Kotak Mahindra Bank on Friday opened its first branch in Jharkhand. It plans to have two more branches in the state within this calendar year.
According to bank group head (retail liabilities & branch banking) KVS Manian, the bank, which has already received approvals from the Reserve Bank of India, plans to increase the number of branches in the country to 250 by December 2008 from 178 at present. It is also gearing up to have its first overseas presence by opening a branch in Dubai shortly.
“As a bank, we have just got the licence to operate in Dubai”, said Manian.
In the eastern region, the bank plans to open seven more branches by the year-end to take the number to 18. Two of the new branches will be in Jharkhand (Ranchi and Dhanbad) and the rest in Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa.
Kotak Mahindra Bank as a holding company with subsidiaries into insurance, broking, investment banking, AMC businesses, etc, had reported a PBT and PAT of Rs 203.25 crore and Rs 141.37 crore, respectively, in 2006-07.
The bank, which is yet to declare its fourth quarter results, reported a PBT and PAT of Rs 316.2 crore and Rs 224.73 crore, respectively, for the nine months to December 2007.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, according to Manian, “views Jharkhand as an important market in its overall growth plans with Jamshedpur its key economic centre”.
The bank, which was converted from an NBFC known as Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd in March 2003, has now a customer base of around six lakh. It offers services such as home banking that delivers money and demand drafts and picks up cash and cheques from customers’ doorsteps and deposit into their accounts.
“Being a late entrant has given us the advantage of using a contemporary technology platform, which helps us offer better customer relationship and security systems,” said Manian. The bank was also strong in business banking—offering complete business solutions that include trade services, cash management services and credit facilities.
