"So far, we have raised $446 million under the €1-billion euro MTN programme and the remaining will be raised during the next financial to fund global expansion," P J Nayak, chairman and managing director, UTI Bank, said after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL).

The MoU with IIFCL is for financing infrastructure projects in the country. "We are yet to decide about the modalities of bonds in this respect. As and when there is need money would be raised," he said.

UTI Bank, he said, will open a full service branch in Hong Kong on March 21, followed by a branch at Dubai International Financial Centre in April. The bank would also look at setting up branches elsewhere in other Asian countries so as to transform UTI Bank into a Pan Asia bank, he added.

UTI Bank at present has a branch in Singapore and a representative office in Shanghai, China.

Last month the bank''s board approved borrowing of an amount of up to Rs970 crore in one or more tranches, by issuance of upper Tier II debentures or subordinated Tier II debentures.

UTI Bank is among the mid-sized banks with total assets of Rs64,970 crore as of December ''06. Its advances stood at Rs32,337 crore and have been growing at 66 per cent during the December ''06 quarter.

The asset growth averaging 60 per cent in the first three quarters of FY07, the highest in the country, has been supported primarily by growth in the bank''s retail exposure, which now accounts for around 28 per cent of total advances.

Fee growth has also been significant, at around 60 per cent, for both the quarter and nine-month period. Fees mainly comprised retail fees, including credit-linked charges and third-party distribution.