There is a need for bankers to anticipate the requirements of customers and plan accordingly to meet their needs, according to Mr Ashwini Mehra, Chief General Manager of State Bank of India, Bangalore Circle.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new premises of the commercial branch of the bank in Mangalore on Thursday, he said one of the important ways to look after customers is to try and anticipate their requirements and meet them even before they are able to seek them.

“Anticipating what would be the needs of customers and making sure that those are available at the time when he/she needs them are important,” he said, adding, “the way we look after our customers makes the difference.” Mr Mehra told Business Line that Karnataka has a good number of entrepreneurs. The bank is planning to build its presence to meet their requirements. Asked about the expansion plans in Karnataka, he said the bank would like to expand its presence in terms of specialised services such as medium enterprises, housing sector, etc.

The intention is to ramp up the processing cells, make them customer-responsive and improve the turnaround time in terms of delivery of services, he said.

Stating that the bank gets nearly 50 per cent of its business from Bangalore, he said the due attention would be given to improve business in other parts of the State also.

The bank is planning to restructure its network in the State to pay due attention to all areas in Karnataka, he said.

The bank has a business of nearly Rs 1.40 lakh crore in the State, he added.

Earlier several customers of the bank expressed their opinions of the bank in Mangalore, and some of them made suggestions for improvement in services.

>vinayakaj@thehindu.co.in

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