By IANS,
Ghaziabad : The Syndicate Bank is all set to intensify its business in rural areas. The bank, set up in 1925 in the rural district of Udipi in Karnataka, has now spread its business in northern India, too, with over 100 branches in the country.
“Nowadays, business in urban areas is shrinking. But Syndicate Bank is already focussing on rural entrepreneurs, and maintaining its position as lead bank in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida and Bulandshahr districts of western Uttar Pradesh, the most prosperous areas, said M.G. Singhvi, chairman-cum-managing director of the bank, inaugurating the Raj Nagar branch of the bank in Ghaziabad.
The CMD said the retail sector in rural areas would be strengthened with the new measures to allow greater play to foreign direct investment. Since the bank already operates in rural and semi-urban areas, it would maintain a lead in these areas, the CMD said.
The CMD instructed officials to initiate micro level banking in rural areas to cut costs. Heavy and bulky branches would incur heavy expenses, while micro level banking would get the bank into profit in the priority areas of banking, including in the government’s welfare schemes, the CMD said.
With 55 percent of its branches in rural areas, the bank maintains a lead in advancing loans, the CMD said.
The future of the bank is bright in rural areas, and 1,500 officers and 1,400 clerks would be recruited, the CMD said.
Syndicate Bank recorded 41 percent profit in its nine-month assessment.
The bank is maintaining 83 percent NPA, while other banks recorded 60 percent NPA, due to which net 21 percent return was recorded in its equity.
To facilitate loan seekers, the bank has started over draft limits on gold deposits.