The Hindu : Kotak Mahindra Bank unveils new corporate identity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003

Business

Business

Kotak Mahindra Bank unveils new corporate identity

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI MARCH 24. Kotak Mahindra, one of leading financial services companies, today announced its conversion into a bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank. The company also unveiled its new corporate identity on the occasion. The bank will open its door to retail and corporate clients on March 31. It also plans to invest Rs. 120 crores over three years for infrastructure, technology and personnel.

The promoters' stake in the bank, which is at 62 per cent at present, will be brought down to 49 per cent according to the Reserve Bank of India stipulation. The bank will be the parent holding company with five subsidiaries under it. The total net worth of the group is Rs. 1,400 crores. At present, the net NPAs is at 0.01 per cent.

Backed by 20 years of expertise in the financial services business, Kotak will offer complete practical financial solutions from retail finance, stock broking, mutual funds, life insurance to investment banking.

Speaking on the occasion, Uday S. Kotak, Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Kotak Mahindra is a 20 year old new bank. We see the conversion as a vote of trust. We should continue to strive to build greater trust of our customers, shareholders, employees and all our stakeholders.''

From the first day of operations, the bank customers will have access to over 800 ATMs free of cost, through a sharing agreement with UTI Bank. Additionally, the customers will have access to the entire VISA network of 4,500 ATMs in India and eight lakh ATMs worldwide, at a nominal cost and will get Visa debit cards, accepted in more than 56,000 establishments across India and over ten million establishments worldwide.

The bank plans to grow in its existing line of businesses of commercial vehicles, personal loans, trade finance and capital market. It also plans to enter into housing finance in 2003-04. The new bank is planning to establish 75 branches in the next three years and 25 branches by March 2004. The bank is targeting high net worth clients, mainly in Mumbai and Delhi and subsequently in other cities. It will aggressively sell savings accounts and current accounts to lower their cost of funds. The bank will integrate all financial solutions under a single roof and also act as an outlet for the products and services provided by the subsidiary companies. The bank and its subsidiaries have a network spread around 50 locations in India and its client base of over five lakh customers. The services offered by the bank will include complete wealth management and advice on how clients can manage their liabilities and assets better.

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