Comments
Indian Overseas Bank plans to open a new branch in Bangkok, its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr M. Narendra, has said.
“We have applied to the RBI for one more branch in Bangkok. They (Thailand authorities) have agreed to it. This will be the second branch for IOB in Thailand. We are the only Indian bank to have a branch presence in Bangkok,” Mr Narendra told Business Line here.
IOB had roped in Deloitte to devise a strategy for the bank's overseas expansion, among other things, he said. The bank is currently looking to implement the consulting firm's suggestions.
Mr Narendra said IOB is also keen to establish its presence at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and intends to soon approach the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) for the regulatory nod. It had earlier applied for upgrading its representative office in Dubai (outside DIFC), but is yet to get a response from the authorities.
IOB is also awaiting the regulatory nod for upgrading its representative office in Vietnam into a branch. “We opened our representative office in Vietnam in 2008. We may be the first Indian bank to get a branch licence there,” he said. The bank has also sought the regulatory nod for upgrading its China representative office into a full-fledged branch.
For the domestic market, IOB plans to open 400 branches this fiscal, including 40 special branches. On Tuesday, the RBI gave its approval for the bank to set up 180 branches — for such centres where the central bank approval is required. “On our own we have plans for 180, of which 66 have already been opened. Now, RBI has allowed another 180 branches. In all, we intend to do 400 branches this year in the domestic market,” he said.
Last fiscal, IOB had opened 188 branches in the country.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.