Date:20/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/20/stories/2008042055030600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

SBI to open 29 branches, 130 ATMs this year

Special Correspondent

They come up in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari districts

SBI Vizag zone has registered more than 300 percent growth in four years
Hassle-free online payment of taxes has been made available at all branches

Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

SBI General Manager Supriyo Kumar Choudhury with new DGM Kalyan R. Mohanty (left) addressing media in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. —

VISAKHAPATNAM: State Bank of India (SBI) Visakhapatnam module will open 29 new branches and add as many as 130 ATMs to its present 132 this year.

Announcing this at a media conference here on Saturday, the bank’s General Manager Supriyo Kumar Chaudhuri said these ATMs and branches would come up in the Vizag zone covering the four north Andhra districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari. At present, there were 219 branches and seven more processing centres, he disclosed.

The new branches would be set up mostly in rural, non-banking areas to make available banking services in tune with the objective of financial inclusion, he added.

Expressing satisfaction over the zone’s performance during his four-year stay, he said that the growth was over 300 per cent. “When I took over in January 2004, the turnover was Rs.4,300 crores.

Today, it is Rs.12,700 crores, a growth of more than three times,” he stated.

Mr. Chaudhuri also said that the bank had added 2,61,000 new accounts last year and similar growth was recorded the previous year. The savings bank deposits had grown by 27 per cent, current account deposits by 39 per cent and time deposits by 39 per cent and the trend was likely to continue in the current year too, he said. The zone earned a net profit of Rs.196 crores at the end of the year, which was an increase of 25 per cent. It maintained the least possible NPA-level at 1.22 per cent and it would be further brought down to less than one, he stated.

Core banking

Among the technology initiatives SBI took here were up-gradation of 156 bank master branches to core banking solutions to achieve 100 per cent CBS with internet banking and corporate internet banking, eZ-Trading facility at Visakhapatnam and Dwarakanagar branches was introduced, which would be extended to some more branches, and hassle-free payment of pensions was introduced in East Godavari district and would be extended to other places shortly.

Also, hassle-free online payment of taxes was made available at all branches with migration of the branches to online banking, Mr. Chaudhuri, who has been transferred to Guwahati on promotion, said.

His successor, the new Deputy General Manager Kalyan R. Mohanty, and another new DGM K.S.N. Murthy who has been promoted and transferred to the Inspection Department in Mumbai, were also present.