Mumbai:
UTI Bank Ltd has issued a fresh certificate of incorporation to the bank in the
name of `Axis Bank Ltd''. With this, the change in name of `UTI Bank Ltd'' to `Axis
Bank Ltd'' has become official. (See: UTI
Bank to change name to Axis Bank) The
Registrar of Companies has issued a fresh certificate of incorporation to UTI
Bank, the country''s third largest private sector lender, officially changing its
name to Axis Bank Ltd, the bank said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE). The change
of name to Axis Bank is effective 30July, this year, the bank said in its release. Following
this, the bank would change its logo and its colour, executive director (corporate
strategy) of the bank R Ashok Kumar said. The bank is likely to spend around Rs50
crore in the re-branding exercise, he added. The
change in name was considered for avoiding confusion as several unrelated entities
were using the UTI brand. The board of directors of UTI Bank had, on April 30,
approved the proposal to change its name to Axis Bank. UTI Asset Management Company
owns the UTI brand. The
bank has chalked out a strong communication campaign over the year. On August
1, the bank will launch a nationwide advertisement campaign with a catchline,
''Twins both equal''. The entire branding exercise is expected to cost the bank
around Rs50 crore The
exercise involves changing signages across 600 offices and 2,457 ATMs in 346 cities,
towns and villages. The bank will immediately change the signages across eight
major cities, including Delhi, Bombay, Kolkata, Hyderabad , among others, while
in other 250 cities, change of the signages will be done by the end of September,
senior bank officials said. The
bank has a customer base of about 60 lakh and is among the country''s top automated
banks, using the internet, automated teller machines, mobile channels and call
centres to inform its customers about the change in name. The
bank has already redesigned 96 elements, including chequebooks, welcome kits,
payorders, among others, suggesting the name change.
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