AP Grameena Bank opens ultra small branches

Plans to open another 170 more ultra small branches to take its tally to 400 by March 2013

Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB), the biggest regional rural bank in the state sponsored by State Bank of India (SBI), has opened ultra small branches (USBs) in 125 villages on Tuesday.

Last month, the bank had opened 105 USBs with the prime objective of providing banking services in villages, by expanding it’s reach through business correspondent agents (BCAs) and by leveraging the bio-metric technology.  

The USBs were opened in villages having population of 2,000 and above for implementation of financial inclusion plan (FIP), the bank stated in a press release.

APGVB proposes to open another 170 USBs to take the total tally to 400 by March 2013. The bank also has plans to convert these USBs into full-fledged branches after attaining a sizable business volumes as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines.

The bank was also allotted a target of 3,603 villages having population of less than 2,000 for implementation of FIP by March 2016. For this purpose, it has plans to open 1,500 USBs.

APGVB has a business turnover of Rs 11,600 crore, with Rs 5,200 crore deposits and Rs 6,400 crore advances. It has a network of 584 branches.