Union Bank to develop special software for exporters and bullion traders

Chennai: Union Bank of India is in the process of developing a special foreign exchange 'pricing engine' software. This would enable the exporter / importer community to hedge its foreign exchange positions online on a real time basis.

According to chairman and managing director M V Nair, the software will be loaded at the client's premises if they subscribe to Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RFTX) and Reuters Trading for Bullion (RTFB) service. Presently the bank's customers have information platforms like Reuters Xtra 3000 or similar system from other service providers. For these clients, such information then becomes a trade quotation through RTFX and RTFB for instant buying or selling foreign currency / bullion.

"We will provide the pricing engine software free of cost to the subscribers of the above service. The software development cost is estimated to be around Rs 30 lakh," says Nair.

The bank has signed an agreement with the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for payment of licence fees electronically. "Union Bank is one of the few select banks offering e-payment facility for licence fees."

According to Nair, the bank's advances portfolio to the export sector was around Rs 5,703 crore at the end of 30 June, 2006, and is expected to touch Rs 6,600 crore by the end of this fiscal. The bank targets to achieve an export turnover of Rs 24,980 crore, import turnover Rs 14,535 crore and remittances turnover of Rs 10,504 crore this year.

Meanwhile the bank has sought the services of 34 agents to recover its bad loans. "We are in the process of readying our back office support in identifying and recovering the non performing assets (NPA). We will designate five branches as asset recovery branches," said Nair.