Indusind's new branch at Bhilwara takes total to 9 in Rajasthan

New Delhi, Aug 6 (UNI) Indusind Bank said it has opened a new branch in Bhilwara, taking the total number of bank outlets to nine in Rajasthan, including one offsite ATM.

In Rajasthan, the bank has branches in Ajmer, Jhunjhunu, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Kota.

''Through this new branch, Indusind Bank aims to provide high-quality technology-driven services to the people of Bhilwara.

The bank has a wide range of products to meet the requirements of all client segments,'' Indusind CEO and MD Bhaskar Ghose said.

At present, the bank has 146 branches and 83 offsite ATMs spread over 116 geographical locations in 24 states and Union Territories, and in the future, plans to reach out evenly across the country.

During the last quarter, the bank upgraded its 8 extension counters into bank branches providing a full range of products and services.

Total deposits as on June 30, 2006 were Rs 15,400 crore as compared to Rs 13,080 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, recording a growth of 17.73 per cent.

Recently, the bank announced a revision in its term deposit rate to eight per cent per annum for a term of 270 days to below one year.

In the same quarter, the bank had also announced its strategic alliance with Doha Bank in Qatar, encompassing a wide range of banking services, including deposit accounts, remittance business, loans, wealth management advisory, distribution of third party products, trade finance, global banking, and investment banking including corporate finance.

Through this partnership, the bank and Doha Bank treat each other as preferred partners, with reciprocity of business flows and promotion of each other's banking services.

The bank currently has arrangements with 17 exchange houses from the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman to provide convenient, cost-effective, and quick funds-transfer facilities to NRIs.

These arrangements have also made a significant contribution to the bank's income.

In Q1 FY06, the newly-formed Investment Banking Division of the bank, acted as financial advisor to the divestment of Hinduja TMT Ltd's 5.11 per cent equity stake of Hutchison Essar to Hutchison Telecommunication.

The deal was worth 450,000,000 dollars, and the bank said it has more such deals in the pipeline.

Besides, the Capital and Commodity Markets arm of the bank established tie-ups with seven mutual funds in Q1 FY06, for on-line redemption and collection arrangements.

At present, the bank has a tie-up with 28 mutual funds and is in discussion with some more.

The Wholesale Banking division of the bank ventured into lending to the Aviation Sector in Q1. The bank has also established business relations with leading airlines during this period, and plans to associate with Oil PSUs soon.

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