Thane Janata Sahakari widens its business

Thane, Apr 5: City-based bank the Thane Janata Sahakari Bank has announced that it plans to double its business to Rs 5000 crore in the next two years with the acquisition of two banks in Pune, according to its chairman Vidhya Vaishampayan.

Addressing a news conference last night, Mr Vaishampayan said the bank was in the final stages of acquiring two sick co-operative banks from Pune, which would add to the bank's existing branches.

He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently issued an order for the merger of Shree Sadguru Jangli Maharaj Sahakari Bank and Navjeevan Sahakari Bank Ltd, both from Pune with the Thane Janata Shahkari Bank Ltd.

The bank has also planned a massive talent promotion within the organisation, he informed.

He said despite fierce competition and challenges in the sector, the bank has always made a consistent progress.

Giving details of the bank's performance for the year ending 2006-07, he said the bank's deposits increased by Rs 255 crore to Rs 1328.00 crore. The banking industry has recorded a 20 per cent growth in its deposits in 2006-07, while the bank has recorded 24 per cent increase in deposits during the financial year.

The bank's advances increased by Rs 222 crore, ending at Rs 902 crore. The bank's total business grew by 27 per cent over the previous year and has earned a gross profit of Rs 43 crore, a rise of 60 per cent over a year ago. This had happened due to the effective cost-cutting measures and recovery of non-performing assets (NPAs), he said.

Mr Vaishampayan said the bank has made an arrangement with Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd for life insurance products. During 2006-07, it had collected premiums of Rs 230 lakh and its bancassurance was recognised as one of the most successful bancassurances in the country.

On technology initiative, he said the bank had some time ago expressed its desire to go in for implementation of Core Banking Solution (CBS) and possibly sharing of its data centre with other co-operative banks.

In view of the same, the RBI has now given a permission to the bank to share its data centre with the Kalyan Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the same shall be executed shortly, he said.

By June end, the bank plans to have automated teller machines (ATM) sharing arrangement through National Financial Switch, which would enable the bank's customers to access their account through 6000 ATMs network spread across the nation, he added.

Also present on the occasion was the bank's chief executive officer R G Karve.

UNI