Co-op bank to up presence

City-based Kanakamahalakshmi Cooperative Bank Limited (KCB) has got approval from the Reserve Bank of India to open branches across Andhra Pradesh.

KCB initially started its operations in Visakhapatnam district and later got permission from the RBI to extend its jurisdiction to West Godavari district. “Now, we are eligible to start operations across the state. The bank is, therefore, planning to set up operations in other districts too,” P Raghunadha Rao, chairman of KCB, told Business Standard.

It operates five branches at present of which three are in Visakhapatnam and two in West Godavari districts. Last fiscal, it took over loss-making Palakol Cooperative bank, and later opened a branch in Bhimavaram in West Godavari district.

“This year we have opened two new branches at Anakapalli and Narsipatnam in Visakhapatnam district and are going to open two more branches by the end of February at Chodavaram in Visakhapatnam district and Eluru in West Godavari district,” Rao added.

This apart, KCB has applied for licence to open two more branches in Visakhapatnam. The branches will begin operations before July. It is expecting significant growth in deposits on the back of these new branches. The bank has deposits of Rs 115 crore and advances at Rs 85 crore. “We are aiming to touch Rs 150 crore deposits by the end of this fiscal and next fiscal we would add another Rs 100 crore deposits,” he said.