Bandhan Bank opens 5 new branches after RBI nod, plans 40 more by month end

Bandhan Bank, restricted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from opening new branches without its approval, opened five on Wednesday and plans 40 more before the end of this month.

 

RBI has approved, said C S Ghosh, managing director and chief executive. RBI had in September withdrawn its earlier ‘general’ permission to Bandhan for new branches and also froze Ghosh's remuneration. This was after Bandhan failed to comply with the August 23 limit for bringing down its promoters’ shareholding (now 82 per cent) to 40 per cent of the total equity. Earlier, the bank had set a target of 1,000 branches by March 2019. With the 40 new ones, the count would be 978 by end-December. With Wednesday's development, it was 943.

 

“No decision has been taken on opening further branches after December. It will depend upon the business plan,” said Ghosh.