Dena Bank on expansion mode
By IANSMonday, August 23, 2010
CHENNAI - Public sector Dena Bank is looking at the possibilities of going overseas while expanding its branch network within India, a top bank official said Monday.
“We will be appointing consultancy firm to suggest overseas markets for us to enter. As many Gujaratis live in countries like Canada, Africa and UK we think that is a good market to be present,” Chairman and Managing Director D.L. Rawal told reporters here.
Within India the bank plans to increase its branch network by 100 to 1,348. The bank got licence to open 55 branches and will approach Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to secure more licences.
The Rs.286-crore, equity-based Dena Bank is also planning to increase its capital base by Rs.1,300 crore over the next few years.
“The Government of India will put in Rs.600 crore this fiscal thereby increasing its stakes in the bank by 10 percent to 61 percent,” said Rawal.
The balance Rs.700 crore will be raised in phases.
According to him, the bank’s non-performing assets including written off amounts is around Rs.2,300 crore.
Rawal said the bank will appoint business correspondents to take care of financial inclusion of 1,800 villages.
