By IANS
Chennai : With an eye on the youth segment of the market, South Indian Bank Limited is not only celebrating the current fiscal as the ‘year of youth’ but has also decided to recruit a number of youngsters.
The Thrissur-based private bank is hiring around 500 fresh graduates, and after the recruitment 25 percent of the bank’s total staff will be under 25 years of age.
“This will bring down the average age of the bank employees further from the present 45 years,” V.A. Joseph, chairman and CEO of South Indian Bank, told reporters here Thursday.
He was here to announce the ‘bancassurance’ deal with the Pune-based non-life insurer Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited.
The bank has launched a new savings account scheme called Youth Plus for youngsters with attractive offers like free international ATM and debit cards, mobile banking and opening of a depository account.
Early this year the bank introduced a new logo and hired popular film actor Mammootty as its brand ambassador.
With all its branches connected through core banking solutions and offering all hi-tech products, the bank should present a youthful look, Joesph said.
Targeting a fee-based revenue of Rs.80 million this fiscal, the bank will put a sizeable number of the fresh recruits on marketing products like mutual funds and life and non-life insurance policies – which earned the bank Rs.10 million last year.
The bank has tie-ups with six mutual funds, life and non-life insurers to sell their products through its branches.
“We now have 200-member strong separate marketing team to sell these products,” Joseph added.
The bank will tap its non-resident Indian (NRI) customer base to sell health insurance policies of Bajaj Allianz apart from convincing its borrowers – corporates and others – to take property and group insurances through it.
According to Joseph, the bank is targeting a total business of Rs.250 billion comprising of Rs.147 billion deposits and Rs.103 billion advances. It is focussing its efforts on the retail, small and medium enterprises.
“We are targeting to reduce our net non-performing assets to 0.5 percent from 0.88 percent,” he said.
The bank is holding road shows to raise Rs.4 billion from private placement of equity shares. Post issue the bank’s net worth will go up to Rs.10 billion.
It plans to open 16 and add 20 ATM locations during the current fiscal, taking the total number of branches to 500 and ATMS to 200.
The bank’s expansion plan includes opening a regional office in Kolkata and later opening branches in northeastern states to gain a pan-Indian presence.