UBI to start demat facility for customers

Kolkata, Feb 13: United Bank of India, a public sector bank, is planning to launch demat facility for its customers.

Speaking at a press conference here today, UBI MD P K Gupta said, ''We have applied to SEBI for demat facility and waiting for the approval. We are talking to various broking firms to start online trading,'' he said.

Mr Gupta said, ''The main challange faced by the banks is how to satisfy the customers with diverse product categories.'' UBI has signed an agreement with Franklin Templeton(FT), a global investment company, today to distribute mutual fund products.

''In order to raise our non-interest income, we have started tying up with various insurance and MF companies. This new partnership with FT is a step ahead in this direction.'' Small investors would be able to access FT's products through our bank's network. ''We have also tied up with various other insurance companies including TATA AIG, Bajaj Allianz, and foreign remmitances through Western Union Money Transfer.'' United Bank of India (UBI) has targetted a business of Rs 100,000 crore by the end of March 2009, he said.

The bank's net profit stood at Rs 231.84 crore during the first nine months compared to Rs 204.57 crore, which was post-tax profit for the full fiscal 2005-06.

UBI's capital adequacy ratio stood at 12.37 per cent. Gross NPA declined to 3.7 per cent while net NPA came down to 1.47 per cent.

The bank's credit-deposit ratio improved from 53.6 per cent to 62 per cent, while the yield on advances also increased from 8.66 per cent to 8.85 per cent.

UNI