With Bandhan Bank set to be launched in August-end, Chairman and Managing Director Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is excited about the next leap. In an interview to BusinessLine , Ghosh said the final approval by the RBI to set up a bank is a lifetime achievement, capping what has been done at the microfinance institution Bandhan Financial Services in the last 15 years. Edited excerpts:

Did you ever think of starting a bank when you started Bandhan in 2001?

No, never. Our vision changed from time to time. It was in 2009 that I started thinking of starting a bank, before the RBI announced the giving of licences and when the microfinance industry faced a crisis and all the negative news in the media. I wanted to see how I could save my customers by providing minimum services, and how I could save my staff who had been recruited from rural and poor families. I was worried if they lost their jobs, they would go back to ploughing their land, rickshaw pulling or vegetable selling. These two things let me to think of an alternative way.

Now that you will start your bank, what are the initial challenges?

First is the skilling of staff, which I am trying to work on with about 8-10 training centres already set up with 50 trainers. Every month, 1,500 people are receiving training. Second, we are focusing on interior and rural areas and the big problem there is electricity supply or inadequate voltage to run the bank. And the third thing is connectivity. These are the challenges as of now.

What is your strategy to overcome these challenges?

For electricity problems, we will work using generators and, hence, in those terms my costs will increase. Connectivity will go through VSAT (very small aperture terminal) satellite communication system and BSNL.

Credit growth is weak in the banking industry. What are your fears as you step into the system?

Credit growth is not my fear at present. My challenge is deposit growth. If that is good in the banking industry, my credit growth will come. Last year, we grew at about 50 per cent. So this year, 30 per cent will be good enough. Also, with small number of NPAs (non-performing assets) and 15 per cent deposit growth in the banking sector, we will grow. In a sense, my deposit will grow 100 per cent as I will start from zero base. Loan portfolio is likely to grow 30 per cent to ₹13,000 crore by March 2016.

You said you have recruited 20 people in your management team from both the public and private sectors. What about other recruitments?

Some freshers will be needed at the base level. We have recruited from the industry and also advertised in newspapers for which we received 38,000 applications. We recruited nearly 4,000 people after receiving the RBI’s in-principle nod.

What about CASA (current account, savings account) deposit and loan products?

First, we would tap the unbanked and give them doorstep services, which will be key to get deposits. On loan products, we will continue our existing products (micro lending) and we will also increase some of our client profiles from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh. We will also venture into home, auto and two-wheeler loans, and the ticket size will not be more than ₹10 lakh.

What about capital raising?

We have raised equity of about ₹3,200 crore from three entities — GIC, IFC and SIDBI. Most of the capital has already been received and about ₹500 crore is pending, which we will receive by the second quarter.

Any expansion plans?

We are present in about 22 States and plan to expand to 27 States. We will move in to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Tiruchi, and other regions.

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