Bandhan Bank to expand branch network to 1,000 by next August

Kolkata, Aug 23 (IANS) Bandhan Bank, which marks its first anniversary on Tuesday, plans to expand its branch network to 1,000 by August 2017 from the existing 701, said its chief.

"Next year when we meet to celebrate our second anniversary we will surely have at least 1,000 branches and more products," MD and CEO C.S. Ghosh said at the bank's first anniversary celebration.

Pan India, 33 percent of its branches are in unbanked rural area, as against RBI's stipulation of 25 percent, he said.

He said that 45 percent of branches are in West Bengal and 68 percent of them are in rural and semi-urban areas.

Ghosh also said the private lender would start United Payment Interface or UPI application.

"This mobile application will ensure seamless fund transfer and merchant payments, among other things. Apart from convenience for our customers, this will also add to the government's push for a cashless economy," he said.

In one year's of operation as bank, it managed to collect deposits worth Rs 16,000 crore. "Out of which retail deposit was more than Rs 6,000 crore, CASA stands at 15 percent, advances Rs 16,500 crore, NPA 0.16 percent, our CD ratio is 143 percent and capital Rs 4,000 crore," he said.