BOI to add 74 new branches during current year

Chennai, Jul 7: Bank of India (BOI) will add 74 new branches, during the current year to its 2,645-branch network in the country which includes 23 overseas units, its Chairman and Managing Director M Balachandran said.

Talking to newsmen here last night, Mr Balachandran said nine branches will be set up in Tamil Nadu, including five in and around Chennai.

The bank's global deposits as on date was Rs 96,000 crore and advances Rs 70,000 crore of which 9,000 crore alone was accounted for by the agriculture sector.

BOI achieved a global business of Rs 1,60,594 crore in 2005-06 as against Rs 1,35,938 crore in the previous year. The net profit was Rs 701 crore against Rs 340 crore last year.

To a question, he said during 2005-06, the bank's global gross NPA declined from 5.53 per cent to 3.72 per cent and net NPA was down to 1.49 per cent from 2.80 per cent.

The bank was pursuing an active sales model under which it had recruited 2000-odd sales personnel for field level marketing.

It was entering into a ten-year contract wth IT major HP for providing IT infrastructure like outsourcing and core banking solutions at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore.

Under the IT initiative, 1,200 branches of the bank had been networked and all the branches computerised.

About 600 branches were currently on core banking solution (CBS) mode which would be ramped up to to 900 by end of December this year.

On the micro credit portfolio, he said the bank had credit linked 49,000 of the 79,000 self-help groups (SHGs) with financial exposure of Rs 212 crore as on March 31, 2006.

For 2004-2005, BOI had credit linked 21,028 of the 45,731 SHGs.

Bank Executive Director K R Kamath pointed out the bank adopted 126 villages across the country last October for a period of three years for fostering economic development, to commemorate BOI's centenary, at a financial outlay of Rs 200 crore. So far, Rs 50 crore had been released and under the scheme, about 2.60 lakh households were expected to derive benefit.

Four more villages in Tiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu were adopted yesterday at an outlay of Rs 14 crore to provide financial assistance for dairy development, small road transport operators, solar lighting system, crop loans for all eligible farmers, land development and minor irrigation projects in the villages.

Besides, the bank would introduce a lending scheme for providing modern sanitation facility in each household of the adopted villages to improve the quality of life.

BOI General Manager K Pothiraj said the CMD had launched a General Credit Card (GCC-a modified Star Bhoomiheen Kissan Card) for the benifit of rural populace, at Arambakkam village, near here, yesterday.

The bank's 'Shatabdi Krishi Vikas Card,' an e-enabled hybrid credit card introduced in September last year for the benefit of farmers giving them the facility of anytime, anywhere banking, had evoked good response.

So far, 6000 cards have been issued under this category. The bank has also introduced personal accident insurance cover for all individual agricultural borrowers up to Rs five lakh.

To a question, Mr Pothiraj said the bank has extensively financed contract farming arrangements through processing/procuring units for cultivation of sugarcane, organic cotton, various seed production, oilseed crop, dairy cooperatives among others involving two lakh farmers and an outlay of Rs 600 crore.

UNI