Allahabad Bank plans to open 4 overseas branches, approaches RBI
10 Jun 2011
Allahabad Bank has approached banking sector regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with a proposal for opening four overseas branches.
"We have approached RBI to open a second branch in Hong Kong and branches in Dhaka, Singapore and Shanghai," the bank's chairman and managing director, JP Dua, told shareholders at the ninth AGM in Kolkata today.
On getting the RBI nod, the bank would approach the regulators of the respective countries, he said. He added the bank would raise $500 million as medium-term note to fund operations in Hong Kong.
He added that going forward the bank would maintain net interest margin in the face of competitive pressures and rising deposit rates.
He said the banks' strategy would be to shed short-term loans and build long-term assets. He added that the bank would improve the delivery channels through ATMs and internet banking.
Allahabad Bank is targeting a business growth of 24 per cent during the current financial year 2011-12, he said.
Dua added that the bank had also projected a business level of around Rs2,80,000 crore in March 2012.
The bank currently has an overseas branch in Hong Kong as also a representative office at Schenzen, China.
Allahabad Bank is also looking to open around 150 branches and 500 automated teller machines (ATMs) in the current financial year, he added.
