping up the numbers in the retail processing cell. With more project tie-ups coming our way, we will look at home and vehicle finance more aggressively this year. “We have formed a specialised cell to offer cash management services and supply chain finance to the small units. We plan to form a specialised marketing team to add value to CASA and SME advances,” he said.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank has recruited 400 sales executives who will focus on opening savings and current accounts, said Managing Director, Rakesh Sharma.

State Bank of Patiala is eyeing Tier II towns for basic banking services such as acceptance of deposits, opening savings bank accounts, and giving advances against fixed deposits.

“We will call these money shops,” said its Managing Director, SA Ramesh Rangan.

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